Dear Kay,

As I write, we’re getting ready for Moving Day for MDK World Headquarters. I know!

Such an upgrade: the new space has two windows, a 100% increase from the current 0 windows. The floor is wooden, not cement. There is a sink. It’s in the same building as the current MDK World Headquarters, about thirty yards away, across the lobby.

I feel like we’re moving into the Taj Mahal. The word is swanky.

My brother Aubrey is in town and offered to come help, with this: “So . . . when will you be done with all the heavy parts?”

“One o’clock,” I say.

“See you at two!”

After all this time (five whole entire months), I’m feeling really sentimental about our old headquarters. The memories! The challenges! The day we got packing tables! The tape dispenser! The day the first package went out! I’m gonna miss that place.

In such a sentimental mood, there’s only one thing to do: wind yarn. All the good memories flood out when you’re winding yarn.

I’m finally starting Bristol Ivy’s Nesting Wrap, a glorious opportunity to knit with Jade Sapphire Cashmere. So soft, so so so so soft.

When we decided on this particular colorway, Pebble Beach and Stonehenge, I had to laugh. It looked so subtle that I wasn’t even sure it would work properly in a two-color brioche wrap. It’s a very, very, very close pairing of shades.

So close, in fact, that I knew instantly that this was the shade I wanted to make.

Winding yarn is one of my favorite moments in knitting. I don’t use a ball winder or swift, and I try to wind as loosely as possible. It’s a chance to slow down, to listen to music, or, today, to stare slack jawed into the middle distance, completely zorked out. I may have fallen asleep, mid skein. You know how it is when a wash of fatigue hits you?

The color names. Which one is Pebble Beach and which is Stonehenge? Is the real-life Stonehenge pale pink or pale pale? Am I even going to be able to distinguish these?

They change color constantly, depending on the light. At times, they look exactly the same.

Late in the day, the pink starts to show up.

Please stay tuned. This is going to be my first brioche project. What is brioche knitting, you ask? Here you go. We’ve got a conversation going over in The Lounge, “Brioche: Not Just for Breakfast Anymore,” so I hope we can all get the hang of this. Also: our brand-new, free Knitstrip is the Never Fail Muffler, a bulky bit of brioche. It’s a perfect starter project.

Love,

Ann