It's KOIGU. I got some in the mail. And I'm very, very happy about it. I got other stuff too. Watch and admire!
Swaps are great fun. They're even greater when a) the swap-partner is from another country and b)the anticipation builds up because the box takes nearly two months to get here!
Julie and I did a swap. She received my box a while ago and hers arrived last Thursday (sooo slow by seamail, but it got here in the end) all the way from South Carolina and boy was I excited! Sean told me to wait until he got home so he could be here for the opening, but there was no chance that was ever going to happen.
Then I took all this stuff to SnB that night to show it off and I forgot to take knitting with me. Silly Bells.
OK, so here we go.
First up, my sentimental favourite:
Julie's own (and much loved among her readers) sock yarn called Purple Trainwreck. I've loved this one for a long time. Finally having a skein of my very own was a proud, proud moment. This will probably be a pair of Pomotamus socks in the next little while.
Next, also some of Julie's own work:
This is some laceweight Julie dyed called Water. It's just beautiful. Hard to show the true delicacy of the colours here but the aqua shade with the hints of darker bluey-green running through it is beautiful. Not sure what this is asking to be yet so it's going to sit beside me when I knit so I can touch it and dream.This one was the popular favourite at SnB. So popular that Taph was heard to ask, 'will this be the giveaway in your blogiversary contest?' Not bloody likely Taph! Hands off!
It's an absolutely delicious alpaca silk blend that will definitely be a shawl or something or other from Victorian Lace Today. Again, no rush on this one. I'm just going to dream for a while. The squishy wonder of this skein cannot be conveyed in words. You'll just have to trust me.
Julie sent me some cotton that I've already made a Mason Dixon Ballband dishcloth out of over the weekend. Good fun. I love the design of this and I can see why it's been popular.
Also included was some Cotton merino blend in lovely colours. I don't think I've seen such a thing before so I'm very keen to find something to make from it. Julie says it can be made quite effectively into socks. I'm pretty sure I'll try that because cotton/wool socks sounds like a good thing to try.
She sent me some odds and ends
That white stuff is a fun thing. It's made in Turkey from polyester and something impossible to identify. Julie says it just sits around and makes her smile. I think that's a good enough reason to pass it on. It made me smile. My niece might like something out of it. And those are sock shaped needle point protectors and clips for holding seams together. Very timely, since I'm about to finish sewing up my purple mohair cardigan.
Also, as well as some delicious tea (let's not mention the one Customs took for themselves...) Julie sent me a very, very special t-shirt.
I shall be the envy of all my Janeite friends when I wear this t-shirt, because it's true. I do heart Mr Darcy.
Swapping is great fun. I have gained some really cool stuff and I've had a lovely time over the weekend just setting it all around me now and then, dreaming of future projects.
Thanks Julie!
Bells
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