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On Friday morning before the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival was officially open, you happened to be next to the Brooks Farm Yarn booth as they were finishing setting up. The booth was full of yarns and samples, but for some reason your eye fell on the Optic Waves Shawl, which Sherry Brooks was carefully putting on a hanger for display. I had loaned it to her expressly for this occasion.
Suddenly, you were overcome with the desire to have this shawl. Not by making it, which is what knitters do, but by taking it. A minute later, pulse racing, you made your move. You snatched the shawl off its hanger, stuffed it in your bag, and left.
Did you hear the announcement over the PA system minutes later? Were you there when the police came? Did you see just how upset Sherry Brooks was? Were you there when I arrived and she agonized over how to break the news to me? Did you see the anger and the tears?
I don't know. By then, the deed was done and the police were on alert. There was no easy way to undo the damage.
I'm guessing you've discovered by now that having this shawl in your possession doesn't make you feel as good as you thought it would. In fact, it carries a heavy weight of sadness from all the people whose hearts you've broken. This is not yours, nor was it made for you.
The Howard County Sheriff's Department has circulated color images of this shawl, and the knitting community is on high alert. The shawl has several distinct features that make it completely unique and easy to identify as the stolen item—which means that you'll never comfortably be able to wear it out and about.
I'm guessing that you've also discovered by now that you don't actually feel very good when you wear it. In your heart of hearts, you know you did something very wrong.
And it's only going to get worse.
So I ask you do to the right thing. When you're ready, put that shawl in a USPS box and send it back to me, COD. There will be no questions asked, and I know—as I think you know—that you'll feel much better as soon as you've done this.
You can send the shawl to:
Knitter's Review
P.O. Box 1617
Blue Hill, ME 04614
Thank you.
The Knitter's Book of Yarn, which went on sale October 16, 2007, is a distillation of everything I've learned about yarn on my journey since I learned to knit as a child, and since I began Knitter's Review in 2000.
I've been working on it for more than two years, and I am extremely proud to share it with you now. You'll find more helpful information about the book below.
Thanks for reading—I hope you enjoy it!
In yarn we trust,
 Learn more about why and how this book came to be (warning, contains at least two cat pictures).
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www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing items in a set called Projects from the Knitter's Book of Yarn. Make your own badge here.
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May 3rd—Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I'll be on the grassy slope outside the Main Building from 1-2pm. The area is easily accessible through a top-secret side door just beyond the Spirit Trail Fiberworks booth (where Jen will have extra copies of the book available for sale).
June 7-9—Columbus, OH, The National NeedleArts Assocaition trade show.
June 11—Columbus, OH, Knitter's Connection keynote presentation from 7:30-8:30pm.
October 17—Washington, DC, Stitch DC.
October 18-19—Virginia Beach, VA, Yarn weekend with the Tidewater Knitting Guild.
View the whole slideshow of kboy in-the-wild pictures. Warning: It includes cats and Barbie!
A big shout out to the Barnes & Noble in Richmond, Virginia, where Mary spotted two remaining copies lounging in excellent company. Hello Virginia! (Taken October 24, 2007.)
A grainy shot furtively taken with my cell phone at Longfellow Books in Portland, Maine. (Taken October 16, 2007.)
Hanging out just two spots away from Bill Clinton at BookHampton—thank you Jane! (Taken October 16, 2007.)
On October 20th, Bess took her copy to town, gave it a shiny new coat, and introduced it to a bunch of knitterary heroines. You can see her slideshow here.