Darn Good Yarn, Welcome Spring...?

Don't you just love it when good things happen to nice people? That's the case with Nicole Mikkelsen-Snow of Darn Good Yarn. Nicole started Darn Good Yarn (DGY) to give women and their families in Nepal and India a chance for a decent living and a better life. At the end of October, Nicole sent me her newsletter wherein she asked folks to vote for her in the FedEx Small Business Grant. She sweetened the pot by hosting a giveaway for those who voted for her and, at the conclusion of the voting, she gave away fifteen skeins of beautiful Darn Good Yarn and a $50.00 gift cards...lovely!

Did I mention the FedEx Grand was $25,000.00 and long story short...Nicole and DGY won...fabulous! Earlier this month, a FedEx crew visited Nicole at DGY in Maine and  filmed Nicole while Greg was hand crafting knitting needles. 

~ sari strips, photo borrowed from DGY ~

What makes DGY different is the yarn; it's recycled and spun from earth friendly materials as well as remnants of silk saris, hemp and other materials. Nicole's original goal was to help others and it's still a primary factor in day to day operations. She says, "For me, the priority is giving fair rates to my suppliers and  helping them live better lives...even if it means less profit for me. I keep business with one of my exporters even though he charges more--he supports his mother and three sisters who live in western Nepal." Is that not kindness itself?

As a woman, I appreciate and applaud what Nicole is doing; as a knitter, using her recycled sari silk yarn is semi-liquid color running through my hands and off my needles. My recycled sari yarn was purchased through one of her NC vendors. If you're not a knitter or you don't crochet, you can still put DGY to darn good use. You could, as The Gifted Blog does, use the recycled sari yarn to wrap gift packages...beautiful! I can also envision the silk sari strips used on colorful prayer flags and waving merrily in a gentle breeze...oh yeah!

The DGY site offers free knitting patterns, cool supplies, lots of other wonderful things and, of course, yarn. Even yarn on sale smile. Nicole promises, "As DGY continues to grow, so will our yarn selections, which we promise will be earth friendly, fair trade, child labor free, unique and fun to craft with. Namaste!" That's a whole lot more than can be said about most yarns.

Another good thing about Nicole is she served in the Air Force; I've a soft spot for our military, past and present because a lot of my menfolk have served and are serving in the US military. Nicole, thank you for serving!

Go visit Darn Good Yarn and, if you're a knitter, crafter or you crochet, consider buying from Nicole. You'll help a woman and her children live a better life, build karma, knit with some wonderful yarn and all that equals...a Very Good Thing!

Today is the first day of Spring; someone should have told Winter. This is what I woke to this morning - snowy cold temps, snow on the ground, stiff breeze and the wood stove needs to be cleaned of ashes so I can lay another fire. Did someone say, "Happy Easter, Happy Spring, Happy Happy Everything"? Think again but at least it's not a full moon; whatever weather occurs on a full moon and a change of seasons is the weather we'll have until next change of seasons. 

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ~ Albert Einstein ~

Today's Miracles ~ Nicole, who changes the world, one person at a time ~ recycled yarn ~ saris ~ Nepalese and Indian women ~ Darn Good Yarn ~