Letters
A Day Away
Dear Ann,
Here on the east end of Long Island, we’ve had a solid week of clear, chilly days, with nights dipping into the 40s (Fahrenheit). A precocious autumn, not unwelcome in a house that uses cobweb-spinning fans to circulate the air, but a bit unsettling nonetheless. Wait up, summer! Don’t be a stranger! We’re going to be indoors for a long time!
With summer fading so fast, I got it into my head that I needed to bust out of here, see some new scenery, and perhaps some sheep.
So last Saturday, which was Rosh Hashana, instead of sitting in front of a screen watching services, a young companion and I drove to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, to see a man (and a woman) about a sheep.
This is the sheep. His name is Clark. He’s a beautiful boy.
Under the auspices of Prado de Lana’s Patreon, I have the honor of being Clark’s virtual shepherd. This entitles me to watch videos of Clark as he goes about his business as a doted-upon member of the Prado de Lana ram clan.
Clark has it pretty good, and the great thing about Clark is that he knows this. He has an air of contentment that beams out in a constant, I’m-not-bothered-by-a-single-thing way that I have really needed these past months. Pandemic or no pandemic, Clark still did his job, got his fleece clipped and his well-ram appointments kept, and generally carried on.
We met up with shepherds Amanda and Alberto Barcenas at their lovely Prado de Lana shop, in a flower-lined mews off Main Street in Stockbridge. It was my first visit to the shop, and it was everything I’d envisioned from seeing it on the internet. A serene, cozy space, full of light, with shelves stuffed with tantalizing small-production farm wools. A shop like no other, with a curatorial focus on rare yarns of character. Knitters of the Berkshires, I hope you know how lucky you are.
As we followed behind Amanda’s pickup truck on the 12-minute drive from the shop to the fields, I got a little choked up at the generosity of Amanda and Alberto, and the sunshine of the day. Amanda told me she was getting misty on the drive over as well. “I love showing people our sheep,” she said.
We came home on the ferry from Bridgeport, Connecticut, with families who’d had a similar day out, their kids playing on the top deck and making TikToks of themselves jumping high in the air.
I don’t think I’ve ever used the panorama feature on the phone camera anywhere except on a ferry.
It was a good start to the new year. A hearty shana tova to everyone who celebrates.
MDK Open KAL Update: A Surprise Prize
We have news of a spontaneous prize award in the MDK Open Knitalong, which is off to a roaring start. We are knitting designs from MDK Field Guide No. 15: Open.
Kathryn Johnson, known on Instagram as @koshababooshka and in the MDK Lounge as Koshababooshka, got out ahead on making Jeanette Sloan’s intriguing Mood Cardigan. Kathryn’s pictures have been so inspiring, and she has given motivation and cheer to everyone else in the knitalong who is in the mood for their own Mood.
From Kathryn’s swatch…
To her FO…
To her modeled shot…
She has been the wind beneath our wing-like sleeves.
We hereby grant her the Babooshka of Valor Prize:
It’s better than a trophy: it’s cashmere. Two skeins of Jade Sapphire Mongolian 4-ply cashmere, which go a long, fluffy way, whether in Bristol Ivy’s Nesting Wrap or whatever Kathryn decides to make.
To all our MDK Open knitters-along, keep posting your photos on Instagram (#MDKOpenKAL) and in the Lounge. Look busy! You never know when a surprise prize attack will occur.
Love,
Kay
Happy New Year, Kay:).
Wow, gorgeous job Kathryn!
G’mar hatimah tovah!
Happy New Year, Kay! My little congregation managed to hold services outside in a pavilion and online. But I too had a knitting fix — Solene Le Roux held a 5-day virtual retreat which began on Thursday and ended yesterday (skipped the weekend). So I have begun the year with a FINISHED project, my first hat. (I’ve made two others but they don’t count, one was too large and frogged and the other was so unattractive in the end that it awaits frogging too.)
How is it that I didn’t know about that wonderful yarn shop that is only an hour away?! Such an enabler you are, and I am grateful for it!
Shana tova to all who celebrate!
Stockbridge is not that far from me.
New year, new yarn shop to visit!
Happy New Year! I loved your post….so many fun things to see!….and you capped it off beautifully with Kathryn’s photographs.
Stay safe! We all love you both!
שנה תובה
Though as I listen to the news I just despair. What we wonderful anecdote to the Friday night.
Found yarn in stash for Mood … my Field Guide arrived, next project. Love me some lace.
I hope 5781 is SO MUCH BETTER than 5780! Thank you for the virtual sheep and ferry break. I really needed it. (We streamed services, complete with my twins’ lego minyan and dancing in the living room and then picked apples at a neighbour’s tree. When we didn’t like the tunes, we chose our own, like Dumbledore. It was a rocking holiday with nine year olds…) G’mar Chatimah Tovah!
Lego minyan! I love it!
I should clarify— My twins would like you to know that the minyan started back in March with lockdown and this was a full fledged congregation with 56 (!) members. (Oops, my bad!) There was some anxiety because apparently the shark does not have a kippah or hat. We reassured kid that no worries, it is only a custom and sharks are exempt!
What a gorgeous day! Glad you got out and about. But especially wanted to agree about the joy and inspiration that Kathryn brings in IG. Yes
Just the story I needed this morning. Thanks for taking me somewhere I probably will never visit and letting me meet your ram. Seeing all these iterations of the Mood Cardigan is making it very difficult for me to not make it! It looks good worn either way, in whatever yarn, on whomever is wearing it.
Thank you for the New year wishes. Here’s hoping the next year is better than the past one. I am having knee replacement surgery next week and that, combined with the passing of Justice Ginsberg has really put me in a funk. I find comfort in your Daily Respite messages and look forward to them. Thank you and L’Shannah Tovah to you as well.
Good luck with your surgery. I had both my knees replaced last year. It has been life changing. My advice is do everything your PT tells you.
Thank you, I promise I will.
Shana tovah to all (whether you celebrate or not, please accept good wishes!) – and mazel tov to Kathryn for inspiring us all – beautiful work!
You did not mention the breed of sheep or the size of the flock – please share.
What a lovely Day Away you have given us, Kay. Ram, yarn shop, the outdoors! Now I know what my imaginary YSL needs – a name with a Latin-language lilt. Will have to visit Prado de Lana’s website. And (again!) you have read my mind. I have long we’reTalking years) been planning a stockinette-and-lace project marling two yarns in my stash that accidentally rolled together one day and immediately looked like a team. Now, you want me to divert them into brioche??
That was “… (we’re talking years)”. I hate it when I do that.
Shana Tova indeed…
Very inspiring: We need a new year!
I will celebrate alongside you in honor of new beginnings.
What a great day trip
Berakot!
I have been to this little shop and purchased some beautiful wool in colors I can only describe as sunshine and summer forest! Thanks for posting this!
Babushka of valor. Such a phrase. Just love that.
Lshana Tovah! There’s nothing like a sheep farm visit and a ferry ride to lift the spirits, you’re singing my song. Xox