Self-imposed hiatus; thanks for not forgetting me!

And I am back!

In case any of you is wondering, I've been so thoroughly discouraged by the lack of progress on hubby's sweater that I decided to take a break and focus on other things. Mainly on welcoming new students, and learning to cook (gasp!)

Everyone knows how to cook but cooking well is another thing. So I've kept myself busy in the kitchen for a bit.

Thanks for everyone who checked in on me...I just didn't realized that I have been away for that long until I looked at the last blog post date!

There were some great packages that arrived during this time that I absolutely *had* to share!

A great Tea Swap Package!

Here's the great package from Becky, my swap partner! She has enclosed an enormous amounts of tea of various flavours -- let's see: we've got Cocoa Spice, Mango, a whole lot of Peet's tea, samples from Evolution that includes Honeybush Caramel, a great Tazo variety (I bet she sent me the entire range!) and some licorice spice herbal tea! Not only that, there's a lovely tea cup & tea pot ornament set!

Did I forget to mention the lovely chocolate toffee almond biscotti? My hubby has been eyeing those enviously but he's definitely not getting those!

There's also some lovely yarns (all 5 of them!) for me to knit myself a summery top!

Thanks Becky! This is definitely awesome!

And if it wasn't enough, the Dye-O-Rama package came in too!

From the gorgeous Emily aka Ms Martini!

The entire package is so sweet-smelling -- must be due to the Koolaid she used for dyeing!

Emily not only enclosed her own handdyed skein of yarn; but also included more goodies such as Debbie Bliss' Pure Silk in a lovely turquoise, a ball of Opal Cotton (noticing my love for sock yarn and so a cotton option for our weather!) and an all organic Bittersweet dark chocolate with orange & spices (how does she know I love orange chocolate too?!). To top it all of, chewy fruit gums!

I've been really careful to reseal the envelope; removing just the perishables (like the chewy gum and chocolate) so that the yarns can continue to bask in the faint sweet scent.

Emily, I love them all!

To top it off, I've been so generously gifted by Tam of Purl Once, Knit Forever when I took part in a quiz!

A ball of Fortissima Colori Sock Yarn! I can now envision a lot more socks in my wardrobe! Thanks Tam!

You gals rock! Those are great pick-me-ups and have definitely motivated me to get back to my knitting!

Next up: the projects I am working on...