RAK - Mirasol Yarn

Last week I received a beautiful and unexpected RAK (random act of kindness) parcel from fellow raveler sulkycat. The parcel included two beautiful hand dyed skeins of Mirasol yarn in colorway -Saffron Spice. This is the first time I had heard of Mirasol yarn based out of Peru.

Mirasol yarn is based on Fair-trade. This guarantees that disadvantaged producers in the developing world get a better deal for their products. The producers receive a price that covers the cost of sustainable production plus an extra premium that is invested in social or economic development projects such as the Mirasol Project. The Mirasol Project supports local communities in Peru through the sales of the yarn. The Mirasol Yarn Collection includes yarn made from the animals tended by these communities for generations in the Peruvian highlands. A portion of every purchase goes directly to the funding of a centre in the remote area of Munani in the region of Puno in Peru. I love the fact that this yarn was not only sent to be from a very lovely person but that the yarn also will help support and preserve a community in another part of the world.

In addition to the lovely yarn were three wonderful smelling bath soaps in Rose, Lavender and Magnolia, a lip balm called “Let them eat cake” from Lush and a cute little sheep that is now sitting on top of my computer looking down at me as I write this.

Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for this lovely gesture, but more importantly for the friendship that has been fostered. Sulkycat is very special and charming lady dear to my heart and if you ever have the pleasure of coming across her on Ravelry, know that you will be in the present of a wonderful person with a heart of pink glittery gold.

Stuck in the Mud.

I have been in a knitting funk since January. Other than my Snappy hat, I have not had the motiviation to do a darn thing. I guess I got stuck with two knitting obligations that were sucking the life out of me and I didn't even know it. First, I was stuck trying to finish a sweater for my niece who grew faster than normal and faster than I could knit. So now I am left with a half finished sweater that will be frogged. I plan on completing a project for her soon, but I focus on a quick project in a toddler size because of her ginormous growth spurts. Then my mother's sweater...... more on this later.

This past weekend I found myself transformed from no projects on needles to four projects on needles. What happened? I got very motivated and ambitious and pushed myself out of my funk and on to my needles and stash.

The first of my many projects I plan on knitting is Interweave Knits magazine Spring 2009 Cover pattern- Diminishing Rib Cardigan. I am using a lovely Malabrigo yarn I bought in a dusty olive colorway -greens with pinks. The colors are funky and I think the cardigan pattern is simple enough that the yarn will shine.

I also began a Juliet Scarf. This lace pattern is my way of pushing myself to read and follow charts better and finally complete a lace pattern. I am using Fable baby alpaca yarn and I have to say it’s so soft and light looking I just love the way this is knitting up, even if I only have a few rows done.

After much stress, aggravation and frustration trying to find a pattern for my mothers sweater while keeping in mind the yearn - super bulky Rowan Big Wool, I decided to use the same Brigitta pattern I used for my mother-in-laws sweater. I already experimented with three other patterns to no satisfaction on the pattern or use of yarn. This week I finally decided to make another Brigitta sweater.

It’s a great pattern, easy to follow, I have already done one sweater in the same yarn for my mother-in-law and it knits up very fast. I didn’t want to make the same sweater pattern for both my mom and mother-in-law but not being able to find another suitable pattern left me in a pickle. On a postive note, the sweater will be in a different color and size. I would like to finish this project by the end of the month before all of our cool weather is gone.

Finally I needed something that would be satisfying for my knitting ego. I needed to make a project that I could finish by the end of the week and feel like I finally completed a project, instead of feeling like I like I was trying to run but was stuck in the mud. I am knitting the Paris Loop by Stephanie Japel using a wonderful yarn for this project -Schaefer Nancy Yarn in Dian Fossey colorway – greens, greys and dark almost black colors. It’s very pretty.

I just realized that I bought three different yarns in green colorways this year. I must have been in dire need of knitting in green or was inspired by the lack of green in the winter. Either way this spring is looking green, friendly and I am feeling happy already.