I got my secret pal packet today, and I am so happy with my loot. Lookie here what Beth sent me. She wrote a lovely letter commenting on the beautiful gifts she sent, and now I’m scared to death…

“This skein is not my best work but… It’s Merino Top plied with silk I had from Henry’s Attic. About 176 yards. OK I looked at it again, and I hate it, so I’m throwing in some merino I dyed with easter egg dyes in my crockpot- Still not fab so here’s some gray Wensleydale.”

Well ok, we all look at our yarn and think, “I wish I could send something nicer”, but then I dug in the box and saw this…

“Not my best work” AAAHHHHH!!! “I hate it” EEEEEKKKKK! What am I going to send her??? I can’t do any better than this… My panic began to grow… Then I pulled out this-

OK, at least I can compete with this skein, feeling a little better lol. Then out came the Wensleydale-

This looks almost IDENTICAL to some cotswold skeins I spun. So closely matched in color and appearance, even weight, if I didn’t know better I would have thought she broke into the house, stole it, then sent it to me in the mail. I sent that skein to someone else, so unless she burgurized her house, these two fibers are just almost the same.

Well, so I was feeling a little better. I can’t spin so nice as the first skein, YET but I felt like I could make something up she would like. She wants to make a scarf in a lacy pattern. Plus I have some really unusual and nice fiber blends, which she said she had never seen or tried. I can send some of them, as much as my heart pounds to think of parting with it…. I can do this I can. I can just give her “bonus fiber” to make up for the yarn that isn’t as good as hers. And I can send some nice little goodies, then I won’t feel like I can’t send something as nice as I got…. Then this came out…

I WANTED some of this!!! Then THIS came out of the bag.

ACK! How adorable, useful and wonderful! My ability to “wow” her is declining again… Then THESE came out-

I so needed the little mini doffer, and the book is wonderful, all those words I don’t know, explained. Her shop The Spinning Loft with all her information on this nice little tape measure.

How did she know that certain little hands are ALWAYS running off with mine?

So now I have to top this somehow with my thank you gift, that’s going to take some serious doing, but even though I’m feeling intimidated, I think I can manage something comparable. I’m very crafty you know. Excuse me now, I must be going shopping for something special for my very generous and beautiful pal Beth.