A Wee Tiny Post

I mailed my Wee Tiny package this morning, and despite the fact that my swap person **could** read this & by my use of her first name figure out what she's getting befo-re her package actually arrives, the chances of this are extremely slim. Mostly because there are upwards of 275 folks in this swap, and I seriously doubt that any swapper is rabid enough to go through each & every person's blog in the hopes of finding a clue as to who pulled their name.

You know?

So, here, in a hugely daring risk, is my Wee Tiny Sock Swap package of 2008!



I had loads of fun making up this little package - last year I simply went the 'overstuffed envelope' route, but this year I had the time and the energy (and the cabin fever - that comes after being home for several days with a no-long-sick-enough-to-hang-on-the-couch-all-day, but too-sick-to-go-back-to-daycare 3 year old) to gussy it up a bit. So tissue paper, pretty little tags, and a funky little box from our local (chain) craft shop to dress it all up a bit.

Yeah, it's a flip-flop. The closest thing to a sock I could find!

In the flip-flop box itself I tucked in a little wooden 'treat' as well. I saw it on one of the end-cap displays and couldn't resist.


And the sock itself?
How kind of you to ask!

Voila:

Pattern: Toe-up construction found here
Stitch Pattern: Divided Boxes ( Knit & Purl Harmony Guide)
Materials: Sundara Sock Yarn
Colour: 'Green Tea' colourway
Needles: US0/2.0mm KnitPicks circulars
Dimensions: leg - 2" heel to toe - 1.5"

This project was fantastic on a number of levels. Not only did I discover that I really liked the Divided Boxes stitch pattern, but I also realized during the wrapping and the packaging of said wee sock that my craft organization area - as tiny as it is - could use some serious help. So I thought back to all of those Martha Stewart organization tips I always read but never use, and did some tidying. I don't have a 'before' shot, but here is a greatly, greatly improved 'after' view:

The fact that this little area of mine is so neat and tidy is highly ironic, because in the craft/knitting armoire that is indeed mine & all mine, this area is the one that.......

Closes. Heck - it locks, even! It closes tightly shut so that nobody can see the extremely tidy & organized space inside. Which is totally unlike the rest of the armoire, which is wide open so that anyone and everyone can see the jumble and chaos inside and on top of and around it......

On top. My dye things and my spinning/winding equipment.

Piled next to the armoire: my loaned drum carder, my mill-end (machine oiled) tweed, and lots of fleece that needs to be carded & some pre-carded fleece that needs to be spun. And a periwinkle blue shirt that needs to be patched & mended.

And the worst offender - inside the main body of the armoire. A hanging sweater-holder with far too much jumble piled in there. Sturdy shelves would be much better - with much less wasted space! - but unfortunately the armoire walls are extremely thin veneer sort of things, that a thumbtack would easily pierce through, so screwing in shelves and whatnot isn't any sort of an option.

However I do remind myself whenever I get upset by this mess and jumble that what I'm really looking at here is a ton of potential. Tons of future projects, just waiting to be knitted. Sweaters waiting to emerge. Socks waiting to be fitted for length. Scarves poised to be wrapped around someone's neck. Gloves ready to warm someone's fingers.

I'll have you know that this sort of logic only works on such knitting/spinning/crafting type jumbles. The other normal household jumbles (the dirty/clean laundry pile, the piled papers and books, the tangle of dirty dishes in the sink, the discarded toys in the middle of the living room floor) - that's just mess.

Thank goodness, then, tomorrow is Messy Tuesday!