My Swap Creations :: Geek Book Swap

 

Hallo everyone!

So I mentioned a while ago that I was participating in a swap. Basically, a craft swap is mostly what it sounds like. People who have similar interests will get into a group and do a themed gift package exchange. For example, this swap was a book swap. Each person answered a survey about their favorite books, and what they like and why, etc., and then received an answered survey from someone else assigned by the person in charge. They then make some things and buy some things that go along with the theme as well as their assigned person's preferences, and when it is all done stick it in the mail and send it off. Note that people do not necessarily get a present from the person they make their present for. It is also like secret Santa insofar as people don't know who is making their package until after they get it and it is revealed. Finally, some terminology: a spoiler is the person who makes and gives a package, and the spoilee is the recipient of that package.

The group I did this swap for was the Geek Swap group on ravelry. The prompt was:

Packages must cost around $20 (not including handmades or shipping costs) and include at least:

• 1 skein of nice yarn
• (at least) 1 handmade item – please make sure this is either themed around the swap in general or your partner’s favourite piece of prose/poetry in general!
• The rest is up to you, but please find out what your swap partner likes (eg – are they a quantity or quality type of person etc.) Find out more about their favourite book(s) and include something of them in your package. Make sure you stalk your spoilie well and get to know their tastes!

Here is the package I made for my spoilee! She likes urban fantasy novels, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, and kawaii noir. Her favorite character from the Discworld series was Death, and so I chose that as my general theme.

I used this grab bag pattern to sew a reversible project bag. In the world of Death, everything is black and white, and so is the bag. It has stripes on the outside, and polka dots on the inside. 

I also made this little reaper amigurumi key chain, and might post a pattern for it if I can find my notes...

This cool damask metal heart box actually matches the stationary I used to write my spoilee a letter from death, IN ALL CAPS, OF COURSE . Inside of the box I put a USB flash drive full of lots and lots of ebooks. The yarn was a cotton blend in one of my spoilee's favorite colors, hot pink.

Finally, the piece de resistance was the "flesh and bone" shawl made off of the free Juliana Wrap pattern. I had never made a shawl before, so I was really proud of how this turned out! The yarn is Caron spa, which is a silk blend. It was really soft, and so easy to work with.

Yay! I think it went pretty well for my first swap ever, and my spoilee said that she liked all the stuff a lot, so I was really happy. (There may or may not have been some dorky dancing when she got it and liked it all.)

Hope everyone is doing well,

-Grace