Christmas Swap issues

Hello Crocheters!

I´ve been away for quite sometime, busy renovating my home, planning a wedding while working and then looking after overseas guests. I have to admit I haven´t picked up a crochet hook in about 4 or 5 months. But I´m married now, it all went pretty well on the day although the photographer was sick and we had some standby, our DJ was a total DJzillar yelling at us even though we were early and on time with things, also wouldn´t move his equipment so we could have the ceremony inside... we had to get EVERYONE else accommodate HIM! anyhow I could so write a book about the things that went wrong leading up to the wedding. Lets just say wasps and thieves were involved. The house is pretty much finished and most of our guests have returned home.

So while I don´t have any crochet news to share (will soon got 2 baby presents to make) I do have to do a bit of an administrative post. Unfortunately I have had some not so great news about the Christmas swap. Due to this news I would like to ask all of those who participated in the swap and DIDNT get a package to email me and let me know what happened. I thought everything had gone well so I didn´t ask before, assumed anyone with a problem would have emailed me at the time.

I don´t want to name people who may not have sent a package as they promised when they joined so please send an email directly to me do not leave a comment here. It is not my intention to conduct a public witch hunt, so to speak. I really just want to know who didn´t get one so that I can organise something for them. I´m so sorry for those of you who had a bad experience with the swap.

Let me just say for future Swaps- people who fail to send packages and have no good excuse (Good excuse being death in family, injury, loss of job, having to move with little notice, sick family member etc) will NOT be allowed to join in other swaps. as you can see it causes a lot of hurt for the other person and causes bad feelings among people in our blog community.


Sorry about having to post this but I want to make sure things remain fair and that everyone has a positive experience with this blog. A HUGE sorry to all who have had problems with this blog and this community. I´m sorry I haven´t been so on-the-ball lately, replying to people quickly but I am back now and things should be good again.

Happy Crocheting

Challenge moved to later date.

I just wanted to say sorry to all of you out there who were interested in the February challenge that I blogged about at the end of last month. Things have been hectic and there has been some very stressful events I've had to deal with which have kept me from blogging and organising this challenge. George our new baby rabbit is holding on to dear life and we've had to give him some intensive care. Our house renovations and my work load at the moment have also been very overwhelming and time consuming. I am sorry to have to post pone the challenge and anyone who has been waiting for an inviation to join I'm sorry that it's taken so long. I haven't checked emails for quite some time now.

Please keep up the great work and keep posting your wonderful crochet work. I'll let you all know when things get better here and then we can get back to the challenge etc.

Thank you so much
Kathy Ann

Challengers Ready!?

Ok I've been thinking about it for a little while and I'm going to do it.... I'm going to make February the month for pushing boundaries, for exploring possibilities, for (hopefully) some down right silly crochet weirdness!

Yes having been inspired by Coats Crafts UK's post about fiber activist Rockpool Candy and her use of her body and plastic tubing to crochet with I want to make February the month we all challenge ourselves to try new crochet materials. And I'm not just talking about the usual non yarn stuff like cut up plastic bags or rope I mean some real crazy stuff like cooked spaghetti or old shoe laces!

I'm thinking of calling it 'Flipping Febuary' (working title, open to suggestions) and anyone can participate. During February just post a photo of some crochet you've done using any non-yarn material. You don't have to crochet a real item like a blanky or scarf, just crochet a few rows or a square. Make sure to note what material you have used. I encourage you to really see how far you can push the boundaries. The funnier and weirder the better!

I think there should be a prize ( I will put something together) for the craziest post. To select the winner and to make it fair I think we should have like a vote in system. Can we put polls on this site or something that tallies votes???? The voting will be open to everyone followers and participats.

So I hope you all think this is a fun idea too and join in. Let me know what you think and if you want to change or add anything to the challenge.

Crochet and the New Year...

I am writing today to thank each and every one of you for your participation and support, for making 'For the Love of Crochet Along' a success. I am so glad we started this blog again. It's only been 6ish months and we've already got over 100 followers, over 40 participants nearly 30,000 hits and not to forget the swap!. Not too bad for a little crochet community blog.

But what about next year? What are your crochet goals for the new year? What projects are you planning for 2010?

Personally I would like to finish at least 3 large afghans, make a range of doilies for my newly renovated home and if I'm lucky enough to get pregnant later in the year make lots of clothes for the little one. I've still got 3 current projects to finish so those need to be completed first because if I have more than 3 going on at a time one is bound to never get done! I also hope to be involved in some charity crocheting, I've done swaps, given things away as gifts but haven't yet given anything to charity.

So thank you once again to everyone involved in this blog and crochet community. I hope you have had a great 2009 and move towards a wonderful and safe 2010.

Kathy Ann

It's time to send your swap package!

Just a quick reminder to those of you participating in the Christmas swap. Officially all swap packages should now be sent! If you are going to be late sending your package PLEASE let your partner know. If anyone is not going to be able to fulfill their end of the bargain, i.e. is not going to be able to send a package then let me know ASAP so I can organize something for your partner. Hopefully this is not the case.

I look forward to seeing people's posts once they receive their packages!

Thank you all
Kathy Ann

Information for Christmas/Holiday Swap 2009

Okay, this post will outline the details for the

Christmas/Holiday Potholder Swap 2009.

Please join by 1st of September 2009
Partner details will be sent to you by 14th September, 2009
Swap packages sent out on 1st December 2009

join by sending an email to jedimaster_chick@yahoo.com.au with the following questionare filled out (copy and paste in the body of your email). Please put I want to join Swap in the email subject, I get lots of spam dont want to delete your email by accident!

I will then send you back the name and contact details, plus the questionare from your partner so you know something about them and can make further contact with them etc. I hope I can pair people up with similar interest etc, hence the questionare.

Questionare
1. Name
2. Email address and blog address if you have one
3. Age
4. Whether you are interested in receiving a Christmas or Holiday themed item
5. Favourite colours
6. Any allergies (i.e. to pet hair or smoke)
7. Crochet level, i.e. beginner, intermediate etc.
8. Country you are from and languages you speak

I will let everyone swap postal addresses themselves so that it is kept private between you and your partner, not that I plan on stalking anyone etc. hehehehehe

List of things to send in swap
1. One crochet potholder in a Christmas or Holiday theme (depending on what your partner wants)
2. A copy of your favourite crochet pattern (relate it to your partner's crochet level)
3. A ball of your favourte yarn.
4. Something that is relates to your family or culture's Christmas/Holiday traditions . This might be a written letter about your traditions, photos of Christmas/holiday traditions, a recipe for food you always cook for Christmas/Holidays, a how-to-do tutorial for making decorations you use etc.


This is a basic list of things to send. If people want to add more to their packages please consult your partner so that they don't feel bad if they didn't send as much as you did and you dont feel like your efforts were not returned etc. Basically I just want to say it is IMPORTANT to communicate with your partner and decide how much you want to send to each other. Some may not be able to afford as much as their partners or might not have as much time to make as many potholders as the other etc. Take this into consideration!!!!!! The swap should be a fun and lovely experience!

So that's all from me. If there is anything I've left out or you need more information just leave a comment. I look forward to receiving your emails!!!!!!!!!!!!!