Malabrigo Swap Goodies

Anyone who snoops around my ravelry profile a bit can see that I do a lot of swaps. I don't always update this blog with all the swap swag I get cause I just don't always remember, and I don't want anyone's feeling to be hurt by not being recognized/thanked in my blog. However, I have so many pictures and wonderful things to say about my recently received Malabrigo Swap package, that I just couldn't fit all this gushing in the forums :).

The theme of the round of the swap was to create a Magic Yarn Ball, a ball of yarn with little goodies hidden inside, so when you knit with it (or greedily unwind it right away) you discover all these little surprises! It took my mild OCD about yarn a little while to get used to this idea, but eventually I got excited about it and signed up for the swap. It's a good thing I did cause I got to get to know Katie in Seattle (dancingsheep on ravelry), who sent me the most amazing gift! She themed my package "children's books" which obviously, I love.

As I navigated through the brightly wrapped gifts, I read this little picture book that Katie made for me with beautiful photos of the Seattle Public Library and children's book covers. Almost every book represented a little gift. Each gift was so well chosen; Katie did a great job of stalking me!

The first gift I opened was the pattern for Koolhaas, which I have been lusting after for quite some time! Coincidently, the new Seattle Public Library's architechture was designed by Rem Koolhaas. How cool is that?!



Here are all of the pretty packages (minus Koolhaas) complete with children's book cover tags!



Next I was instructed to open this gorgeous handknit hemp washcloth and honeysuckle L'Occitane soap by the book The Won't-Take-a-Bath-Cure. This is actually a book I've never seen, and it looks like a useful one! I love the washcloth--it's almost too pretty to use! And I know I mentioned somewhere on the Malabrigo Swap boards that I love the scent of honeysuckle, but I'm not sure I mentioned why. It kind of has a sentimental meaning for me because in one of the villages I visited in Greece on the island of Ios (where Homer is supposed to be buried!) there were these arches of honeysuckle draped all over above these cobblestone pathways up a mountain. It was so quaint and breathtakingly beautiful. The honeysuckle scent was positively intoxicating, and every time I smell it now a part of me goes back to Greece.



Next I opened a package tagged with the newest Magic Tree House book. It was the pattern for the Tree Jacket, a gorgeous Zephyr Style pattern that I bought and promptly lost/threw away.

The next page in the book directed me to a delicious looking box of Cinnamon-Orange tea from Seattle's Pike Place Market. At least, there's a picture of Pike Place Market on the box, and that's good enough for me. What was the book corresponding to this, you might ask? Why, Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea, of course. I just love Cynthia Rylant. She could rewrite the dictionary and make it sound cute.

The next several pages unveiled two delicious skeins of Malabrigo--a skein of chunky in Verde Esperanza for Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan and a skein of worsted in Emerald for The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum. They are so gorgeous, I can't get over it.



All right, so they kind of look like they are humping in that picture, which is so not what I intended. Trust me.

The following pages of the book led me to some orgasmic-looking (ok, and tasting, I tried it already) chocolate, courtesy of none other than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Roald Dahl stuck around to lead me to my MYB with James and the Giant Peach. The MYB was made out of Dream In Color Classy (!) in the colorway Giant Peach. Seriously, who noticed that there were so many yarn colorways either named after or reminiscent of children's book titles? I'm surprised I never noticed this before.

Inside the MYB I found a blue and brown pencil case/notions holder printed with different book genres. This is perfect! I also found post its with a pretty turquose border and a "J" on them, two packets of Soak in Citrus, some locking stitch markers (I've never tried these, but I like them cause I think they'll work for crochet as well), some very pretty pewter and blue buttons with different floral designs embossed on them, a pink sharpie highlighter that I can clip onto my oh-so-stylish nametag lanyard at work, and tons of pretty beads that will be good for either stitch markers or knitting with beads, which I think I am ready to try!

Here's a final picture of all the goodies together:



To say I'm pleased would be the understatement of the summer. Thank you Katie! You knocked my (hand-knit) socks off!