Raising a kid in the 2000s meant I lost track of adult music for a while, so I kind of missed out on Paramore at the time. But Hayley Williams just released a slew of new songs (not an album, for whatever reason, but very album-like), and I am here for it all!

Not all masculinity is toxic. Especially in the fiber arts community I have met lots of men, both trans and cis, who remind me that just being male is not the problem. The problem is trying to navigate entrenched male gender roles in our society. I was raised in a time when “Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche” was a bestseller. It was written as a satire, but it reflected real attitudes. I lived through the era of “metrosexual” derision: those big-city men and their feminized ways. And of course it hasn’t gone away. The MAGA movement is largely a backlash to the real progress I’ve seen over the decades with women and queer folks being more visible and more visibly in charge. The young people I meet have much more awareness and much healthier attitudes toward gender issues than my generation (although there’s a worrisome trend around young male incels who haven’t adopted those messages).

The fiber arts community is largely a really great place to be a man, as long as you are willing to listen and contribute but not take over. When I first got into this business 15 years ago, it seemed like an overly large percentage of celebrated designers were men. That’s less and less true. It can be disorienting for some guys to be part of something where they are a curiosity and sometimes attract the kind of attention they don’t want. (Sometimes there’s an assumption that male crafters are less proficient, or an assumption about their sexuality. Sometimes there’s even objectification. It can be real weird, but it can also be truly educational in understanding what women have to go through every day.) There are some great men’s knitting retreats around the country that foster good fun and support. I like to think of crochet and knitting as green flags–I’ve met a couple of problematic male crafters over the years, but compared to the general population? Stitching men are actively working against ingrained gender expectations, and that’s a good thing.

One reason I like knitting in public is that it shows the world a different side of masculinity. And, by the way, I love quiche too.

Who wants to join a book club? Some of us are reading Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton. You can join the discussion on our Discord server. I’m also working on a new murder mystery for Purl’s. One of our very own hand-dyed yarns is a DK-weight marled multicolor we call “Yarn DicK.” Our first release came with one chapter of a murder mystery inside the ball band of each different color. For the next batch we’ve decided to go a different direction. After all, not everyone wants every color, but we want everyone to be able to enjoy the mystery.

So we’re going to have a little booklet with the entirety of the first mystery, and all but the last chapter of the new mystery, and the new ball bands will have hints to help. The first three people to solve the mystery after SAFF will get a skein of the final chapter’s color for free (or you can buy a skein of that color to read the last chapter with the solution).

Usually we rely on knitting and crochet to KEEP us from murdering people, but sometimes you just need to give in, right?

We had so much fun with the whole Purl’s gang last year, we decided to do it again. Whether you are a stitch group regular or you just want to meet people and get to know us nerdy crafters, get yourself a ticket for Sunday of Time Travelers’ Weekend (they do sell out). We’ll be arranging carpooling to Charlotte on the Discord closer to the event. It will be a fun excuse to cosplay as anything you like, if you’re into that!

If you come to one of our stitch groups and feel like everyone already knows each other, please come back and stick with us for a few weeks at least. We do try to be welcoming and get to know everyone, but sometimes our groups (Sunday especially) can get big and chaotic. But we promise that it doesn’t take long to fit in, even for introverts (many of us are secret introverts, we just don’t act so shy when we are relaxed and with people we love). Especially if you feel like you haven’t found your social space in Asheville, we want you to find it here with us!

Not sure how some of these things happen, but our new site lost track of a bunch of graphics, which I had to re-upload. Also, I forgot to upload last month’s newsletter with everything else going on. If you want to make sure to see it, sign up to get it in your inbox at purlsyarn.com!

We are back from SUUSI and rediscovering yarn! But we are still filled with that loving community vibe. Seriously, if you are able to get a week free next July, come along! It’s fun for every age with all kinds of activities and stuff going on. It’s an inspiring space and we like to bring the spirit home with us (no we are not a cult, lol).

Every year since 2010 (except COVID), we’ve taken a week in July to go to SUUSI, our Unitarian Universalist summer “camp.” We’ve got so many friends there, even if we mostly only see them once a year. Our kids grew up together. We play and sing and talk and hang out, sometimes hike and dance and make even more friends. Elizabeth leads worship, Rik leads D&D sessions (and puts out the daily newsletter). We will miss being around to meet all your yarn needs, but it’s a time we rely on to have a change of scenery, some self care, and some giving back. It was at our very first SUUSI that we decided we were serious about a yarn store.

You can order online while we’re away to ship or pick up, but we won’t get to your yarn until we are back in the shop again on July 30. So until July 18, consider yourself on notice to prepare for any upcoming yarn emergency (and remember, while we might be your favorite local yarn shop, there are others you can go to in a pinch)!

We’re really excited about REMIXIT, the upcoming local creative reuse store. So excited that we gave them a big chunk of seed money to get started. We met Amanda Wilde yesterday and we think this is going to be exactly the sort of thing our community will love. So check out their plans and get involved if you have time!

It’s been a month, okay? We’ve been having family stuff (good stuff but lots of work) going on and prepping for our week-plus away (SUUSI.org), And honestly I probably won’t get back to daily posting until we get back at the very end of July. But we’re still here and even when we’re away, you can get in touch if you need us.