Ravelry has many, many different discussion boards, practically one for any interest you can name. If there isn’t one, you can start it. Several of the groups I belong to periodically put together swaps. These are delightful arrangements in which some brave soul matches people up, wither in paris or in an “upstream/downstream” fashion, based on answers to a questionnaire. These folks then prepare a package to mail to their assigned recipient. The package contents are dictated by the swap rules: total price range, theme, and specific items. Most Ravelry swaps contain a knitted item, but some simply stipulate a hand-made item must be included. Yarn or fiber is usually also included. If the swap is associated with a particular shop, the yarn might have to be purchased from that shop.
So I got the most marvelous swap package the other day from my upstream partner in a swap associated with The Loopy Ewe. Packages were to contain yarn and a knitted item, made from yarn bought at The Loopy Ewe, plus other items to fit a “Winter Wonderland” theme.
It’s no secret around Ravelry that I particularly favor a certain BBC production. So I was delighted to receive the lovely items in my package:
Goodies!
How awesome is that?
Swaps are tons of fun. You get to “cyberstalk” your assigned partner and select items you think she (or he) will like. You shop for yarn for someone else. You wrap it all up and send it off, to await the gleeful squeals that come back through Ravelry.
Join a swap today!
internationalknitterofmystery 
What a great package to receive in the mail! Those mitts are fabulous!