That's a lot to be grateful for. So I'm speeding this sucker up.
K is for Knitting
I like to knit. Going to the store to pick out the yarn is such a great experience for me. Yarn stores are all so similar. They're not library quiet, because there's always chatter of someone getting help or with small groups knitting together, but they've got a subdued hush about them that is really peaceful to me. I always wander around the store, looking at all the yarns to see which color suits my mood of the day. Then I close my eyes and feel it to make sure the texture matches the color. Then I greedily drive home, and cast on to my needles. Up, around, down, up, around, down, up, around, down... the repetition is soothing. And because I can see my progress, row by row, it's entirely gratifying.
And after it's done, I always have vivid memories of what was going on during the project, kind of like each knit or purl holds a moment of time. My current project is a sweater. Which will be done in June at this rate after I master entrelac. (Which by the way, if you ever see an entrelac pattern, don't do it!) I'll never be able to wear it without thinking about being alone on a German train, on the way to one of my solo mountain hikes, and teaching an Austrian girl who spoke no English at all how to knit the ratsnest of a yarn ball she had created. Or the man who leaned over and asked me quietly and with German efficiency, "Do you really like that color?" which politely and efficiently let me know that he didn't appreciate the baby dukey brown I was using.
Somedays are disappointing because my swollen fingers just won't make it work. But on the days it does, I feel nothing but gratitude for the skein of yarn that with a little time and patience, can become something.
L is for Luzern (Lucerne)
In September, I went to Switzerland. And those of you who follow me at all know that I fell irrevocably in love with the place. But Luzern is the spot that really captured my heart. Like the rest of Switzerland, it's beautiful and clean. But Luzern is the start of the mountains. On the river with its Swiss flags flying everywhere. It's gorgeous, and efficient, and it has the Alps. Oh, the Swiss Alps... So perfect, it feels dreamlike. Few places in life settle me or make me feel so connected like this one did.
M is for Milwaukee Ale House
What, a
brew pub? you might be asking... Well, I'm grateful for it, because it's where I met my husband. In those exact seats pictured here.
And after it's done, I always have vivid memories of what was going on during the project, kind of like each knit or purl holds a moment of time. My current project is a sweater. Which will be done in June at this rate after I master entrelac. (Which by the way, if you ever see an entrelac pattern, don't do it!) I'll never be able to wear it without thinking about being alone on a German train, on the way to one of my solo mountain hikes, and teaching an Austrian girl who spoke no English at all how to knit the ratsnest of a yarn ball she had created. Or the man who leaned over and asked me quietly and with German efficiency, "Do you really like that color?" which politely and efficiently let me know that he didn't appreciate the baby dukey brown I was using.
Somedays are disappointing because my swollen fingers just won't make it work. But on the days it does, I feel nothing but gratitude for the skein of yarn that with a little time and patience, can become something.
M is for Milwaukee Ale House
What, a brew pub? you might be asking... Well, I'm grateful for it, because it's where I met my husband. In those exact seats pictured here.
2 comments:
LOVE LOVE LOVE the Milwaukee Ale House!
If you like knitting, you might enjoy Maggie Sefton's cozy knitting mysteries set in a knitting shop in Colorado. They seem to get the ambiance of a knitting shop down to the letter. And they are fun, easy reads for a snowy afternoon.
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