Hatching a plan

You know how reading blogs make you feel like you know a person? You've never met in real life but you know what their pets look like and what their spouse asked them to first knit for them. I have that feeling with Adriene at Adriene's Couch. I found her blog because of blogging group on Ravelry. I read a few posts and was hooked especially when she did a post about yarn cakes including a picture of her attempting to bite one.

I read for a while before I commented but when I did a friendship was struck up, well at least it was in my mind. I will admit to feeling a little weird when I started telling my husband about Adriene, my Canadian blog friend. But then I am weird so I'm ok with it, and Hubby knows me well enough to be ok with my weirdness too.

So this year when I was talking about going to my festivals, Adriene commented that it was too bad that we live so far apart, wouldn't it be nice if we could go to one together sometime? I thought to myself it would be fun to do that.  Then the plan hit me, if we could not attend a festival together, we could buy yarn for each other. I think it may be why people do yarn swaps. I've never done one but I thought what the heck and asked her. Luckily she said yes to my plan.

I would by yarn for her at one of my festivals and she offered to buy me some yarn (maybe some Canadian yarn) at her vacation yarn store. (Yes I do believe that we should all have a vacation yarn store.) So it would be a bit like attending a festival together. Yeah I know it is a stretch but hey allowances must be made.

Now the pressure is on what do I get? First I researched how yarn swaps have been done and we traded a list of questions and set up some ground rules. We discussed allergies, color preferences, fiber preferences and set a price limit. I think we may be a tad excited because the price limit was renegotiated. We questioned the exchange rate between the Canadian Dollar and the US Dollar. Turns out that the difference is minimal now, and I think it has been for a few years.

So now it is a few weeks to Rhinebeck and I am all excited to buy yarn for my Canadian blog friend. Man, I hope I get her something she will like. I am having a hard time deciding, now I want to buy all the things! But first I think I will test out the US to Canada mail system. I'm sending a card first, you know to see how the yarn's journey may go.

Anybody have any advice on how packages between countries work?