Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love that it is a holiday that is {at least less} consumer focused and instead gives us a chance to eat delicious food with people we love and acts as a reminder to count our many blessings.
Most years for the past decade or so I have used a “Gratitude Box” and some slips of paper to write down things I am grateful for throughout the month.
This year, I want to apply this gratitude practice here and share what I am grateful for about knitting, crochet, yarn, and all the things that have come into my life because of what I get to do with yarn.
Since Thanksgiving this year is on Nov 27, here are the 27 yarn related things I am grateful for right now (in no particular order):
1) I’m grateful my grandma taught me to crochet in a cousins crochet camp when I was about 8 years old
2) I’m grateful my mom encouraged and modeled fiber crafts and being creative and productive with our hands – I especially remember making a plastic canvas “Joy”
3) I’m grateful that traditions get passed down through generations – a couple years ago my mom helped my nieces make a plastic canvas “Joy” of their own
4) I’m grateful I get to teach my nieces to knit – having a weekly check-in with them despite living in different states fills my soul with joy
5) I’m grateful to have turned something I love into a way to pay my bills and support myself
6) I’m grateful that people send me knitting and crochet reels and gifs – they always make me smile (and sometimes make me wonder if some of my non-yarn friends get more yarn based things in their feed than I do!)
7) I’m grateful for hand-dyed yarn – the beautiful things they make, the people who have developed skills and proficiency in that arena
8) I’m grateful for every skein of yarn people have gifted to me, either from their travels or just because it made them think of me
9) I’m grateful for the cowl I made with yarn my mother and two of my brothers bought for me – every time I wear it some of the warmth I feel comes from knowing it was purchased with love and with me in mind specifically
10) I’m grateful for my knitting business friend reaching out after we both attended a branding workshop and that we have continued to connect and support each other over the past few years
11) I’m grateful for my very first virtual student during COVID – that anxious little girl flourished as she learned to knit and took a lot of pride in her creations
12) I’m grateful for YouTube videos that help me learn (or remember!) stitches – and I hope to increase my videos and add to the great resources that are out there
13) I’m grateful for circular needles – they are very versatile and I love being able to use them and teach others how to take advantage of them
14) I’m grateful for Libraries – they have been a place where I can check out knitting books, attend knitting groups in many states and where I have been able to teach some workshops
15) I’m grateful especially for the rotating crew of the Belmont Library Knitting group I’ve been attending regularly since 2017 – including backyard knitting through the warm months of 2020 when the library was closed
16) I’m grateful for swift and winders – nothing wrong with hand rolling a ball of yarn from a hank, but it is SO MUCH faster with a swift and winder!
17) I’m grateful to everyone who has trusted me to finish a yarn based project – for them, or someone they love. Finishing blankets for the family of one of the participants in a senior living community I worked with after she passed from cancer was particularly rewarding
18) I’m grateful for stitch markers – they are one of my most used tools, both in knitting and crochet
19) I’m grateful for the women in DC when I first moved there in 2009 who said “we want to know you better, come to our knitting circle” and who taught me the basics and kindled a passion for this beautiful craft
20) I’m grateful for virtual technology including Zoom and Google Meet – without those I would not know some of the most dedicated and wonderful students I have/have had the privilege to teach across the country
21) I’m grateful for opportunities to use my skills to serve others – I’m working on scarves again to donate to The Outdoor Church who serve vulnerable populations in Cambridge, handing out food and other necessities weekly
22) I’m grateful for designers who create fun and interesting patterns to inspire and support those of us who want to make fun things
23) I’m grateful for bulky yarn – fast projects are sometimes exactly what we need – and they can be so fun (like this cute frog hat I made for my friends baby shower)
24) I’m grateful for stitch dictionaries, providing inspiration and a base to build from when designing something
25) I’m grateful for everyone who asks me “Did you make that?” and responds with kind words when I say yes
26) I’m grateful for the calming and restorative benefits of repetitive, meditative crafts like knitting and crochet – we all could use a little more peace and calm!
27) I’m grateful for growth and improvement – even if we don’t see it while we are in the middle of learning something or making something, each stitch does add to our skills and each one adds up to make something beautiful and worth being proud of.
What would you have on your list? {doesn’t have to be about yarn!}
Happy Thanksgiving!
