Friends,
First and foremost, I hope each of you are safe, healthy, taking care of yourselves and keeping in touch with loved ones near and far. I never imagined life throwing us this curveball...but we are resilient, strong and determined. We are all in this together.
In Minnesota we are in day 4 of a "stay at home" order from our Governor. You can definitely feel the quiet around my small town. This past weekend I felt as if I were in high school again. Why? Well as my mom would say "that darn phone is glued to your ear again"! I felt as if I were on the phone or video chats for hours. It has been so nice to connect with friends and family virtually - this is a time I am thankful for technology. Are you finding your are on the phone or video chat more than ever? Having virtual happy hours? Or virtual knitting parties?
Many of your may not know this but I own a manufacturing business with my parents. As of today, April 1st, we are celebrating 35 years in business. My parents started our business in my childhood home basement and grew it from there. They retired two years ago and are living their best life! Thankfully I can still call on them for advice and mentoring, and this is one of those times.
We are still working right now and my team is amazing! They have been flexible with the changes made to keep everyone safe and healthy. I am very lucky to have such amazing employees - we are a family and do what we can to take care of each other.
Why are we working yet? Well, one of our core products is essential to food, personal hygiene and medical packaging. My team, like many other US manufacturers are working very hard to help refill the supply chains to keep grocery and retail stores stocked with essentials and quickly supply medical sites with the products they need.
To those working in these retail locations, our first responders and medical personnel - thank you. They need a million thank you's. They work hard to make our lives better and/or simpler. For those of you reading this and working in these areas or know someone who does - THANK YOU. Thank you for everything you are doing today, yesterday and tomorrow!
For the month of April, we will continue to spend more time in our homes. For some of us the weather is turning warmer, it's that time of year to break out the bicycles, go for more walks and take in some vitamin D. As we do these things, let's be sure we continue to practice social distancing and be safe.
In addition to knitting all the things, I raided my closet for puzzles and have turned to cooking. I love to cook but when I'm anxious I find I REALLY need to cook and may get a little ambitious. Such as...I just picked up a sourdough starter from a friend (don't worry, it was left on her front stoop for a drive-by pick-up). I am not a baker, but now is as good a time as any to see if I can bake bread! Right?
What new things have your tried? Or old skills have you brought back into your new normal routine? Oh I'd love to hear so please share! Next up for me - teach myself to sew. I pulled out the sewing machine and have been staring at it since last week and so it is time. Wish me luck! If you have any tips, preferred tutorials, etc - let me know! I am a sponge and want to learn all the things.
While we are also taking this time to knit all the things, I have added a 25% discount to all of my self-published patterns through April 30, 2020. If you are finding now is not the time for you to spend on non-essentials and there is a pattern you have been eyeing to knit, please email me.
Plus, throughout April, I'll be releasing new patterns and have some special collaborations in the works too - keep on a lookout for these to be announced on Ravelry, Instagram, and Facebook.
In case you missed it, the Isabella Cowl was released last week as a free pattern through April 30th.Isabella was featured in Knit Now magazine last December. If you have chunky/bulky yarn in your stash - this could be something to add to your queue and only need 260 yds (238 m).
Wow. Ok, so that was a lot and if you've read to the end, thank you! I really appreciate being a small part of your day. Please do not hesitate to reach out - I would love to hear from you, hear how you are coping through all of this, what you have been working on, and share any new recipes you have made!
Hugs and much love to you - stay safe & healthy!
Cheers & Stitches,
Crystal