So much has changed in the last couple of weeks, hasn’t it? We are all struggling with adapting to changes in our daily routines, worry over the coronavirus, concern over our own personal economies, and plain old loneliness for so many.

Here are a few things that might help you or someone you know:

Homeschool Help

The other hat I wear is as a homeschool mom of some 20 years, so it occurred to me that since pretty much every parent of school-aged children has become a temporary homeschooler, I might be able to offer a bit of help in that regard. I started a group on Facebook called Homeschool Help (https://www.facebook.com/groups/homeschoolhelpgroup). If you know anyone who would benefit from it or someone who has wisdom to share, please let them know.

Spin Together Spingo

Also, the team from Spin Together was trying to find a way to help with everyone’s stress, and we put our heads together and decided to create a fun spinning challenge. It starts tomorrow and lasts through the end of the month. It’s called Spingo. It’s a spinning Bingo game where each square is a different yarn construction, and everyone who gets their 5-in-a-row Bingo will be entered into a drawing to win one of five prizes. The other four organizers and I are providing the prizes. Each one will be some sort of spinning fiber. You can find out how it works on the website at http://www.spintogether.org/spingo-spin-together-bingo/ and come join in the social side of it in the Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/spintogether/. There’s no charge. It’s just for fun and to keep everyone’s spirits up.

Our Family

In other personal news, we’ve spent the last week sort of scrambling (like so many) because my husband is a realtor, and until this is all over, he’s not likely to be able to make any sales. Things were getting tight before this started, so you can imagine. The good news is that he just yesterday got a part-time job at a local shop that is fairly likely to stay open, so that will be a big help. It should cover our grocery bill anyway, and maybe that will turn into something more or one of us can get something more. We are healthy, so that’s something we are very grateful for.

Meanwhile, I have lots of lovely yarn and fiber and I am continuing to make more. I just made another batch of Beautiful Universe on Sparkly Merino Sock because beauty matters now more than ever.

Sale on DK and Bulky Yarn

I am also having a big sale on all my DK and Bulky-Weight Yarn right now. Here’s the link to all the lovely yarn on sale. Each skein is $5 off the usual price, and that includes my Odyssey Shawl kits, which are $15 off! I’m not sure when the sale will end to tell the truth, but my goal is to sell out of the heavier weight yarns. Unless someone needs a special order, I’ll wait until fall to restock those and focus my attention on sock-weight yarn through summer.

Sale on Fiber

I made a coupon code for my fiber for the folks at Spin Together, but I will happily share it here too. As you know, it’s quite rare for me to have a sale on my spinning and felting fiber, but I’m offering 20% off all my art batts, top, silk hankies, and felting kits when you use the coupon code, SPINTOGETHER. The coupon code will be good through Sunday, and if you use this link, it will be applied automatically when you check out.

Kindness

As we all know, things are likely to get worse before they get better, but there’s one thing we can all do no matter what. Let’s just all try to be extra kind and considerate of everyone we meet on the rare occasions when we have to leave our homes and on the phone and social media. We can get through this if we do it together–even if together means something different than it meant just a few short weeks ago.

No Man Is An Island

I’ll leave you with my latest creation. I created a new yarn colorway called No Man is an Island. The first photo shows it in the dye pan, and the second one shows it twisted up. The blue is for the blue sky under which we all live, the black is for the lines that are dividing us physically for the sake of the most vulnerable, and the multi-colored speckles are for all of us.

Here’s the poem by John Donne, which I found particularly poignant just now:

No Man is an Island
by John Donne

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man’s death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Stay safe and stay well. We’ll get through this!