I Have Been Away

I did not realize just how long I had been away from this blog. Sheesh. But I have a good reason. I was in the Western Cape of South Africa in January. My first trip to South Africa whet my appetite for a return some day.

One of the highlights was visiting Carlé at Nurturing Fibres. Her yarns are gorgeous; I especially like her sock yarn and laceweight. Equally impressive is her commitment to her community and to women’s empowerment. If you cannot make it to Philadelphia (but you really should; it is a charming farm village), you can find her yarns at Spinknits at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

Carlé and some of her yarns.

South Africa mohair at Spinknits.

Stash from South Africa.

We also visited the Barrydale Handweavers. I would show you what I bought but Christmas presents are involved so I cannot. The alpaca in my South Africa stash is from Barrydale Handweavers from a producer in Wellington. Barrydale is another charming town that is worth a visit.

Want to know more about our trip to South Africa? Click on the Travel link in the list of Other Interests on the right.

Two from South Africa

Last September, my husband had an opportunity to visit Cape Town, South Africa. Because he is the Best Husband in the World, he went yarn shopping, as you can see here.  I have finished two projects from my gift yarns, which are from Nurturing Fibres and the dyepots of the talented Carlé.

The trick was finding the right pattern to highlight the yarn. I think I succeeded.

The pink one (color name Georgina) is Nancy Bush’s Stork’s Nest pattern. The finished size is 7 inches by 62 inches.

The green one — Dappled Forest — is the Crest of the Wave design from Barbara Walker’s first Treasury. It is 7 inches wide by 60 inches long.

Both scarves were knit on 3.25mm needles.

The yarns were a joy to knit with and I enjoyed seeing the colors emerge.

Best Husband in the World

My husband, Mike, recently went to Cape Town, South Africa, to attend Cape Wine and to give a speech at the Nederburg Auction. I chose not go because he could only be gone for a week and the cost/benefit of going along did not compute for me this time. However, I did ask for yarn from South Africa, if possible. I specifically asked for yarn produced in South Africa, not yarn imported from somewhere else and sold in South Africa.

I have total faith in his yarn shopping abilities. He has been to enough yarn stores with me that he knows what I like.

He did good! He did great! He asked the concierge at his hotel, who directed him to Spin Knits, a short walk away. Then, he found someone in the shop to help him buy four skeins of yarn from Nurturing Fibres. One is sock yarn in Blissful, a combination of purples, pinks, and blues. The three lace yarns are Georgina (pink), Dappled Forest (green), and Truffle (brown). The hand-painted colors are rich and gorgeous. I cannot wait to knit with these yarns.

He also brought home some South African wines that promise to be just as beautiful as the yarn. And a cookbook with South African braai (barbecue and grill) recipes. The book is in English, although I will have a little translation to do: a tot, I think, is about a tablespoon?

Now, let us give a round of applause to a husband who will go yarn shopping for his wife when he is 10,000+ miles away from home and surrounded by beautiful scenery and excellent wines.