Let me take you on a tour of the beautiful and carefully thought-out goodies that my pal sent along. First, Pam's from San Francisco, so she sent me a T-shirt and some little keepsakes from her beautiful city.
Next, there was spinning fiber in gorgeous batts, many of them custom dyed for me! It's pretty neat having a spoiler who as all the fiber connections that Pam does -- go over to Yarny Goodness some time and shop around... I dare you to leave without buying something!
Can I give you a tour of the fibers? On the left is a batt called "Autumn Harvest" from Uniquely yours. The blue and white fluff in the center is an angora/merino mix from Bungalow Farm Angora. The blue/violet mix in the decorated bag is a colorway called Perennial Garden from Harmony Homestead (in Rhode Island... so this little package went all the way from New England, to California and back!). It's 100% pygora, and it is the softest thing you've ever felt. I spun up a tiny bit to try it out, and I'm in love! Moving on, the Key-Lime alpaca is from the Fiber Co-op, and that amazing batt on the right is an alpaca/cashmere/silk blend from Split Rock Ranch called Bronzed Burgundy. It is beyond gorgeous! (it's the kind of batt you want to crawl into and snuggle up for a nap.... ok, maybe that's just me!).
There are also some beautiful spinning tools in there. In the foreground is an orifice hook and a WPI tool, both handmade by some of Pam's vendors. The feel of them is amazing... smooth turned wood... it feels as though they were made to fit just perfectly in my hands.
Speaking of which, do you see what's peaking out of the bronze fiber? It's a Golding spindle, made just for me!!! Pam read on my blog that I collect sheep, and she worked with Tom Golding to design this beautiful spindle around black and white bone ring. I have never had a spindle so beautiful in my life... and it spins like a dream!
I know what you're saying... wow, she certainly got spoiled. But I'm not nearly finished yet. Along with the batts, there was yarn!
I know what you're saying... wow, she certainly got spoiled. But I'm not nearly finished yet. Along with the batts, there was yarn!
And not just any yarn. From left to right, there's a skein of Handmaiden Casbah - a merino/cashmere sock blend, peeking out from behind Elvis (my daughter has named the Alcatraz bear) is some Fleece Artist Sea Wool, which I had been dying to try, and on the far right is Fleece Artist Cashlana, a wool/cashmere blend. The wildest thing is that I was poking around the Handmaiden site a few weeks ago, thinking about trying some Casbah. There are dozens of colors, and I hemmed and hawed over them until I had it narrowed down to my own favorite. Before I could actually buy it, I got distracted by the kids, and I never got back to it. Would you believe that this is exactly the color way I had picked out?! So, on top of everything else, my pal is apparently a wee bit psychic!
I know this is hard to believe, but there was even more in the basket. Take a look at this!
Four beautiful braids for even more spinning, and a new friend! I have named the little furry one Chloe. She was actually handmade for me by Pam, and that made it so special.... I've never actually had someone knit for me, and I was so touched... especially because I know that socks are Pam's thing to knit, not little furry critters... Chloe is so adorable!
Oh, yes, the braids. Again, from left to right: Fleece Artist BFL sliver, Peppermint Chocolate merino/silk from Uniquely Yours, Autumn Love BFL, also from Uniquely Yours, and Fleece Artist silk/merino sliver.
I had a chance to have a really great chat with Pam the other night (along with her hubby Mark, who was apparently her partner in crime... my attempts at sleuthing out her true identity have provided them with lots of entertainment!) We had an instant rapport, and I'm sure we have a great friendship ahead of us. All in all, I'd say that SP12 has been a success in every possible way!
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