Pattern Release: Trespassers William

Now, Piglet lived in a very grand house in the middle of a beech tree in the middle of the forest - and Piglet loved it. The house had been in the family for a long long time and had his grandfather's name on a broken sign to prove it: TRESPASSERS WILL.

"That," Piglet would explain, "is short for TRESPASSERS WILLIAM, my grandfather's name."

from "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day." Walt Disney's Winnie the Pooh Storybook. 1989.

  

On my coffee table, there is a book: red and fraying at the corners, the embossed design of the cover worn down to a scattering of gold flecks. The image that's left is half of Winnie the Pooh, seated, with one golden finger suspended in the air. The other half - whatever he was holding in one chubby hand, and the rest of his face - are blotted out by a water stain.

There are twin mysteries there: what, exactly, did the Silly Old Bear's face used to look like? And what on earth did I spill on it back in 1991, when I was three and my favorite pastime was stealing crumbs of cheese from the family refrigerator?

(The first question is easy enough to address with a quick Google search. As for the second, the world may never know.)

What I do know is that from ages 3 to 8 or so, the Winnie the Pooh Storybook was my literary comfort food.

When I listened to - and later, read - the words, I was reminded of the forest outside my back door: I felt the sun through the trees; heard the singing of water and the hush of pine needles beneath my feet. I knew the characters as I knew my friends, in all their habits and foibles and joy. And through their stories - of meeting new people, overcoming fear, and practicing kindness in small ways - I learned how to be a person.

All of that from a red, water-stained book - which is why, over two decades later, it still sits on my coffee table.

 

And so, this week I'm very excited to release Trespassers William, a collaboration with my friend Kenneth of The Homestead Hobbyist, featuring his beautiful yarn and inspired by my childhood love of Winnie the Pooh.

I hope you love it too.

You can check out the pattern on Ravelry here, or purchase directly below.

Happy Wednesday, friends. <3

Cory