Santa Arrives Early

It's like Christmas morning here, with packages arriving that are filled with goodies -- all for me! (lol)

I came home yesterday after having a fantastic time teaching at the Knit Together store in Stamford to find that my "Crochet Santa" delivered three very wonderful things:

First, Santa (aka the maillady) delivered my new Graydog Crochet Hook. I've been on the hunt for a size "P" Graydog hook for the past 18 months, so to finally have one in my hands is amazing!

If you haven't heard of "Graydog" then let me introduce you to them. They are hand turned (and sometimes jeweled) crochet hooks that are created by a husband and wife team, Bill & Jill, in California. They started selling their hooks on ebay in the late 1990s and have a huge fan base. I am their self-appointed biggest cheerleader.

They have a couple different crochet hook designs -- you'd have to look on ebay to see them to get an idea of what I'm referencing to -- but the concept is simple. They design the hooks with different crocheter needs in mind. They have a hook with a flat thumb spot now, the "Charley" hook, and then the one I love, the one that is purely rounded with the barrel or the midsection a bit larger. I like it this way as it works with the way I crochet quite well.

The second item Santa (aka the maillady again) delivered was the latest issue of Piecework Magazine. I love this magazine because it seems to embrace all the fiber arts, and this month they have a special article on "Preacher Lewis's Mission of Crochet." I'm halfway through the article and am enjoying it immensely! They also have some crochet patterns to try, along with exposure to other fiber arts, and they do this in such a way that you can't help but be inspired!

The third item Santa delivered (aka UPSman) is the recycled silk hanks I ordered through the www.Gearthatgives.com website that helps various organizations. I can't be more pleased! Six beautiful hanks all wanting to be worked up, in crochet, but of course!

But then, this morning, Santa delivered another treat via email. It was from Ang W. stating that she's helping with the 30 Scarves in 30 Days challenge! Yea!! She's donated a scarf to her local food bank in St. Stephens!

OK, so our current count then is:
   1 scarf and two hats from Cris of Danbury
   1 scarf as posted by Robin Anderson (scarf to go to YMCA homeless shelter)
   1 scarf from Lori of Greenwich
   1 scarf from Ang W (scarf went to homeless shelter in St. Stephens)
           (THANK YOU LADIES!!!!)
and I now have 10 done ....
that brings us to 14 of the 30 Scarves in 30 days Challenge.

If you'd like to participate, just crochet or knit up a scarf and let me know via email or posting here where you intend to donate it. Together, we can reach this goal and make a difference to someone in need! :)

...so I have this grin across my face this morning, much like that of a child that awakes to find Santa had left wonderful treasures.  I love when days are like this!