Sassy Holidays 2019

Dear Sassy Holidays participants, 

We wanted to thank you, from the bottom of our colorful hearts, for being a part of this Sassy Holidays journey. Over the past two years, we’ve celebrated so many holidays, from the mundane (National Bubble Bath Day, January 8th) to the tasty (National Watermelon Day, August 3rd and National Donut Day, June 1st, to name a few) to the socially important (International Day of the Girl Child, October 11th; Indigenous Peoples Day, the second Monday of October). We’ve celebrated Bikinis (National Bikini Day, July 5th) and Hobbits (September 22nd) and friendship (both Galentines Day, February 13th and Best Friend’s Day, June 8th). We’ve made Bloody Marys for New Year’s Day, Lemonade in May, and Sandwiches in November. We’ve picked up Lucky Pennies (National Lucky Penny Day, May 23rd) and we’ve stopped and taken a minute just to look at the sky for National Look Up at the Sky Day in April. And now, for our December Sassy Holidays, we are sending a Thank You Letter to you for making this club such a fun journey. 

December 26th is known as National Thank You Note Day, a time to let folks know you appreciate them and you are thankful for any gifts you might have received. Our greatest gifts with this club these last two years have been hearing from you about how much you’ve loved the colorways, how the holidays have spoken to you (or just plain gave you the excuse to go out for donuts on a random day in June). 

Our December colorway, Warmest Regards, is inspired by a set of watercolor Thank You cards I had years ago, ones I relished writing thank you notes on. Just think, you could use this skein to knit a thank you to someone who means a lot to you (even if that someone is yourself!)

This will be our final Sassy Holidays missive, and more than anything, we want you to know that we thank you for being a part of our Knitted Wit community, and for supporting the fantastic yarn shop you’ve been picking up your Sassy Holidays yarns every month.

As the days get shorter and cooler, we think more and more about food. Food is a very important part of our life here at Knitted Wit, and, if you’ve been taking part in our Sassy Holiday celebrations for any length of time, you know that we are almost always down to celebrate a holiday that centers around food. We’ve mostly focused on sweet treats, but this month, with the cool weather, we want something savory, which is why we are celebrating National Sandwich Day on November 3rd (not that sandwiches can’t be sweet, too…)

Legend states that in the 18th century, the Earl of Sandwich would order his meat and cheese served betwixt bread, so he could more easily play cards without dirtying those cards. Folks became intrigued by this new way to package their food, and started asking for theirs to be made in the style of the Earl of Sandwich, which was eventually shortened to sandwich. Voila!

Here are recipes for two of our favorite sandwiches; November 3 might be a good day to host a sandwich party with your favorites!

Classic PB&J:

Take 2 slices of white bread (a seedy multigrain if you want to add a little extra), and smear nut butter, either creamy OR crunchy on one half. Peanut is the most classic of classics, but almond or even a mixed nut butter takes it all up a notch. Smear jam or jelly on the other half. Go classic with grape or strawberry jelly, or add a little pizazz with raspberry or even (gasp!) a marmalade. One of our favorites is mixed nut butter and grapefruit marmelade on toasted seedy multigrain bread. 

Grown-Up Grilled Cheese:

Take 2 slices of seedy multigrain or fresh-baked sourdough, and spread one side of each with a thin coating of butter. Put one slice on a preheated pan (we like a cast-iron pan), butter-side down, and add a layer of brie, then a layer of thinly-sliced pears. Add the other bread half, butter side up, and cook until the bottom bread is toasty brown. Flip and cook until that bread is toasty brown. Enjoy!

Now that we’ve gotten everyone nice and hungry, enjoy celebrating the humble sandwich today. 

Next month is our final Sassy Holiday shipment; we are discontinuing the club, but my, have we had fun making these colors for you! We’re focusing next year on HerStory, and a new club called the ShannaJean Club, so ask your LYS if they’re taking part in either or both of these clubs in 2020. Thanks for learning all about these holidays with us, and enjoy your sandwich! The Final Sassy Holiday is December 26th, which is National Thank You Day

Here are some extra sandwich recipes we ran out of room for in the love letter!

Lotsa Veggies on a Bagel:

Take an everything bagel, and toast it if you like. Thinly spread both sides with hummus, then add thinly-sliced cucumber, thinly-sliced tomato, sprouts, and avocado. Eat!

Caprese Sandwich:

Take 2 slices of seedy multigrain or a baguette, and spread fresh basil pesto along one piece. Add slices of mozerella and fresh tomato. Enjoy!

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Once upon a time in the United States of America, there was a holiday called Columbus Day. It was a day to honor the man who so-called “discovered” the Americas, and it was all a sham. Columbus was, in fact, a horrible person, who saw the generosity and friendliness of the Native Americans he encountered as an invitation to dominate them. A person who perpetrated disease and slaughter onto the people who already lived in the places he supposedly discovered. A person who promised his bosses back in Spain gold and slaves in exchange for more ships and men. A person who has long been celebrated and lauded as a hero to America. In fact, most people raised in American schools can easily name the three ships he “sailed the ocean blue” with. (Howard Zinn wrote a great article about the real Christopher Columbus: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/10/the-real-christopher-columbus/)

Fortunately, as the US has gained more self-awareness about its own history, fewer and fewer folks think that Columbus Day is a valid National Holiday, and have supplanted it with Indigenous People’s Day, a day to honor and celebrate Native Americans and commemorates their shared history and culture. Indigenous People’s Day started in South Dakota in 1989, and is now celebrated across the United States. There are still only three states that don’t celebrate Columbus Day at all (yay, Oregon!), but many states and cities have adopted Indigenous People’s Day on the second Monday of October. 

Our Indigenous People’s Day colorway was created after a deep Google dive of images of Native American Regalia. There were so many gorgeous and inspiring pieces to choose from, but we decided on a more traditional color scheme. 

We hope you’ll spend the day knitting with this gorgeous yarn, and thinking about ways America can do better in regards to its Native population. A few organizations that are going good works include: 

• Standing Rock Sioux Tribe: https://www.standingrock.org/
• Partnership with Native Americans: http://www.nativepartnership.org
• The Association on American Indian Affairs: https://www.indian-affairs.org
• Native American Rights Fund: https://www.narf.org
• National Indian Child Care Association: https://www.nicca.us

Who doesn’t love the Hobbits, those adorable and tenacious humanoids from JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy? Who wouldn’t love to celebrate Frodo and Bilbo Baggins’ shared birthday with a big party, complete with food, friends, fireworks, and frivolity? Indulging in elevenses, entering their cozy Hobbit holes, and hearing Frodo and Bilbo regale us with tales of their very un-Hobbity adventures? Well, we can all celebrate on September 22nd, which, along with being the birthday of the two most adventurous Hobbits the Shire has ever seen, is also celebrated as Hobbit Day, smack-dab in the middle of Tolkien week. 

In Tolkien’s writing, Hobbits, which are about half the size of humans, are often referred to as Halflings. Our Halfling colorway plays homage to these very special Hobbits that captured our imaginations as children (and adults). The Hobbit was written as a children’s book, and is a wonderful adventure to share with the kiddos in your life. We listened to it as a family on a long road trip, and mine were captivated by it. I remember the first time I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a young adult; I cried, because I was so sad I would never read it for the first time again. If you haven’t read the books, we highly recommend you do. And, on September 22nd, indulge in a bit of the Hobbit life, if you will, in honor of the magic that Tolkien shared with us.

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Get thee to a farm stand or grocery store, because Saturday, August 3rd is National Watermelon Day, and you don’t want to be caught without this delicious representation of summertime goodness. Whether you eat it sliced up, cubed, or blended with other fruits, there’s nothing like a sweet and light bite of the watermelon. We’ve found a few yummy (and surprising) watermelon-based recipes for your summertime enjoyment:

WATERMELON SALAD WITH JALAPENO AND LIME (from geniuskitchen.com)

• 3 T lime juice 
• 2 t olive oil 
• 1 pinch lime zest 
• 2 C seedless watermelon, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced ⁄ cup basil (or Thai basil) 
• 1 t black sesame seed 
• 1 t sea salt

Whisk together lime juice, oil and lime zest. Set aside. Place frozen watermelon cubes in single layer in large shallow dish. Pour lime juice mixture over watermelon, and gently toss to combine. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Place 5 jalapeño rings each in 4 shallow serving bowls. Mound 1/2 cup watermelon in center of each bowl. Divide marinade among bowls. Sprinkle with basil, sesame seeds and salt, and serve.

WATERMELON LIME CHILLER (from toravey.com)

• 3 C cubed seedless watermelon, well chilled
• 1 1/2 fresh limes, juiced
• 1/4 C rum (optional)
• Simple syrup or agave nectar, or your favorite sweetener, to taste
• Fresh mint sprigs for garnish

Put watermelon chunks and lime juice into a blender. Process on high until smooth. Add sweetener to taste, if needed, and blend again. Pour drink into two glasses over ice. Garnish with fresh mint. Serve.

We hope you enjoy our Watermelon-Day-inspired yarn AND find the time to make some delicious watermelon-based treats on National Watermelon Day. 

Saturday, June 8th is National Best Friend’s Day, and we here at Knitted Wit could not be more happy about it! We’re celebrating with a colorway that brings Lorajean’s soul-color (purple) and Shannon’s soul-color (lime green) together in one deliciously interwoven colorway. We are also celebrating by texting Golden Girl’s theme song lyrics to each other aaaaallllll day long! Wanna play along? Get ready for a wonderful ear-worm:

Thank you for being a friend…

Traveled down a road and back again

Your heart is true, you’re a pal and a confidant

I’m not ashamed to say

I hope it always will stay this way

My hat is off, won’t you stand up and take a bow

And if you threw a party

Invited everyone you knew

Well, you would see the biggest gift would be from me

And the card attached would say

Thank you for being a friend…

Thank YOU for being a friend, too! For exploring these off-the-grid holidays with us, for supporting and loving us, for being our pals and confidants. Spend some time on Best Friend’s Day reaching out to the people in YOUR life who deserve the biggest and best gift, who will travel those roads with you, who are your people.

The first Sunday in May (which happens to fall on May 5th this year) is National Lemonade Day. Not only is this a day to celebrate the delicious beveragey harbinger of summertime, it’s also a day to celebrate young entrepreneurs, by encouraging the humble lemonade stand (or any youth-driven entrepreneurial initiative). We are fully of the camp that adding a bit of pink to almost anything is a good thing, so we are sharing two very different recipes for Pink Lemonade; one more involved, one less involved. Both will be absolutely delicious. The first one we found here: https://www.thereciperebel.com/easy-homemade-pink-lemonade-recipe/. The second one we made up.

Pink Lemonade Recipe (more involved):

• 1 cup granulated sugar.
• 3/4 cup water.
• 1/3 cup lemon peel strips (about 2 lemons)
• 1 cup freshly squeeze lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
• 1/2 cup fresh strawberry puree.
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberry puree.
• 2 cups water, either still or bubbly.

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add water and sugar. Bring to a simmer and whisk until sugar is dissolved.

2. Add lemon peel strips, bring to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes or until mixture is reduced by almost half. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Place a fine mesh sieve over a pitcher. Pour the lemon syrup through the sieve into the pitcher, followed by the lemon juice, strawberry puree, and raspberry puree. You may have to use a spatula to stir the liquids around and press through, but it will work.

4. Chill in the refrigerator until cold. 

5. Serve with desired amount of water, club soda, and ice cubes (roughly 2 cups). 

Pink Lemonade Recipe (less involved):

• Lemonade mix of your choice, plus the appropriate water.
• 1/2 cup fresh strawberry puree.
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberry puree.

1. Mix up lemonade mix in pitcher, leaving room for puree.

2. Place a fine mesh sieve over a pitcher. Pour the strawberry and raspberry puree through. You may have to use a spatula to stir the liquids around and press through, but it will work.

4. Chill in the refrigerator until cold. Drink and enjoy!

For our April Sassy Holiday, we’re celebrating the changing season, relishing the hint of cool in the air, looking forward to shorter days and cozy fires… Ahhh, who doesn’t love Fall? Especially after a long, hot summer, when all a fiber crafter wants to do is curl up on the couch under a hand-made blanket and make, make, make. Our Sassy colorway, Pumpkin Spice Latte, is just the colorway your fall-craving self needs… what? What’s that you say? We are heading toward Spring, not Fall? Well…

April Fools!!!

We hope you enjoy this decidedly UN-Autumnal color, Pumpkin Spice Latte, and giggle to yourself while crafting with it. Good luck trying to get your hands on an actual Pumpkin Spice Latte, however, since we are MONTHS away from enjoying those once more.

To make your own Pumpkin Spice Latte at home, gather and mix together the following:

• 1 cup milk, either cow’s, coconut, almond, macadamia, or other
• 1 TBSP canned or fresh pumpkin puree
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice (or ½ tsp cinnamon and a sprinkle each of cloves and nutmeg)
• ¼ cup strong coffee or espresso
• 1 tsp honey or maple syrup or to taste

Blend until smooth, then heat in a saucepan, stirring often. Pour into your favorite mug and add whipped cream or coconut cream to the top. Enjoy and pretend it’s fall, y’all.

March 8th is International Women’s Day, and on this day and in this month, our major question, answered in a skein of yarn, is (still and always) Only One Day?! That’s what we get? We deserve more, don’t you think?

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day, first observed in 1911, celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women all around the world. The day is not country, group, or organization-specific, but rather marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. The theme this year is #balanceforbetter, an effort to deepen gender balance and equality in all aspects of life, all around the world. In order to show support for IWD, the organizers ask that folks share photos of themselves on social media, hands out, palms up, as if balancing two equal weights. The #balanceforbetter effort is a year-long one. 

In light of the conversations surrounding race and white supremacy that have been occurring in our fiber arts community, as well as in the greater world, we are asking all of our Sassy Holidays participants to bring a strong intersectional focus to their celebrations of IWD this year (and every year). Let’s all work toward a reality in which ALL women are experiencing the same balance. All of this starts with us, with a commitment to intersectional feminism. Let’s work together, and ensure that it’s not for Only One Day that we focus on balance, but a renewed life-long commitment to true equity and parity. And, while we work on our intersectional feminism, we can enjoy knitting our skeins of Only One Day?!