It’s now 8 AM on the east coast of the United States and I’ve known for only 15 minutes now that Karrie Steinmetz  (aka KnitPurlGurl) passed away yesterday. To say I am in shock is an understatement. The journey that I took with Karrie is one that I’m sure most of you will recognize.

Although we never met in person, we frequently chatted on Plurk, talked about our kids, our husbands, our lives. I started knitting later in life, not learning from a grandmother or a mother, but through YouTube videos and books. Karrie’s videos were some of the first that I went to for help when I first started learning to knit.  It’s only been two years, but in that short time I have grown by leaps and bounds.  Her videocast was one of the first I watched and her approach to blogging and the use of social media was an inspiration to me.  If it weren’t for Karrie I would not have started my video cast. I would have not become a member of the knitting social group I have today.  Although outgoing IRL, I have found a particularly comforting place in the knitting/spinning/fiber world thanks to Karrie.

I think what hits me the hardest is that we are close in age, and have children. Seeing so much of myself in her, I feel particularly touched by what she was able to accomplish in life. I know her husband, her family, and her children already know that Karrie loved them, but what I want them to know is that Karrie was loved and admired, by thousands.

I’m sure in the grand scheme of things those of us that knit and spin and crochet and other fiber arts out there don’t number all that many, but to us the community feels amazingly huge; and within that bubble, Karrie made an indelible mark on more lives than we may ever know. I will honor Karrie’s memory for the rest of my life.

Rest in Peace and Love… I will miss you Karrie…