The Old Shale Smoke Ring is Done and In the Mail

I tried on the Old Shale Smoke Ring before sending it off. It's true what everyone says, knitted lace changes for the better after it is stretched and blocked.

The brilliant thing about this gift is not that the colour is perfectly suited to the recipient. It is not that I made my first piece of knitted lace and posted it with the sort of satisfaction I imagine a cat must have when leaving a bird on the doorstep.

No, it is brilliant because the parcel cost only $2.27 to mail across the border.

This yarn-spinning business is great for an expat like me. Every gift I send to family has to be sent across the border, and while I like posting parcels, I like the contents to be worth more than the stamp. Doesn't always happen. Chocolate bars are heavy. But handspun yarn handknit? That Romney watch cap I spun and knit, I sent it to my dad and it fit beautifully in the envelope and weighed little. Very gratifying.