Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A Very Warm Welcome

Thanks for your messages everyone, I did make it to campus safely and have settled in quite nicely, but I made sure to snap a few photos of the blooming Dahlia in my back yard before I left on Sunday morning.

This thing is huge, it's got to be at least four feet tall.  As I commented to someone earlier, I have always been secretly afraid that it was going to lean over and eat me whole one of these days... but I made it out of the state safely, no worries.


It really was quite pretty though.  (don't mind the dead bugs - it really bothers me that we had that trap in my back yard.  You know how I am about bugs...)
(I don't know why this picture is so grainy, it looked fine before I uploaded it)


My post title refers to two things about my return to campus.  The first one being the heat.  Holy freaking quiche!  As soon as I say that I'm ready for colder weather to return, it decides to skip on back up the 80 degrees with enough humidity to make you think you're drowning.  Of course, it doesn't help that my windows face the perfect direction in order for the afternoon sun to turn my room into a sauna, but seriously.... this is ridiculous.  I may start begging for colder weather pretty soon.

The second warm welcome I received was an unbelievably generous package from Joan.  (You may know her as "Cookie's Joan" or the "Fairy GodKnitter", which is so incredibly accurate I can't even begin to describe).

So, classes started yesterday and between my classes in the morning and my placement audition in the evening, I was greeted with the most fantastic package I have ever seen.  Not only did it include wonderful "back to school supplies" like pencils, post-its (I don't know how she knew about my post-it abuse problem), T-pins, stitch markers, a notepad..., but there was also just, well, here - I'll show you:


You see, she said she was going to send me some cashmere.  I thought she was kidding, but apparently she was very, very serious.  This is a 50g/354 yard skein of Plymouth Earth Ecco Cashmere, and it is absolutely to die for.  I think I'm going to knit this one up as soon as possible.  I'm thinking Anne Hanson's Fernfrost would be nice (I know we have some mixed opinions about her patterns in our midst, but I love this one).

Continuing on, there was also this:


Yeah, more cashmere.  2oz./400 yards of Jojoland Cashmere in a beautiful Burgundy color.  This is the perfect amount for Fernfrost as well, but I think the neutral color yarn would show the pattern better.


...and then there was this 100g/600m skein of Handmaiden Fine Yarns 2-ply cashmere.  This is breathtakingly gorgeous and the color variation is impossible to capture in a picture.  This one I'll be saving for that super special project.

Isn't this just way too much to handle?  I can't believe that she sent this all to me.

Also, because it probably wouldn't be a good idea to wear cashmere on your feet, she also sent this:


A skein of Socks That Rock mediumweight (a yarn that I think doesn't even need a link because it's just that well-known) in the most perfect colorway I have ever seen - Terra Firma.  It is just too perfect for words and I can't wait to use it!

Joan, I can't thank you enough for this unbelievable package!  It will certainly bring me joy all year as I knit with these yarns and I will constantly be thinking of your generosity.  Thank you so much!  (as an aside, Joan has asked that I warn anyone who doesn't know her that she actually hates people.  Beware.)

Now, if only I hadn't forgotten my ball winder and swift at home (I know!) I would be knitting all of this up right now.  I feel so helpless without them.  I don't know how they even managed to leave my sight, but somehow they're still sitting at home among my DVDs and frolf discs.  Oh, water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink...

or if it suits you better, Oh!  Woe is me! (although the origin of that phrase isn't nearly as relevant, although I guess I'm not really sailing on a ship either... but I digress)

Thanks again Joan!

(Sorry Delain, you may have to wait a while for your second sleeve to get finished.)

16 comments:

  1. Yes, we never underestimate The Joan. When she says she'll send you something, you make space for it. Lovely stuff!

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  2. That there's some swank swag.

    You know how to wind a center pull ball without a ball winder, right? Takes a little bit longer and you have to learn not to wind the yarn too tightly, but it's very doable and means I never have to fret too much if I'm without said ball winder. I wrap the skein around my knees to hold it and that works reasonably well.

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  3. Oh My!!!! What an incredible package. I hand wound some 800 m of laceweight (that mapleleaf shawl that still sits waiting to be worked on)... it took a LONG time to wind! (skein over knees). I gave up on ctr pull balls, because I'd never finish the ball, and it'd collapse on itself. But they are fun to do. Fernfrost in the white is perfect! White? Frost? I tell people around here (Maine, and before that upstate NY) that black flies are sweet. Like a drop of sugar on your tongue. But it's no fun if the hoardes are swarming into your mouth and any other open exposed orifice... only if you get to eat them one at a time.

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  4. wowza! That's quite a package! I think the first skein would be perfect for fernfrost!

    You can send the skeins to me and I'll wind them for you. They just might get lost in the mail on the way back...yeah, that's it!

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  5. DAMN! You need to let me in on your gravy train, dude!

    Actually, I'm just glad someone else is taking over the yarn care packages for a while...I'm all tapped out!

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  6. Wow! Joan totally rocks. What a fantastic care package!

    PS - I think Fernfrost would be really quite stunning in that yarn as well.

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  7. Glad to hear you made it to school safely.

    What wonderful gifts from Joan! I can't wait to see all of your amazing cashmere knits.

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  8. Wow, that Joan is amazing!! Enjoy all your new pets (I mean yarn) - and don't forget to study hard!!

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  9. I love that flower!

    Joan does not kid about yarn. If she says cashmere, there will be cashmere.

    Doesn't everyone have a Post-It problem? Isn't that why they're still around? ;^)

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  10. Oh my goodness, you're well taken care of! Those hands will be happy for a while.

    The flower is pretty awesome, although I guess you could also imagine it as something from Little Shop of Horrors!

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  11. Holy crap that's a lot of cashmere!

    Good luck with this semester! (or quarter? I never know which schools do which.)

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  12. Amazing yarn! You are so lucky!

    And that dahlia is fantastic! I didn't think it was grainy, but don't forget that Blogger makes a thumbnail. If you click on the thumbnail, you'll see the real file.

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  13. Lucky guy! All that cashmere! Beautiful pattern choices.

    I didn't get a ball winder and swift until two years into my knitting career...but that said, after getting set up, I doubt I'd muster the patience to start (and actually finish) winding up a center-pull by hand like the good old days. Sounds like a job for mom and FedEx to reunite you with the goods!

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  14. You do know that your mother "forgot" to remind you to pack your ball winder because she's a knitter now.

    I'm glad you like the yarn and glad that we are friends.

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  15. I almost swallowed my tongue looking at all the cashmere. WOWSERS!!!!!!

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