Knitting Acts of Kindness

It’s no surprise that fall is our favorite season (hello, sweater weather!), and we started the season with hosting monthly giveaways. Our September winner was selected (at random) from tagging her MK project on social media and Tara won!  When we reached out to her about it she sent over some photos along with her heartwarming story…

“When lockdown hit, our daycare closed and my husband and I had to work from home while caring for our six month old daughter.  We have no family in the area and it was the most stressful time of our lives, but an angel came to our aid. Donita helped us by watching our daughter every afternoon after her own shift was over, buying us a precious few hours of focus time. Donita had her own share of difficulties over the summer, her husband was hospitalized three separate times for complications related to a heart condition. His heart condition left him cold all the time, bundled up in layers but still unable to feel warm.

I imagine I’m not the only knitter that feels a sense of duty when they hear a loved one is cold! So I looked for a worsted weight cardigan that would knit up quickly, be easy to layer, with a little nice design details but neutral enough to wear anywhere with anything. Forest Park cardigan by Kay Hopkins fit the bill perfectly. 
Went to Monarch Knitting and chose the beautifully heathered Hudson + West yarn in Charcoal for the main color and Ash for the contrast color. It was such a joy to knit with these yarns. High squish factor, beautiful color. Also, the kind folks at Monarch Knitting helped me understand knitting up the button band (it was my first time) and it came out perfect as a result of their advice.

Anyway, finished the cardigan in 2.5 months, a personal record. He was beyond excited and, as he was showing it off kept saying “It’s like it was tailor-made for me!” and I kept saying “it IS tailor-made for you!”
I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful LYS in Monarch Knitting that has a wide range of beautiful yarns, notions, sample knits. I can only imagine how hard it’s been to get through COVID but I’m so glad to see you still open.”