February 7, 2026

Good morning lovely knitters!  Though there is a little bit of snow going on out there, we plan to be open regular hours.  It looks pretty light, so if that changes and we need to close, we'll send another email today.

But, we refreshed our piles of red yarn, so if you are ready to get something new on your needles for the Super Bowl - or the Olympics, pop in!

Don't forget to share our auctions of Anti-Ice Pro Democracy Hats with your friends who don't knit!  These auctions are benefiting the many charities of Stand With Minnesota!  And we were so happy to be able to send off our first $235 this week - just from the first few hats that we had up!  Thank you to all the knitters who have brought in a hat or more (if you can contribute one - we would REALLY appreciate it!) and to all of the bidders helping us with this fundraiser!

There are still mostly the original Melt the Ice hat and Melt the Ice Toque up there, but I confess - I've gone rogue. 

 I've never been very good at knitting the same thing over and over again, so we have had a couple This is Not Normal Hats.

And after a lovely Norwegian friend on Facebook posted this - "Hi, as a Norwegian whose father was a member of the Norwegian Resistance Movement (Milorg) during WWII, I can tell you that the red, knitted "nisselue"- hat was a powerful, visible symbol of resistance and resilience in the Norwegian society. It was so powerful that it got banned by the Nazi authorities, and you could get fined and/or  thrown in jail for wearing one. The red knitted hat gave hope and courage in a time of dire oppression. It became a national symbol. 

It is a strong message to pass on, and it may be a way to take the colour red back. Red does not have to be held hostage by any political affiliation. Red is a stop signal, a pointer to do "right", as opposed to "wrong", and it is deeply rooted even in Norwegian folklore, as well as history, all the way back to the French Revolution. Our little fairy folk, the "leprechaun" or "elves" with the red, knitted hats that you see in vintage Norwegian postcards, were traditionally  judging right from wrong. Do right and you will prosper, do wrong, and the little gnomes would even things out in your disfavour. You had to get up and do your chores, and do them well, and be good to people and animals. Living in the homesteads, the little grey man with the red hat would help the people that did right, and he would punish the ones that did "wrong" by doing mischief. He would make all kinds of mishaps happen; the milk bucket got overturned, the cream wouldn't churn into butter, etc. 

If you knitted the inside of the red hat with grey yarn, you would be invisible when you turned it inside-out, according to old beliefs.

 Furthermore, the red stands for love, the love you have for your country and the people that live there. 

I am honoured that the Norwegian tradition and symbol of resistance lives on. Best wishes and hopes for better times.  Lots of love."

Well, I had to make a Flipbean lined with grey!  Or 3 flipbeans lined with grey alpaca - so far!

I do have to say - I'm gonna need a purple break for a couple of hours this weekend.  Just to make my purple love feel satisfied again!  If you need a tiny break too, check out some of our great kits!

Like maybe a Dimples Hat and Cowl!

Or maybe a Koko Baby Blanket for those impending babies!

The Olympics means LOTS of good knitting time ahead!  I hope I can actually watch it - we have none of the channels that are showing it, but I'm desperate to watch some curling! 

You can find us on Facebook and Instagram, you can also now find us on Bluesky!  So, if you have already fled the others, follow us there!  We'd love to see you!

I hope we see you today - but drive safe, ok??

Island Yarn 

189 Main Street

Maynard, MA  01754

Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 12 - 5