I Love Yarn Day: Global Reach of Making

Clearly, there’s no doubt that I love yarn so I’m all too happy to participate in a national day celebrating it! For the past couple of years I’ve shared free patterns in support of the Craft Yarn Council event. This year however, I thought I’d simply share a photo. This beautiful little girl in blue is an Ethiopian villager. She’s wearing the Sheep(ish) jacket I contributed to the January 2011 issue of, Creative Knitting Magazine.

As both a yarn and knitwear designer, there aren’t many things as satisfying as seeing one of my pieces published in print. As a mother, having my daughter model that piece (even when she refuses to wear it again off camera) is extra special. As a global citizen though, seeing that same garment — one that was knitted by my own hands — make it’s way across the world and finding the shoulders of a another child…well, that’s extraordinary.

Our family’s knit coat and tiger print jacket found new homes in the Ambaras village in the Simian Mountains of Ethiopia in 2013.

Moments like looking at the picture above serve as a lovely reminder: yarn isn’t always just some string called for in a materials list. Sometimes, it’s also the thread leading us towards unique, human experiences.