The Heathen Housewife

I swear the mailman is playing mind games with me. Not really, but he didn’t show up with the regular mail today till 4:00, and then it was just the standard junk. Not even a Netflix DVD. After the all-day anticipation, the glancing out the window, the listening for the clunk of the mailbox lid – no packages, none at all. I kept opening the front door and looking all around in the bushes, then doing the same by the back door. Nothing. Then, half an hour later, I hear something at the back door. I race back there. Be still my heart, my packages had arrived. Boy, did they arrive!

Today was better than Christmas. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed opening and sorting this yarn, and Julie did too – you’ll have to scroll down to the bottom to see what I’m talking about. I’m having a hard time finding the right words to express my gratitude to everyone who took the time to send me a piece of their stash. So a simple “Thank You” will have to do. Oh, and there are no blankie pictures today. I did get a few squares knit, but we have enough to look at just sorting the yarn. Tomorrow I’ll try to get a picture of the accumulated pile o’yarn so far. It’s pretty impressive!

Ellen from Medford, MA sent a little bit of everything nice in her package. This was one of the first that I opened today, and I (duh) hadn’t yet realized that we could see it all much better if I would take the yarn out of the ziploc bag before picking up the camera. The pink stuff there? That makes me want to cast on for the cotton-blend blanket right now. But I’m going to practice some self-control.

Sarah from New York sent a nice assortment, and a very sweet note. Sarah has two beautiful daughters adopted from Korea, and yes, Sara, I would believe the insensitive comments and questions you get from strangers. I get the same ones all the time. I would love to know what your responses are because I’m still struggling with how to graciously deny information to strangers. If you ever do start that blog on knitting in Korea, send me the link! Oh, and Julie loooved the bubble-wrap. That was worth almost more than the yarn.

Donna in Virginia sent me a nice little collection of leftovers that includes some Lorna’s Laces, some Super Socks Dazzle, which I had never seen before, as well as some other pretty bits as yet unidentified.

Diana in Brooklyn sent a nice package with a nice range of fibers from Jawoll (including the matching reinforcing thread) to what looks like little bits of Koigu. Diana, I looked at your blog, and I have total bag envy over that diaper bag bag you just made. I love the fabric you used for the lining. Very cool. If you’re reading this, can you tell me what kind of yarn are the pink ones? They’re very pretty, but I’d like to know the fiber content before I sort them into their final piles.

Mary Beth from Arlington, VA sent me two lovely chunks with a little note that simply said “Enjoy!” I will, Mary Beth – I especially love the rainbow-colored one. I’ve always loved the yarns with differently colored plies that shift colors. Yum!

Joan from Glen Ellyn, IL sent some very nice Cherry Tree Hill, some Regia, and a big skein of what was her first attempt at dying yarn, which she was less than thrilled with. The colors are a little muddy in that one, but it’s 100% Merino Wool and I bet it would felt. I can’t put this one in the blanket, and I’m not sure if I would use it myself any time soon. If someone would like to try overdying this or has another useful use for it, I’d be happy to send it along. Otherwise, I will hang onto it and make sure it gets to someone who will appreciate it in all its glory. Joan, you are not the only one who has enjoyed the process of dying more than the product. Just go look at the glittens I made with my own kool-aid yarn recently to see what I’m talking about!

Penny from Tampa apologized for sending so many cotton blends. Penny, I LOVE the cotton blends. Believe it or not, I knit with them quite a bit here in Minnesota. They are great for spring and fall here, and can be worn by people who complain that wool is too hot for their feet. I’m hoping to collect enough of these types to make a second blanket! Plus, every single yarn you sent is one that I would include in one or the other blanket. I had some of the heathery purple Fortissima Colori already, but it is nice to know that now there is more.

Julie from Westford, MA managed to stuff an amazing amount of yarn into a fairly small envelope – she says the solids are left over from a fair isle project and the rest are from socks. She also sent me a cute picture of herself with a giant bag of blue fiber and a cowboy hat. Very cute. Julie, I went and checked out your blog. Dayum, girl, you are a prolific knitter! I wish I had more time to explore your site, but it’s bookmarked for later.

Judy in Monson, MA sent three different gorgeous yarns, each enough to probably make an entire pair of socks on its own. Judy and I had a little e-mail discussion about this before she sent it – she says she was going to learn how to make socks, but really wants this off her plate since she has too many other projects lined up as it is. This gift was just on the edge of what I was comfortable accepting – I mean, how could I contribute to someone putting off the joy that is sock knitting? Judy insisted, and I said fine. They are lovely yarns – the pink/blue is Schaeffer Yarns Anne; the purple/gray is Classic Elite Inca Marl in 100% alpaca; and the blue/green is Art Yarns ultramerino. Because there is enough of each here for a stand-alone project, I’m not comfortable adding any of them to my blanket. I could easily add them to my stash and I know I would use them. However, in the spirit of this endeavor, if someone were to e-mail me asking for one of them and promised to knit them right away, I don’t think I could say no. I’ve been telling people who e-mail me that I will find a good home for their yarn if I can’t use it for the blankets. As hard as it would be to let these go, I will if they are called.

Margaret from Florissant, MO sent in these two full balls of Fortissima Colori. Margaret didn’t tell me that she was sending me enough to make TWO pairs of socks! It looks like one of the balls took a little trip to the frog pond, but they are beautiful yarn. Like Judy’s yarn, I feel a little guilty accepting this because it will probably not make it into any blanket till after someone knits a pair of socks from them, although as I type this perhaps I could use one of these for the blanket edging instead of buying the solid navy blue I was thinking of. Hm. I’ll have to think about that. Still, as with Judy’s, if someone really wants to knit these socks, I’m afraid I will have to surrender the yarn.

Emma from Seattle sent this nice chunk of Regia Jubilee. This is another skein that I saw in the store, had my hands on, wanted, and never bought. I love it that I’m getting the chance to knit with all these cool yarns without having to commit to an entire pair of socks in each one.

Margaret in Maple Grove, MN – just down the road from me – sent a lovely assortment of leftovers. I love how organized Margaret is – all the ball bands were securely attached to the balls, making for some easy sorting, and she has some good taste in sock yarn, too. There was even a teeny little ball of what I’m pretty sure is Opal Tiger hiding in there. Just enough for a blanket square. I also had a lot of fun e-mailing with Margaret about the local yarn shop scene and the yummy desserts available at Cafe Latte in St. Paul. I hope to see you around town some time, Margaret!

Margaret from Omaha says she is off of socks forever! Poor Margaret. Maybe some day you’ll come around to the obsession. In the mean time, using Koigu to make shawls is perfectly acceptable, not that you need my permission.

Yvonne from Bellingham, WA sent quite a pile of exactly what I asked for. All beautiful stuff. Yvonne has beautiful pictures on her blog, and is obviously skilled at much more than knitting.

Liz from Eau Claire, Wisconsin sent what looks like a whole ball of Socka. This pretty much matches a ball I got on Saturday. A girl could make a very hot-pink pair of socks that way. Hm….must-not-get-sidetracked!

Michelle from Sierra Visa, AZ sent some very nice Opal and Wildfoote and a teensy bit of Knitpicks too.

Susan from Madison, WI sent me two perfect balls of yarn. Susan, I’m surprised you didn’t want to knit socks for that sweet little boy of yours out of this! He is very cute, and we have some pictures of Julie holding a beer bottle at about that age.

Amy from California sent me a nice little assortment. Most of these are a little heavier than fingering, but I think there will be a collection of sport weight yarns to be put into their own blanket. I love the bright colors!

Nikki in Virginia sent a nice, earthy ball of Regia, which she says she bought dirt cheap on sale ages ago, a little ball of something very Regia-like, and a very cute card with a kitty on the front.

Whew! That’s a lot of good fiber. 19 packages by my count. Thanks so much to everyone who sent me yarn. The mailman saw me as I opened the door and stopped to ask me what was going on. It’s pretty hard explaining to a non-knitter why strangers from the Internet are sending me piles of packages full of yarn. Now I’d like to share with you all a few pictures of Julie enjoying the excitement with me during the initial opening that took place just after the delivery this afternoon. She didn’t put that bubble-wrap down till we made her so she could eat dinner.

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