Yarn loveliness for me!

The doorbell rang on Monday and I opened it to find our postman waving a satisfyingly squishy parcel at me. On opening it up, the inside looked like this.

It is of course my mystery sock yarn stash swap package, from the hugely lovely Katherine from Fiber and Sustenance. Now, the only downside of a yarn swap is that the person who gets the yarn swap organiser as their swappee is sending yarn to someone who already knows the identity of their swapper (in other words, I had to email Katherine saying ‘hi! You’re sending yarn to me! I’ll act surprised!’). So the mystery is lost – which doesn’t bother me at all (all the other benefits of organising the swap massively outweigh that one insignificant downside), but I felt a little sad for Katherine. However she took it all in her stride and has sent me the most beautiful package of stunning yarn. Look!

There might also have been a small chocolate bar in the package, but it mysteriously disappeared before I had the chance to photograph it.

She’s been so generous – there is enough here for at least two and quite possibly three pairs of socks. And she definitely read my hints post because everything here just makes me glow with excitement. Let’s have a closer look.

No nylon sock yarn! I have been longing to get my hands on something like this for absolutely ages (and this specific Mohair Blends Blacker yarn, for people really paying attention, featured in my gifts for knitters post before Christmas). I’m so excited to try this out. It’s 50% wool and 50% mohair – with the mohair and the way it’s spun providing the strength and long-lasted wear which nylon normally would. I adore this sage green colour and the slightly marled texture of the yarn, and I can’t wait to cast on for a new pair of socks with it.

But that wasn’t all! Despite the swap only requiring you to send enough yarn for one pair of socks, Katherine included another two skeins (ahhh, she’s so lovely). Look at these two beautiful hand-dyed yarns from the States. The larger skein which looks like lemon and lime sherbet is 100% superwash merino sock yarn from Sundara Yarn (with the perfect colourway name of ‘beach glass’), and the smaller grey skein is 100% superwash merino fingering yarn from Avery Alison Yarns (in pewter). The grey would look fab as contrast heels against that vibrant green/yellow, or it would also work excellently alongside a couple of other skeins I have in my stash at the moment.

Last but not least (not including that weirdly-disappearing chocolate, *whistles innocently*) Katherine also included a twist of a local beverage – some local-to-her tea which she describes as being a perfect accompaniment to knitting. Having drunk a cup while drafting this post and working on my current sock, I can confirm it is indeed that (and delicious).

What a haul! I am a lucky lucky knitter, and Katherine is a very generous lady with excellent taste. I have also started seeing other people posting about the packages they’ve received and am loving reading it all. Knitters really are the best.

PS I’ve had a couple of people asking if I might do the stash swap again in future, and the answer to that is definitely yes! It’ll probably be at least six months away, to allow those of us who participated this time to build up some stash again, but watch this space!