Test knitting

Today I received a very lovely parcel in the post - the yarn for my test knitting project, some gorgeous soft Rowan baby alpaca. I can't describe how lovely this is, just heavenly:-) Its so soft to the touch it makes you realise just how brash and hard all those other yarns have been:-))) And I thought cashmerino was nice. This is on another level entirely and after I stopped fondling it :-), I got around to knitting with it - sigh, perfection! Yum, yum, yum!

So what am I test knitting? It's a lovely cowl pattern by designer Karen Scott called Cornflower Cowl full of lovely cables and twisted stitches and I'm enjoying every minute of it. I think this alpaca is spoiling me!! How will I go back to my acrylic stash now!!! But not just providing me with this yummy yarn to test knit with, Karen also included some of her lovely stitch markers for me as a gift - aren't they lovely? Especially for socks which is perfect as the normal ones are a major pain being far too big and getting in the way all the time.

A close-up for you. I love the little heart on the left:-) Do you think Karen knows about my love of pink? It came in a bright pink mail bag, wrapped in bright pink tissue paper and the stitch markers were in this pink organza bag with a pink ribbon!! A lovely way to start the day. Thank you so much Karen!! There was another small gift too......

.....but it didn't last long enough for the photo shoot:-))