How quickly eight years has sped by. It seems like only yesterday Deborah Sweet applied for a job at the studio and this past Friday, her last day of work at Encompassing Designs, retirement spirited her away.
Deborah is one of a kind. She is talented, intelligent, hardworking, conscientious, honest to a fault and a quality maker of all things. It was a privilege to be in her company and work alongside her. She was a strong asset to the studio and has left big shoes to fill. She turned 71 this month, hung up her apron and is well deserving of the next chapter of her life.
I could fill pages with her many attributes but I’ll try to keep it terse. A thousand words would never be enough to encompass the many aspects of Deborah anyway, for she is a shining star. She was the consummate employee of the week for the entire eight years she graced us with her presence. Customers loved her and I received many accolades as they raved about how helpful and talented she is, how lucky I am to have her, they called her a gem, and said how lovely she is to deal with. With her artistic background, she knew colour like a second language and created a wonderful line of patterns for the delight of our customers.
I never worried about leaving the studio in her capable hands. I depended on her even more in 2022 as Covid, and then Long Covid, stole my enthusiasm and physical health. If not for Deborah, the shop would have been closed for good and I appreciate her staying the course in my absence. Deborah, Shane and I were like a well-oiled machine, a team working together to offer the top-quality products our customers rely on.
I walked into the shop Monday morning and it felt cold and foreign. No, it was not the temperature as I shuddered and clutched my fake fur around me. The air was tinged with a palpable sadness that chilled me to the bone. Deborah really was gone and I gently mourned her loss to the studio. I teared up as she drove away Friday afternoon, her last day with us but there was always a hidden hope it wasn’t true but Monday morning’s reality hit hard. One half of me is happy for the new adventure she is embarking on, the other half of me, the selfish part, wonders how I can go on without her.
This is not the end of course, like she joked every time I moaned over her leaving telling me “It’s not like I’m dead!” We are friends and most likely she will stop in occasionally when she is out’n about, we are both avid readers and will continue to swap books, perhaps she’ll hook with us on Wednesdays, perhaps one day go for coffee and a tea when I finally take off my mask in the outside world. Like all stages of life, things will change and take on a different form. She is, after all, only down the road a bit……
Oh well, time to get out those big girl panties and pull them up to my armpits. No more being spoiled with time off, come hell or high water it’s back to working six days a week until the new gals can be left on their own. In the meantime I will concentrate on getting my mojo back now that I am almost fully recovered from the ravishes of this awful virus.
All the best Deborah in anything and everything you do. I’m sure there is a bit of an adjustment to be had on your end as well. I hope you do all the things that bring you bliss and best of all you can now sleep-in when needed, how glorious is that? And remember, the door is always open if you’d like to come back in any capacity. Of course, that’s wishful thinking on my part. If I wasn’t such an old dog, I could accept change. I’ll be fine, I really just want you to know the impact you made on Shane and on me and how much you’ll be missed!
My therapy during this transition period is to madly hook my revamped Funky Fish designs. I’ve added to the two older ones from 2001 for some new patterns and kits for the shop. Who doesn’t love a fun, funky fish? They are the last patterns Deb drew before she left last week so I want to do them justice. There is nothing better than hooking to soothe a sad soul and inspire hope of new things to come. Colour can do that. It’s like a hug from a rainbow.
The fish are bright and happy and the borders are an exercise in shapes. Each one sports a different colour plan but the Poseidon hand dyed wool is throughout the rugs to bring continuity to the project. The rectangle was first, giving birth to the idea of an aquatic collection, then came the circle followed by the oval. There will be a fourth, a square with a fish looking front on and perhaps a fifth, a hexagon border rounding out the geometric shapes. I’ll arrange the collection artistically on the shop wall to create a fitting “splash” of colour and a “swimmingly” fun display. Stay tuned for updates and photos as I progress with this project.
Deborah, thank you for all your remarkable years of service and all the very best from Shane, Rasa, Judi, Gregg, Henri, Fiz, Jake and me.
Deborah is one of a kind. She is talented, intelligent, hardworking, conscientious, honest to a fault and a quality maker of all things. It was a privilege to be in her company and work alongside her. She was a strong asset to the studio and has left big shoes to fill. She turned 71 this month, hung up her apron and is well deserving of the next chapter of her life.
I could fill pages with her many attributes but I’ll try to keep it terse. A thousand words would never be enough to encompass the many aspects of Deborah anyway, for she is a shining star. She was the consummate employee of the week for the entire eight years she graced us with her presence. Customers loved her and I received many accolades as they raved about how helpful and talented she is, how lucky I am to have her, they called her a gem, and said how lovely she is to deal with. With her artistic background, she knew colour like a second language and created a wonderful line of patterns for the delight of our customers.
I never worried about leaving the studio in her capable hands. I depended on her even more in 2022 as Covid, and then Long Covid, stole my enthusiasm and physical health. If not for Deborah, the shop would have been closed for good and I appreciate her staying the course in my absence. Deborah, Shane and I were like a well-oiled machine, a team working together to offer the top-quality products our customers rely on.
I walked into the shop Monday morning and it felt cold and foreign. No, it was not the temperature as I shuddered and clutched my fake fur around me. The air was tinged with a palpable sadness that chilled me to the bone. Deborah really was gone and I gently mourned her loss to the studio. I teared up as she drove away Friday afternoon, her last day with us but there was always a hidden hope it wasn’t true but Monday morning’s reality hit hard. One half of me is happy for the new adventure she is embarking on, the other half of me, the selfish part, wonders how I can go on without her.
This is not the end of course, like she joked every time I moaned over her leaving telling me “It’s not like I’m dead!” We are friends and most likely she will stop in occasionally when she is out’n about, we are both avid readers and will continue to swap books, perhaps she’ll hook with us on Wednesdays, perhaps one day go for coffee and a tea when I finally take off my mask in the outside world. Like all stages of life, things will change and take on a different form. She is, after all, only down the road a bit……
Oh well, time to get out those big girl panties and pull them up to my armpits. No more being spoiled with time off, come hell or high water it’s back to working six days a week until the new gals can be left on their own. In the meantime I will concentrate on getting my mojo back now that I am almost fully recovered from the ravishes of this awful virus.
All the best Deborah in anything and everything you do. I’m sure there is a bit of an adjustment to be had on your end as well. I hope you do all the things that bring you bliss and best of all you can now sleep-in when needed, how glorious is that? And remember, the door is always open if you’d like to come back in any capacity. Of course, that’s wishful thinking on my part. If I wasn’t such an old dog, I could accept change. I’ll be fine, I really just want you to know the impact you made on Shane and on me and how much you’ll be missed!
My therapy during this transition period is to madly hook my revamped Funky Fish designs. I’ve added to the two older ones from 2001 for some new patterns and kits for the shop. Who doesn’t love a fun, funky fish? They are the last patterns Deb drew before she left last week so I want to do them justice. There is nothing better than hooking to soothe a sad soul and inspire hope of new things to come. Colour can do that. It’s like a hug from a rainbow.
The fish are bright and happy and the borders are an exercise in shapes. Each one sports a different colour plan but the Poseidon hand dyed wool is throughout the rugs to bring continuity to the project. The rectangle was first, giving birth to the idea of an aquatic collection, then came the circle followed by the oval. There will be a fourth, a square with a fish looking front on and perhaps a fifth, a hexagon border rounding out the geometric shapes. I’ll arrange the collection artistically on the shop wall to create a fitting “splash” of colour and a “swimmingly” fun display. Stay tuned for updates and photos as I progress with this project.
Deborah, thank you for all your remarkable years of service and all the very best from Shane, Rasa, Judi, Gregg, Henri, Fiz, Jake and me.
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