Friday, June 01, 2007

The Summer Stash Swap

Here are the eagerly anticipated details, rules, regulations, etc., of the first Summer Stash Swap.

This swap is supposed to be fun, creative, and economical. Swap partners will be secret until you receive your stuff, at which point, you can include a little personal note or something to your swap partner. Here's the specifics:
  • If you want to join the swap, leave a comment below and be sure to include your email address. After you leave a comment, I will email you a questionnaire to get an idea of what you like, what you have, and what you have to swap so I can appropriately pair up swap partners.
  • This swap is primarily for yarn and fiber but it will include fabric, needles, notions, patterns, books, and magazines related to the fiber arts as well. Questions about what you have and what you like are on the questionnaire and the details will be shared with your secret swap partner.
  • Ideally, everything you swap will come from you stash, including needles, notions, patterns, magazines, and books. If you don't have a pattern to swap, create your own and send that along. Make a set of stitch markers or give some cool tops to needles you have in your stash. Be creative. Be ingenious. Show off. If you don't have a stash or you don't have needles and notions to spare, using yarn you hand dye, spin, were gifted, or purchased is okay. Really, it's fine. If you don't have a stash, then you can't very well swap from your stash now can you. If, for some reason, you have become a cucumber and your family has had to sell your stash to keep up with your insatiable thirst as a result of morphing into a cucumber, stay in the shade, stay hydrated, and bum yarn for the stash from your non-cucumber friends with the promise to pickle yourself at a later date for their eating enjoyment.
  • The last date to leave a comment and have your information in to me is June 30th and the last date to have your goodie box sent out to your swap partner is July 31st. If, for whatever reason (money, laziness, busyness, lack of stash), you will not be able to participate after you have already signed up for the stash, please notify me as soon as you know so someone can take your place. Nobody wants to wait patiently for a super cool box of goodies to arrive and hang their head in disappointment for days after, eating nothing but cucumbers.
  • It's entirely up to you what you decide to swap and how much you decided to swap. You may build your goodie box around a specific pattern and include enough yarn to make the scarf pattern you put in the box, along with some tea and groovy needles. You may put in enough yarn or fiber to make a whole sweater and put only mitten patterns in the box. It's up to you and there is no pressure either way. This swap is a way to unload stash and get new stash while spending a minimum of cash.
  • You do not need to have a blog or a flickr page or any of that to participate. You do need to have an email address, so we can communicate, and, ideally, you should be able to send me pictures of your received goodie box. Why? you ask. Well, because then I can determine who gets the prizes.
  • Prizes will be given to the most generous swapper, the most creative swapper, and the most WTF swapper (WTF can include but is not exclusive to funky yarn/fiber/fabric, strange or cool needles and notions, funny and/or interesting patterns and the like). They are all positive designations here. Prizes are being given here so that participants are all the most encouraged to be generous, creative, and a little bit crazy. I will keep you updated on what the actual prizes are when I get them as they will largely be determined by the participants.
  • Have fun!! This is not a contest or a pressure situation. It's a way to get rid of some stuff that has been sitting in your stash for too long and to get some new stash. Swaps are fun and this one should be too.
If you have any questions about the swap, please do not hesitate to ask. I will be more than happy to supply you with answers. Come join the swap and have fun!

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess I will go first in the comments and this will be my first swap. Looks like fun, already thinking about what to put into the box....

Fancy Pants said...

Hi Honor! Thanks for joining. I need your email address so I can send you the questionnaire. Make sure to send it in the yourname AT whatever DOT com format so you don't get spammed like crazy. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

honor_dod at hotmail dot com. Looking forward to this....

Valerie said...

You know I am on that boat!
Vstorey21@aol.com and you know my blog address even though it's not required. =)

Sharon said...

Yay stash swap! sharonfs AT comcast DOT net works for me. Boy howdy, have I got stash that needs a new home!

Anonymous said...

Oh boy. My hubby will be thrilled that I am going to get rid of some of my stuff. I just won't tell him that someone will be sending me different stuff.
keelybrelsford@comcast.net

c h r i s t i n e said...

I don't have much of a stash, but i will list myself anyway :).

springsteena [at] hotmail [dot] com

someone better be prepared to get a knit uterus.

Wendy said...

Sounds like fun! Count me in!

Wendymc at gmail . com

http://crafter.blogspot.com

Hattie said...

Ok... I wasn't gonna but I'll do it too. :D

chizzlesgirl at aol dot com

http://stitch-therapy.blogspot.com

Haha @ christine sending someone a knit uterus!!!

Anonymous said...

I want in, too! I hope somebody is ready for some homemade kitsch...

tylerstar52 at hotmail dot com

Anonymous said...

I'm in too... tuttlesibley at yahoo dot com. But I don't want to be Christina's patner, I've already got one too may uteri. ;)

Anonymous said...

I'd love to participate!
jan dot hostage at verizon dot net

Anonymous said...

I've been meaning to get my stash organized for weeks now; this will be just the motivation to do it. Count me in :)
julies@maine.rr.com

Anonymous said...

OK, I am ready to join the swap! Great summer idea! thanks for doing this.

5elementknitr said...

Ooooh! I want to play!

My email is
Ruth AT 5elementknitr DOT com

Kenyetta said...

If it's not too late, I want to join!

starrypurplehaze said...

I'd LOVE to participate! you can get me at cecilystewart AT gmail DOT com. :)

Shannon said...

I'd love to sign up if it's not too late! shay_jay011103 AT yahoo DOT com.

Kenyetta said...

Sorry, kenyetta dot davis at gmail dot com