As I mentioned in Wednesday’s post, Mia had cajoled me to come out to Berryville earlier this fall. Unfortunately, it looked like there would be conflicts (an out-of-town friend in town for the marathon and a bike weekend away for Rudi), so I told her I probably wouldn’t be able to make it. Clearly, those two situations ultimately did not prove to be a sticking point, and when she heard I thought I’d be coming, Mia offered to give — yes, give — me a skein of her handspun yarn.

I’ve been watching Mia’s evolution as a spinner with interest for the last two years because we share a fondness for similar colors. So when she asked if I wanted some of the yarn she’d spun from Karida’s Neighborhood Fibers dyeing or something else, I told her that I trusted her implicitly and left it up to the will of the dyer.

And this — this! — is what she thought I’d like:

Does the girl know what colors I might like or what?!

The yarn is 144 yards of worsted weight yarn spun of merino and tencel. The tencel is what gives it that gorgeous sheen. It is eminently pettable, as both Sarah and Mia can attest to, since I walked around holding it like a cat so I could keep stroking it. I am nearly positive that it will become a cowl, because I’d like to keep it close to my skin, and because I think it will go fantastically with my pink corduroy jacket. If you have a favorite cowl pattern, please feel free to leave a note in the comments, as I haven’t yet decided on a design…

Check it out! Mia even was so sweet as to name the yarn for me!

Soft handspun yarn in greens and pinks and purples (and blues and yellows and whites) named Sprite. I just don’t think it gets better than that.

If you, too, think you might like the sorts of things Mia spins, she has an Etsy shop where, I believe, you can also buy her photos and hand-sewn aprons.

Thank you, Mia! I’ll be sure to share what your lovely yarn becomes!

These would be the yarns I bought. The Christmassy skeins are Stripey Sock from Beyond Basic Knits. The top one is the Vintage Holiday colorway. I can’t remember what the bottom colorway is and mine isn’t labeled because they were short skeins that she was selling at a discount. If I figure it out (or decide to bug Bette and ask her), I’ll let you know. But suffice it to say, I see some striped socks (or mitts or mittens) in my future.

The middle skein is from Crabapple Yarns, a merino-silk blend in the colorway Virginia Greening. (Crabapple names many of their colors after Virginia apples — and this was a new one to me. Apparently, though, it’s an old apple dating back to the 18th century.) The girls who run the company were very sweet and put up with Sarah’s and my indecision about which skeins needed to come home with us, even after the four o’clock bell tolled the end of the festival. In the end, this skein just cried out to come home with me, surprising all of us, since I’d been leaning toward the brighter colors all along. I’m not sure of how the silk will affect the longevity and fit of socks, so these may be destined for handwear.

(It didn’t occur to me until after Sarah and I were driving home that every skein I came home with had green in it. Different shades, but, still, green.

Remember how I said I’d donated hats to charity at the drive at the Beyond Basic Knits booth? There was also a drawing associated with that to win a skein of her yarn. I swear I wasn’t thinking of that when I entered Jenny’s hats, but merely of how nice it would be for someone to finally get to wear them. Yet I was excited to hear Monday night that I’d won a skein and doubly excited when it arrived on my doorstep Wednesday! (Great job, Post Office!)

This is her superwash merino/nylon blend in the colorway Bees in My Garden, which was a colorway she dyed up specially for her sock club.

Thank you, Bette. I love it!