I have mentioned on the blog before that I recently moved to
Massachusetts to work for Classic Elite Yarns.
The hardest part of moving, whether you are 5, 15, 25 or even
older…is making new friends and leaving your old ones behind. Some of the best
friends I had made in NYC (and even in life to date) are from my knitting
group. Of course the common bond was knitting and yarn, but our friendships
grew from there. Talk quickly turned from yarn to jobs, families and even
romance. We also looked forward to seeing each other once a week to get updates on projects, as well as catching up with each others' lives.
A tradition in our group was that when someone moved away or
had a major life event (such as a wedding or a new baby) we would get together
and coordinate a group project - usually a blanket. When I moved, I was so busy
with everything, it didn't occur to me that I hadn't gotten a blanket. Although
I had been planning on moving away from the city for quite awhile, the amount
of time from when I started interviewing for this job to my actual move date
was quite brief. So even if they had
wanted to make a blanket for me, they wouldn't have had the time.
One of the ladies from our group was passing through
Massachusetts last week and stopped by for a visit. One of the first things she
did was hand me a box. It was wrapped in simple brown paper with yarn wrapped
around it. I KNEW what this was. (Full disclosure – I went back to NYC for a
good friend’s wedding 2 months ago and they had presented me with a card
explaining that they were working on the blanket). I would like to say that I
was a picture of patience as I opened the box, but I was more like a little kid
at his/her birthday and just ripped into that paper. My wonderful friends had
made me a blanket!
They made me a
64 Crayons using
Liberty Wool. Apparently
there was some discussion as soon as I accepted the job that they knew they
wanted to make me a blanket and they wanted to use Classic Elite Yarns. The
ironic thing was that we had just finished making a 64 crayons for our friend (whose
wedding I went back for). I can only imagine how difficult it was for the
people who were working on both blankets to not spill the beans to either of
us!
There are so many great things about this blanket. The
first, of course, is that it was made with love by people I love. I am sure it
will keep me warm on cold New England winter days, but also warm my heart during those times when I am feeling lonely for my friends.
I also really love that they used
Liberty Wool. Not only is
it a tribute to my decision to work for
CEY, it is a
great yarn for a blanket. Liberty Wool is machine washable, so when a messy
life moment happens, I don't have to worry about how to clean it. I can just
throw it into the washing machine.
Another great thing about the use of
Liberty Wool in
combination with this blanket is that it will always go with whatever my décor
is. There are so many colors, that they all work together, just like a great
quilt would. For the time being, the blanket will be in my living room,
but I feel that if I want to put it in the bedroom at some point, it would go
with whatever is in there.
I know that this is an heirloom piece for me. And one I will forever more treasure! Thank you to my NYC knitting friends. It means more to me than
you will ever know.
