We hope this newsletter will find you well and safe. This week, Baa! held their second and third Virtual Knit Groups and we loved seeing so many of you. We are still trying to figure out a balance between letting the discussion flow naturally, and giving a little direction to the blether. Do not hesitate to give us any feedback or ideas! For those of you who could join, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did, and we look forward to seeing you again! For those of you who couldn’t make it this past week, we hope you can join next time!
It was lovely to see so many of you joining our little Katie’s Kep Knit-Along too. Some of you are well ahead with a hat already completed, sometimes a second already on the needles! Some of you are about to cast on, or, like me, are a few rows into the chart. Some of you have selected their colours, and some of you are in that delicious phase of deciding what colours to pick, and exploring all the possibilities. And for those of you who are thinking about joining, just a little reminder that the pattern can be downloaded for free on the Shetland Week website. We are delighted to have all of you on board, and we are looking forward to seeing your progress!
If you are trying to decide on your colours, or planning on knitting a(nother) hat, have a look at the kits that Janice has expertly put together! There are over 10 kits so far, and I love them all! Some have sold out, but there are still many to choose from. I must admit I have a special fondness for Iain (“grellow” anyone?) and Callum (like a sunset on the ocean!). And you, what is your favourite?
Are you still on the fence, nervous about stranded knitting? We are happy to provide you with tips and to guide you along the way. Would a little video tutorial help you? We could make one for you. Let us know!
Some of you have been kind enough to share with us some progress photos of your Katie's Kep. Aren't they beautiful? (Please, scroll left/right in the gallery below to admire the gorgeous knitting of Dorothy, Ragnhild and Linda).
I just completed mine. You might notice that I have made a mistake, by knitting my flowers “dark purple, light purple, dark purple” (D/B/D), when I should have done “light purple, dark purple, light purple” (B/D/B) according to the order of my colours on the brim… No, it wasn’t intentional. I made the mistake as I was knitting during Virtual Knit Night on Wednesday, and didn’t pay attention enough to my knitting. And no, I did not pull it out.
Towards the end of Virtual Knit Night, I realised my mistake and asked everyone’s opinion about it, and it was a unanimous “leave it as is…”. So, I left this mistake in, reverse the order in the second part of the chart (B/D/B in lieu of D/B/D) and I am going to pretend that it was supposed to be this way!
What would you have done? Do you tend to leave mistakes in your knitting when you see them? Or do you have to pull back your knitting every time you notice you diverted from the pattern? I am usually the former, but I will leave this one as an exception to the rule...
The hat was happily received by the recipient (who has since requested that I add a pompom... too bad for the beautiful crown!), who promptly went to show it to her best friend, who in turn asked me to knit her one. I guess the next thing on my needles will be another Katie's Kep!
In other news, the migration from the physical store to the online store continues at Baa! We are happy to report that all fingering / 4ply and Lace yarns are now online. We have even created a special page for sock yarn, and we are regularly adding to the needles and book sections too.
If you are looking for a special treat for yourself or a friend, "stop by" the online shop! We are shipping twice a week at this point, trying to find a balance between doing our part in relation to social distancing, minimizing the risks and keeping the business running as best as possible. If you are local to Stonehaven, we are also looking into options to organize deliveries. This might become an option in particular if the post office reduces their hours.
Long story short, in these uncertain times, we are trying to adjust as best as possible so we can keep on providing you with the best woolly service.
We cannot thank you enough for your patience and your support.
Stay safe, and knit (or crochet!) on!
Aurelie (geek friend of Baa!)
on behalf of Janice (owner of Baa!)
ATTENTION: Zoom has made a slight change to their meeting requirements, and you will be prompted for a password when you try to join the meeting. Please enter the password: 238462
In summary:
Prepare a cosy little corner in your kitchen / living-room / favourite place with your choice of drink (coffee for us, but pick whatever you fancy!), your current knitting/crochet project (we recommend a not-too-intricate piece so you can chat in a relaxed manner), and maybe indulge in a piece of cake?
Wednesday 8th April at 7pm GMT+1 (British Summer Time), and/or Friday 10th April at 10.30am GMT+1, click on this link or join us directly on your Zoom app with Meeting ID: 2889595554. Code: 238462
Follow the directions on your screen.
Engage with all of us as we knit, crochet, craft along while blethering about this and that, and re-inventing the world!