Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Swap from "Across The Pond"


Today, I am so excited to have received an airmail package all the way from Scotland!

I belong to an on-line crochet (and knitting) group called Ravelry (www.ravelry.com).  Within this on-line forum are thousands of people, around the world, with crochet, knitting, and love of yarn in common.  One of the groups within Ravelry is called "We Love Lucy".  Lucy hosts a blog called "Attic24" where she talks about her day to day life, decorating and crochet.  One of the things Lucy is best known for is her love of color, and her use of it in her daily life. 

Recently, someone within the group came up with the idea of doing a yarn swap; America and Canada with Europe and Australia.  So we signed up and were assigned partners for the swap.  I was paired with someone from Scotland and below is a picture of my goodies I received:


The items that enchanted me the most were the ones from her native region.  The three skeins of "Heather" colored wool are from New Lanark Mills which she said is less than an hour from her.  She included a brochure on the New Lanark World Heritage Site which recounts a bit of history on the mill that was founded more than 200 years ago. 

Another one of the items she included, in my swap package, was a bar of handmade soap called Arran Apothecary Soap in Seaweed and Oatmeal.  It is made off the west coast of Scotland and smells blissfully clean and fresh; I can't wait to try it. 

While everything she sent is wonderful, the "piece de resistance" is the post card...


This is "Loch Lomond", which is less than a 10 minute drive from my swap partner.  Wow!  To live so close to such beauty, I just can't fathom it.  Looking at the post card, it is easy to day dream about hopping in a boat and heading out to one of the islands to explore for the day.  Of course, I'd take a picnic and one of my handmade crochet blankets, relax and soak in the splendor of it all. 

Today's joy is in the package I received, but even more so, in human nature.  Someone I don't know, but for a few on-line e-mail chats, taking the time to select these items and send this lovely parcel to me all the way across the pond to the US.  What a special blessing.