It’s funny how small the knitting community can seem sometimes. We all interact in different ways online and it feels like we know each other even though we’ve never met.
So I feel like typing here “my friend and fellow knitwear designer Heather Ordover is in trouble.” She’s probably not really my friend, but in this case I think she’ll take all the friends she can get.
To make what could turn into a long story short, you might know of Heather for her CraftLit podcast, which involves literature and crafts, or from her book What Would Madame Defarge Knit
? or from her other designs. What you probably don’t know, what I didn’t know, is that she has a son with a condition called microtia, which means he was born with one ear that’s much smaller than the other and had no ear canal.
He had surgery in 2008 that involved skin grafts on a plastic frame that make it possible for him to have a normally functioning ear. The problem is the plastic is poking out and he has to have surgery, possibly a very long and complicated (read: expensive) surgery to re-form his ear. And they have to travel to get the surgery, and though airfare and accommodations have been covered, there are still a lot of expenses involved.
Being a professional knitwear designer does not pay the bills very well or consistently, so Heather is asking for help. She’s having a sale on her patterns at her Ravelry store through Sunday, and she has lots of other ways to give support in the form of taking classes, getting her to speak at a shop near you, or just making a donation. I know the crafty community is very generous and hope you will help if you feel moved to and can.
Thank you so much for posting this. My family and I deeply appreciate it. It reinforces my belief that the fiber community is just made up of the best people.
Again, many thanks,
Heather
Of course!