More Packages!

Tuesday afternoon I had a fantastic surprise waiting for me on my doorstep...another package!  And this one was BIG! And heavy!  I had received my "Springtime in Paris" swap package from my swap partner.  :)  Mary Rose (smozerose on Ravelry) did such a fantastic job thinking about my personal preferences.  She also completed her due diligence by snooping around and finding out what I wanted to make, what I wanted to try, etc.  Thank you, thank you, Mary Rose! 

Mary Rose is known (at least among the Itty Bitties) for sending all her goodies and knit items in beautiful boxes.  My swap package was no exception.  I couldn't believe all the things she had stuffed in this box. :) The box is spring-inspired, with a magnetic flap to hold the lid closed.  Since opening up and fondling all my goodies (yes, I said fondling - because that's what you do with yarn and knits!), the box has since been relegated to holding my "new" yarn.  To quickly explain, I have 2 hat boxes and now this Spring box storing my yarn.  Because my stash is quite small for a knitter, I only have 2 categories.  New yarn (which includes anything that is a full or nearly-full, hardly-touched skein of yarn.  This yarn is either awaiting to be knit for a specific project, or is waiting to tell me what it wants to become.) is one category, and the other is "used" yarn (Some day I'll come up with better titles for these - used yarn sounds terrible.  But this is the yarn that is leftover from other projects, and can be used for stash-diving or small projects.). 

Within this beautiful box I found several things.  First, a beautifully knit Frenchie for X.  I love the contrast in colors Mary Rose used.  X enjoys taking the hat off and asking me to put it back on him. He's a funny boy. 

Along with the hat, there were two pairs of Jelly Bean Baby Socks, light and dark blue - great colors for X's wardrobe.

A sweet, felted fair isle notions bag to include in my project bags, made by none other than Mary Rose herself. :) This bag is the perfect size.  I can fit a regular sized mechanical pencil, my ruler and scissors, a small notepad, all my other notions like stitch markers, stitch holders, yarn needles, row counters, etc.  When I unzipped the notions pouch, I found she had included stitch markers and a mini Eiffel Tower notepad for all my note-taking needs!

And then there was the yarn...oh how nice it is to receive yarn in the mail!  Especially as a gift.  This is where I was really impressed with her snooping skills...she had included 2 skeins of vibrant blue Cascade 220 (which I have been wanting to try - great wool for felting, too!) to use on the pattern French Press Slippers and she even included the buttons to match!  There was also some blue lace weight yarn (I love blue!), and 3 skeins of KnitPicks cotton in ivory and green. 

Mary Rose is from Virginia, so she included some things from home, including a postcard of the mountians and some Virginia Salted Peanuts. Yum! 

And she didn't forget X!  Not only did he get a hat and 2 pairs of socks, she also included a tonka truck (a known favorite in our household), the book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See" (this is the same illustrator as "The Very Hungry Catepillar"), and some beginnger Crayola markers.  He was eyeing all of his stuff as I took it out of the box.  He knew it was for him! :)

As for the Parisian-themed items, she did not disappoint!  Included was French Kiss (one of my favorite movies), a Notre Dame puzzle, Eiffel Tower napkins and a French-inspired wall hanging/trivet.  Right now the trivet is sitting on my stovetop, but I know the perfect place to hang it, I just need to get out the hammer and find the right nail. :)

So you can see why I am so thrilled about this package!  Mary Rose was so generous and thoughtful. She put a lot of thought and effort into it, and it shows.  Thank you again, Mary Rose!

*Just a few extra pictures of X in his new knits!*