Sorry to be such a bad blogger. We’ve been super busy juggling various projects, including ongoing family sandwich-generation stuff, building a new website for SUUSI (the week we disappear for every July), and planning the annual Purl’s retreat. Which is why we’ll be closed next weekend.

Apologies to those of you who’d like to come: we are full this year. BUT, it gives you the opportunity to plan for next year. We always shoot for the last weekend of March, so if you block out that time and keep your eyes on your email, we’d love to have you at the next one. We usually have about 30 people spending the weekend knitting, crocheting, spinning, felting, hiking, playing games, cooking together, and sharing joy. This year people wanted a murder mystery weekend, so (being constitutionally unable to do things halfway) I wrote a custom mystery for 20+ participants. Now my brain hurts, but I think it will be entertaining.

So if you have a need for yarn, come today or Wednesday, because we’ll be closed March 26-29 (including our Nerd Night stitch group Sunday the 29th). And even if you miss out on this year’s retreat, there are lots of ways to participate in our community and get to know new friends. Please join us whenever you can!

Okay, I’m a Hasbro hater and I mostly play Shadowdark these days, but I’m surprised that I’m just finding out about the Dungeons & Dragons crochet book now. Enter the contest to win Lion Brand yarn.

Books are tricky for yarn shops to stock. People are buying fewer of them, and our big distributors carry very few titles now, which means if we want books we have to order direct from the publisher. Industry consolidation has made that not impossible, but it still means we can’t get every book we might want.

So if we don’t have a book you want, don’t feel bad about buying it elsewhere, unless you buy it from Amazon (then you should feel bad).

Okay I know it’s Wednesday, but that’s like Monday for us and it’s alliterative.

You know how sometimes a song will just stop you dead in your tracks? I was driving home from work sometime in 2021 and heard “Heat Wave” on the radio and had to look up “who is this?” and discovered Snail Mail.

Lindsey Jordan is an incredible guitarist and great songwriter coming out of Baltimore as a teenager. She lives in North Carolina now and has a new album coming out March 27. The first single is called “Dead End” and the video involves cryptid hunting.

But I like the second video even better. Snail Mail is playing the Orange Peel on April 21, and I have tickets!

I’ve encountered some knitters, and even a few crocheters, who are a little closed-minded. They say things like “you’re doing that wrong,” or “you should knit Continental because it’s faster” instead of something like “would you like to see a different way of doing that?”

We live in a society where people insist there’s a right way and a wrong way to do things, where authority figures preach that only their methods are correct and that if you follow another path you are doomed or poisonous. But for the most part, crafters are not like that: we value looking at things in different ways and figuring out what feels best in our hands.

My favorite knitting book is Anna Zilboorg’s Knitting For Anarchists. It looks closely at how the loops of various stitches physically connect to each other and at all the ways those connections can be accomplished. There’s no “best way” or “right way.” There ARE ways that won’t get you what you want, but there’s no moral value on making mistakes — something only needs to be “fixed” if the maker finds it unsatisfactory.

What I love about the crafting community is how warmly it embraces new crafters. How eager we are to teach people who want to learn. But always teach and embrace with care and without judgement. Everyone holds things a little differently and moves yarn and stitches and tools around in their own unique way. I’m always fascinated to watch someone else’s hands moving, and at how many different “right ways” there are to be in the world.

If you’re not on Discord, or attending one of our stitch groups, you might have missed the TV sensation that’s spreading through our stitchers like wildfire (or herpes?): the Hallmark Channel show (now on Netflix), The Way Home. I describe it as “Gilmore Girls meets Doctor Who.” Three generations of women in a family struggle to get their lives on track (Asheville’s own Andie McDowell, Grey’s Anatomy star Chyler Leigh, and newcomer Sadie Laflamme-Snow) while jumping in and out of a time-travelling pond. It’s kind of like Outlander without all the raping and Scottish accents. It’s also addictive watching as you try to puzzle out how the time travel works, and if there is a purpose to all the getting damp. The characters make terrible life choices, but don’t we all? It’s a lot of fun, and Season 4 (the final one) starts in April. If you want to join in the discussion, start watching and join our thread on Discord. Or let us in or YOUR favorite show, because sometimes the hidden gems outshine the blockbusters.

Some days I get into philosophical discussions with our Fed Ex guy. But today someone called “from the US Military” wanting to source “a large number of Boye crochet hooks.” He sounded legit, and told me what GSA paperwork I’d need to fill out, but I had to break it to him that I only had 3 in stock and all the rest were Susan Bates. I gave him the numbers of three of our notions suppliers, but did I do the right thing? Was he just trying to “hook up” our troops with some nice leisure supplies? Or does the Army have some nefarious plans involving crochet? The mind boggles.

We’ve admired Kelbourne Woolens for a long time. Not only do they have some really great yarns, they seem like really cool people. When you find kindred spirits in this industry, it’s important to support them. We’re sorry it’s taken this long to introduce some of their yarns, but you’ll be seeing more and more, we promise! Over time, you’ll see us phasing out private-equity owned brands in favor of independent suppliers and family-owned businesses (did you know Lion Brand has been owned by the same family since 1878?). Private equity is all about squeezing as much money out of a property as possible, even when that means destroying it in the process (JoAnne’s, for instance). Meanwhile, Courtney Kelley and Kate Gagnon Osborn have worked hard to create great yarns like Germantown, a non-superwash worsted weight wool made in the USA; Cricket, a fingering weight single ply tweed imported from Ireland; and Harmony, a silk-mohair blend in many gorgeous colors. While brands owned by private equity are cutting ties with influencers who are making the Melt the Ice hat, Kelbourne has been outspoken about their progressive values.

It always feels good to get a big shipment of yarn! We are full up again on Rios, Arroyo, Mecha, Rasta, Sock, and Ultimate Sock, at the best prices in town. Come and get it while we have lots of choices.

New yarn in the store: Araucanian Glisten. Cotton with lurex (sparkle!) in fingering weight.

If we’re going to have to be the sandwich generation, we should at least get to eat a sandwich! Thanks for being patient as we’ve been juggling caregiving, stomach bugs, and retail. Being a Mom & Pop means that sometimes both Mom AND Pop are down for the count. Thanks for making us REALLY WANT to come back to work, because we miss you when we don’t get to see y’all! See you at the shop, or come say hi on Zoom tonight.