With Friends Like These

Hi everyone. Today's post is dedicated to you, my readers! I love each and every one of you in a special way, because you are willing to take the time out of your busy schedule to read and comment on my blog.

I want to share a few things with you all today that I have received from the amazing people I have met on here and Ravelry.

I'll start with my BEYOND AMAZING penpal, Ivy, of whom I have been sending letters back and forth to for a little over a year. We met through the Random Acts of Kindness group on Ravelry, which is by far the best group ever. I have been gifted so many patterns and such from some very amazing people on there!! Anyways, we hit it off right away and every time I receive a letter or package I cannot wait to rip open the envelope. I wanted to share with you all just how amazing she is!

First we have the world of spinning. Without her guidance I probably never would have picked it up. She has also sent me some pretty amazing fibers, including these:

Left - Camel Down, spun but yet to be soaked. Right - Knitpicks Bare Stroll, dyed myself

And lets not forget the amazing Christmas gift of Manos de Uruguay silk blend, which made the amazing sweater that I discussed last time.

Today I received a package in the mail in the form of a skein of Manos de Uruguay Maxima, a giveaway prize from Evelyn at Project Stash. It's such a beautiful color, definitely destined to be a warm winter cowl!

Next up on my list is the beautiful stitch markers I got from a trade back in January. The creator is from near by Topeka and does some amazing things with Crystal beads. I absolutely love having an excuse to use these!

And finally, who doesn't love their LYS? I know I love mine (Wildflower yarns and knitwear of Manhattan KS)! The owner is so helpful and she carries such a great variety of yarns. She had a holiday open house back in December and I won this as a door prize. I cannot wait until I have an excuse to use it. Dying consumes so much time though, and I want to have a pattern in mind before I do so. 

This leads me to introduce something new to my blog;  A GIVEAWAY!

That's right folks, I want to thanks the amazing cyber world of knitting and spinning by offering a giveaway to a lucky reader.  All you have to do is tell me one thing you really like about my blog, or why your read/follow as well as something you think I could improve on. The last few months I have really gotten my blog together and started developing a new style, mostly with the help of all my faithful readers, which is why I trust you guys to give me the best pointers.

And the winner gets their choice of one of the following 3 yarns as well as a couple little surprises from me:

Top Left: Surino, 70% Suri Alpaca, 30% Merino, 100 yards, 1.7 oz. Unknown brand, but I think it may be handspun. Won at a fiber convention last year, just not sure what I'd ever make with it. Has some nice flecks of green and orange also.

Top Right: Nasua Handknits Granite, 70% wool, 30% acrylic. 50g, 82 yards. Forgive the acrylic content, I love everything Nashua makes. This color way is really pretty too, a nice balance of thick and thin weights.

Bottom: Louet Bonnie, 94% wool, 6% silk. 50 g, 88 yards. Such a lovely colorway, I couldn't pass it up when I saw it at the store. 

Any of these 3 yarns would be so much fun to work with!

Contest ends at the end of the month, at which time I will draw a random name from the list of those who commented. Good luck everyone and I hope you all have a great week!

~Lisa