Thanks Giving

It is time for my annual thanks-giving post. As I update this poem, I am ever mindful of God's many blessings. Of which, y'all are definitely among the best that I have seen this past year.

I encourage you to take a moment, amidst all the turkey stuffing and family loving and football playing that surrounds this day, to reflect and say a prayer, if you are comfortable with that.

If you are not, simply bow your head in humility and murmur a word of thanks to whatever power you may acknowledge.

And may you all experience the very best a thankful heart can bring.

For geese who fly on feathered wing
For all the songs I’ve yet to sing
For all the words I’ve not yet writ
For all the yarns I’ve yet to knit
I’m thankful...

For shortening sun that slants o’er field
Of fallow corn,for generous yield
For harvest and for hungry need
That all may come to you and feed
I’m thankful...

For chocolate hot and snowflakes cold
For playful youth and wisdom old
For peace to come on winter days
For time to ponder and amaze
I’m thankful...

For all the beauty of your world
For birds and bees; for leaves unfurled
For rocks and trees and lakes and rain
For sunlit skies and waves of grain
I'm thankful...

For peace and plenty in troubling times
For my family's safety and peace of mind
though times are tough and jobs are few
we still have love and much to do
I'm thankful...

For family both near and far
For boats and planes and trains and cars
That bring our loved ones closer yet
For telephones if that’s all we get
I’m thankful...

For horsey rides and peek-a-boo
For jammy hands and faces too
As on my grandson Conner, I
Gaze with ever joyful eye
I'm thankful...

For passed exams & graduation
For happy times & exultation
For blessings all
Both large & small
I'm thankful...

For dreams that build and ties that bind
Unexpected blessings there to find
For room to grow and space to roam
For branching out and coming home
I'm thankful...

For Afterglow and dreams thereof
For soil beneath and sky above
For lakeside blues and freshening breeze
Blow through our lives, our hearts, our trees!
I'm thankful...

For stuffing and for pumpkin pie
For abundant love that never dies
For faith that triumphs o'er the grave
For strength to bear, to bend, to brave
I’m thankful...

For friends who comment, friends who care
For foes who question, challenge, dare
Friend or foe I know that they
Rely on you to find their way
I’m thankful...

For inspiration in all its glory
Sometimes elusive, often hoary
Yet always there for me to find
Provided I can calm my mind
I'm thankful...

For possibilities anew
Ravelry, Evenstar, and Fellowship too
For woolly dreams and lovely lace
For sun to which I turn my face
I'm thankful...

For all the power of thy word
Power spoken – Power heard
Power given to reach out
To share my faith; to share my doubt
I’m thankful...

For all my vice and virtue too
That all may bring me close to you
My sins seem great yet small in space
Compared to thy abundant grace
I’m thankful...

For all the times I felt your care
And all the times you hovered there
Oft unseen but heartfelt – yes!
(Especially when I’ve made a mess)
I’m thankful...

As oft I do - no perfection found
My sins are many, perceptions bound
By earthly fashion, earthly fears
Earthly passion, earthly tears
I’m thankful...

For prayer – whichever way preferred
For shouting silence and quiet word
For Quakers, Catholics, Episcopalians too
For all who hear and all who do
I’m thankful...

For rocks to stand on, steady ground
Haven sought and sanctuary found
For all the many times that we
Are fallen, faithless, redeemed, free
I’m thankful...

And at the last I pray that we
Remembered as pilgrims be
Always bound to distant place
Always bound to know thy grace
I’m thankful...

Thank You Notes

"It isn't what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart."

-Author Unknown

We are heading into thanksgiving week. And I will soon be heading north to spend it with my father & step-mother in Michigan. It will be the first time we have had thanksgiving together in 20 some years. Now THAT is something to be thankful for.

When I was a kid, my mom made me write thank you notes. (Didn't everybody's?) And I hated it. I know...I'm a bad person.

I was very appreciative and grateful for what I received. That was not the problem.

It just felt so stilted and formulaic, as I wrote the feelings down on paper. Even today, I much prefer a phone call or, best of all, an in-person hug.

So sometimes I forget to thank the people without whom I would not be here, doing what I do. I am thankful every cotton pickin' day, that all of you are part of my life.

• my wonderful test knitters, especially Tami, who just completed testing Galadriel's Mirror: a quite complex set of written directions. They donate their precious knitting time to ferret out all the little whoopsies in my pattern directions
• my fabulous proofreader Elizabeth, who picks the finished product apart and finds all the typos, except fro for (see what I mean?) when I misread her corrections - sigh...
• my family, who eats out a lot more than they should because Mom/Grandma has been playing working
• my friends, who listen to my flights of fancy & pretend that knitting is the most fascinating topic in the world
• the independent dyers who provide me with so much beautiful inspiration, especially Laura & Kelly of Unique Sheep
• the retailers who carry my patterns and allow me the privilege of teaching in their shops
• the moderators of the KALs on Rav - the best peeps ever
• my buddies on plurk who share my joys & sorrows, never judging, always helpful & quick with a hug or an encouraging word when needed.
• Casey & Jess, because without the wonderful public forum that is Ravelry, I doubt I would be in business
• Al Gore, for inventing the Internet (snork!)
• the knitters who buy my patterns. without you, there would be no Sunflower Designs
  

And most of all, my wonderful husband, who critiques my designs, tweaks my computer, listens to my kvetching, cuts me slack when the dishes aren't done, and loves me always.

I love my job. It is a blessing.

And I could NOT do it alone.

Thank you...

Time Warp

It's just a jump to the left
And then a step to the right
With your hands on your hips
You bring your knees in tight
But it's the pelvic thrust
that really drives you insane,
Let's do the Time Warp again!

- Rocky Horror Picture Show

Again I must apologize for being an indifferent blogger. I have also been a sporadic plurker and a casual Ravelry ignorer - embarrassed look - sheesh!

But it is really not my fault, you see...

I have been ambushed by a time warp.

I returned from North Carolina at the end of September, rested, ready to begin my fall knitting projects, eager to get Argonath out, and with an additional skein of yarn I had Unique Sheep dye for Lothlorien.

And I realized that, while Argonath only needs one repeat and the end panel test knit (piece of cake) Lothlorien was going to require knitting the entire kit & caboodle. Cuz just the kit without the caboodle wouldn't test all of the pattern. besides, who wants a kit without a caboodle. It just wouldn't be proper...

So I cast on for Lothlorien and along the way, she morphed from a stole to a shawl to her final form as a cape.

TA-DA!

I finished her up last week and she is into the test knitting process. Now I can time warp back to Argonath, which is the next release in the Fellowship Series. Argonath heads into testing this week, but, because of its repetitive nature, will be out in a couple weeks.

My test knitter for Galadriel's Mirror was also caught in a time warp, as work demands, home renovation, & illness set her back on her heels temporarily. But I remain hopeful, GM will see market by the end of the month.

Another thing adding to the time warp factor, is the fast approaching holidays with their attendant knitting. I try to get a few free patterns out in November as my gift to y'all. Things that aren't too complicated or knit in a looser gauge so you can make gifts.

Today, in the spirit of this post, because it jumps to the left, & looks like the warp of a woven object, I present...

TIME WARP

This little 4 st, 4 row slip stitch pattern has become my favorite discovery this autumn. The yarn is Berroco Jasper in Mohica Blue, a very affordable and widely available self striping single ply worsted. It gives a closely knit fabric that feels and looks woven. No need to block. No curling. No fancy stitches, beyond knitting, purling, & slipping. Just perfection.

I was going to make a cowl with 2 skeins, but loved it so much I went back and purchased 12 more skeins for a large wrap. I think it looks like the colors of the sea & shore (I call it my "Surf N Turf - giggle)

I am letting the yarn do all the work, not even bothering to match up the skeins' differing start places on the color run.

I'm making mine 24 inches wide by 72 inches long - that takes 14 skeins. If you want, you can easily make it shorter or narrower. Just think in multiples of 4 plus 2 for the stitch count and multiples of 4 for the rows.

The pattern results in the slipped stitches migrating to the left on a diagonal line. So easy & cool.

It's just a jump to the left...

So... here are the directions:

Using size 11 needles, cast on 126 st (or any multiple of 4 plus 2 st).

Row 1: *k2, slip 2 w/ yarn in front; rep from * to last 2 st, k2
Row 2: p1, *slip 2 w/ yarn in back, p2; rep from * to last st, p1
Row 3: *slip 2 w/ yarn in front, k2; rep from * to last 2 st, slip 2 w/ yarn in front
Row 4: p3, *slip 2 w/ yarn in back, p2; rep from * to last 3 st, slip 2 w/ yarn in back, p1

Repeat these four rows until desired length & bind off.

That's all there is to it - easy, huh?

If you want to make a cowl, simply join after cast on & work in the round. In this case, your 2nd & 4th rows will be:

Row 2: k3, slip 2 w/ yarn in front; rep from * to last st, k1
Row 4: k1, *slip 2 w/ yarn in front, k2; rep from * to last 3 st, k3

Make a scarf, make a cowl, make place mats or a table runner. Whatever you make, you won;t be disappointed.

Let's do the Time Warp again....

and again...

and again...

and again...

You know you want to...