Inexcuseable Knitter Behaviour.

Mine, that is. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.

I must fess up. It's all my fault. I really blew it - big time. I totally shafted someone, a lovely and generous knitter, and I must remedy this situation ASAP.

Remember these from last fall? These are the toe-up modified Pomatomus socks I made for my fall 2007 Hogwarts Sock Swap partner, Ellie.

I was extremely late in getting this package out in the mail. All the swaps were supposed to be done by Hallowe'en. For numerous reasons, some good and some not, my package to Ellie containing the socks I made for her, some yarns and an assortment of knitterly trinkets, was eventually sent a couple of days after Xmas (in the hope of avoiding the holiday crush). With the insanity of the holiday season and potential delays for cross-border posting, it was possible for it to take a few weeks to arrive.

She never received it.

(Pause for deep breathing. Breathe in the white light. Breathe out the &^%$#@!…)

DAMN, I really loved the socks I made for her! I used 2 skeins of my favourite colourway of Koigu and carefully customized the Pomatomus pattern for her size and specifications. They were gorgeous, even if I do (not-so-humbly) say so myself. They were ogled on Ravelry. They were jealously coveted by acquaintances. I just hate that they were lost somewhere in postal purgatory limbo.

We figured the socks and goodies were MIA (though hopefully only temporarily - wishful thinking) and I moved on to Plan B: I was going to send her another box of goodies ASAP with a pair of socks to follow (because I had none ready to go). In the meantime, I immediately ordered something special from Cafe Press (a cute trio of knitter/dyer mugs) and had it shipped directly to her. And - in what I mistakenly thought was a sign that the swap gods were smiling on us for a change - I even came across a couple of skeins of Koigu very similar to the ones I originally used (I lost the original ball bands so I can't be sure what they were) and I started knitting a new pair of socks for her as fast as I could in the hope of sending them in early spring.

Insert screeching tires and skid marks here.

And here's where I blew it big time: I never sent the rest of the replacement package or the replacement socks. In fact I haven't been able to finish those socks - they're just not working for some reason and I can't get them right. They are seriously messing with my knit mojo. I do still have a collection of crafty and luxurious treats just waiting to be sent out to her, but I became totally demoralized by the lack of cooperation from the socks and I didn't send any of it yet.

If you've been following the saga of MezzoDiva in recent months, you know I had a crazy few months last fall and winter, with seismic emotional upheaval and minor/medium health issues, interspersed with some rather monumental professional obligations. But there's just no excuse for letting down my swap partner like this and I feel like a heel. A poorly-shaped excuse for a heel.

I am so sorry about this! Clearly the swap-deities were saying I shouldn’t join anything like this for a while (don’t worry - I haven’t since last summer). But Ellie shouldn’t be the unlucky recipient of my recent swapping karma. Especially since her gift to me was so thoughtful and fabulous! (I really have to get some pictures up for you to see - I just felt too guilty to do it).

So, enough wailing and wringing of hands. Here's my sworn commitment to make good on all this, out here for all to see:

I have (finally) finished the second sock of the lovely lime green Campanulas, (the first of which is pictured here in partial completion last fall). I just have to sew in the ends (with my newly acquired Cibis - my old ones ran away from home along with my favourite cable needles sometime over the fall/winter) and then I'll block them. They were going to be mine, but I can't in good conscience let Ellie wait any longer. So these will be mailed by next weekend, along with the rest of the loot I have for her.

BTW - Ellie's also an incredibly amazing indie dyer. Really, you have to get some of her sock yarn (And no, that's not my guilt talking. Her stuff is gorgeous! I've bought 12 skeins in some phenomenal colourways over the last year, and I also joined her Crazy4Seasons Sock Club. Go check it out!)