I’ve been working on and off on a pillow design for Topsy Farms. I’ve written about Topsy Farms before – run by Sally Bowen and Ian Murray, Topsy is located on Amherst Island, about two and a half hours east of Toronto – in other words, one ferry east of Prince Edward County. I was born near Amherst Island, in Amherstview, and it was my father’s first charge after graduating from theological school at Knox College, University of Toronto. My parents moved back to Amherst Island decades later, and my father was again the minister at St. Paul’s, so I have roots there. Our kids loved their time traipsing through A.I. farmers’ fields, watching cows get milked in barns, and feeding Topsy Farms lambs with baby bottles.
I’ve used a lot of Topsy Farms yarn in my Stitched Glass project (still am, of course) – and the last time I visited with Ian and Sally, I promised to design them a pillow pattern. Because I believe in local knitting – that is, supporting the local yarn producers who are putting time and effort into producing beautiful, natural yarns that I love to work with.
This pattern is my tribute to the wonderful people and yarn producers at Topsy Farms. In honour of their name, I designed a Topsy Turvy Sheep pattern, using only Topsy Farms yarns. When I’m finished the pillow, I’ll post it here… the hope is to offer kits through Topsy Farms’ website, and wonderful store on Amherst Island (I encourage you to pay them a visit – and spend the rest of the day on the island, too, exploring all that it has to offer).
