Dear Friends of The Blue Purl,
We like these newsletters to start off on a happy, or at least uplifting, note. Not today.
Today, well, we are a bit annoyed (just a bit, we are knitters after all).
What has us riled up?
Life is challenging enough. But there are some things that we can take as a given. Generally speaking, we can trust that people will stop at red lights. Generally speaking, we can trust that an elevator won’t just plummet to the ground. Generally speaking, you turn the key, and the engine starts.
But now we learn that putting ice on a sore muscle not only doesn't help, it actually makes it worse. Yes, that’s right. After all these years of being told by our parents – and telling our own children – put ice on sore muscles, we now learn we were doing harm! At least that is what exercise scientists have learned, prompting a rethink of this one-time essential truth.
Look, we are a yarn shop. We offer beautiful natural fibers, patterns, classes, buttons, magazines, all kinds of products and guidance. But our aim is not just to help with your craft, but to offer support for the whole you. Our newsletter recognizes that knitting, like gardening, and sports, is a singular practice but also a metaphor for life. When we come across something like the lesson of the ice, we feel like we should share it.
What is the lesson of the ice? Simple. Conventional thinking is not always right. We often confuse assumptions with knowledge. Everybody is doing it does not mean everybody is right.
As people who work with our hands, we know the value of tried-and-true. But we also know that sometimes we need to improvise. Just because that is the way it was always done, does not mean that is the way it should always be done. Let’s remember to think for ourselves.
We have never met an athletic coach who didn’t have an ice pack in his or her first aid kid. We may never even have met a parent that didn’t have a just-in-case icepack in the fridge.
And you know what? They were all mistaken, or really, misled.
We must always think for ourselves; question conventional wisdom; remember that when someone says 'That’s just the way it is,' it may not be.
The Blue Purl is a place to try this out. We will offer advice and guidance for your projects, but ultimately it is up to you to decide what is right for you.
No one else can do that, even though many will try.
We want to thank you all for being part of our community. We are grateful for your support, more than you can know. We hope you like our newsletters too. It’s our way of trying to connect and inspire. As we head into the spring and summer, we will be sending the newsletter every other week. It’s time for all of us to kick back, a bit.
But that’s if it works for you. Don’t let us tell you what to do. The Blue Purl told us to chill.
Maybe we will. Maybe we won’t.
You decide.
connect + create
Patty, Wendy & TBP Team
