SSRP

Beta Box Back?!?

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Hi, all! This is like a blast from the past... It seems that after a very long hiatus, the Beta box for the SSRP has resurfaced. Stella has sent the box to Allana in New York... Allana has the box and will hang on to it until we finalize the rest of the route.

I wanted to check with you all to see who wants to remain on the list of recipients for the Beta box. Please email (monkeyknitsATgmailDOTcom) and let me know whether you're in or you're out (I feel like Heidi Klum on Project Runway!). I know it's been a loooong time, so no hard feelings if you want to bow out. I'll just need to know who is in and who is out so we can try to keep the box moving. I'm also going to see if the participants from the other two boxes (both of which have disappeared) want to try it again with the Beta box.

I sent out an email, and received a couple of returned mail notices: Jenn B in CT, and Kimberly M in NH. If either of you see this, please contact me.

Also, please let me know if you have any suggestions on how we can end this gracefully. I know that there are people who were upset that they donated to the original boxes (including myself) and who feel like they got shafted. Any suggestions on what we can do to remedy this? The pain has probably (hopefully) faded somewhat, but their generosity shouldn't go unnoticed.

Thanks for your patience with this whole thing. I guess things don't always go as planned, huh? I look forward to hearing from you soon, and getting this show back on the road. Thanks, and take care...

Alpha Box in SoDak!

Tah-Dah! The Alpha Box is at my house! The box is humongo. All in all, it seems like a pretty good assortment of yarn. I will be going through and weeding out a few undesirables. I have to find a new box, and then I plan to mail it out on Saturday. It will go to Sarra W in Texas. Yeehaw!

Click here to see what's inside!

Here's the deal with that damn Beta Box... Ugh. It seems unlikely to resurface, and that sucks. I think the best thing to do is to take the rest of the people on the Beta list, and split them equally between the Gamma Box and the Alpha Box. I will send out a mass update with the two new lists. I hope that sounds like an okay solution. Please let me know if anyone thinks this is unfair for any reason. Thanks to everyone who has played fair so far. You guys rock!

Alpha Box Update

I just received the Alpha Box from Caryn in Minnesota. I'll have photos up in the next few days. I hope to be able to sort through it, remove the undesirables and send it on its way by the end of the week. I think it's going to Texas next, but I'll need to double check my list when I get home tonight.

No word yet on the other two boxes. One of our Beta members has offered to try to track down the missing link. The box seems to have disappeared in Illinois. Sadness. But we haven't given up, yet. I'll keep you posted!

Alpha Alert!

Renee in Minnesota has *finally* received the Alpha Box! It's a miracle! A yarn miracle! Go to her blog to check out what goodies she found... She will be trying to meet up with the other two Minnesota girls, and then it will be sent on to me for the mid-point check-up.

The Beta-Box is still MIA, with Gail being the last known recipient. She sent it on to Kristin in IL, who has not responded to any of my email attempts to contact her. I've even tried to find her phone number, but I don't think she's listed. Also, the address she gave me is not found on Yahoo! Maps, or Map Quest. I'm not giving up hope on her, but it doesn't look good...

Renada in Minnesota had the Gamma box, and was going to mail it out to Audrey in Michigan. That was the last I heard three weeks ago. I've emailed her for an update, and I'll let you know what I find out.

If anyone has any advice on what to do about the Beta box, please let me know. Kristin, if you're out there, and you have the box, PLEASE contact me. I know life gets crazy, but it only takes a few minutes to compose and send an email.

Updates, Please!

Hi, all! Hope everyone is doing well. I know we're all busy with life and work and family (and holiday knitting!). I just wanted to check in to see where the boxes are. Here's the last info I have for each one:

• Alpha: Rebecca Conner last had the Alpha box and was going to send it to Renee Ladd in MN
• Beta: Gail Lucas sent the box to Kristin Behrens in IL - no word on whether it arrived
• Gamma: Renada Goldberg had the box and was sending it to Audrey Chamberlain in MI

PLEASE contact me with updated information so that I can let people know where the boxes are. As you can see, not much change from the last post... Where are those boxes, ladies?

I can't do this without you guys, so PLEASE let me know if you have the boxes, or if you know where the boxes are in transit. This will make me, and all of the fellow SSRP-ers happy campers. Also, let me know if you have any questions.

Happy Holidays!

Quick Update

ALPHA BOX: Rebecca C in Georgia has the box and will be mailing it to Renee L in Minnesota next week.

BETA BOX: Last I heard, Gail L in Illinois was sending it to Kristin B in Illinois. I am waiting to hear from them both for an update.

GAMMA BOX: Jennifer D in Texas currently has the box and she will be mailing it either to Sally A in Texas or to me (in South Dakota). I'll let you know when that's all straightened out.

Thank you to those of you who sent me photocopies of the In/Out sheets. It was helpful, but it's still kind of hard to tell exactly where we broke down. When the boxes come to me, I hope to be able to match the yarns with the participants and get a better idea of what went wrong.

Again, please feel free to contact me with questions. I may not get back to you immediately, but I will try my best to respond as soon as possible. Thanks for being so patient. And thanks to all those who have sent warm wishes and thank you's. You guys rock!

Lots of people have asked if I will be organizing more rounds... The answer for now is, "nope." I haven't completely decided that I'll never do it, but for now, I just don't have as much time to devote to it as I would like to. If anyone out there would like to organize more rounds, I say, "more power to ya!" And I'd be happy to help out (a little). I just don't have as much free time as I did when I started the first three boxes.

SOS!

Well, I have some sad news...

The Gamma Box is MIA. The last known whereabouts were with Melise G. in Altadena, CA. She sent the box to Kiki in Cedar Park, TX. We know the box was delivered because Melise had a UPS tracking number. The box was delivered on September 17th.

But we haven't heard from Kiki since. The last email I received from her was on June 14th. And the emails I've sent to her have come back, undeliverable.

Kiki, if you're out there, please contact me. I hope everything's OK. I hope the SSRP box just somehow slipped your mind and that you were just about to email us to let us know what's going on. Please email me, just to let me know what's going on on your end.

Thanks. And to the folks on the Gamma list who haven't received the box yet, stay tuned for more updates as they are available. Hopefully, we'll hear from Kiki soon and the box will be on the move again shortly.

Just checking in...

I fixed the "mailto" link in the sidebar. Please let me know if you continue to have problems. And thank you to the folks who pointed it out to me.

I've received a few more emails about the SSRP and I'm finding out that some of the past recipients have been disappointed. This is the first I'm hearing about it, and that bums me out. Partly because I want everyone to have a great SSRP experience, and partly because if I had known about these problems earlier I might've been able to fix them earlier.

So, from here on out, if you get the box and it's full of what you consider non snob-worthy yarn, PLEASE EMAIL ME RIGHT AWAY. I will ask you to make a copy of the in/out box and send it to me. I will look at the list and sniff out the offenders. I may ask you for your input, as well. For example, which yarns do you consider non snob-worthy?

If anyone has any suggestions on getting these boxes back on the right track, please let me know.

And a final word to all the SSRP participants:

Please remember to play fair. It may be tempting to take out that full bag of lovely Rowan and put in a hodge-podge of pooh, but just think of how fun it is to open up that box and find it full of snobbish goodness. Now compare that feeling to the disappointment of opening up the box and finding it full of boring pooh you could find at Michael's... Which feeling do you want to be responsible for creating?

How would you feel if the box was sent to your sister or your mother or your best friend? Think before you make your trade.

Thanks! I'll get off my soapbox for a while, now. :)

ARGH!

Now I know how Amy felt! You try to organize something nice and friendly... :)

I understand that the SSRP won't please all of the people all of the time. I am perfectly fine with that. What bothers me is when people start to bad-mouth it when they've never even contacted me to let me know they're not happy! C'mon, people! I can't fix a problem I'm not aware of.

Granted, the last time this page was updated was August 16th. I apologize for that. However, group emails have been sent to keep participants up-to-speed on where the box is as it arrives and as it leaves. There are three boxes and over 90 participants. I think I've done a pretty OK job of keeping everyone straight. I have not been MIA when it comes to keeping participants in the loop about the whereabouts of the boxes. If you're not getting the emails, LET ME KNOW. If you want to know where the box is, ASK ME. If you're not happy with what's in the box, TELL ME.

If there are non-snob worthy things in the box, here's what to do: make a photocopy of the in/out sheet and mail it to me, or scan it and email it to me. I will figure out where the breakdown was and do my best to remedy the situation. But like I said: I can't fix what I don't know is broken!

And if you are still confused about what constitutes a snob-worthy yarn, please refer to the instruction sheet I emailed to you (or the one that's in the box). Please, please, please don't hesitate to email me for guidance if you're at all unsure about the "worthiness" of the yarn.

That said, I'm happy to announce that most SSRP participants have sent me emails of thanks and appreciation. To those people I say, Mwah! I smooch you! None of the boxes have made it back to me, yet, but in my opinion* the contents look pretty great.

Click here to see the most up-to-date information I have about where the boxes are and who is participating. The shaded people are the ones who have received a box so far. If you see an error, please let me know.

Of course I want the SSRP to be a success. And I want everyone to find a perfect treasure in that box. But I can't do it alone.

*based on what I've seen from photos on people's blogs and from the feedback I've gotten.

Bad, Bad Leader

No, I'm not talking about George W. :)

I'm talking about myself. I've been so busy with "life stuff," that I've been completely awful about updating the SSRP page, my blog and email responses.

But, here's my public statement that this will improve! The next few weeks are still crazy for me... Our wedding reception is on August 28th and we'll be out of town for a week and a half. But when I come back, I will be updating this page and sending out updates on the whereabouts of each box.

Thanks for your understanding! Thanks for not impeaching me or saying nasty things about me (well, I'm just guess that nobody is saying nasty things, so if you are, please give me a break, OK?).

From everything I've heard so far, it seems like all recipients have been pleased with the box contents to this point. Please let me know if you've heard otherwise.

Thanks again! You guys rock!

p.s. I hope I didn't offend anyone with the George W. crack, but I couldn't resist! :)