Swap Package – These Creations Came Out of It, Part 2

Dear users, dear authors,
here is Part 2 of the thread.

You can read the earlier posts via the link:
Swap Package – These Creations Came Out of It

Monika, your hat turned out great!
Sandra, I think the pillow is fantastic—it looks so cozy!

Thanks, Mel. Yes, I love that hat. I still have it here. :)

Sandra, your pillow looks really, really cozy. It’s sure to be a hit, and I’m sure Anton will like it, too.

I’ve now started knitting a soul warmer for myself using the two thick skeins from the swap package, and I hope I have enough yarn. It already feels very cozy and warm. The yarn is absolutely beautiful when knitted up. I’ll post a photo once I’m done.

Sandra, that pillow looks very cozy...
Your hat too, dear Monika...

Since yesterday evening, I’ve had this brown yarn from the last swap package on my needles; it’s going to be a sweater. Together with a sock yarn in the color “Apricot Sorbet” .... 

The first rows (7) are already knitted.
After the first three rows, I was already on the verge of unraveling it again. Then I “force” myself to knit a few more rows, and usually the knitting only really starts to come into its own then.... Do you know that too? 
My friend always says, “Knit up to row 10 and then decide.” 🙈 
By the way, there’s no “info” about the swap yarn anywhere on the web.... It’s as if nobody had knitted anything from this yarn “before,” and nobody seems to have ever sold it.... It knits up really beautifully and has a very nice stitch definition.... 

Hi Steffi, that’s looking great already!

Yes, especially with knitted patterns that use colors, it doesn’t really come together until you’ve knitted a bit more. I know what you mean. You just have to clear your head and keep knitting. Otherwise, you won’t figure it out. But I already like the color combination.

I traded for this yarn in my swap group once. Maybe it had been sitting in its previous owner’s storage cabinet for years, or maybe they brought it back from a vacation abroad. The label looks French, after all. So I’m guessing it’s wool from France. And the fact that it hasn’t turned up online yet makes it even more exciting. I wonder what the world has been missing out on?

I hope you continue to enjoy working with this yarn. We’re looking forward to seeing how it looks a little further along.

Best regards, Ina

Steffi, what you’re making with that yarn already looks really good. I’m also curious to see how it turns out.

I now have yarn from two swap packages on my needles for a soul warmer. It’s the first one I’ve ever knitted. I’ve totally fallen in love with this yarn—it’s sooo cozy, soft, and warm. However, I had to reorder two more skeins because I want a long soul warmer.

Now I’m not sure who I have to thank for this amazing yarn. In any case, it’s a dream! And I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you for including it in the package.

Oops, here’s the photo:

Now the soul warmer is finished—nice and fluffy, warm, and cozy. The swap yarn came from Ruth and Ina—from different packages. Together, they make a beautiful color combination. I only needed half a ball more of the light-colored yarn.

That looks great—awesome colors!
I decided to tackle the bobble:

@ Monika
great color combination — perfect for good vibes and, of course, for snuggling up in. It turned out great 😉

@ Veronika
beautiful color, is that going to be a scarf? 🤔

Thanks, Susanne and Veronika! :)
This piece is really super practical—just slip it on and it’s warm and cozy.

Veronika, the yarn looks great once it’s knitted up. What are you going to make with it?

I’ll be starting my next project with a skein of swap yarn soon… but it’ll take a little while yet.

It’s turning into a scarf, and the color gradient is really interesting.

Wow, you’ve all been so productive!

@Monika, the color combination of your soul warmer is absolutely stunning. No single skein could have created this effect on its own. It’s the combination of the two colors that makes it work. It turned out really great! And of course, it’s nice and warm, plus it’s quick to put on and take off. What more could you ask for? And all of this from just 2 skeins of swap yarn.

@Veronika, with your crocheted scarf, just looking at this little piece makes you curious to see how the look will develop through the colors in the yarn cake. I think they’re beautiful, elegant colors that harmonize very well together. The scarf will surely go with many colors in your wardrobe later on.

Enjoy your long weekend and the beautiful weather, everyone!
Warm regards, Ina

Thanks, Ina. :))

Veronika, I’m also curious to see what your scarf will look like when it’s finished. It definitely looks very elegant already.

I wish you all a wonderful (late summer) weekend.

Best regards, Monika

You’re already showing off some really nice things. Unfortunately, I’m not that fast.
But I’ve already finished two headbands, and a pair of kids’ socks is almost done, too.

That headband looks very soft.

I’m curious to see what you’ll whip up with the yarn in the top left corner. I also have some yarn like that in different colors and haven’t a clue what to do with it yet.

Best regards, Petra 

Hansi, that looks great—so soft and cozy. You used Nepal yarn, if I’m not mistaken. I like knitting with that too.

The scarf is also finished:

It’s not that easy to capture the gradient in a photo—the purple doesn’t really come through properly.

Wow, Veronika, that scarf looks really modern and chic. I love the gradual color gradient. It’s as if the yarn were made especially for this scarf.

Best regards, Ina

You’ve made some amazing things again. I’m always amazed.

Veronika : Your scarf looks great. So simple, yet elegant. The simple granny pattern works really well for the scarf. I like it. You’ve given me an idea.
I still have some thin gradient yarn with glitter thread—that would work well for a scarf.

I’m slowly getting back into crocheting, trying not to overdo it.

Have a great week!

Be really careful with that! I’ve been limping around with my knee for weeks because, just as soon as it seems to be getting better, I try to catch up on everything I’ve put off. Pretty stupid, I know, but it annoys me so much that I don’t think twice about it.

Veronika, your scarf looks absolutely lovely with that unique color gradient and the beautiful pattern.

This time, something I knitted: The yarn for the purple doll dress and the plush sleeves on the pink dress came from yarn swapped in the first swap package. The smooth pink yarn was a leftover yarn I had at home. Now winter can come!

Ruth, the dresses look totally chic. I imagine knitting something that small would be pretty fiddly. It wouldn’t really be my thing.

These two ponchos for the dolls were knitted from swap yarn from Ina’s parcels. I think the yarn came from the 1st and 3rd parcels.

They’re both going to my two granddaughters for Christmas.

From the last swap package, I took the Nepal yarn from Drops—I think, Monika, that was from you?
I ordered two more colors to go with it and can now show you these pillows.

Wow, Ines, those pillows turned out so beautiful! They’re real works of art! Yes, the Drops Nepal yarn is nice, but I just didn’t like the color, and you’ve turned it into something really pretty.

Monika, they really do have a beautiful selection of colors, and the Nepal feels lovely.

Now I’ve completed the next project using the swapped yarn. Using the leftover yarn from the Linja Pullover, I knitted wrist warmers—or hand cuffs—for my son.

You’ve made some really beautiful things with the yarn from the “Swap Package”....
Drops Nepal is truly a lovely yarn... I’d actually included a few skeins of it in the package too 🙈—I could have come up with the idea for the pillows myself.
I’m currently working on Mayflower Alpakka, along with some yarn from my stash.... 

A second version of the big blanket.... maybe some matching pillows—in any case, nice and cozy. 

@Steffi,
what’s the name of this pattern? It’s great.

This is mosaic crochet... also called overlay mosaic... You crochet only one color per round, using only single crochet and double crochet stitches... always insert the hook into the back loop for single crochet and into the front loop of the row below for double crochet. And then there’s a lot of counting...
Andrea got me “hooked” on it 😂😊 It’s so much fun. 

Oh wow. That looks great, but it sounds like a lot of work.

....there are a lot of stitches in one round 😊 but it’s not really that difficult. I crochet in the round; where “the corners” are, I work increases. It’s a symmetrical pattern, so each “edge” is crocheted the same way, and once half of an edge is crocheted, I work in the opposite direction until the next corner..... 

Sounds good.

It’s off the needle 😁
It’s such a shame that Mayflower Alpakka isn’t available anymore—that yarn is great.
I knitted the owl mittens with that yarn, as well as part of the pillow now.... 
Maybe I can make a few more wrist warmers from the remaining gray yarn, combined with some yarn I have in stock.... I’ll weigh it tomorrow...




My dinosaur made from the Drops cotton yarn from the summer swap is finished. The colors were perfect. 

Oh my gosh, he’s so cute 😊

I totally agree with Ines... so cute. That long neck and those eyes 😍

Sabine, your dinosaur is absolutely adorable. You did a great job.

Steffi, your pillow looks great, too.

Thank you, everyone

From the treasure-chest swap package.... 
I’ve actually already finished knitting something, and I currently have a cowl on my needles.... these are finished.... 

And the cowl still needs a few more modules.... I’ve already knitted one, and the second one (of 5) is almost done too.... The Ecopuno is a joy to knit with...

Wow, Steffi, both look great—especially the wrist warmers. Are they knitted with sock yarn?

Yes, they’re made from sock yarn.... I rarely knit with yarn that’s “thicker” than that. Anything above needle size 4 is out of my league. For the loop, I used needle size 3.75 🙈—that’s plenty. 

Steffi, the wrist warmers turned out absolutely beautiful. 👍
That loop looks really interesting. I’m curious to see how it turns out.
Best regards, Marita 

Steffi, I feel exactly the same way as you do. I can manage up to needle size 4, though—but I don’t really like it.

It’s so quiet here 😊
I still have two rounds left to bind off the loop and the i-cord. Then it’ll be done. The Ecopuno is soooo beautiful. Maybe there’s enough of the dark gray left for wrist warmers—of course, paired with the pink and the yellow 😁

Dear Steffi, I really like the green wrist warmers—so delicate, and in green, too; they flatter anyone who wears them.

The loop scarf looks interesting at first glance. But I can’t quite picture it being worn.

I just wanted to mention that I saw and felt the “Ecopuno” yarn at the craft store the other day. You’re right! It’s so soft, fluffy, and supple. I could definitely see myself knitting something out of it to wear. But unfortunately, it’s quite expensive (50 g = 8.95 euros). And it comes in 71 (!) colors—I wouldn’t even know which one to choose. But at that price, I’m out of the running anyway.

I hope you continue to enjoy finishing your loop.

Best regards, Ina

Good morning....
The loop is so long that you can wrap it around your neck twice. I really like them because you can pull one “layer” over your ears—almost like a hood—and your neck still stays warm....
8.95€ 😳.... I would never have spent that much on it in a million years. (That would be just under 36€ for the loop.) Sometimes I really wonder what gives manufacturers the right to jack up prices so high. Sure, they want to make a profit. I myself haven’t bought any Lana Grossa yarn in a very long time. In my opinion, the quality has declined and the prices have gone up considerably. The color palette for Ecopuno is really, really huge—I didn’t know that.... 

Good morning, dear Steffi, thanks for the explanation. Now I know how you want to wear your new loop scarf. That’s exactly how I like loop scarves, too—just one loop around the neck wouldn’t be enough to keep me warm.
I’m currently knitting a scarf for myself that will also become a loop. I’ve already managed to wrap it around once and stood in front of the mirror. It looked pretty nice, but for a winter loop, I definitely need a second layer.

I wish all readers a wonderful weekend with some enjoyable crafting.

Warm regards, Ina

Hi Steffi,
I’m really curious to see what the loop looks like when worn 🤔

I’d already checked out the Ecopuno, but at that price 😲
I still have so much in my stash that I definitely won’t be able to afford such an expensive yarn.
With hand-dyed yarn, for example, I can see myself spending a little more,
but you don’t have to have everything 😉 

Steffi, I can only imagine it being worn. It must be a very high-quality yarn to command such a steep price. That would give me pause, too.

I’ve also knitted something from swap yarn. This shoulder warmer with a collar is made from a skein of Drops Flora from the last package.



And this shoulder warmer with a collar is knitted from Drops Alpaca from another swap package.

That’s lovely too, dear Monika. Even small amounts of yarn are enough for small projects—and with a little luck, you can find them in the swap package :-))

Best regards, Ina

Wow.... The Flora yarn looks really chic. I would never have thought to knit a shoulder warmer out of it. Great 👍
I’ll keep that idea in mind—I still have a few half-used skeins lying around. 
The Ecopuno is a blend of 72% cotton, 17% merino, and 11% baby alpaca.... 50g/215 m. Recommended needle size is 4–4.5, though I knitted with a 3.5 and found it quite loose—in terms of the stitch pattern, that is—but it’s great to wear.... 

Dear Ina and Steffi, thank you for your feedback. Yes, one ball like that is definitely enough. At first I wanted to use the thicker purple yarn, but since it was scratchy against my neck, I decided to go with the alpaca instead. Then the beautiful color of the Flora yarn was just right for knitting a second shoulder warmer. It feels very comfortable against the neck. Maybe I’ll knit the white ball of Flora that way, too. It’s fantastic to wear.

I’ve just finished knitting two more skeins of swap yarn. Linja will get this outfit for her teddy bear for Christmas.

This turned out great, Monika. The colors go together really well. 

Thanks for your feedback, Ruth! :) Since Linja loves blue, I thought this combination was really great.
For Juna’s teddy bear, I’ll use slightly lighter colors.

Monika, that combination is totally cute. 

Thank you, Leoniera! :)


Yesterday, my hat came off the needles 😊
Just in time for the snow. 
The patterned section is folded double so it keeps your ears warm. The Fair Isle pattern makes that part thicker anyway, and folded double it’s simply gorgeous.... 
I knitted it using 6-ply sock yarn... 
I still have quite a bit of the dark yarn left, so I can knit a second one, either in “reversed” colors or one from my stash 🤔 We’ll see... 

Oh Steffi, I really, really like that elegant hat! The Fair Isle patterned brim adds a lovely touch without being too busy. Very chic—I’d wear it myself. And if the part over the ears is doubled up, so much the better. I’m sure everyone would love that right now. Thanks so much for sharing.

Best regards, Ina

Steffi, your beanie looks absolutely great—I’d wear one like that, too. If there is a pattern for it, I’d be very interested to know where I can find it. It kind of looks like a hat, but in a shape I’ve never seen before and that I really like. I agree with Ina on that.

Hi Steffi, your hat looks great 👍
Best regards, Marita 

I’ve now turned the Drops Karisma from various swap packages into these pretty slippers (for guests).

They look great 😁👍

They turned out great. I’m sure they’re nice and warm, too. 

Thanks, you two! :))
Yes, they’re really nice and warm—they feel great. Instead of thick socks, they’re also easy to pack. But our guest—a friend—will probably take them with her. They’re definitely her size.

Next, I’m going to knit a soul warmer using yarn from a swap package. Once it’s finished, I’ll show it to you here, too. It’s also a gift for a friend who’s always there for us and to whom I’d like to give something in return.

Best regards,
Monika

Now I’ve knitted with swap yarn again, this time into a fluffy soul warmer that I’ve already given away. I love the pattern (it’s a pattern from here). The soul warmer was a big hit with the recipient.

I’d had the yarn for several months—I think even a year—but I only just got around to knitting it.

By the way, the 500 g of yarn was just enough.

Wow, Monika.
I usually prefer lighter-colored yarns, but your soul warmer looks so great knitted in these colors—I’d want to put it on right away, too.
Great pattern.

Yes, Andrea, I love lighter-colored yarns, too. The ones in the swap package really caught my eye because they’re exactly my friend’s colors, and I wanted to give her a soul warmer. She lives alone and really needs one. :) I knitted it following the pattern from here. I really liked the pattern.

Thanks for your feedback!

Best wishes, Monika

Andrea is right—it makes you want to slip right into your soul warmer, dear Monika. Your friend is lucky to have such a wonderful friend who even knits her something so lovely, tailored just for her. The color gradient really stands out even more thanks to the zigzag pattern. Very, very beautiful.

Warm regards, Ina

Dear Ina, thank you too for your feedback—and also for all the swap packages you’ve organized. Because without you, I wouldn’t have gotten my hands on this beautiful yarn. I’m completely in love with this soul warmer and will definitely knit one for myself too.

Warm regards from Monika

Hey everyone.....
Do you still remember those skeins of Flame cotton yarn? The white ones?
They went for a “ride on the carousel” in the washing machine today.... yes, you heard right, and now they look like this....


I can’t wait until they’re finally dry so I can wind them up.... The weather here is perfect 😊 blue sky, sunshine, and a bit of wind—typical northern Germany... 

Exciting

The joy when the yarn arrives

The joy when it takes on color

Then the knitting

And in the end, the joy when you wear your little treasure

Don’t we have a wonderful hobby

We have the best hobby in the world 😊 
Actually, I just wanted to dye two T-shirts for my sister. But somehow that was way too much dye and way too little laundry for a whole hour in the washing machine... and then I remembered the yarn, so I “prepped” it (added a few more threads to tie it up so nothing would get tangled, into the laundry bag and in with the shirts. By the way, the yarn is darker than the shirts.... 
I was a little annoyed about them.... It said 100% cotton on them.... The seams don’t count, though; anyway, they stayed white 🥴

Yes, Petra, we really do have a wonderful hobby. :)

Steffi, yes, I remember that yarn well. Now I like it in this color, too. It practically glows at you and begs to be knitted. It’ll definitely look great once it’s knitted up.
Maybe the white spots will create a special effect?