One of the nice things about “lock-down” was having the time to take long walks. Even though we were supposed to stay at home, having Purl meant that I had an excuse to be outside several times a day. It’s easy to maintain a safe distance in my neighborhood so off we would go. West Reading is eminently walkable, and I developed a sincere appreciation of the beautiful old trees, sidewalks, lots of street parking and stop signs (so the traffic is never dangerously fast), lots of squirrels (for Purl to stalk, when she could still see them) and a nodding acquaintance with other walkers.
Now that the days are getting shorter and the temperature is moderating a little bit, thoughts of fall and winter creep in, wondering what a winter with the virus still rampant will be like. I realized that the one thing I’ll miss about this weird summer is the walking. Then I read an article about that same thing by someone living in NYC, and they said they intend to keep on walking, that in the olden days everyone walked everywhere no matter the weather, that they bundled up and forged ahead.
So, as a knitter, I thought “Of course! Warm hats, mittens, scarves, shawls – we’ll all need them this winter to keep on walking.” And, yes, you can get high-tech stuff, but is that cozy? Is that comforting? I personally don’t want to pull on a polyester gaiter made out of some petroleum product and head out into frosty weather. I want fluffy alpaca around my neck, nice merino next to my skin and a pair of woolly felted mittens on my hands. So I’ve started some smaller projects that will encourage me to keep going outside even on the coldest days. Because it’s a great mood lifter and because it helps you appreciate coming home and being inside!
And I think we’ll still be inside a lot this winter. I want to open for some regular hours instead of just by appointment so I’m watching things closely. Although Berks County has been relatively flat in the number of new cases, almost every county to our north and west is increasing. It was to be expected because it’s summer, I guess, but it makes me hesitate. Most people are so good about wearing masks in the store, but I still get some whiners. I whined a bit myself early on, but now it’s just life, just something I’ve gotten used to.
So, back to knitting! I’m obviously feeling pretty chatty today, so I apologize for rambling on, and now will continue to ramble.
Deb Hawk made a great suggestion: Put those small projects into kits that would be easy for people to grab and go. I thought that would be fun and give me a chance to get creative with some of the yarn I have and love but that people don’t notice much. Here’s the first thing I came up with:
Knitted in a lovely soft and smooth blend of baby alpaca and bamboo, this cowl features a fun-to-do slip-stitch with a twist and a bit of shaping at the top to hug your neck and keep the wind out.
The $25 kit comes with the exclusive pattern and enough yarn to make the cowl, and to add a repeat if you know someone with an extra long or thick neck! Available in about 10 different shades at this time.
Now I have so many ideas for Grab and Go kits that I can’t stop thinking about them and it’s all I want to work on. So Glow is languishing a little, until late evening when I’m too tired to do anything creative. But I’m making progress:
I’m working on the wings. It’s humongous, too big to carry around, and a bit of a weird shape, but I love it. I hope these cool cloudy blue shades transitioning to soft blue-purples will be pretty; they’ve been soothing to work with during these last few icky weeks of summer.
I’m going to be closed from August 30 through Labor Day, which is late this year, September 7. If things stay calm virus-wise around here, I’ll open for some regular store hours thereafter. I’ll let you know!
And now, I must head to my kitchen where I am engaged in a fierce battle with a bunch of tiny little ants. I have no quarrel with ants, but must defend my borders. I left some little something on the counter last night that proved irresistible to these invaders – it might have been a droplet of Lenore Peloso’s fabulous Black Raspberry jam so who could blame them? – and now I have to go kill them, which makes me very sad. War is hell!
