Knitter's Virtual Vacation Swap

Been On Vacation Already?

2007-10-01T00:00:00.000-03:00

I see some of you have been on vacation already!! Tell us about it!!! Post a comment here and and direct us back to your blogs with fabulous descriptions and/or photos of what your vacations were like!! If you don't have a blog, email us at: virtualvacationswap @ yahoo dot com and we will gladly posted here for you.

In your comments, please tell us who was your personal tour guide and nominate them for a wonderful spa vacation in a box of their own!! (A lot of these items were donated from various places)

We hope you all have/will enjoy your vacations!!!

We definitely want to see where you have been!!

Last Call For Virtual Vacations!!!

2007-09-15T00:00:00.000-03:00

The Tour Guides want to make sure that ALL tourists receive a virtual vacation. If you have NOT received a vacation yet and have not already let Anne, Jessi, or Sharon know or emailed virtualvacationswap @ yahoo dot com please do so ASAP or forever hold your peace.

Also, we might, we are not 100% sure yet, need an extra Angel tour guide or two. We did have a few reserve tour guides but may need a few more. If you think you can represent your city/state again in a VERY short time frame on very short notice for someone who's original tour guide went MIA, please email us at: virtualvacationswap @ yahoo dot com with ANGEL TOUR GUIDE in the subject line. Whether or not we will need you, we thank you enormously, in advance, just for volunteering!!!

Vacations Should Have Been Shipped

2007-08-31T13:46:00.001-03:00

By Now all Vacations Should have Been Shipped. The Tour Guides do know of a few tourists who have had to make alternative arrangements and you do know who you are.

However, if you DO NOT receive a vacation by Friday September 7Th without having had prior notice or arrangements made PLEASE email either your tour guide (hostess) directly or virtualvacationswap @ yahoo dot com

In the meantime, please continue, to nominate your person guides for spa packages (the reason it says October is so that remains at the top of the blog, someone asked)

WINNER! WINNERS! WINNERS!!

2007-08-18T10:40:00.000-03:00

We, FINALLY, have scavenger hunt winners. Sorry it took so long but between family being in town and needing to verify every entry and then randomly drawing the winning 4, it took a very long draw out process. I hear the prizes are worth it though ;-)

Two will be coming from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and two will be coming from the great state of Alabama, just so the winners know.

Drum roll please.....

First Place goes to Carrie

Second Place goes to Kathleen

Third Place goes to Angela T.

Fourth Place goes to Susan

These ladies put a LOT of hard work into their scavenger hunt answers, hopefully "met" a lot of new people along the way and had some fun while playing along.

Next stop: Your individual vacations!! You have less than a month to get those boxes to your tourists!!!

Scavenger Hunt is Complete!!

2007-08-11T10:14:00.000-03:00

You all did an AMAZING job with the scavenger hunt!! I know it was a difficult one but it was fun, wasn't it?

The only question that some of you gave some VERY good guesses but didn't get right was bonus question number one "Find the Tourist that got Sharon back into knitting" The answer was: Frances That was a tough one though because I mentioned it on my blog and in a comment on Frances' blog once. Besides being an amazing knitter, Frances is also a wonderful soapmaker.

The other tour guides and I need to confer upon the 4 winners of the scavenger hunt and along with the trusty, handy, dandy random number generator will select the 4 winners of the scavenger hunt!!

Job well done!!

Scavenger Hunt Reminders

2007-08-04T14:18:00.000-03:00

I forgot one thing: You have until Friday August 10Th to get your entries in.

I am reminding you of one thing: Do not forget to LEAVE COMMENTS on the blogs you look at especially the last question. VERY important piece. We will be checking these things.

Thank you. You may go back to your hunting

ETA: Since a few have asked, We will random number draw the winners from the correct answered entries IF there are numerous correct entries. You do not need to be the first, second, third, etc... The time stamp with ONLY come into play IF there are only Four correct entries. So far, as of Saturday night at 9 PM EDT, there are none.

And the Hunt is On!!!

2007-08-03T21:04:00.000-03:00

When I was younger and worked at sleep away camps scavenger hunts were my favorite thing to create for my campers and other staff members. I used to send them through the entire camp. So this weekend (and maybe a little longer, LOL), I am going to send you all on a trip through all the blogs and questionnaires of all the travelers of this swap. I hope you all enjoy!!

The Rules

You must include the name of the tourist AND their Blog or say they are blogless and posted on the travel blog

If you are traveling through their blog you might stop by and say “hi” in some way by leaving a comment. It would be a nice thing to do

You MUST email your responses to virtualvacationswap @ yahoo dot com. Each entry will be time stamped by yahoo as there are First, Second and Third place prizes. You heard correct. From the first entries (if there are multiple entries, the winners will be random number drawn). There are TWO yarn prizes and One pampering prize. If we have numerous correct answers we might be persuaded to add a fourth prize :-)

You CAN repeat names/blogs in answers and you might find YOU are an answer to a question. However, everyone is NOT an answer to a question or are they ;-)

I think that about covers it but if you have any questions, let me know either at virtualvacationswap @ yahoo dot com OR sharon @ soaps-n-stuff dot com

Ready ....... set ....... go....... !!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Find 25 Tourist who knit socks

Find 2 who don’t

Find 1 tourist whose name rhymes with her state

Find 1 tourist from Southeast Asia

Find 1 tourist who moved during this swap

Find 1 American living in the United Kingdom

Find at least 25 tourists who DID NOT want to travel to Hawaii

Find 2 tourist who do not knit with wool

Find 10 tourist who knit lace

Find 3 tourists who are knitting from their stash this summer (I don’t know why either but, they are)

Find 10 tourists who don’t like eyelash or fun fur type yarn

Find 5 tourist whose favorite color is purple

Find 3 tourists who DO NOT like the color yellow

Find 3 tourist who use the word MONKEY in their blog some where

Find 5 tourists knitting Harry Potter

Find 10 Tourists who Felt

Find at least one tourist who does wordless Wednesday

Find 3 Tourists who dye their own yarn

Find 5 Tourist who are “Knitting Daily”

Find 3 Tourist from the west side of Canada

Find 10 Tourists with non-blogspot blogs

Find 15 Tourists who have cats

Find 5 Tourists have dogs

Find two Tourists from our 49th state

Find our one tourist who had to dropout, post her a comment sending her lots of love and well wishes. I will be checking!!!

Bonus question #1: Find the Tourist that got Sharon back into knitting

Bonus question#2: Name the states and countries Anne did not call in the Blackout Bingo game

Let the Hunt begin!!

Could Be Friday Could Be Saturday......

2007-08-01T09:02:00.000-03:00

Watch This Spot!

2007-07-27T16:41:00.001-03:00

I am so sorry, I forgot to mention that we are in the Virgin Islands. Borrowed the boat from a friend. Ideal for knitting and crocheting, don't you think?

Watch this spot for next Friday/Saturday. I obtained the final component to the prizes this morning. Did I say PRIZES?! Why, yes I did! There will be a First place, second place and third place prize for this little game/contest. All I can say is.....

Vacation Administration and Reminders

2007-07-25T14:35:00.000-03:00

Bingo Prizes went out in yesterday's mail. Congratulations, again, to our winners!!

I hope that everyone is enjoying their virtual vacations and emailing/contacting both their upstream and their downstream tourists. Just a reminder that these are different people. Your packages are due to them on or around September 3rd but, if you are ready to ship your vacation in a box now, you are more than welcome to do so. We just wanted to make sure you had enough time to prepare your boxes.

We hope that once your boxes are shipped you will continue the new relationships you have formed.

Our next big game will be posted on August 3rd/4Th and I will give you one clue.....

See you then!

WE HAVE TWO WINNERS!!!

2007-07-18T13:10:00.000-03:00

We have had our expert Bingo officials check and this time it has been verified that both Leah and Jane C. have Bingo!! Congratulations Ladies!!!!

The Tour Guides conferred and felt that BOTH ladies deserved to win a prize so we randomly drew names to see who would win which prize.

Leah has won the wonderful prize donation we received from Loop (see the image in the sidebar!)

Jane C. has won four lovely skeins of Knit Picks Crayon and two bars of Lime Margarita Soap from Sharon's Soaps n' Stuff.

We will be playing a new and different game the 1st weekend of August so you will all have another opportunity to win a prize! So get ready for it....

Did I hear Someone Say B I N G O?

2007-07-17T09:11:00.000-03:00

If anyone thinks they have BINGO please email me at virtualvacationswap @ yahoo dot com

We will be verifying all possible winners today and there is the possibility of there being more than one prize so just because one person has already called BINGO don't be shy, if you have BINGO, call it out too!

Have your BINGO card and blogs/locations listed in your email message

GOOD LUCK!!

ETA: Two Tourists have already called Bingo but don't let that deter you if you have it also! You have until 5 AM EDT to stake your claim.

Round 2 Blackout Bingo: Day 16 Destinations

2007-07-17T05:47:00.000-03:00

Dear Travelers:
The suspense is killing me! We're so close to having a winner, and I can't wait to see who the lucky traveler is! Did you know Mississippi was the 20th state to enter the Union? And its name, roughly translated from Native American folklore means "Father of Waters." The translation comes from the Chippewa words "mici zibi" meaning "great river" or "gathering in of all the waters" and the Algonquin word "Messipi".

When I was little, we used to say that it was spelled.. "M - I - Crooked Letter Crooked Letter - I - Crooked Letter Crooked Letter - I - Humpback Humpback - I". I have no idea where THAT comes from!

Wish you were here! Maybe some of you will be!

Your Hostess

I could just die wondering if someone's going to win today!!!

Destination 1: Mississippi
Destination 2: Wisconsin
Destination 3: Oregon
Destination 4: Nova Scotia

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Round 2 Blackout Bingo: Day 15 Destinations

2007-07-16T07:29:00.000-03:00

Dear Travelers:
Having a great time in the beautiful Swiss Alps! There's amazing hiking, waterfall views, and of course, chocolate! Wish you were here!!
Your Tour Guide
Anne

Destination 1: Switzerland
Destination 2: Illinois
Destination 3: Minnesota
Destination 4: British Columbia

[Yes, dears, you do need to send in your blog list. That said if there are a few you just cannot find, say so when you send in your winning card, and Sharon, Jess or I will check it out, and if there IS a blog, you'll need to go find it!

Edited: I'm going to go through the list this morning of destinations and try to let you know which destinations you don't need to worry about - I didn't realize some links even appear to be broken. I apologize for the time some of you have spent - next round of the VVS, we'll be sure to have folks include their location directly in their questionnaires; that should help. If there are particular destinations you're having trouble with leave them in the comments and I'll check those first!

Competition's getting fierce! Even my own mother emails me daily to tell me how many she has to go!]

[Believed to be Blogless: Louisiana]
[Alberta definitely has a blog - we went over this last round, go look at the old posts!]
[Indiana has a blog.. her name starts with "S", and if you click to view her profile from her blog, you will see where she's from!]
[Kansas has 2 bloggers, but one blog seems to be down or mislinked. The other is a Yahoo! 360 blog if that helps.. !]

Round 2 Blackout Bingo: Day 14 Destinations

2007-07-15T09:17:00.000-03:00

Hey guys - a little clarification, based on comments:

This game is totally separate from last game, destinations and card wise.
Some folks chose to submit new destination cards, and others re-submitted the same card as the first round, but either way, everyone started fresh.
All bingo cards have 25 spaces - 5 under each letter. The middle "N" slot is FREE on all cards.
The confusion yesterday was because dear Angela had only 4 destinations chosen under each letter, which is not valid, and therefore, not blackout.

Much luck to everyone, we're getting down to the wire now.

Destination 1: Australia
Destination 2: Ohio
Destination 3: Arkansas
Destination 4: North Carolina

NO WINNER

2007-07-14T21:58:00.000-03:00

After conferring with experts in the field of Bingo, I had to delete my previous post and need to apologize. Many of you were correct, a full board has 25 spaces, not 20, as the previous board had and therefore for blackout it was an invalid board.

Let the game commence.....

Round 2 Blackout Bingo: Day 13 Destinations

2007-07-14T11:35:00.000-03:00

First off, I'm having a blast with this you guys - I'm so glad you all seem to be having fun. It's odd, because there really is no method to the madness of how I'm calling things. I go through the list of what's called versus not called each morning, and just pick out destinations that catch my eye - it's sort of funny the thought each state or country brings to mind - many of them from childhood.

I can't remember the name of it for the life of me, but there was a cartoon show or movie when I was little, and it had this mouse in it. And the mouse couldn't say "Connecticut" right - he said it "Connect i cut, literally pronouncing out each of the syllables. It's only something that comes to my mind because it's how I learned to spell the name of the state! (Much as I learned to spell the word "Friend" from the book "Dear Mr. Henshaw" by Beverly Cleary - but I digress!)

I've heard 6 and 7 as the low ones thus far!! Let's see how these help you out, or help some of you others with 8 or 10 to go catch up!

Destination 1: Connecticut
Destination 2: Kansas
Destination 3: Texas
Destination 4: Alberta

Please excuse the BINGO Interruption for some Administration Information

2007-07-13T15:33:00.000-03:00

Just a reminder. Today is the last day for that first contact with your Tourist/pal. If you have not heard from your pal by today, please contact the tour guides at:

virtualvacationswap @ yahoo dot com.

Please keep in mind that contact can mean numerous things:

1. Your Pal can leave anonymous comments on your blog. That IS a form of contact. you might not be about to email them back but you could make a blog post just to them titled something like, "to my KVVS Pal..."

2. Your pal can send to you an e-card from Yahoo, Hallmark, Lion Brand postcards, etc. There may or may not be a way for you to email back.

3. An email message to your email account. Please check your spam filters and make sure they are not set to high. We have been having issues with messages getting caught in the spam filters. Also, when emailing please try to include in the subject line something so that your pal know it is from the swap.

If any other issues arise, if you have any questions or need help, please do not hesitate to ask.

We have several Tourists very close to BINGO but don't fret. We have something planned very soon afterwards

Round 2 Blackout Bingo: Day 12 Destinations

2007-07-13T09:49:00.000-03:00

The Race is ON!

So many of you are getting so close! So we'll have a few extra destinations for the next few days to see if we can't make someone a winner!!

Today's destinations... and fasten your seatbelts!!!

Destination 1: Saskatchewan
Destination 2: New Jersey
Destination 3: Montana
Destination 4: Louisiana

Round 2 Blackout Bingo: Day 11 Destinations

2007-07-12T08:57:00.000-03:00

The high here today is in the 90's, though from what I've seen and heard online, I should be calling myself thankful that it's not going to be even hotter in Atlanta! The thing I can't take is the humidity though - I hate humidity! Thus missing my old hometown even more - Colorado has such a very nice and dry climate! The above shot is of downtown Colorado Springs, facing into Pike's Peak - the view from the top of that mountain was Katherine Lee Bates' inspiration for the song "America the Beautiful". It's really that gorgeous.

Destination 1: Colorado
Destination 2: South Carolina

So - anyone even have a double bingo (2 straight bingos) yet? Is 8 to go truly our closest, or is there someone somewhere who's just not sharing for fear of jinxing things? C'mon ya'll, I'm dying to know here!

Round 2 Blackout Bingo: Day 10 Destinations

2007-07-11T09:23:00.000-03:00

So who can already guess from the photo above where we're going to travel today? I've even been to that one, I think - though there are so many castles in this country it'd be hard to recall for sure, being as I was rather young when I was there!

Some folks are inching closer... will you get visa stamps for today's destination stops?

Destination 1: Germany, as seen above!
Destination 2: Kentucky
Destination 3: West Virginia

And as requested, here's a list of places we have been:

New York, Tennessee, England, Nevada, Ireland, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Malaysia, Maine, Indiana, France, Finland, Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Washington (State), Ontario, California, Rhode Island, Alabama, Georgia, Vermont, Kentucky, West Verginia, and Germany!

Round 2 Blackout Bingo: Day 9 Destinations

2007-07-10T08:42:00.000-03:00

Since we've already been to see Sharon in Pennsylvania, I thought it only appropriate that we head out to visit Jessi in Alabama! And much as my house isn't great for company at the moment, if you're going to be sent to see 2 hostesses, you're coming to see us all!

Destination 1: Alabama
Destination 2: Georgia
Destination 3: Vermont

Contact

2007-07-09T12:09:00.001-03:00

Hey guys, pardon the non-bingo post (oh my can you believe?? They are below though - no fear).

I just wanted to post to say how happy I am to be helping host this. I love swaps. Wanna know why? The very first 2 swaps I joined, I met two of the greatest ladies. I was spoiling one, and was spoiled by the other, and now they're two of my very best friends. I can't imagine not 'talking' to them on a regular basis, or not having had them impact my life. They're two of the greatest ladies you can imagine.

The funny thing is, if Devon had chosen not to reply to me when I sent her e-cards or emails or commented on her blog; or if I'd ignored Amy when she sent emails to me or visited my blog - I'd never have gotten that chance. As it is, I did, and they did, and we're now ALL friends.

On the other hand, a few of the folks I've spoiled or been spoiled by, I'm not very close to. We chatted some, but nothing big. I still made sure to try and find nice things for them, and they did the same for me. I've been lucky enough to have only 1 or 2 folks who ever chose to ignore me completely - and ya wanna know what? That makes it awfully hard to send things they'll like.

I don't know why each of you is here and traveling with us. Hopefully, you loved the idea as much as I did when Sharon and Jessi told me about it, and you're looking forward to spoiling your pal. Please, keep in mind though that there's someone out there who is trying to spoil you, too. They want to hear back from you. They want to know what you like and what you don't, and they want to get to know you.

It's really simple to take the time to email back your spoiler, or to drop a note or a blog message to your spoilee. Maybe you'll meet a Devon or an Amy and maybe you won't - but at least you won't have ruined the fun of the swap for someone else who's dying to hear back from you.

[Edit: For those unfamiliar with the terms, Upstream Pal or Spoiler are both the person who sends to you. Downstream Pal or Spoilee are the person you're sending to.]

Round 2 Blackout Bingo: Day 8 Destinations

2007-07-09T11:59:00.000-03:00

On this day...

2000 Pete Sampras won his seventh Wimbledon singles title, tying the record for men at the All England Club.

1992 Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton tapped Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee to be his running mate.

1776 The Declaration of Independence was read aloud to Gen. George Washington's troops in New York.

And so, today's destinations..

Destination 1: New York
Destination 2: Tennessee
Destination 3: England

[Edit: Yup, you should have a free space on the middle of your "N" row, just like standard numbered cards would. And Great Britain and UK work for England - I have no idea if they're technically correct, but for our purposes they're the same thing. Wales or what not would be listed separately if there were swappers from there]

Round 2 Blackout Bingo: Day 7 Destinations

2007-07-08T10:00:00.000-03:00

I totally missed the boat on this yesterday, but July 7th has significance for me, so my mind was elsewhere! Yesterday was 7-7-07, much said to be a lucky and phenomenal day in time! How about for you? Was it lucky? Are your destinations filling up?

I thought it'd also be appropriate because with today's destinations, we're seven destinations away from the possibility of a Blackout Bingo! If anyone was lucky enough to have every single destination! Haven't heard from anyone that close yet though, I don't think!

And of course I'm sure you can guess one of today's destinations from that!

Destination 1: Nevada
Destination 2: Ireland