Dear gobsmacked fans,
Things are moving fast with the virus situation, with lots of cancellations of major events. Knit City Montreal has just been postponed— quite rightly so, as it makes a lot of sense to try to slow the spread of covid-19 as much as possible, to protect people and to avoid overwhelming the medical system. Unfortunately, the new date for Knit City (in July) doesn’t work with my existing commitments, so Montreal is not in the cards for me.
As disappointing as the cancellations are to me, I’m fortunate in that gobsmacked is a part-time business, not my sole livelihood. There are many, many small business owners– yarn dyers and LYS owners and folks who run bookstores and local coffee shops and restaurants– who are really going to be hurting during this pandemic. I encourage anyone who can to try to support small businesses, whether by ordering online or getting takeout or buying a gift card to use later or whatever. As a start, there are virtual and small-scale in-person events this weekend, 13-15 March, in place of Vogue Knitting Live, which was cancelled in Seattle.
If you’re eager to nab some gobsmacked yarn to keep your hands busy and quiet your mind, I’m moving my March online update to the date of the original Knit City Montreal: Saturday 28 March at 3pm Eastern Daylight Time (note recent change to daylight time!). Pushing the date back will allow me to offer an even bigger online update, with gobsmackers that I’ve been preparing for the big show. I’ll send a brief reminder email just before that update, to make sure that you don’t miss it; you can find details for how to join my mailing list here.
In the meantime, wash your hands well, avoid big gatherings, and check in on friends or neighbours who might be feeling the stress. Oh, and if you’re participating in the annual gobSMACKdown, don’t forget to post your last few WIP or FO photos in the threads on Ravelry— it ends on Sunday!
