Lucky Number 7

Seven years ago today, I started this blog.  I had wanted to join some online swaps, and they encouraged having a blog if you were going to participate.  Plus, some of my knitting friends had blogs, and I enjoyed reading them, and finding out what they were knitting, what knitting books and yarns were out there, and just meeting new people in general who were interested in some of the same things I was.

I never expected to become one of "the" blogs that everyone read all of the time, but I was surprised when quite a few people became regular readers and commenters.  I really enjoyed posting, and the fact that others read what I wrote and would comment was pretty exciting (still is!).  As I mentioned in the previous post, with Facebook and Ravelry, a lot of people abandoned their blogs, and also seemed to stop reading others' as well.  But like anything else, new people came long, and new friends were made.  I know that I don't read many of the same blogs I read seven years ago, but I am still an avid blog reader, because I really enjoy the ones I do follow regularly.

And so, whether you have been here for all 7 years, or are here for the first time today, THANK YOU!  I love knowing that you are reading anything I write, and that on occasion you feel comfortable enough to comment or ask a question.  I have no plans to stop blogging anytime soon, so I hope if you like it here, you'll stick with me.

For those friends who I have met as a result of this blog or you own blogs, I hope you will know that I often feel closer to you than to many of the people I see and talk to each day!  And I do hope to someday meet as many of you in real life as I have the chance to - but even if that doesn't happen, I hope we'll stay friends.

Thanks also for your blogs - they keep me informed, inspired, entertained, and amazed!

You guys are the BEST!

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In honor of my 7 years of blogging, I'm ready to give away packages of yarns and/or knitting books to at least 7 commenters here.  At the moment, they are not organized into packages, so I can't provide a lot of specifics, though I can tell you that the yarns are mostly wool or wool blends.

So, if you are interested:

Leave a comment on this post before midnight (Philadelphia, PA time) on August 24, 2013.  Please leave an e-mail address or Ravelry ID, since I don't usually get that from Blogger (which drives me nut, bthe way, but that's a post for another time).

I'll announce "winners" on Sunday, August 25, and once I have your address and everything together, a package will be on its merry way to you.

And whether or not you participate in this giveaway, let me just again say thanks for staying here with me!

It's a Mystery to Me ...

It's taken me a lot longer than I thought it would, but after being sidetracked by sickness for what seems all eternity, I finally have my Mystery Boxes of Yarn (described in this post) ready to offer.

Here they are - ready to go to new homes where they will be loved and used.  Please note that since taking this picture, I've sealed up the boxes, so I no longer know what is what, meaning that I can't send you the box that "has the two greens on top" or whatever.  

I can tell you the details though.

1.  Each box contains 7-9 balls/hanks/skeins of yarn.  There are three boxes.

2.  They are all natural fibers (mostly wool, but some alpaca, silk, etc.)

3.  I do not/have not seen any evidence of moth-ery.  They have been stored in plastic bins with cedar blocks, and away from the pets.  Our home is non-smoking, so you don't have to worry about any accompanying smell.

4.  I can unfortunately only afford to mail things to U.S. addresses, so if you live outside the U.S., you are out of luck.

5.  The cost is $25.00, which includes shipping.  You can pay via PayPal, money order, or personal check (though I won't send the box until your check clears).  

The earliest I will likely get to the P.O. is next Saturday, March 2 - so even if you have a box coming to you, it won't be arriving this week!

I'm offering them here first, and if there is no interest, or all three do not go here, I'll offer them on Ravelry.  

TO CLAIM A BOX:

Do not leave a comment here to request it.  Send me an e-mail at:  thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet.  The first three requests get the boxes, and I'll post to let you know as they go or when they are gone.

If you have questions, feel free to let me know.  

Next on the List ...

I've been taking my time formulating my ideas for my goals and intentions for 2013.  Because, I finally realized that they are mine, and technically don't even need to be recorded for/reported to anyone else.  However, one of the main purposes I started this blog was to write for myself, and keeping track of goals and intentions is one way to check myself throughout the year without feeling like I may have forgotten something.

One of my intentions and goals has already been reached.  I was really itching to review my stash, and did so last weekend.  I try to do it at least twice a year, but I had decided that it was just time to say goodbye to yarns that, even if I loved them and they were beautiful, I was just not likely to ever use.  I decided I was going to be ruthless.  And though I could probably have been even more ruthless than I was, I had a lot of stuff to give away and/or sell.

First - the yarn, bags, needles to give to Interim House, here in Philadelphia.  They have a Knitting Club for their residents, and it is wildly popular.  As a result, they have a hard time keeping everyone in supplies!  (Last year, we collected for them at Christmastime at Rosie's, and it was a huge success.  This year, I didn't have my act together, so it was a no-go.)  Anyway, I decided that besides "lesser" yarns that I had, the knitters deserved some of the nicer stuff as well.  By the time I was finished, I had jam-packed two large boxes (the kind that bottles of wine are shipped in) with LOTS of goodies.

I always like knowing that I can find a new and good home for my yarn.  :-)

The yarn that I didn't send to Interim House, I was going to sell on Ravelry.  But then I realized that there was so much, by the time I photographed it, uploaded it, and described it, months might pass.  And the whole purpose of this exercise was to move things out of here NOW.  So, I've decided to so something a little bit different, and create "Mystery Boxes."  What are those?  Well, I'll take a few boxes, fill them with various yarns, and sell them for an all-inclusive price.  Any given box could contain laceweight yarn, sock yarn, a sweater's worth of yarn - you get the idea.  I queried a couple of Ravelry forums about this idea, and though some responses made it sound as if I were trying to send Komodo dragons in the mail they were so incensed at the idea, there were a lot of people who thought it sounded like fun.  I figure it's worth a try.  So stay tuned, 'cause I'll be posting the Mystery Boxes here for your perusal as well.

Reviewing my stash is such a good thing for me.  It reminds me of what I already have, what I can let go, and what things I am likely to actually use.  I am really going to try my best to knit from my stash as much as it's possible this year, and ideally, I would like to have made a reasonable dent in the remaining stash by the time I am ready to review it again.  Granted, some of the yarn is already designated for specific projects, but unless those projects actually get started or finished, the yarn isn't going anywhere, right?

Next up: trying to decide what to knit/who to knit for this year.  That's gonna take me a little bit longer to determine.  But I'm on my way!