The other day in the shop, I noticed a customer had pulled a few skeins in a colour combo always gets me, so of course it immediately caught my eye.

One thing led to another (as it always does in a yarn store), and we got chatting. Turns out her craft of choice is Tunisian crochet. Not something we see every day, which made it even more interesting. Then she reached into her bag and pulled out not one, not two, but three shawls. One was her current WIP. One was a finished piece she was making/mending for a friend. And one was hers of course. Sounds very family right?!

I love when my job turns into show and tell like that. There’s something so special about it. People don’t just make things and leave it at that. They carry stories around with them. And if you’re lucky, they’ll share them with you.

Nancy followed up afterwards to say the yarn she picked up is now working up into a colourful shawl with beautiful drape, and she even shared a photo of her inspiration,  a stunning Pacific Northwest anemone photographed by Jackie Hildering (“The Marine Detective”). It felt like a perfect continuation of the same thread: colour leading to colour, idea leading to making.

Nancy sent an email a few days later to let us know that the yarn she had picked up was already working up beautifully into a colourful shawl with gorgeous drape. She attached a couple of snapshots of her progress, along with the inspiration behind it all, a Pacific Northwest anemone photographed by Jackie Hildering, “The Marine Detective.”

I love a yarn follow up. It felt like the perfect continuation of the same thread, colour leading to colour, conversation leading to making, and inspiration finding its way from sea life to stitches. Those little moments of connection are one of the best parts of life in a yarn shop.

I encourage you to visit Nancy’s website Gambier Creations you’ll find that she follows her attractions. Colour combinations inspired by bark, feathers, moss and beach stones find their way into her work, and every project begins with intention. It made perfect sense that an anemone from the Pacific Northwest would become the spark for a shawl.