Staying Sane During Social Distancing--Knitters Know How!

These jonquils are in my front yard. I have two more beds of them as big as this bed. I can always depend on them to bring in lots of Spring joy! Their fragrance is amazingly strong…you can only bring one or two inside the house; otherwise, the scent is overwhelming.

Greetings from my “shelter at home” social distancing life. Several weeks ago ,in late February, I came home from back to back teaching at two fiber arts conferences—Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat in Tacoma, WA and Stitches West in Santa Clara, CA. These were wonderful experiences, and I was all prepared, with images, to describe the experiences to entice you to attend them and other such major events, of which there are many all over the country. Before I could write it up, the reality of the Covid 19 crisis began to emerge in earnest, with the hot spot in California being the very location I had been in just the week before, Santa Clara. And then the axe began to fall as cancellations of events began to be announced…Stitches United, Vogue Knitting LIve Seattle, Dallas-Fort Worth Fiber Fest, Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, YarnCon. At that point, it seemed utterly inappropriate to write that blog post…there will be a future time for that…when we have passed through and beyond this calamity. And then I will remind you fully about the joy of such events and urge you to attend..

Cancellations are hard for us fiber arts teachers, because we only get income when we teach, and these contracts are a major part of making financial ends meet for many of us. Likewise, I cannot fathom the level of distress of the organizers. So much effort, thousands of hours of work, so much coordination of vendors, selection of teachers and classes, figuring out the schedule, coordinating with the venue…it boggles my mind. To have to cancel after all that work, the sadness must be immense. And there is the extra worry as to whether the financial loss will jeopardize the possibility of holding the event next year. After all, money was already spent to produce the event this year that is irretrievable, and there is no revenue coming in to seed next year’s event. None of us can know for sure which events will return and which ones will not.

in such unsettling times, knitters have the advantage of being comfortable being at home and not going stir crazy. After all, we can do one of the things that we really like to do—knit! We also can connect via our online communities and find ways of supporting and encouraging each other.

So, as a gesture of solidarity with you as my knitting comrades, I’m going to be putting two patterns of my designs at 50% off about every two weeks. There will be a code for you to use upon checkout. This is my way of saying “Hang in there, and knit up some peace.” At the same time, you can know that I am getting a bit of income in order to go buy something very crucial…like coffee beans!! So think of it this way…”I’m getting a pattern of something beautiful to make at a super discount, and I’m helping keep Harry from writhing on the floor due to headaches and chills from caffeine withdrawal.” (If you’ve ever experienced actual withdrawal from caffeine, you will totally understand.)

So here are the two patterns currently on offer for a discount of 50% from now until April 9 at midnight (midnight on whatever timezone Ravelry uses). The code to use is ShelterInPlace1.

PATTERN #1: OCEAN KELP

Model is Tahki Cotton Classic, 50g/108yds, using US Size 10 needle

 Ocean Kelp has a lovely pattern that obviously reminds me of undulating kelp as waves come in and out. It's a great shawl pattern for someone who wants an easy, but interesting lace pattern that works up quickly using a larger yarn and needle (worsted, Tahki Cotton Classic, 50g/108 yds, using US size 10 for models). I also just finished one with Tahki Cotton Classic Lite (50g/146 yds) using size 8 needle, adding more repeats of the pattern to achieve the original size.

Models are made using Tahki Cotton Classic, 50g/108yds, using US Size 10 needle. I just finished another Ocean Kelp using Tahki Cotton Classic Lite 50g/146 yds, using US Size 8 needle, repeating the charted pattern for 6 repeats

PATTERN #2: BRICK AND MORTAR

Brick and Mortar Cowl is a fun, fast knit. If you can knit, purl, and slip a stitch, you can make this cowl. And color combos can be muted or a bit wild and fun, as you can see below! These images show the shorter version.

Or you can do a longer version for drama…or to wrap around.

You can buy these patterns, and all my designs, on my Ravelry site, Use the code ShelterInPlace1 to get the 50% off these two patterns.

While we must do social distancing as an absolutely necessary precaution to slow the spread and flatten the curve of this infectious disease, we truly need to maintain social intimacy—heartfelt connection to each other. As we practice isolation, we do not have to feel isolated. We can hold each other in our hearts and we can reach out and touch each other via social media. Stay apart…stay well…that is truly the most caring thing we can do right now. And knit on.