Yarn Forward: Vogueknitting Winter 2008/2009

It seems now days that the positives are getting harder and harder to find. I was impressed by the editorial by Trisha Malcolm in the Vogueknitting Winter 2008/2009, and I wanted to share it with you.

Yarn Forward
"The stock market and the economy are in turmoil, unemployment rates are soaring and entire industries are in danger of failing. So where does this leave our beloved world of knitting? Yarn stores are closing -- not at a huge rate, but here and there. Yet others are doing the same business or even better than they did a year ago. The odd yarn distributor has disappeared, so though you many never see certain labels again, new lines from enterprising entrepreneurs have replaced them. Some companies are not selling as much yarn as they did over the past few years, yet other tell us their businesses are holding or, in some cases, doing better than ever. You will continue to see new yarns on store shelves each season, as well as new knitting gadgets and accessories, and Internet businesses will grow as well.

To me, this is very comforting. While there is gloom and doom all around, there is still hope; there is still knitting. After 9/11, when we were all staying home, reassessing our lives, so many people learned to knit. Right now, knitting is experiencing a new resurgence. It is again something we are doing for comfort, but it also a means for making meaningful handmade gifts, for expressing creativity and for getting back to basics. Like the financial world, we are slowing down and turning back to those elements of our heritage that ground us. We're cooking more, shopping less, being more aware of our impact on the earth. Frugal living is suddenly a trend; it's the new way to exist, whether it's out of necessity or choice. It's a new attitude and a new approach to daily life. And, of course, knitting sits perfectly in that place: making beauty from the chaos around us; using a tool of logic to keep us focused and centered; giving us so much pleasure in the simple task of making something beautiful by hand.

In this issue we bring you beauty to knit, to wear and to give. Large or small, these projects will bestow on you a wonderful sense of achievement, add a little more grounding to stave off the bad news we are bombarded with daily and bring a renewed sense of purpose. I hope your lives have not been hit hard by these difficult times, and that you will always look to your knitting for comfort, abundance and joy."

Thanks to our loyal knitters, crocheters, spinners, weavers, and great yarn suppliers, Tempe Yarn is one of those shops that did better in 2008 than in 2007. We are positive about 2009 and look forward to continuing to be your Yarn Shop of Choice.

Fred