Blogtober 28th: Kiwiana Yarn Swap

I’m not the only blogger rushing home from the knitting night tonight to post a Blogtoberfest post about our awesome yarn swap. And I’m glad I can post here about our awesome night, as when I came home with my parcel, DH was far more interested in whatever he was doing on his computer than the bag of goodies I bought home with me.  Reason to have a blog #1212??

So, as promised, here are the pictures from our fantastic yarn swap evening. It was such a success we have decided to do it all again in December. We waited until everyone was there and had eaten cheesecake /chocolate /chocolate cake /marble cake (yum!!) and then the fun began.  First to open their parcel was Hannah, whose swapper was Clare.  She had chosen a theme of surfing and made an awesome woven basket from paper taken from surfing magazines.  I’m not sure how she managed to include a swift in her $10 budget (!) but that was also in the parcel.  The lovely yarn she dyed is apparently in a horrible tangle, so this wee bit is just a down payment! Beautiful depth of colours, on a 4ply Vintage Purls base.

The next to open was Angie whose swapper Kate spun and dyed her delicious yarn. The theme was ‘waves’ and she included a kit to make a wave themed nappy, as well as some stunning wee accesories – a brooch, hairclip, and gorgeous hand painted breast pads!!

Then it was Kate’s turn. Her swapper was Kristy, and she had chosen a Pukeko theme – a Pukeko is a native NZ bird.  She dyed up 4ply Merino sock yarn in the colours of the bird and the red of the beak and feet were supplied by the red wrapped chocolate.

Trudi’s yarn was dyed by Angela, who chose a Buzzy Bee theme. I was particularly impressed that she decided to pick up only some of the colours, making a stunning yarn, whereas I had been stumped as to how this could be dyed up. Delicious. And the cute ball shows some of the lovely old fashioned toys that have become part of Kiwiana kitsch.

And then it was my turn! My swap was dyed by Sam, who dyed up 100g of Vintage Purls yarn with food colouring. She chose a Paua theme and made this gorgeous yarn which her darling 2 year old daughter “knitted”, tangling up her skein. Sam’s grandparents spent two hours untangling it. What a labour of love! I also got an assortment of wee gifts – a gorgeous wee brag book that she hand made, and a big glass container filled with everything we need to make a paua themed Rocky Road treat.  Mmmm. I think that I need to take a better picture in the natural light tomorrow to show the subtle nuances of colour in this though – the picture does it no justice.

And speaking of Rocky Road, Trudi chose it as  theme for her swap with Sam.  The colours are stunning.  Love the wee stitch markers too – Trudi said her partner made them 🙂

Then it was time for Lizzie to open the parcel I’d prepared.  I had chosen the Pukeko as my theme too – and it is interesting how different the yarn I dyed was from Kristy’s interpretation.  I wanted to show the colours that the typical portrayal of the bird has – it actual fact the feathers are far darker, almost black, as you can see in the card I included.  I made  a WIP bag, and found some Pukeko themed goodies at a tourist shop to round out the parcel.

I kettle dyed 100g of Patonyle sock yarn with acid dyes – just two colours, National Blue and Crimson. 

Kristy’s parcel was intriguingly wrapped in brown paper with a pie bag on it. It turns out Hannah had chosen a ‘mince pie and tomato sauce’ theme.  The yarn is a delightful mix of reds, browns and light brown for pastry, on 100g of Vintage Purls sock yarn.  There are some clever wee goodies to round of the package too – cute wee hairclips, a cute handmade felt ‘pie’ and some Tomato Sauce flavoured chips. Oh, and note the ‘tomato’ sauce container too 🙂

Last parcel of the night was for Clare, from Lizzie. Good old kiwi classic “jandals”, and Lizzie had bought a pair, and presented them in a shoe box, nestled between them were two lovely yarns, both 4 ply.  We all had a good giggle over the patterns for socks and footsies to go with them.

Each parcel had accompanying patterns and some had lovely written explanations to go with them. There were recipes in some, and a few goodies that escaped my camera too – apologies.

What a fantastic night we all had! It was every bit as much fun to swap in person as I thought it would be. Can’t wait until next time.

And, for the readers who are disappointed they couldn’t be there, left drooling hopelessly over parcels, watch this space for a giveaway where one lucky reader will get their own slice of Kiwiana goodness.