A Club Bonus — The Sanctuary Shrug

I passionately believe that knitting and crocheting make people happier — that kind of deep-down happiness that comes from being settled and content.  Even in times when nothing seems to be going right, working with yarn and needles can create a small sanctuary of much-needed peace.

And I also believe that knitting and crochet can help us to become friendlier, kinder, more generous.  I’ve seen it time and again: when I step out of my comfort zone to ask a stranger what she’s crocheting, when folks at knit night make a new member feel completely at home, and even when one of our customers was so generous as to pay for an entire year in the SpaceMonster Mega Yarn Club for us to give away (that one blew me away!).  I guess I really shouldn’t be surprised when these random acts of kindness and spontaneous generosity happen, but they are always heartwarming.

The designer Mel Ski is a member of our fingering-weight yarn club, the InterStellar Yarn Alliance, and she used her March skein of Aurora to knit the Sanctuary Shrug, a sweet little thing to go round your shoulders on summer evenings when the air starts to cool.  Originally designed for her Outlandish Clan Kit, which used SpaceCadet Lucina and Oriana yarn (as you’ll see in the photos of the blue and brown version), it’s a pattern that would work with almost any Yarn Alliance colourway or SpaceCadet fingering weight yarn.  I love the delicate lacework — so like the summer vines climbing up our porch railings.  It’s the kind of practical and beautiful knit that I just adore: lovely to wear but also quick to work up… so you can get to the wearing all the sooner.

The pattern is available on Ravelry here, but here’s the best bit…  because Mel is a member of the Yarn Alliance and loved knitting this pattern in a club yarn, she has decided to share it with all the current members of the club as a free bonus club treat.  Isn’t that wonderful?!?  I really do love the way knitters and crocheters can be so generous about sharing their passion — and I am delighted that Mel has included her fellow club members this way!

If you’re a member of the Yarn Alliance, look for an email later this morning with a download code so you can get the Sanctuary Shrug on your needles straightaway.  And if you’re not a member, click here to read more about the Yarn Alliance and — most importantly — get on the club mailing list.  We won’t bombard your with messages, but you will get advance notice and early-bird sign-up when the subscriptions open up again in September!

Speaking of clubs opening up, I can’t believe it’s almost June (whaaattt?!?) and nearly time to open subscriptions to the SpaceMonster Mega Yarn Club, our bulky-and-worsted weight club.  We are dyeing yarn now (it’s so gorgeous!!!!) and prepping the gifts for the last shipment for current members before subscriptions open on June 5.  If you’re not in the club but you love smooshy big yarns, click here to read all about the SpaceMonster Club and get on the mailing list!