Gratitude

I'm so grateful for so many things! But, for now, I'll limit myself to just the knitting-related gratitude:

• Pattern Designers. I'm so grateful  that there are people in the world who have achieved a level of mastery of knitting and are willing to share their knowledge with the rest of us. These people understand how these little loops of string can be manipulated in an infinite variety ways to make items of use and beauty. In particular, I'm thinking about how a simple two-row repeat can change what could have been an ugly, pooled mess of a sock into a beautiful variegated sock. I'm so pleased with how the Herringbone Rib sock turned out, especially since there was actual pooling on the stockinette part of the foot. But on the top of the foot, where the herringbone patterning was worked, you can barely tell. It's like an Impressionist knitting: like if Claude Monet picked up a pair of needles, this is what you'd get. Kristi Schueler is awesome and I can't wait to make something else from one of her patterns.

• Yarn dyers. I'm grateful that there are people in the world who were so unwilling to settle for plain, old, solid-colored yarns that they have to dye, hand-paint, or otherwise make their own. I am a total sucker for variegated yarns. The colors! Especially when they've been reskeined so that all the colors are side by side, in all their glorious harmony, I really can't help myself. There are so many out there and I want to try all them all! Bit by bit, I will make my way through as many independent dyers as possible. I won't name everyone here, but if you're a dyer and you're reading this, please know that I fully intend to buy at least a pair of sock's worth of your yarn as soon as I can. Maybe I'll see some of you at Sock Summit?

• Local Yarn Shops. I love my LYS, The Knit Nook. The two owners are fantastic and I will miss seeing them once the shop closes in two weeks. It really breaks my heart. They have been generous with their expertise, as well as their humor and patience. This is something I've found at the best shops, at home and when I travel. When I'm away from home I make a point of checking out at least one LYS, and have found that, invariably, the folks there are passionate and knowledgeable about all things fibery & good. I love that I can often find locally-sourced fibers or dyers in these shops. It makes me feel good that I can make a contribution to the local economy, in my small way. (If you'll overlook what appears to be a photograph of a car, you'll see Atlanta's Knitch behind the car. It's the only photo I've taken of a yarn shop. I don't even have one of the Knit Nook. I'll have to do something about that!)

• Ravelry. Is there any way to express how much I've come to depend on the Rav? At first, I was seduced by the message boards and the opportunity to connect with people as goofy for knitting as I am. But then I discovered people's project pages and their skill & talent. When I joined Ravelry, I was making scarves & baby hats. Now I'm knitting socks and sweaters for myself and others. Seriously, before Rav & the people I've met through it, I would never have thought that I could make all these things with my own two hands. It's really an amazing thing.

So, that's it for today. Next time I expect I'll have the photos from the finished Vesper, as well as the beginning of the Kusha Kusha scarf.