Free To Good Home

=======================

COMMENTS ACCEPTED UNTIL 4.00 PM PST MONDAY 28th.

=======================

Here we are, at Half Soled Boots' 198th post. Coincidentally, my G00gle revenue has just reached $100, which means I get paid next month, which is GREAT NEWS for a stay-at-home mum suffering from a lack of jingle in her jeans.

To celebrate, I think I'll give away some yarn. In fact, I have decided that, in the interests of my stash reduction and to share the love a bit, I'll do a giveaway every time G00gle pays me. It just puts me in such a good mood when that happens. Also, that way, if I end up giving away something I'd really prefer to keep, I can afford to replace it. I can also afford to tuck a few extra things into the recipient's box.

I don't often get paid, actually - only about every five or six months...the clicks do take a while to add up. But whenever I reach the magic number, I'll post a request for comments. Anyone showing interest will be entered into a draw of some sort.

Today's prize will be your choice of one of these four Valentine-tinted skeins of sock yarn, all of which retail for about $22 (although at least two of them are no longer for sale).



From bottom left to top right:

1) Fleece Artist (unnamed colourway) washable, hand-dyed 100% merino. 325 meters - 115g. Ball band gives tension at 26/4" on a 3mm needle. This yarn comes from Nova Scotia - I bought it at Victoria's Beehive Wool Shop. The colour is lively and intense - cheerful, tooth-achingly pink. It is tightly spun, and has a beautiful, almost silky sheen. This is a candy store yarn if I ever saw one...it makes me think of the cool spicy crunch of Island Farms' Peppermint Candy ice cream - with swirls of melted pink sugar and rocky chunks of crushed magenta sweetness.



2) Seacoast Handpainted washable 100% merino, in colourway "Raspberries". 560 yards (no weight). Ball band gives tension at 7-8/inch (no needle size given). This one makes my mouth water...the colours are delicious, ranging from a cool silvery grey to an intense purpley magenta. There are bands of rose, orchid, lavender. This yarn reminds me of nothing so much as heavy, softly whipped cream streaked with the chilled juice of fresh, dusky berries swirled in....or the purple-stained fingers you get when you've been picking them right off the canes. (Are you getting the idea that I love this particular skein?) I bought this from Pick Up Sticks.



3) Blue Moon Fiber Arts' "Socks that Rock" in colourway Rose Quartz. 100% superwash merino, mediumweight. 380 yards - 5.5 oz. Tension is given as 8 stitches per inch on size 2-3 needles. I bought this yarn in Washington, USA, where I had trouble picking from all the beautiful shades. This colour was so appealing - pink overall, but with many subtle variations throughout the skein. The colour ranges from flecks of a bronzey-peach, to sections of pale mauve. The pinks are subdued - very subtle. (The close-up photo, below, does not reflect the colour as accurately as the group picture above.) The yarn is tightly spun, with a matte finish. Readers of the Yarn Harlot might recognize this yarn from the "Big Pink Thing" she knit for her friend with kidney cancer. When I read that post I was happy I had already bought this yarn - figuring it would be hard to find that colour from now on.



4) Sweet Georgia Yarns' Handpainted Sock in colourway "Merlot". 100% merino, NOT SUPERWASH. 420yds/384m - 112 grams. Tension is given as 28-32 over 4" on a 2.25mm - 3.25mm needle. This yarn also came from Pick Up Sticks. The colour is not as deep as I thought it would be - I guess that's why it's called "Merlot", not "Cabernet Sauvignon". The reds range from a pale, orange-tinted rose to deep ruby. The yarn has a matte finish, with a medium spin. I knit my Common Welsh Green socks out of a green version of the same yarn, and I can vouch for its longevity. It wears well, due to the untreated wool which felts slightly with wear. You should also know that, having finished an entire pair of toe-up socks with one skein, I have a great deal of yarn left over - definitely enough to knit some booties, possibly enough to have added another whole repeat to each sock. The yardage is excellent.





What you must do, elegant and clever readers, is simply comment that you'd like to be included in the draw, and which skein you would prefer to have. (Or, you could say you haven't decided -- we can talk about it later.) I will announce the winner on Monday, January 28, and will mail the prize by Friday next.

==========================

Oh, I should also say, pet-free-smoke-free-well-loved-not-stored-in-sunlight.