Riding The Wave – Multiple Myeloma

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain

In the midst of our life’s upheaval I ventured into our LYS (Local Yarn Shop) in Elk Grove, a bit in a daze, in an effort to extrovert myself out of what was happening in my life into an arena of creativity. While in Little Rock I had found their LYS and resurrected this old ability my grandmother taught me as a kid and found something to do that gave me pleasure. It’s one of those things that makes you friends, “What are you making? The yarn is beautiful? Maybe I should get myself knitting while I’m sitting here for hours.”

I walked into Anna’s. The Yarn Shoppe. I immediately felt something different. I wasn’t sure at first why. There was an energy floating around the place. It was a quiet day, the first day I went in (which isn’t typical I can tell you now). I was struggling a bit to find stuff. Wait, what is this? A nice gal came over and said, “Can I help you find something?” I responded, “Well, I’m just looking around. I’m new to Elk Grove. This shop is lovely, the colors…” She smiled and said, “Yes, one day after Anna opened the shop we came into find the yarn everywhere and she was taking it all off the shelves! Instead of stocking her store by brand, she decided to stock it by color.”

OMG! That was it! I was mesmerized by the sheer kaleidoscope of beautiful colors and textures. And while it is actually organized in sections, lace, worsted, etc., each of the sections is organized by color and it is a feast for the eyes.

Anyway, it turns out that Anna, a beautiful, tall, willowy, blond, that if you had a smidgen of insecurity or envy in your character, you wouldn’t want to be standing next to her at a party, is a breast cancer survivor. With young children in tow, she found herself in much the same predicament that many of us find ourselves in when we hear the word “cancer”. She had babies and a life still left to live. I’m sure it was devastating. In the course of her journey, she learned to knit. Something she could do with her hands to while away the hours of treatment. Something that brought her pleasure and was artistically creative. In that journey, she told me she made new friends, women friends, something she says had been lacking in her life. When all was said and done, she decided to open her own yarn shop. She embarked on a completely different path.

When you walk into her shop on any given Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday, it is jam packed with women (mostly) sitting all over the shop and a large banquet table with windows all around, knitting, drinking wine and eating homemade goodies brought in by the knitters. All levels of skill and talent, all ages. Everyone knitting, laughing, asking for help, being supported in their efforts no matter where they are in their understanding. Talking about children, pets, projects, life… It’s eclectic and fun.

So… you know me, I always have a ‘yarn’ to tell.

Blue Heron's "Anna"

One of Anna’s favorite yarns is by Blue Heron (their silk merino). I must admit, though up there in price, it is worth every penny for it’s beauty, texture, feel, quality, and ease in creativity. It’s almost assured that no matter what you throw on your needles, if it is Blue Heron, it will be exquisite.

She wrote to the company last year and asked if they could do something in pink. Pink is of course the Breast Cancer color, but it is also one of Anna’s favorite colors. They accepted her enthusiasm for their yarn, and knew of “her story”. The photo depicted is the new pink yarn sampler Anna did in Blue Heron’s new hand painted pink yarn. When Anna opened the box from Blue Heron, curious as to what might be inside, she found this beautiful sample of yarn and a note from the folks at Blue Heron. They told of how they created this new yarn color as she had requested. They hoped that she liked it, that it was what she was looking for, and if it was, they were thinking of  calling it “Anna”, with her blessing.

I was in the shop last night and I approached her. I told her that I was so moved by this story. Our eyes were getting misty (mine way misty) and I asked her permission to share it with you. One, you have cancer in your life and two, many of you have also taken to some fiber arts to while away your time through treatment. I wanted to make sure she was OK with me blogging such a personal moving story and she was all for it. She shared with me that she was such “a mess” after she got it, it took her about a week to phone and thank them. Anna is an inspiration, and in that, she has inspired a company to do something to honor that inspiration. It’s, in a word, COOL!

So, if you ever see Blue Heron in a LYS, look for “Anna,” which I hope will be in full production soon, and know that YOU have the ‘inside story’ about this exquisite yarn, produced by an amazing company, named after a beautiful woman, who shares in your journey with cancer.

Now go CREATE!

And of course, there were “reasons” I ventured into Anna’s place… since then I have met Dena, bought a knitters loom, taken a class, which has led me to some knew friends and a sense of connection far from my many friends, children and years back east. It has taken me to where I am now, starting my own cottage industry in the field of fiber arts. NOW THIS, has been a journey I have enjoyed.

Tags: Anna, blue heron yarn, breast cancer, elk grove ca, fiber arts, knitting, postaweek2011, the yarn shoppe