Family Wedding Trip Revisions
It was just meant to be a quick trip East to see my nephew get married.
For the first time in ages, I did not check the route to see what yarn shops I’d be passing along the way. I did not even look to see if there were any yarn shops near our destination. We were driving over for a wedding and coming back via the grandkids and Pemberley. Zip zip zoom, do not pass Go, do not collect (or spend!) $200. Wedding, grandmunchkins & their parents, sheeps, home, done.
Do your travel plans ever work out the way you design them?
I should start calling them “Travel Rough Drafts” rather than Plans. However, like most rough drafts, this trip improved with revisions.
Revision 1: The Missouri U-Turn
Springfield, MO had been in the rearview mirror for a while when Greg said, “I wonder if there are any local yarn shops nearby.”
(Believe me, folks, I know how blessed I am.)
He pulled out his phone and went to one of his top searches: “yarn shops near me.”
(I repeat: Blessed.)
The closest one was only about 5 minutes away. The problem? It was behind us. I was in GO mode, so I asked him, “Do you really want to turn around to go back to a yarn shop?” The man said yes. So we did.
Google Maps took us the scenic route, via a dirt road neighborhood. We just missed plowing into someone’s patrolling guard deer. Eventually, we came to a lovely little town and the yarn shop One City Market.
This place is a hidden gem. I say hidden because the shop has no internet presence other than a Facebook page. And yet Lisa, the owner, is running a thriving business serving eight states with one of the most interesting and varied inventories I’ve ever seen. We had a lovely visit, chatting about Spanish wool (one of her passions), Fiber Arts education, and her incredible experiences in business. She gave me a great tip that went straight into the Beast to Blanket curriculum and delivered a lecture to Greg on The Necessity of Working on Multiple Projects Simultaneously. It was music to my ears.
Revision 2: The Red Bug
The wedding was in the afternoon, so we had some free time the next morning. We decided to check out the local yarn shop in Murray, Kentucky: The Red Bug Yarn & Gifts. We found an absolute treasure in the owner, Susan.
Susan’s shop is beautiful, and it’s full of gorgeous yarn, tools, and trinkets, but Susan is the heart of the shop. She’s created a welcoming and nurturing space and makes you feel like she’s been waiting all day long just for you, especially, to walk in her door.
Right away, we noticed a large display of children’s books about an adorable hedgehog named Tilly. One of Susan’s customers had just had a book signing. We chatted with Susan about it and ended up talking with her about Beast to Blanket. It turns out that before owning a yarn shop, Susan was a teacher and counselor in the school system. She has so much experience and wisdom to share and graciously agreed to look over the curriculum guide and give us her notes so we could make it better.
I knew her review would be valuable, but I was even more excited at having met such a special person.
Revision 3: Knit In Public, Wedding Version?
This is a new one for me. In all my years of knitting, I don’t think I’ve ever brought my knitting to a wedding, much less actually knit during any of the festivities. And technically, I still haven’t. Not really.
You see, Greg and my mother are having a strange sort of competition. Greg just learned to knit a few months ago and my mother is refreshing her skills after a long hiatus. They discovered they were both knitting dishcloths at the same time. Each of them assured the other that they were the slower knitter, and the other would be sure to finish their dishcloth first. It’s the weirdest non-race you’ve ever heard of.
They decided they’d need to bring along their knitting to this family wedding, though, so they could compare notes. And they did. They brought their knitting to the wedding.
Mom and I had an impromptu session where we corrected the wrapping direction of her purl stitch. You know, at the wedding reception. Like it was a perfectly normal thing that people do at wedding receptions.
And then, another happy surprise! A lovely young woman came over and introduced herself. She said she’d seen us knitting, she was a crocheter, and thought she’d say hello. She is an art teacher, and about to start teaching in a new town in Missouri. We got to tell her about One City Market, which isn’t too far away from where she’ll be, and she was kind enough to talk with us about teaching Art in the schools.
It turned out to be a lot of encouraging “business” on the way to the wedding. I’m so glad my plan didn’t go exactly as I’d hoped.
Final Revisions Done!
By now you have received our non-Saturday email with the big news of the PDF release of the Beast to Blanket curriculum guide. In case you missed it, you can find it here.
We’re so excited to have this stage of the project done! The next big steps are to add the print option for the curriculum guide, and the limited availability coaching and class blanket assembly services that I’m planning to offer. Those are mostly a matter of figuring out the technicalities of making things work on the logistical side, and I’m hoping we’ll be able to add them soon. For this release we’ve also got limited quantities of wool samples from our Pemberley sheep available. How fun is that?!
It’s a hectic time in our neck of the woods. I’m seeing (all around me!) reminders of the importance of rest and recovery periods, even in non-stressful times.
This morning provided a few moments in a sunny, quiet lobby with my beautiful cardigan in progress and coffee. Rest and recovery, indeed.
What are you working on today?
Happy knitting!
Kiersten J
