Thursday, May 03, 2007

All good things come to an end

I'm afraid it's over Interweave Knits. We must end our relationship......

I first saw you on the magazine rack at the Borders in San Francisco.

You know the one I would walk to each Monday evening after flying in from the east coast and working until 6:00 PST which was 9:00pm EST and since I had been up since 4:00am EST I needed that time to unwind. I'd check in at the Grand Hyatt (usually a room above floor 8 that had "16" as the last numbers), unpack, walk across the street to Lori's Diner to have a burger or scrambled eggs, then armed with a chocolate milkshake (with the whipped cream in a seperate cup becuase they didn't have cups big enough to put it in) head over to Border's (isn't that a great store front?) Three stories of books, magazines, music, movies and coffee.

And one night in the Fall of 2001, there you were. Your cover called my name. Page after page of knitting patterns the like I'd never seen. I couldn't wait to get you back to the hotel room and read you cover to cover.

You see I was just getting "into" knitting. I mean I always knitted, but never with the fever that had hit me that September. And you articles, your advertising, your pictures and patterns....I read you cover to cover. Every turn of the page brought a new surprise and always one more pattern. The layouts were what I wanted, needed. Warm and cozy. And over the months until the next issue you're what I tucked into my briefcase to take with me on those long cross country flights. I'd read you over and over.

And at Guild meetings, when members bring in their magazine stash to "share", I push and shove old ladies out of the way to get to your older issues. (hanging my head in shame...naw...they've got canes they could've used)

Oh sure, there were other magazines. But they were to flip through and see if a pattern caught my eye. Too flashy and shinny for me. To steel and cold for me. No warm and cozy feelings there.

And IK, it's been that way ever since that first day.........well ever since the Spring of 2007 when you changed your format. I remember turing the pages looking for those surprises in the back pages. Nope, nothing there.

But, I decided to wait. Give the change time to sink in. And now after the second issue of change, I'm pretty sure it's over. No warm and cozy feelings drifted from your pages as I eagerly flipped through you. Just sterile pictures like the others.

I'm am sad it has to end IK. It was a good few years. But the subscription will end. You will be flipped through at Ewe Knit Kits & Yarn and decision to take you home will be made.