Ahoy Matey!

My KnittingHelp.com Surprise Theme Swap partner, Jes from San Diego, received the package I sent to her and I think she liked it!
I'd learned that she loved pirate stuff and one of her favorite colors was light blue (and that she gardens a little!), so a "treasure chest" I would make for her.

Unfortunately, after much scouring of the internet, I couldn't find anything I really liked that would work in Southern CA. Similar to here in Austin, there is little need for massively bulky chunky items as we just don't get that many extremely cold days typically. Unlike here in Austin, though, San Diego does get some cooler evenings. With that in mind, and not being able to find what I wanted, I took a lace chart of some skulls and crossbones and figured out how many/how much was needed to make a Skull Stole (one where all the skulls would be facing the correct way). If you would like, I invite you to download a copy of this pattern and knit up this little treasure for yourself.

I wish I'd taken a picture of the swatch I knit as it was pretty cool, even though I, personally, am not a big "skull" fan. Anyway, I finally got everything together and sent to her. Besides her intro letter, "treasure map" (aka pattern), gold coins and jewels, and "pearl" stitch markers (including a precious "black pearl" marker), I sent the most scrumptious yarn that was ever so difficult to part with. Jes didn't want any wool yarn so I found a couple of skeins (just enough for the stole) of Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud yarn in Horizon.

Although I went over budget on this package and was worried a few times about the package coming together, I was very pleased with it and hope that Jes enjoys knitting up her treasure!