Dear Friends of The Blue Purl,
One day recently, our friend Pam walked into the shop with blanket squares she worked on throughout the pandemic and started piecing it together with our dear Keri, a marvelous friend, instructor, and all-around-amazing-person.
You know, Zoom has been a lifesaver during the pandemic, but there is nothing quite like sitting side-by-side, exchanging warm words and thoughtful conversation. There is an alchemy to human interaction that gets lost in the digital realm.
So here they were, talking about piecing together Pam’s work, when she told us that she had a circle quilt at home, which her grandmother and aunt worked on during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918.
Wow. What a powerful reminder of the enduring nature of our craft. That blanket from 1918 isn’t just a blanket but is a talisman of another time when humanity demonstrated its ability to survive, and thrive, in the face of great suffering.
We create much more than beautiful objects.We create memories, and markers of our life, like rings on a tree. A blanket keeps us warm and our memories alive for future generations.
It is so moving to see our friends again at “the table.” (Come take a class with us, back at the shop this fall.)
On the first day of our first class, we were surrounded by a group of beginners, which seemed perfect. We are all at the start of a new beginning, hopefully one where COVID is firmly in the rearview mirror.
We learn together, one foot in front of the other. As our friends learned to knit, we had tears in our eyes, all of us. Like the first day of school, there is so much possibility ahead.
We see that opportunity – and inspiration - and want to share it with you.
Let’s learn together about knitting, crochet, and life. We are going to take it slow, as we adjust and transfer what we learned about ourselves into our new post-COVID world.
Marie Kondo tells us to throw it away if it doesn’t bring joy. Imagine if Pam just thought of that blanket as a tattered old object. She may have thrown it away.
Instead, she cherished it and after we asked, she brought it to the shop along with a photograph of her grandmother, aunt, and father.
Two blankets. Two pandemics. Two eternal memories.
This is our beginning. Let’s make the most of it, for us and future generations. Let's create enduring memories. We can do this. And we should.
Thank you, Pam, for showing us the way.
connect + create
Patty, Wendy & TBP Team
