Good People
Some days I just can't wait to come home and find out what might be waiting on the back porch. Today was one of those days. You see, a very kind blog reader, Gwen (sadly blogless) has shifted her focus from knitting to quilting. And in order to make way for more fabric stash (which I can completely understand, since my mother's passion for fiber tends more towards fabric than yarn) she decided that she wanted to send some of her yarn stash out into the world to see what it might become. It turns out that I am very fortunate, because Gwen, who has read my blog for a while, thought some of her lovely stash would find its future with me.
I love surprises, and while I knew the box was coming, I had no idea what might be inside. After getting all my stuff inside the house, I grabbed the box and my scissors and took it all up to my favorite place to be in the early evening: my upstairs balcony. I love the light and the breeze and the odd view I have of the Sears Tower. I spend most evenings out there when the weather is tolerable. And tonight I had a mystery box to explore.
After opening the box, I got bathed in more color and texture. I just had to spread it out so that I could take it all in and do some serious yarn petting. I've seen Malabrigo before, but I'd never picked it up and realized how soft it was. And here were two skeins in a beautiful blue/green colorway. Ditto for the beautiful rich purple Karabella Aurora 8. With 4 balls, I can imagine a lovely special occasion scarf (I've read that Aurora 8, while lovely, does what most merino does, and pills a bit when it gets used a lot). And then there's the sage colored Classic Elite Premier and Attitude -- pima cotton and tencel and pima cotton and silk blends, respectively. Both are soft buttery yarns that remind me that I don't usually give cotton blends enough of a chance when I knit.
On the flashier side (in the center of the picture) are 3 skeins of one of my all time favorite yarns, Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb. The colorway, Watercolor, is suble shades of some of my favorite colors and just calls out to be in a special project. And it's hard to miss the Colinette Prism in "Jamboree". I'd love to try spinning a yarn like that myself -- if ever I could convince my fingers to make a bigger diameter, fluffier single.
Just too much good stuff to list!
Lately, I've been feeling kind of uninspired about knitting, but this bountiful box of color has really got my brain whirring away... What could be the best use of 10 skeins of beautiful chocolate brown Jo Sharp wool? Is it cool enough to start on a pair of socks for myself in Mountain Colors Bearfoot? Is the pima/tencel blend a good substitute for the pima cotton yarn called for in Annie Modesitt's crochet cardigan pattern from the last Interweave Crochet? I just want to bury myself in my fiber room and start thinking about all the possibilities.
Thank you so much, Gwen. I am still overwhelmed in the best possible way by this treasure chest from your stash. I promise to give your yarn a very good home. Every time I knit with it, I will remember your generosity and that there is so much good energy and so many good people in the fiber/fabric/crafting community. And someday, I will brighten someone else's doorstep with a special gift in your honor.
Edited 8/19/2006 -- I'm turning off the comments for this post because it seems like the spammers have found something to love about it. Must be that spammers like gift yarn as well!
Congratulations. I am in awed of the gift. Enjoy!
Wow! What a great gift.
What a beautiful gift!
Wow, now THAT is a good blog buddy. I can hardly wait to see what wonderful things you make from all that yarn.
Holy comment spam this morning, Batman! Glad you have all that wonderful yarn to help you forget about the annoyance of it. Yay Gwen!
I can't think of anyone who deserves a great pick me up more. All the yarn is BEAUTIFUL!
How's your sweetie healing?
WOW!!! Now that is a very generous lady. You are very lucky. Bet your head is going round and roudn with all the possibilities that you don't know what to cast on first.
Wow! That is one fabulous and generous gift. Enjoy it. I'm sure that you'll put it to good use.
That is a beautiful story ... and a beautiful cornucopia of both yarn and color! Gwen is something else to share so graciously. We will all have fun seeing the creations flowing from you as a result of this generous gift!
~firefly
You've pulled some good karma girl! I knew Santa was for real, in this case, his name is Gwen.
Can not wait to see what comes off your needles!
Sorry about all the comment spam, folks. I'll be keeping an eye out today since it's pretty rare that I would get hit with three of them before breakfast. To make it worse, I'm getting some strange error when I try to modify my blacklist for spam comment terms. Not sure why that would happen all of a sudden.
Hopefully the spammers have found something better to do for the rest of the day.
Now, that is an awesome gift!
PS - Make Gwen a pair of socks!
An explosion of scrumptious luxury yarn on your balcony! Luckeeee!
What a wonderful gift from Gwen! I hope it'll inspire you. As for the Jo Sharp yarn--how about a cabled vest? Something richly textured.
That's some really nice yarn. Gwen is very generous.
Wow, you lucky ducky!
Wow! She could have gotten a lot of her money back by selling all that yarn. I'm amazed that someone would just give it away. Lucky you!
oh wow! so many goodies! how awesome.
What beautiful stuff, and what a good friend! Everytime I see the LL L&L, I pet it, but I can't bring myself to buy it - and "Watercolor" is a gorgeous colorway.l
Oh, you lucky devil, you! That Lion & Lamb is a Clapotis in the raw, if you are so inclined...
What a wonderful display of generosity! Gwen is a such an angel. Gorgeous yarns! You have plenty and then some! Hope it inspires you to something wonderful.
What a truly generous gift! Enjoy all the yarn goodness!
Trek: A most excellent idea. I shall have to file that for future reference.
Beth S: I already have one Clapotis...and I have to admit that while I love knitting it I don't use if very much. It's a very thick scarf and I'm not much of a stole girl.
A: It's interesting, but I do the same thing when it's time for something to leave my stash. It rarely occurs to me to sell it. Most of the time, it's just easier/makes me feel better, to find someone who would really enjoy it and send it on it's way. We were talking about it in KIP last night and one comment made was "if you're not going to use it, it becomes valueless to you". But I also think there's something to be said for the fact that joy you might create giving it to someone else is more valuable than the money you get back from selling it. I'm not sure. I might have to ask this question more generally on the blog. I'm curious how others feel.
MJ: The vest idea had crossed my mind as well. I don't think there's enough for sleeves. Hmm.... maybe there will be a bit of a design project for me here...