Best two souvenirs ever!

On my recent travels I was lucky enough to spend time with two people who I have considered "internet friends" for some time...

the lovely Fiona Ballard of Pip 'n' Milly Creations and the Yarn Yenta herself, Heatherly Walker.

Fiona makes fabulous bags of all kinds, and she knew I was preparing for a month of insane travel - and Fair Isle classes - so she gifted me with a custom-made knitting bag of my very own. In my favourite shades of orange.

 What's brilliant about this bag - other than the colour and fabric - I mean, really, how good is that print? - is that clear window at the front. Fiona knows I'm working on some Fair Isle, and the wide opening and clear window make this bag ideal for colourwork projects. The two balls of yarn sit side by side in the bag, and the chart rests tidily at the front. It's GENIUS. Bonus sneak preview of new design for you, too.

And Heatherly gifted me with a bag from Slipped Stitch Studios - a Doctor Who project bag for carrying my socks around in.

And I think it's even a little bigger on the inside... 

I'd spotted a student at the KnitLab event carrying a Doctor Who project bag the evening before, and was coveting it badly, so this was a serious hit.

It's so wonderful to have a face and a voice to go with the Twitter avatars I know so well, and to to be able to count both Fiona and Heatherly as my "real life" friends, too. (Not just because they gave me presents, really!)