Don't you just love receiving a surprise in the mail? Mixed in with the usual bills and advertisements today, I found this:
Three skeins of hand dyed Superwash Merino in the Monet Colorway, from Live 2 Knit. The best part is that they came all the way from Australia! If you are looking for some special yarn, I highly recommend a visit to this website. [Note to American knitters: the exchange rate is favorable to our dollar, which absorbs the extra cost of international postage -- the yarn will be no more expensive than any hand dyed yarn you purchase in the U.S., and you will have something special that no one else in your knitting group has! How fun is that?!]. When I saw the Monet, I just had to have some. (The color names always get me). Katie did an amazing job; it is just as gorgeous in person as on my computer screen. Since I can't knit socks, I'll be making a winter scarf with this.
Also in the mail from Australia (my friend H spoils me!!):
An issue of Yarn magazine, and the latest Creative Knitting. I'm not sure we have any knitting magazines here in the U.S. that I could compare them with for you. Yarn is a shorter magazine, than, say, Interweave Knitting, but it is very fun to look through. In issue 2, above, they have an article on blocking lace that arrived just in time for my summer lace project! I also love looking at the advertisements. There are all sorts of Australian yarn shops advertised that you can explore online, like Ozeyarn and Calico and Ivy. Yes, they both sell many of the same brands that we can find in the U.S., like Jo Sharp and Rowan and Debbie Bliss, but Calico and Ivy also has Heirloom Yarn and Ozeyarn has Rainbow Wools. I am dying to try both. You can order back issues of Yarn from their website via paypal, but I'm not sure about Creative Knitting.
Shazzas Knits gave a little mention of The Knittery in her post titled "Michelle's Socks." Guess what will be the next Yarn Mail coming to the seashore from Australia?! Thank you Sharon for the link!!!
It is so nice, in such a global knitting marketplace, to still discover unique things that I can't find where I live. Now, if I could just convince the postal service to create an inexpensive media-mail-type service called Yarn Mail...yarn, and knitting magazines, are a lot less heavy than books, and we want them to arrive much faster!
P.S. Links were fixed 6/28/06.
It looks like you've got a bit of an Aussie connection!
I'm glad you like the yarn, I can't wait to see your finished scarf.
Posted by: Katie | June 26, 2006 at 07:38 PM
"Yarn Mail" - I love it!! Why the heck not? Why is it cheaper to send books through the mail than yarn?
Posted by: Nancy | June 27, 2006 at 02:47 PM
Oh yarn in the mail is the best thing, especially when it's for you.
Lovely too.
Posted by: Rebekah | June 27, 2006 at 05:05 PM
That post has a real Aussie theme to it. I love Katies yarns, so soft and beautiful and the colours are wonderful.
Posted by: Sharon | June 27, 2006 at 07:49 PM
Yarn mail can't be beat- I'm waiting for some now!
Posted by: Kristen | June 27, 2006 at 09:48 PM
That yarn is gorgeous! Tomorrow, I'm going to check out all the neat links you provided. I definitely need to order something soon, so I'll have another yarn mail 'fix'!
Posted by: Sarah | June 27, 2006 at 10:19 PM
I sent you a couple of emails earlier, but one bounced, so I'm not sure any of them got thru. You can send me a message to knitting-kitten AT hotmail DOT com
Sarah
Posted by: Sarah | June 28, 2006 at 10:08 PM