I have been contemplating the possibility of getting together with some of you in small groups via Zoom to talk rya. 

I've been Zooming with my family and a few circles of good friends, why not us?  I'm not very Zoom-literate at this time as far as organizing and calling the meeting and screen sharing, but I know it's not difficult, and I can learn.

The big question is how would we organize it?

Eventually I will be teaching class series via Zoom. It will be so easy to have a group of potential designers with my book in hand, so I can say, "Turn to page 168 and look at Chart 1." Teaching will be a breeze with the book. 

I was going to add this as a fun, long story, but your time is valuable so here is the short story:

A woman named Mary in Hudson, Massachusetts (right near where I lived when I worked for my grandparents at Lundgren Rya) contacted me about a large supply of Bergå rya yarn from Sweden sold by my grandparents to a woman, Jean Abbott, who made lots of rya rugs.  Jean had recently passed away leaving no one to take over her yarn supply--or other belongings--and no family.  Mary and other neighbors were told to "help yourselves" to the household items.  Mary took the yarn shown in the picture above knowing someone would want it, but there was a huge amount still there. 

She found me on Etsy. (another plus for Etsy.)  She had no idea I was the Lundgren granddaughter.  Then, all remaining items in the house were to be dispersed by auction, and I was too late to bid. (The rest of the yarn (100+ skeins) sold at an estate auction for less than $80 as I recall.)  

The very next day after the auction the winner of the auction, Patricia, contacted me to tell me she had little hand-written notes from my grandmother and old Lundgren brochures. (Patricia also found me on Etsy!) I asked her if she had any idea of what a great deal she won, and she was very excited:  "My daughter turned 19 yesterday and has been talking about wanting to make rugs. She's an artistic young woman who's dabbled in a range of media, including knitting and sewing. I was on the lookout for rug-making materials when the auction with Jean Abbott's things came up." 

Patricia went on to say,"We just moved to an old farmhouse in Western Mass., where, believe it or not, the prior owner was a weaver and weaving teacher who had a small studio building behind the farmhouse. My daughter's boyfriend and I snuck all of the auction goodies into the studio on Friday afternoon, and I spent about eight hours - no joke - going through the yarn, organizing things, winding balls, etc. We then arranged everything by type, covered each grouping with a small tablecloth or curtain, and then brought my daughter out for her surprise.

Clearly this was meant to be.  Mary didn't want money for the yarn she sent me (top photo). She just asked me to make a contribution to one of Jean Abbott's favorite non-profits:  Massachusetts Audubon. OK, so this is amazing because I worked part time for my grandparents and part-time for Mass. Audubon leading children on tours of Drumlin Farm, volunteering in the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, and doing art work as signs and maps for them.  I sent them a nice check.

Yes, that is the short version of the story.  Mary and I had a lot in common, too, and now we are friends.

This is one reason why I love what I do! Thanks for reading all the way to the end.

Most of the items I carry are rya-related, and how many people do you know who will be thrilled to get a rya skein?  I know.

But no worries--I still have lots of other things just waiting to find a home.  Etsy is where you will find them.

SHIRTS!  I still have hundreds of 

T-shirts both silk-screened and hand-printed.  Click to see them all.

Woodcuts and Linocuts.  

I need to list more in the coming days. Take a peek.