There's Magic in the Air

This Thursday I was at home, not my usual thing, but they were going to deliver our new bookcase and I needed some focusing time to write a marketing plan, so... 1+1= working at home.

What fabulous timing indeed! The bell rang, and it wasn't the bookcase, that came later, it was the postman and he handed over a big white bulky envelope. My heart jumped; it couldn't be, so soon...

Yes, it was! My Magic Ball had arrived!

I few weeks ago I signed up for the second Magic Ball Swap that my knitting friends Storm Op Zolder and Knitting Ajour host. It's like Christmas, your birthday and Sinterklaas (Dutch holiday) all into one. You fill in a form that asks you about you, your knitting habits and some other favorite stuff. You upload the form and wait. The host will then do a big mix-em-up-dance-of-sorts and then sends you a the name of the person that's linked to you. You then make a Magic Ball for this person. Some other person will do the same for you. The good things are so simple...

The Magic Ball itself is a bomb of pleasure, you wrap chosen yarn around all sorts of (knitting related) small gifts, add a pattern and send the ball on it's way.

The receiver then knits the pattern (or another one) and while knitting away discovers the presents one by one.

How good can life get? I ask you! There's a little baby in my belly, our new bookcase -which is the start of the whole switcheroo we need to do to make space for the Wee One- has arrived ánd I have a Magic Ball! *happy dance*

a first peek inside...
goody, goody, it's Blue Faced Leicester Sock yarn from The Natural Dye Studio in a sweet and lovely purple/lavender/pink colorway! Also a very pretty dragonfly stitch marker attached to the yarn and two patterns to choose from. *happy dance continues*
Here we go!
I decided on the pattern for cabled socks using the Magic Loop Method. With my trusted Knittinghelp.com to guide me through this new endeavour.

liquorice, jum!

I couldn't resist the puppy dog eyes Boyfriend Dear gave me, so I gave him one. Ok... I took one too. Ok... maybe two...

And ehm... well, I switched to dpns, the Magic Loop thing, wasn't really my thing...

Another present!! Small rubber bands, great, they're perfect for stitch marking!

Aaah, so cute! A small sock.

The loot so far. The sock is actually a pin. It's just flew onto my jacket.

They're good friends now. And the candy... well, let's say it's in a better place...

What's that a-peepin'?
MORE CANDY!! My favorite and I didn't even mention them on the list. Lucky me!

Explanation of the wound ball:

Well, I started knitting the cabled socks and I knitted them as ankle socks in a girl size, just to be sure I had enough yarn to finish the project. But as soon as I found out there were actually two skeins instead of one, I just took a deep breath and frogged the small sock. If there's enough yarn, I'd love to knit some socks for myself. It wás a gift for me right?

To be able to start over I had to wind the first skein into a ball. It may look like cheating, but technically it really isn't. Of course I am totally cheating now by starting on the second skein just to be able to find the other presents sooner... Ha!

SECRET PALL, THANK YOU! I'm loving every single part of all the magic!