I can't believe it - a FO!

Goodness gracious... a FO. I've finished Sahara and it turned out GREAT! I have to say here in the early that I hate HATE stockinette stitch... it just goes on and on and on. I even taught myself a "new" way to hold my yarn while throwing (I'm an English knitter and a very slooooow one at that - sometimes I wonder if I'm the slowest knitter out there... I see people zip through their projects and I just sit here seething with jealousy in awe that they are so fast!) as I'm pretty sure I was holding it in the least efficient manner there is for an English knitter.
I don't remember when I started this... I would hazzard a guess to mid-April? Which would make it almost six weeks of knitting (told ya I was slow) this kinda off and on. I put down the LT and tentatively picked up the Sonata Crest of the Wave Tank (remembered why I put it down in the first place and gently put it back from where I got it) so that could account for maybe a week? But six weeks it took me to complete this baby. I knit it a size smaller as I'm on a journey to better eating habits (pretty speak for I'm on a diet).
Here are the stats:

Yarn: Tilli Tomas in Limeade
Needles: Knitpicks options sizes 7 and 5
Time to knit: Approximately six weeks

I've also attached a pic. It is very fresh off the needles (finished it less than an hour ago!) and unblocked. I need to find out how to block this Tilli Tomas yarn as the instructions say that it's dry clean only.

I'm not sure what my next project will be. I've ordered this in the colourway Lilypond and am waiting patiently for its arrival. I plan to make a shawl with it and based on all the raves it's gotten I almost can't wait. It is nice however, to have my hands quiet if for a very short time. I get to browse the blogs of other more accomplished knitters and think to the day when my work too will look so polished, so beautiful, so enviable LOL!

Until then!

Awesome-ness from my swap pal

So there was a secret yarn swap over at KnittingHelp and I participated. It was a great experience seeing all the different delicious yarns people gave to each other!

Here's a pic (taken by the receipient) of the yarn and goodies that I sent. I'll tell you the truth, I was torn at first between quanitity and giving her what she really wanted. In the end I went with what she really wanted because afterall she would enjoy something that was on the top of her "I want" list more right? And she did. This is a skein of Lobsterpot yarn from kyarns in Beach plum and some of her favourite teas from her favourite tea shop:



Now, here's what I received from my wonderful swap pal! I'm telling you, it was such a pleasure receiving all this goodness... she really took the time to get all the details right, from the "take-out" boxes she put the yarn in, the toys for my kids, the yarn itself, the magazine and books and patterns and how it was all packaged. I feel really special.

Total package:



Box contents:



Toys for kids! Cinderella outfit and trucks:



Book, magazine, patterns and a glimpse of Crayon:



Recipe book for kids, patterns from Knitty:



Take-out of yarn! Shinesport, Cotlin, Crayon, and some Bebe Baby balm:



What a haul! I really need to get a bigger storage unit for mt stash and books! I can't believe it! I have a stash!