SOAB II...

Check this out!!!
Guess what came in the mail yesterday?
I have an adorable blessing of a Knitting Fairy courtesy of Ania!
I've got to find out if she knitted the scarflette on #oo dpns or on the toothpicks themselves! Perhaps if I leave her out on my stash with a bunch of toothpicks she & her friends will knit me something in an impossible tiny gauge!
This little Knitting Fairy will watch over me while I knit up a baby jester hat from a wonderfully whimsical (& seamless!!!) pattern she sent along.
Plus, she sent me a copy of a book I've wanted to read for the longest... The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini! Bliss!!!

So it's no big secret: I took part in a swap this summer with mixed results. Overall, it was a good experience, however I have learned a lot about human nature.

You can’t fix other people, or make them care, but you can make others feel better than you do when you’ve been “burned”.

As I’ve been reflecting on my experience, all of this is a lot like love.
You do your best to give & meet your responsibilities.
But, that is NO guarantee your partner will do the same.

…and just like love ( as it truly seems in your own experience…), eventually you will meet an “angel” (or dancing fairy...) who will redeem your faith in the process!

This is the 1st project in a series to spread warm fuzzies through the kind ladies I (virtually) met in the process. Ania did it for me (A dragon finger puppet in a tutu is on it's way to her, too...) So I thought I'd do for someone else, as well. I DOES make you feel better!

There is another lady who has been strung along until the end. I’m sure her package will come/has come already by now. I just had an inspiration to make her something to make the waiting easier…
I found that the true fruit of the swapping experience is to find (or be) a stranger out there who wants to take the time & effort to spoil someone out of the blue for no other reason than the joy of the giving.

Sooo… Here is a kitty for the joy of giving’s sake…
Pppppbbbt!

I used the pattern for a mug & French press pot cozy which is beautiful & free from the Ravelry downloads as a basis for my dimensions. My target is a hot chocolate & tea drinker, so I sized it for a 20 oz. tall latte mug. I put some pretty standard cables on the sides to pull in the edges to the contours of the mug & added intarsia eyes. I knitted two triangles to serve as ears, embroidered on nose, whiskers & mouth... but it didn't seem complete without a raspberry-giving alpaca-silk tounge!

Here is a basic chart for the eyes: (Knit over 36 sts)

XXXXOBBBOOXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXOOBBBOXXXX
XXXOOBBBOOOOXXXXXXXXXXXXOOOOBBBOOXXX
XXOOOBBBOOOOOXXXXXXXXXXOOOOOBBBOOOXX
XXOOOBBBOOOOOXXXXXXXXXXOOOOOBBBOOOXX
XOOOOBBBOOOOOOXXXXXXXXOOOOOOBBBOOOOX
OOOOOBBBOOOOOOOXXXXXXOOOOOOOBBBOOOOO
XOOOOOBBOOOOOOXXXXXXXXOOOOOOBBOOOOOX
XXXOOOOOOOOOOXXXXXXXXXXOOOOOOOOOOXXX
XXXXOOOOOOOOXXXXXXXXXXXXOOOOOOOOXXXX
XXXXXOOOOXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXOOOOXXXXX