Hi there Yarn-lovers 😊. It’s been a busy few weeks of this and that. And here we are, already near the middle of October! It takes my breath away thinking how close we are to the end of the year. I feel caught in a time machine that keeps zooming ahead! And I realised how awesome it is to have a sort of time machine of my own. This blog…

So step inside my “time machine” and take a trip with me, back to just a few of the things I’ve been up to over the last few weeks.

I Love Yarn

At the beginning of October I went with a retreat-friend to Brooklyn, Pretoria for the Saturday morning I Love Yarn social. It was so lovely to see and and catch up with some of the other retreat-goers so soon after the I Love Yarn Retreat.  I just love the vibe in there. And I Love Yarn holds a special place in my heart because my first visit there was not for the happiest of reasons…

My dad was due to have a large cancerous tumour and half his colon removed earlier this year. I was staying in a guest house in Muckleneuk, didn’t have my family with me for support and I was about to fall apart. So I decided that the closest and best place to find comfort, courage and refuge was at a yarn shop, surrounded by beautiful yarns – regardless of what happened, there would always be gorgeous yarns and yarn shops, and a reason to hope and keep creating. Don’t judge 😁.

It also made me focus on what I could do, rather than on everything I had zero control over and had to leave in someone else’s hands. So, rather than going to Pick ‘n Pay to buy him a new face cloth for the hospital, along with all the other goodies he would need, I bought some Nurturing Fibres Eco-Fusion at I Love Yarn and made him some.

Because, other than everything else I had done and was doing for him, knitting him face cloths felt like something I could do that would mean something. It helped knowing that he’d actually use them. And every stitch was like a bead on a prayer necklace. I’ll never forget that day. And the distraction was exactly what I needed. 

I Love Yarn feels like being in a grown-up candy store – when you walk in, you just want it all! And you can find just about anything there to suit your needs and desires. On the Saturday of the Social, I got to drool over their newest addition to the shop – Hedgehog Fibres. Aren’t they just gorgeous? Even better in the flesh (or should that be “fibre”?). 

Loopy #6

I also managed to get to Loopy #6‘s pop-up with a friend to see all the amazing yarns Jennifer brought back from her US trip. I’ve been wanting to go for a while, to see some of the other yarns she’s been stocking. Specifically, Drops yarns (because we lived in Denmark and Sweden before I started crocheting and knitting, and wanted to see what I’d missed out on     😄).

But I decided to wait for this special occasion. And it didn’t disappoint. Her yarns were heart-stoppingly gorgeous! There were many that almost took my breath away. I didn’t take photos of everything, only the ones I was totally in love with. And there was probably twice as much as what I got pics of. The shop also stocks a vast variety of lovely, desirable knitting and crochet equipment and notions. But I must apologise for the lack of photos because I only had eyes for the yarn…

The photos really don’t do these yarns, or the shop, justice. So please do go and take a look for yourself! What I reeeaaally wanted to do was grab armfuls of everything. But we’d had a week of school holidays just behind us and another birthday and party next month. So I reined my purse strings in and bought only four skeins of yarn. Two skeins of Jennifer’s Loopy #6 hand-dyed fingering Blended Delight (I think it’s the same yarn base as African Expressions Soul) and two skeins of Valley Yarns Palmer, a lace weight alpaca-silk blend that I couldn’t resist.

It was well worth the visit and it was wonderful to meet Jennifer and see her team in action. We loved sitting out in her garden, under the trees, drinking coffee and taking pics of our haul in the dappled shade. Thanks for having us, Jennifer. We loved your shop – a real gem!

There was also a bunch of other goings on I wanted to share with you. But, for now, life must go on, so I’ll keep those for next time.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope the coming week treats you well and is filled with the comforts of yarn 😊.

Bx

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• Art Yarns
• Baah Yarn US
• Colours of Amalfi
• Hedgehog Fibres
• I Love Yarn
• Loopy #6
• Mountain Colors
• Mrs Crosby Loves To Play
• Nurturing Fibres
• Prism Yarns
• Quince & Co
• Ruth Yarns
• Sweet Georgia Yarns
• The Alpaca Yarn Co
• Valley Yarns
• yarn tails
• Yarn Tails SA
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