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Three cakes of hand spun 2-ply wool. That's what the bulging golden envelope with the beautiful stamps and return address of Nairobi, Kenya contained.

People talk about being environmentally green these days, even when it comes to yarn. This wonderful gift is the real deal: barely processed, loaded with lanolin and vegetable matter, and definitely spun without the consistency benefits of a wheel. It's that very authenticity of the yarn that may make it difficult to work with.

As I attempted to find the working end of the yarn, it began to come apart. I am obviously unaccustomed to yarn spun in this manner. Perhaps I will do as the giver asks, simply keeping it as part of my collection and enjoying it for what it is: a symbol of a friendship born in an Amsterdam cafe, that made its way across continents and blossomed in Africa - all thanks to the Internet.