I got my basket of goodies from my secret pal spoiler, Chris. I have to say, she really outdid herself.

The goodies were packed in a cute knit basket.

Unfortunately, the digital camera needs batteries, and I don’t have any at home, so I’m stuck using the camera phone tonight. The basket is tan, although it looks pinkish here. The trim is a brick red. It has some very pretty, subtle color work on the sides as well. The basket is bigger than it looks too; in this picture it’s holding two skeins of Regia, two of handspun and a small spindle. The mobius handle is a really cute touch.

The handspun is the skein on the left. There are two of them, and the picture really doesn’t do it justice. It was much more neatly wound, but I, of course, had to take it out and play with it, so it’s not nearly as neat now. The colors are a rich, earthy brown mixed with an off-white. This stuff is practically screaming to be knit up!

The Regia (bottom) is a mix of rich blues. My husband has been eyeing this, so I’m probably going to turn it into some socks for him. Again, two balls, and very pretty colors.

The teddy bear you see is the top of a small spindle. I’ve been toying with the idea of learning to spin, so Chris is tempting me! Every time I look at her handspun, I get the urge to make some of my own. I wonder how many messes I’ll have to make before I get something that looks even close to as great as hers? I don’t want to think about that…

She also sent Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitter’s Almanac. Ive had my eye on this book for a while, and I’m pleased as I can be to add it to my knitting library. I’ve been thumbing through already, and a couple of the patterns are looking mighty interesting.

In addition to what you see in the pictures, she also sent a very cool looking crystal, some lemon handmade soap (which smells absolutely delicious!) and chocolate. I’ll let you wonder about why the chocolate never made it to the pictures.

She did a terrific job wrapping everything up, and I had a blast going through everything. Thanks, Chris!