Hey, fortuknit friends! I missed you! I hope you missed me, too. Well, no worries! I AM BACK! I took a month off from blogging and posting, since I was feeling a little drained creatively. But March was filled with all kinds of fun and exciting things, and I’m looking forward to all kinds of fun and exciting things. And I’m excited to tell you all about all the fun and exciting things. 😃

For starters, I finished part two of fortuknit’s trademarking process, so I’m happy to say that fortuknit is now FULLY trademarked!!! It was a huge milestone just getting things started. I initially started the process with legal counsel, but then decided to take on the rest myself. It was a big undertaking (the USPTO system can be super challenging), but I’m proud to say, after many late nights, lots of video tutorials and lots of reading and re-reading, that I did it! It’s the best possible fortuknit birthday gift. 🎂

Yes, it’s fortuknit’s birthday month, too! April is always my favorite time of the year. Not only do I get to celebrate my birthday, but I get to celebrate the launch of fortuknit.com on April 28. This year, fortuknit is two! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FORTUKNIT!

As fortuknit completes its 2nd year and I head into my…well, you can guess what you want…year😉, the past month has really been all about vision—envisioning goals and looking forward to the future.

I had a packed weekend March 14-17, which was the first-ever Greater Philly Yarn Crawl! I’ll come back to this in a bit. Right smack in the middle of that was the Victoria Dabrowski Schmidt (VDS) Professional Development Symposium’s Spring Vision Board Party. I’ve been a part of the VDS Planning Committee for five years (and served as Chair of the committee for two of those five). It’s just some of the volunteering I do for The Associate Alumnae of Douglass College (AADC), my undergrad Alma Mater.

That same weekend, I headed over the bridge to Philadelphia for the very first Greater Philly Yarn Crawl. Even with the Vision Board Party, I wasn’t going to miss this! For those of you familiar with a pub crawl, this is the same idea, except instead of stumbling drunkenly from pub to pub, you skip merrily from yarn shop to yarn shop with a bag full of goodies. For the crawl, you had to pre-register for a passport and an optional tote bag. I didn’t get the tote, but kinda wish I had…

The shops were everywhere from South Philadelphia all the way to Glenside, in Montgomery County. I only got to visit two of the 16 participating shops (though, I did have a chance to head out to Yarningtown once before). I made sure to arrange pick-up of my passport from a shop I’d never  visited—Yarnphoria.

Crawlers got a chance to enter prize raffles based on the number of shops visited, plus shops had in-store raffles that you could enter just for making a purchase. And let’s not forget…free patterns!! But the really awesome thing about the whole weekend is that 5% of registration money went to  the Loose Ends Project, which “aims to ease grief, create community, and inspire generosity by matching volunteer handwork finishers with projects people have left unfinished due to death or disability.” Doesn’t matter where you are in the world, if you do anything from knitting to basketry, Loose Ends is looking for volunteers. You can even help them translate their flyer into a language they don’t already have!

I was more than thrilled to participate in an event where I get to buy knitting goodies for fortuknit and also support a good cause. At Yarnphoria, I was treated to a much-needed 5-minute chair massage, plus I picked up two skeins of some yummy Malabrigo Rasta yarn (a super soft bulky merino wool) and a new pair of folding scissors.

As you know, I’m always on the go, and a good pair of folding scissors is the best thing to get you through airport security with no issues. Plus, my old pair is dulling, sadly. I love this new pair from Knitter’s Pride! And it goes well with my Mindful Collection blocking set. I’m saving the Malabrigo Rasta for something special…TBD.

I then headed over to South Philly Yarn and Craft to see what they had in store. I met a few folks working on some very Philly cross-stitch patterns (yes, a SEPTA logo LOL). It’s a great shop if you’re looking for kits. There, I picked up a much-needed stitch marker holder (an upgrade from my zip top bag, which somehow managed to get a giant hole in it), and some removable stitch markers. (Stitch markers seem to disappear…like that one sock you always lose in the dryer!). I love the stitch markers—they’re clear and acrylic with an embossed stockinette stitch on them. Very cute (and useful!).

I ended the evening with a nice treat of dinner for one at Mish Mish (100% recommend you check them out if you’re ever in Philly). Plus, Passyunk Ave. has all kinds of vibes if you’re looking for something to do (or to eat!).

As we celebrate birthday month (fortuknit and me), we’re looking forward to achieving all the incredible goals and visions and I am, as always, so happy to have your support along the way!

 Happy Spring!