LYS Day 2020 was to have been April 25 but has been officially postponed until September 12. Designer Casapinka, bless her heart, decided that closed LYSes could use some help right now and is offering her annual LYS Day free-pattern-with-LYS-purchase as a Ravelry download from Friday, April 24 through midnight (Pacific Time) Sunday, April 26. Casapinka’s project page explains it all here.
Since we can all use a pretty knitting project to remind us to be calm, breathe, and hope for better times, we present Breathe and Hope:

Wait? What kit? GYI is closed! How can you buy yarn and get Casapinka’s pattern? Well…
DETAILS: Because Gosh Yarn It! cannot open and doesn’t have an e-commerce site, you cannot literally buy 2 skeins of yarn from us this weekend to qualify for your free copy of Casapinka’s Breathe and Hope pattern. But that won’t stop us!
We want to honor the spirit of Casapinka’s creativity and generosity: Request your pattern NOW and purchase yarn LATER (see Note below). Email me at ann@goshyarnitshop.com so that I can send you your download code for Casapinka’s pattern before 9:00 p.m. EST Sunday evening (sorry, I’m not staying up until 3 a.m.). Include the following “Casapinka Pledge” by copying and pasting it into your email:
I will do my best to purchase 2 skeins of fingering weight yarn from GYI in the future, enjoy my LYS Day gift from Casapinka now, and keep calm and knit on!!
As a tease about what “later” yarns await you, Jill just re-ordered armloads of our beloved Smooshy from Dream in Color; our first collection of KnittinBro Sock Weight from local Pennsylvania dyer Douglas Lopez, a.k.a. KnittinBro, is about to make its debut; and there’s even wistful talk about bringing back Alegria from Manos del Uruguay.
Note: Once you’ve downloaded your Breathe and Hope pattern from Ravelry, you may not be able to wait to cast on. We get it! If you already have the perfect 800 yards of fingering weight in your stash, go for it. Your future 2-skein purchase can be for any project.

More wonderful support for shuttered LYSes comes from Berroco. They’ve created their 123 DropShip Program to allow you to order any amount of any Berroco yarn from us – even brands we don’t normally stock, including from their partners Lopi, Amano, WOOLADDICTS, and Lang. Check out their FAQ flyer here. Links are included to “virtual yarn catalogs.” Getting your yarn with the DropShip Program is easy:
- Select yarns
- Place your order with Gosh Yarn It!
- Berroco ships from their warehouse in Rhode Island directly to your doorstep via USPS for flat-rate $7 shipping
To order, call 570-287-9999 and leave a message or email jill@goshyarnitshop.com – be sure to include your phone number. We will call you to confirm your Berroco order and accept payment.
Berroco is also curating a kitted “Project of the Week,” as part of the 123 DropShip Program. The next kit will make Broderie by Alison Green. It includes 3 skeins of Berroco Millefiori Light and a copy of the pattern, regularly $8. There are 5 colorways to choose from. This is the same shawl worn by Laura Dern in the movie Little Women. These kits can be ordered only from GYI with a phone or email order, as above. For information on this and future Project of the Week kits, subscribe to Berroco’s KnitBits email newsletter from berroco.com.


And right here in Wilkes-Barre, Tyler Rice and his screen printing business AxelRad started The Shirt Off Our Backs program. It’s a great way to support your local yarn shop and other locally-owned small businesses through the purchase of limited edition t-shirts. Doesn’t the Gosh Yarn It! shirt look fantastic?
GYI receives a portion of the $15 cost of each of our shirts. All proceeds will help put new yarn on our shelves once the shop re-opens. Shirts are mailed directly to customers for flat-rate $5 shipping. But don’t wait. Order directly from AxelRad: Stores.inksoft.com/The_Shirt_Off_Our_Backs
I think there’s still room to squeeze in a few FOs:


Above, Jill models her completed Cosette from Amy Christoffers in Berroco Pima 100. Knit side-to-side, this is a cotton sweater that will keep its shape while keeping you cool and comfortable. Below, Pima 100’s great stitch definition in Cosette.

(I took a skein of the same shade of Pima 100 and made…

…dishcloths!)
Our customer Krista made this delightful Pippin* hat in Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok, color Cranberry Compote. Designer Melinda Measor’s pattern of twisted stockinette stitches looks so fun to knit.

Krista also sent in photos of her Orange Love Poncho by Gaye Glasspie. She used Berroco Vintage in Black Cherry. I hope Krista is getting plenty of chances to wear her cozy Orange Love.


Joanne’s been knitting socks while “sheltering at home.” Her output is amazing! First, a pair she calls “At Mom’s Request.” The yarn is Wonderland Cheshire Cat. Her original pattern uses the Reverse Gored Toe and Short Row Heel for toe-up socks from The Sock Knitter’s Handbook by Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrott.

Next, her “I’ve Got the Lockdown Blues” socks feature Opal yarn, color Ingenier #9645. This time the toe-up toe is the Linen Stitch Toe from Karen Alfke’s Turbo Toes pattern in The Knitter’s Book of Socks by Clara Parkes, paired with the Reverse French Heel from The Sock Knitter’s Handbook by Schurch and Parrot.

Here are Joanne’s “Garden Rows” socks. She used her go-to pattern this time, Churchmouse’s Simple Toe-Up Sock, with Cascade Heritage Sock in Green #5659 and Alegria in Kohl and Ghostbusters.

And for a colorful finish, this latest pair is called “Paris in April,” knit toe-up in Lang Super Soxx City Runner in Color #220. She used the Reverse French Heel from The Sock Knitter’s Handbook.

Please keep your photos of your FOs coming. Inspire your fellow knitters and crocheters. Email them to ann@goshyarnitshop.com and include both pattern and designer names and yarn(s) used. It’s a fun way to be close even while we are far apart. Stay healthy!