A shameless plug for a friend’s new business: totally knitting related.

Hi there. I am shamelessly going to plug my friend’s new business venture in this post. Please don’t hang up; and don’t worry, this call is not being monitored for quality control.

My daughter has a friend who has become my friend, a professional graphic artist whose real love is the fibre arts. Her name is Joanna and she is happily married to another nerdy artist and they have between them a toddler who is, for the most part, cheerful and affectionate. Joanna started out sewing mostly, and her first website reflects that: The Happy Seamstress. She has since branched out to her other love, yarn, and everything that yarn entails: spinning, dyeing, knitting and designing knitted things. I, personally, have made at least a half-dozen of her knitted beards. They make great gifts.

The above was made for an acquaintance who took part in a Santa Shuffle to raise money. It was my contribution in lieu of a monetary donation.

Joanna has recently started a subscription box service. The deal is you give her your credit card number and every month, or other month—your choice—she sends you a box filled with goodies. I have signed up for the every-other-month service myself because I’m not usually at a loss for projects, but this would be perfect for the knitter who doesn’t know what to make next. She has been in touch with a number of yarn companies to try to get discounts on their products so that her boxes will be reasonably priced. She’s also finagled the best price she can on shipping, which was not easy.

August’s box, the introductory one, is discounted and the shipping is free. It contains this lovely beaded shawl pattern, plus all the yarn and beads you need to make it (and a bonus surprise or two).

I know that it’s beautiful because that’s my arm underneath that lovely drapey fabric. The yarn is Sweet Georgia Merino-Silk lace. The colour above is one of the possibilities, but there are also skeins in purple and a yellow-green. You don’t get a choice, as distribution is random, but I’m sure they’re all lovely. I can’t wait to get my box so I can start knitting that shawl.

If you are interested, and I hope you are, you can get all the information you need at Yarn Crush. Please support my friend. She’s worth it!