Excellent Mail!

Well, I made it back late last night from the LONG work trip. When you have to travel all the way to the East Coast from Oregon, it takes forever. The trip was completely uneventful, travel-wise and even a bit productive, work-wise, so it could have been worse. I also ended up having quiet a lot of knitting time and did complete something, which I will show you next time.

The reason I am waiting to show my new FO is I received a wonderful package in the mail while I was gone - my "Defeat the Winter Doldrums" Dishcloth Swap package. Many thanks go out to Alicia for such a great package!

Here's a terrible picture of all of the loot:

She sent three skeins of dishcloth cotton in beautiful colors, some yummy extra dark chocolate in convenient individual sized packages and some really nice smelling "Wild Orchid" Bath gel. I am kind of particular about scents but Alicia was extra patient with me, soliciting ideas about what I might like. She did great - I love it!

Additionally, she sent these gorgeous stitch markers, which she made herself. Again, sorry for the terrible picture. It does not begin to capture how pretty they are. I am not much of a jewelry girl, but boy do I love to "dress-up"my knitting with pretty stitch markers!

Next, she made me this really cool dishcloth. It is knit with the "illusion knitting" technique and contains a hidden picture of a snowflake. Alicia has a better picture over on her blog if you want to check it out.

It is knit with Cotlin from Knitpicks. I had never seen this yarn before, but it feels nice and seems perfect for dish or washcloths.

Finally, she also made two Tribbles for me. I have been thinking about trying this pattern for some time, but now can try the finished product first.

Thank you so much Alicia. I love everything! Thanks for being such a great swap partner.