Talking to Cynthia got me thinking about when I used to knit, back to when there was a yarn shop called Cottage Industry in town. Cottage Industry has been closed for several years now but when it was open there was a wonderful feel of community in the place. The owner, Jessica, and one of her employees, Amy, welcomed me the first time I walked in the store. I wasn't a knitter at the time and had no desire to start but I loved the yarn and found myself feeling both content and inspired to be creative whenever I walked in there.
Eventually, inspired by the beauty of a certain turquoise yarn and with encouragement from Jessica and Amy, I decided to see if I could knit. And knit I did! I knit scarf after scarf after scarf and a sweater. I found the process of knitting fun and relaxing. When Cottage Industry closed, though, I pretty much put down my needles. So I'm excited that Northfield Yarn is going to open soon. Even if I don't start knitting again, I know I'll be able to walk in and look at the yarn and I'm betting I'll feel both content and inspired to be creative when I walk in there.
It's funny how creativity works - when I started knitting I started remembering how much my Grandma used to knit and crochet things for me and my brother when we were young. And, inspired by the memories, I wrote a story about knitting and how it connected me to my Grandma even though she's been gone for many years. The story, Sammy the Snake, was published in the June/July 2008 issue of Minnesota Moments and in the October 2010 issue of Womeninc. Magazine.
Sammy the Snake
