Stitching apart, together
I've been thinking about the way our points of connection are feeling frayed, and the many creative ways we have of maintaining connections when we have to be apart.
At the industry level, our trade association dissolved when it became clear that the summer trade show would not happen. In the spirit of mutual aid, that's when a group of shop owners started organizing vendor presentations via Zoom. That's how I first encountered Murky Depths Dyeworks (you can browse the Neptune DK here), and you'll be seeing more new lines gracing our shelves and pages in the future. Similarly, several of our vendors and sales reps have organized a virtual conference, and are making the sessions available to participating shop owners in real time, as well as recording them to make them accessible after the fact.
Locally, we've been hosting social stitching via Zoom every week for the past six months. Throughout, the Thursday edition has been the best attended. It's a fun opportunity to stitch and chat, and while it's impossible to reach out and pet someone's project, it's more like a regular stitching circle than you'd think.
Beginning next week I am going to experiment with dropping the Wednesday and Friday lunchtime sessions, and replacing them with a community forum hosted on the site here. Please note that in order to post, you will need to create an account (which also speeds up your checkout when shopping online). Our digital privacy policy is here. When viewing on a computer browser, you'll see specific forum threads in the upper left of your screen; when viewing from a mobile device, clicking on the three lines in the upper left will drop down a menu with the same options. This forum is intended to be an option for sharing within the Yarn Folk community--if you have specific questions about products or anything else, it's best to email me or use the contact form at the bottom of the Yarn Folk home page.
With an eye toward flexibility, we'll give this a whirl. While there are ways to use both Ravelry and Facebook to share pictures and progress, I'd like to try something a bit more specific to our community here--please let me know what you think!
Current open hours are Monday - Friday, 7am-3:30pm, and Saturdays, 9am-3pm. In-store shopping: mask covering nose and mouth required for the duration of your visit. Please note that the scheduling tool we were using is not currently available on the new platform--if you'd like to reserve a shopping time, please email me: ann@yarnfolk.com. We continue to be mindful about making it possible to maintain social distancing in the shop.
…to learn (and do)
CURRENT CLASSES & EVENTS
Social Stitching via Zoom
Wednesday, October 28, 12:00-1:00pm https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88351111252?pwd=WFpkR2pLaEx4d1dMSFI3OXl4dWJ5Zz09 OR open Zoom and enter 883-5111-1252 for the meeting ID
Thursday, October 29, 4:00-6:00pm https://us04web.zoom.us/j/981942707?pwd=TExyQlRPWnB3OW40QkFZRCs5aVRtQT09 OR open Zoom and enter 981-942-707 for the meeting ID
Friday, October 30, 12:00-1:00pm https://us04web.zoom.us/j/741980568?pwd=bXp1ellFUHNqS0lUaFYvS1ord3Fndz09 OR open Zoom and enter 741-980-568 for the meeting ID FELIX KAL INCLUDED HERE!
PASSWORD FOR ALL MEETINGS IS 330044.
...to anticipate
Due to the arrival of large boxes from Malabrigo and Bryson, I spent a good portion of last week unpacking and shelving yarn, needles, and notions. Arroyo works well for projects calling for either sport or DK weight yarn, and we've got a nice selection of colors in stock. And Rasta! Oh, how elusive you've been, but here are some gorgeous new hand-painted shades in one of our very favorite super bulky yarns.
While I can't say that every notion has been added to the site, most of the basics are there now--you can browse them here. (Needles and hooks have been listed since the site launched.)
During the period where Yarn Folk was closed to the public issues of two of our favorite magazines for makers were released--Making No. 9 SIMPLE and MDK Field Guide No. 14, Refresh.
We didn't order at that point--too much uncertainty.
However, here we are in October, and we just received the most recent issue of Making (No. 10 INTRICATE) and MDK Field Guide No. 15, Open--along with the issues we missed.
These are such thoughtfully curated and beautifully photographed publications, and how better to get inspired on a chilly fall day than by curling up with a hot beverage to peruse the projects inside?
You can find them in the shop, or online here for Making and here for the MDK Field Guides. (Side note: if you're an aspiring sock knitter, MDK Field Guide No. 11 is a terrific reference, with clear instructions for both cuff-down and toe-up knitting, plus stitch patterns for plenty of variations.)
…to inspire
As mentioned above, unique connections with other shop owners have been one of the silver linings of pandemic-times. Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a Shop to Shop chat with Sunni Scrivner of Yarn in Eureka, CA.
The video is 36 minutes long. Show and tell items I highlighted were Apple Fiber Studio Cosmic Crisp, Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft, Murky Depths Neptune DK, and kits for the Soundtrack Sweater.
...to stitch
Matriochka
I'm just over here on sleeve island 🏝. Matriochka in Kim Dyes Yarn Tartlet Sport is about 1 1/4 sleeves away from completion! As expected, the lace pattern on the outer sleeve is holding my interest as I make the equivalent of about three socks...
Colormatic
I also did quite a bit of work on the Colormatic cowl for the Yarn Folk Cowl KAL CAL, using HiKoo Kenzie beetroot (1004), tamarillo (1011), saddleback (1020), and collingwood (1021). Each of the four sections is either 6" or 16"--I'm making the double loop, so I'm in for the long haul! Section one combines colors A & B; section two is colors A & C. These are mosaic colorwork, so you're only knitting with one color at a time.
