HSKS 5 Concludes

This is a summer of bad luck for my secret pals. My SP12 pal has been plagued by wildfires, while my HSKS5 pal, Morgana Black, has had to worry about hurricanes. So while the Hogwarts swap mostly wound down in early August (with a whole bunch of Hufflepuff victories!), I just got my sock kit on Saturday. It was worth waiting for.

Here's the whole package. The basic idea behind the Hogwarts swap is that you send a handmade thing, and the stuff to knit another thing. People often include extras, but Morgana's idea of "extra" is more like getting a whole free pizza rather than an order of breadsticks.

So I'll start by showing off the official item - a Hufflepuff Hat. What Morgana may not have known is that Hufflepuff colors are also welcome in my Muggle environment, so this hat will be perfect to wear come football season.

And here's my yarn for Hufflepuff socks - it's Brown Sheep yarn that she dyed herself. I'm sure it will get turned into something spirit-oriented soon, although I'll have to decide if I should share with Aaron (I'm thinking not.)

There are two fun skeins of merino, alpaca, & silk yarn from Politically Incorrect Yarns & Fibers. "Colorful, not Queen" and "Candy Ass" seem to go together - I'm not quite sure how that happened with colors like this. Must be magic. She also included a packet of fresh needles for my sock-knitting pleasure (and to replace the dog-chewed ones. )

And I think she made these - a set of Hufflepuff stitch markers. They've already found a home in my knitting bag, and I know the black-corded ones will come in very handy if I ever re-attempt the Sidewinder socks.

Last, but definitely not least, is the handspun. Two skeins of it, made with fiber from Spunky Eclectic. The one on the left was done on a wheel, and is pretty fine. The one on the right is spindle-spun, and much thicker - something I've never been able to manage on a spindle. I can't imagine sharing handspun with a near-stranger. Once I get to the point where I can stop cuddling the yarn, I'm going to use it for something very special. And I'm definitely going to use it - yarn like this shouldn't be hidden in a stash box.

Thank you, Morgana! Your Hogwarts supply kit is distracting me quite nicely from my Muggle classes.

And speaking of packages, look at what else we had in a box.

Max turned 8 yesterday - or at least it was the 7th anniversary of when he came to live with us, at about a year old. He still hasn't caught on that a dignified dog of 8 doesn't need to run around like a puppy - and I hope he doesn't figure that one out anytime soon.