Knitting · New House

Impact of Tariffs on Local Yarn Stores

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chunky varigated yarn in green and orange colors with knitting needles

With the stock market appearing to have recovered after spiraling into a tariff black hole the likes of which we had not seen since 1987 (and that time we lost half of our portfolio’s worth!), it was reassuring to learn that all of our lumberyard decisions – exterior and interior doors, door hardware, and windows – are already in a local warehouse. We had worried that the price of Canadian lumber might escalate to the point of making our construction project nonviable after the current administration insulted our nearest and “best-est” neighbor.

Up until now, I had only thought in terms of big-ticket items (appliances and roof tresses) as being affected by the roiling rhetoric in this uncertain trade environment. But, the instability in the market also has a negative impact on small entrepreneurs like local yarn stores (LYS).

  • Knit Camp and the 2025 Traveler’s Club – Marie Greene is worried that the future shipments for our upcoming virtual adventures to Germany, France, and British Columbia could be affected by shipping strikes, trade issues, or other disruptions. She will combine three quarterly packages into one box. While not a big deal, I will just have to be patient and open each package at the assigned time rather than acting impulsively when my box arrives, it is sad to think the American business environment is that unstable.
  • Yarnology in Winona, MN – Having weathered the global pandemic, they promise to make it through this new gale but they are urging customers to be flexible. Exact shades of favorite yarns may not be available and to buy an extra skein when purchasing for large projects as they may not be able to replenish weights, colorways or dye lots.
  • Stash in Charlotte, NC – Has informed its customers they are stocking up but to brace for the worst. Often yarn stores order directly from small companies and, in the past, were able to avoid tariffs due to the small size of the orders. “The de minimis exemption has been off, on, off, on and so on and no one knows what to expect.”

During the market swings, pundit noise, and alerts from different yarn and knitting sources, I find the Hokey-Pokey is the earworm in my head.

You put the tariff on, you put the tariff off
You put the tariff on and shake it all about  
You do the Hokey-Pokey…
New House

Major step with money due

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line drawing showing front and rear elevation of single story house

With the purchase agreement signed and two-days to deposit the earnest money, we are one step closer to owning the “villa” on Solstice Place.

While there is still a myriad of decisions to be made some details are known. We have a sketch of our new home. We know the exterior colors. A large portion will have horizontal-siding in a rich indigo reminiscent of new blue jeans. The gable peaks will be finished in driftwood-colored shakes (imagine sunlight on silvery gray wood washed up on a rocky Lake Superior shore.)

After several weeks of graph paper drawings using a scale ruler, we know exactly where the in-floor electrical plugs will be set into our slab-on-grade floor. I determined the “perfect” placement of our furniture (everything fits!) I even modified the bathroom layout to ensure we have sufficient space to easily accommodate the turning radius of a wheelchair (should one of us need this accommodation.) We have earmarked two media consoles as possibilities in the TV Room to hold a new 65-inch screen and our existing external sound bar. Between online wish lists and upcoming showroom visits we hope to narrow additional choices quickly and minimize expensive change orders.

Reading

Gathering of Poetry | April 2025

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small cucumber plant in plastic cup, white background

As someone who loves to “play in the dirt” and is anxiously awaiting the thawing of my raised beds, I appreciate the imagery and reminders offered by Elizabeth Alexander – poet, musician, composer, and fellow Minnesotan. Her advice to “trust the seeds” goes beyond just the feel of the garden trowel in my hand and extends to good advice for life in these scary, turbulent times.

Trust the Seeds

Trust the seeds, although they lie in darkness,
Stirring beyond your watchful eye.
Though they may not flower as you dreamed they would,
When the planting’s over you must trust the seeds.

Some soon bloom to fill your heart with wonder,
Some only after you are gone,
You must give them freedom to grow as they should.
Give them room to spread their roots, and trust the seeds.

In your heart, you know that some may wither,
All you can do is hope and pray.
Some will rise up grander than you dreamed they could.
There is joy in planting if you trust the seeds.

I am happy to join fellow bloggers, Bonnie at Highly Reasonable, Kat at as kat knits, and Kym at Dancing at the Edge for a monthly Gathering of Poetry.

Trust the Seeds bibliographic note: © Elizabeth Alexander 1995. Music and words originally composed as an a cappella chorale with two significantly expanded arrangements, one with a small ensemble (flute oboe and piano) and one with orchestra.

Photo credit: From pexels © daka

Writing

Drawn to the Library

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I am a librarian and unabashedly proud of my lifelong career choices. While I was a frequent library visitor as a child, my passion for libraries began when I was ten. During the summer of 1962, between 4th and 5th grades, my mother and a group of her friends worked tirelessly, under the supervision of Mrs. Berlin (the head of children’s services at the public library) to collect and catalog a new school library. It was cobbled together from eight disparate classroom collections and a generous selection of new titles acquired during a successful parish-wide book sale. When school began that fall, along with my best friends Cindy and Jeannie, I began helping in the library after school. As that academic year ended, the PTA sponsored a school-wide contest. I wrote one of the winning essays about the importance of our new library. And, lest you think there as favoritism because Momma was the new volunteer librarian, the essays were submitted anonymously and judged by the PTA officers. I still have the prize – a hard cover copy of the Indian Ocean Adventure by Arthur C. Clarke.

There are those antagonists who claim libraries are no longer needed because everyone can simply buy their books through Amazon. While admittedly a quick source for just about everything from hoses to vitamins, book buying necessitates sufficient discretionary, disposable income. And, even for those of means, there is the practicality of borrowing from the library in solidarity with the 3-Rs – reduce, recycle, reuse.

With nearly five decades of practical experience, I can attest not everything is available through Amazon.

There was the distance learner who was able to complete her PhD. in nursing while employed in a small-town health clinic because expensive medical resources from the University of Minnesota were delivered to her local library though interlibrary loan. Interlibrary loan services that are at risk because the current administration has deemed federally supported intergovernmental library cooperation unnecessary.

The little ones whose caregivers brought them to the library for pre-school storytimes full of stories and pictures, rhymes and alliterations, enhancing early brain development through language.

The students who avoided the dreaded summer slump in reading scores because summer library programs energized curious young minds with books and reading, as well as thematic games and crafts.

The people who filed unemployment claims or submitted job applications at the library’s public access computers because their home situation did not afford internet connectivity, whether because of financial stress or the simple lack of bandwidth in the more rural parts of our state.

With the celebration of National Library Week drawing to a close, remember the times you have been drawn to the library and smile.

Reading

Celebrate Libraries!

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horizonal graphic for 2025 national library week theme, drawn to the library

Celebrate your library during National Library Week and every week. Library services enhance your life and the life in your community whether by sparking creativity, offering a safe community hub, empowering job seekers, protecting the right to read, connecting people with technology, or nurturing young minds while continuing to provide a book collection for all ages. Join others under this year’s theme, Drawn to the Library and celebrate.

Special days and focus:

  • Monday, April 7 – Right to Read Day
  • Tuesday, April 8 – National Library Workers Day
  • Wednesday, April 9 – National Library Outreach Day
  • Thursday, April 10 – National Take Action for Libraries Day, a day to rally support for libraries.
Other items of interest

Hands Øff Rally

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winter weather clothing with bright gold scarves
January 29, 2017
five peopl holding protest signs and wearing bright gold scarves
February 13, 2025

Practicing our right to assemble has morphed from an occasional occurrence triggered by an extraordinary event into a regular activity.

My first rally of 2025 was on a frigid, below zero, February day protesting the administration’s rough handling of local immigrants. It was Rochester’s reaction to an early morning ICE raid which removed two restaurant workers without any communication with their families or access to legal assistance. We eventually learned they were removed to a maximum security, for-profit prison in Louisianna despite being in the midst of asylum-seeking legal procedures.

Today’s demonstration was one of over 1,200 of Hands Øff rallies held around the country. Hundreds gathered in Rochester, tens-of-thousands at the Capitol in St. Paul with nearby events from Austin to Wabasha, as well as in every state capitol. This was about showing up, being seen, being heard, and not backing down. Some participants carried signs listing a range of worries, others held hand drawn poster boards focused on specific uncertainties ranging from Social Security to cancer research, from free speech to reproductive rights, from education to national parks; and, of course, hands off libraries. The list goes on and on as it seems nothing about American life is sacred or safe.

I find being aware of the administration’s latest shenanigans, whether I do a quick check or a deep dive, puts a bruise on my spirit and I must remind myself to look to beauty. Poet Lynn Ungar wrote this verse yesterday as we readied ourselves for today’s Hands Øff rally and the work yet to come.

April 5th

I don’t know how this all turns out, 
and neither do you,
but I have to confess it doesn’t look good.
I wish we were headed
for a picnic, for a waltz in the park.  I wish 
we were not ruled by broken men
who want to damage everything
that they cannot possess.  I wish
I could tell you what we do now.
The street is littered with the petals
of cherries that bloomed before
the big wind came.  Tonight
there will be frost, and tender buds
will burn.  But still, the woods 
are unfolding into green, 
and just outside my door some frog
is bellowing for all he’s worth.
Who knows what happens next?
All I can tell you is that the fields 
are ablaze with dandelions
who have never known 
the meaning of defeat.

     Lynn Ungar 4-4-25


Other items of interest

White House Targets Library Services

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ALA show up for our libraries logo

Depending on the era, librarians and library trustees have not been immune from attacks on library collections. What is different today is the scope and scale of the intent to thwart basic library services.

Within the tsunami of Executive Orders coming from the Oval Office, libraries and museums came under attack on March 14. By Monday, March 31, ALL staff at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) were placed on leave. And, State Library Agencies were notified that their federally funded grants were terminated, effective April 1, 2025.

Cloaked in sheep’s clothing under the guise of reducing the federal bureaucracy, this is really a wolf huffing and puffing to blow the house down. While local tax dollars fund a major portion of library operations, in big and small communities, the federal funding is the glue that unites libraries into an effective network sharing system.

In Minnesota, these federal funds which “the President has determined are unnecessary” [Section 1. Purpose] fund a wide range of programs and services affecting daily library operations and individual library users. Among those services in jeopardy but not limited to just these:

black and blue MNLINK logo

MNLINK or statewide interlibrary loan and delivery, which ensures that residents have access to the information needed to fulfill their lives, regardless of geographic location.

graphic respresentation of Minnesota in black, blue, green, gold, and white

Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) – a unique partnership with local history centers and libraries to digitize fragile historical items and provide a snapshot of Minnesota life through the centuries with easy online access to over 60,000 pictures, maps, letters, postcards, and objects.

electronic library of minnesota logo in blue gray and green

eLibrary Minnesota (ELM) – a broad selection of online research databases for users seeking information for class assignments, improving career skills, or seeking reputable medical information.

The entire IMLS budget, including staffing, offices, and the pass-through funding to each state and territory constitutes 0.00146% of the federal budget. An amount so small within a ginormous budget that were this a science experiment an electron microscope would be required yet huge in meeting the needs of individual library users. Please contact your Members of Congress and urge your Senators and Representative to protect federal funding for libraries by preventing the dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Graphic credit: show up for our libraries – American Library Association (ALA). MNLINK, MDL, and eLm – Minitex.

Knitting

No fool’n…

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graphic of postcard from the edge logo

…it is time for Knit Camp’s 2025 Spring String Mystery Knit-along (MKAL).

The first clue dropped today without any April Fools tomfoolery. The remainder of the pattern will be revealed over the next four weeks. Just like a well-written dust jacket blurb that offers story hints without giving away the plot, the pattern’s pre-release notes provided an overview sufficient to know this will be a triangular shawl, in three colors using fingering weight yarn.

three skeins of yarn with colors (left to right) purple, varigated coral, and green
Colors: Farmers Market, Pumpkin Spice & Macrame

The yarn for Postcard from the Edge is a lovely selection of hand-dyed, organic Merino from Heather Best at Sew Happy Jane. And, with a move to a new house always on the fringe of my consciousness, there will be three fewer skeins to pack and move as I did a “stash dive” for this project.

Happy knitting!

Other items of interest

Hiding History

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wreath laying ceremony at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

While every cemetery holds hallowed ground, the rolling green hills of Arlington National Cemetery go beyond the grief filled quiet found in other places. The space, the land, the very air holds that which is holy knowing each white marble headstone, row upon row, represents an individual braver than I am. Whether volunteers or draftees, these men and women were willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice for our American way of life.

The Washington Post recently revealed that the sweeping efforts to exclude any reference to diversity, equity, and inclusion by the new administration’s Department of Defense has resulted in information about notable African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and women buried at the Cemetery being unpublished, altered, or hidden. My librarian’s heart and my American soul hurt knowing that DOD has blocked or removed information about these brave Americans simply because their stories have been deemed too “woke”.

I am not a military strategist. But it seems to me that with a growing list of global hot spots potentially threatening national security, DOD staff time would be better spent focusing on today’s threats rather than obscuring historical information on its various websites. The valiant efforts of the Tuskegee Airmen or the stories of brave women pilots who flew planes from manufacturing centers to the front in WWII should not be hidden simply because the individuals who performed those tasks were not white males.

Photo details – While laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier occurs frequently, I have only ever known one person who performed this ritual. I was invited to attend the ceremony when my dear friend Margaret retired from senior service at the Pentagon. I regret my decision to stay in Minnesota to manage some long-forgotten library task. I wish I had followed my heart to Washington, D.C. when she performed this honorable act on January 6, 2012.

This photo captures the moment she presented a wreath to the honor guard. Her husband Tom, a retired Air Force Colonel, stood to her left and her two sons stood at attention. (Edward in the Marine uniform and Peter in AirForce blue. He is still on active duty as a Lieutenant Colonel and Squadron Commander.)

New House

A time of lasts

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white and green house with large trees all covered in new snow
The first snowfall at our newly purchased house – November 1985

Even as we excitedly peruse electrical, plumbing, and tiling websites to identify possibilities for the new “villa” at 5314 Solstice Place, we recognize we will experience daily “lasts”. Our last Christmas is already a memory. And, while the garden is still being planned, we did not realize when we planted the garlic cloves last fall that we were beginning our last gardening season on First Street.

For a majority of our lives this has been our home – 40 of 42 married years; 40 of my 72 and 40 of Richard’s 78 years. It is tempting to simply look towards September, to focus on the myriads of decisions in an effort to make this shiny new building project and the move as easy as possible. Conversely, it would be easy to get lost in the memories. To reminisce about late nights spent with the steam gun and a putty knife as we removed seven layers of smoke permeated wallpaper in the dining room; the residual nicotine so heavy that the house smelled like an old-time beer bar. To laugh at the number of times we washed and moved buckets and buckets of river rock around our lot – raked from one garden path to another. Maybe, just maybe, we can manage a blend of something old and something new. But today, after yesterday’s blizzard, I will be happy to pack away my last memory of snow shoveling. Fingers crossed that winter weather cooperates.