Wouldn’t you know it? Just a few hours after I mentioned the yarn order I was waiting for, it appeared on the doorstep.

It’s amazing, and it came with jellybeans…

I couldn’t resist this colour. The red used for the Tomatoe in No Sheep for You is called, funnily enough, ‘tomato’. It’s a bit orange for my skin tone (colours on the yellow side makes me look ill) so I went for ‘ladybug’. Oh my. In real life this is so much more vivid than it was on the screen. It reminds me of my first ebay purchase, a batch of Anny Blatt ‘fire engine red’ mohair that practically glowed in the dark. I can’t bear to part with the jumper and scarf I made with it, despite the mohairy itchy fibres-up-the-nose-and-all-over-your-clothes-ness.

I may love the colour, but I’m afraid my concerns that the yarn will be a bit heavy for a hot Aussie summer were justified. The yarn is thick and densely fluffy and I can easily imagine it giving wool a good run for it’s money in larger garments.

Still, I’m going ahead with Tomatoe because I love it, and if it’s too heavy for summer I should still be able to wear it with a long sleeve top underneath in cooler weather, as I do with other summer tops I’ve knit. Last night I knit a swatch and it’s soaking in a bucket right now.

Now, I wonder if ‘mentioning’ other late orders might persuade them to turn up? There’s that batch of caesin needles I won on ebay last Wednesday, and the seller still hasn’t emailed to confirm the total…