I relish being behind the scenes. There's a special intimacy to being alongside in the day-to-day grind - the quotidian can be startlingly full when I'm open to life's richness.

Crystal has been that behind-the-scenes help to me, involved in just about every detail of how Yarning looks.

In April of 2022, I told her then-boyfriend Dan that I was knitting a white shawl for Crystal. It was a modern take on a Haapsalu shawl, a style originating in Estonia in the early 1800s. (True Haapsalu shawls have a very different construction and are so fine that they can be pulled through a wedding ring.)

Crystal had not mentioned any hurry to get married as far as I can recall... I just was somehow sure it was time. I finished the shawl that June, and about a year later joined Dan and Crystal for a dreamy wedding in Montenegro. I don't have a silk/mohair yarn yet, but I do carry an undyed yarn that should work up similarly - 65% baby suri alpaca, 35% silk.

I haven't thanked Crystal enough, and I can't. I am so grateful to have her spirit imbued throughout the shop.