I carried Manos a few years ago, and it was really nice - fantastic colors, great yardage, and a nice price - plus it's a fair trade product that supports a woman's co-op in Uruguay.  So I always liked it.  But then my rep for that yarn retired and you know, out of sight, out of mind.  But then, Peter, my rep for all things Rowan and Kim Hargreaves said he was the rep for Manos now, and did I want to look at it.  Oh my goodness, yes - tempt me, Peter, lead me into temptation, subject me to the forces of evil that ruin the most carefully of planned budgets.  He must have seen it in my eyes because he pulled out the colors and I was gone.

In the time since I had Manos in the shop, they added some really beautiful fibers to their line.  Their primary wool is an incredibly soft merino in a heavy worsted single ply that is so buttery soft you can't believe it.  It comes in this really generous hank of 215 yards, which is plenty for tons of great projects.  I love hand-dyed yarns in lovely colorways, and a small ut they can often be overwhelming in a sweater, so I've been thinking and poring over Ravelry for great looking small projects that really shows off this beautiful yarn. 

The first one is this cozy cowl from Susan Lawrence of "I'm Knitting as Fast as I can"  It's a free pattern, and I LOVE it.  I know, it's almost May, and it'll be a long time before you want to wear a cowl, but it's never too soon to think about great gifts. 

Here's the cowl worked in a Manos colorway.  See how nicely the colors work in this undulating cable pattern?  You know, it reminds me of the Star Crossed beret - Wouldn't that be a gorgeous matched set!