KNITTING Articles   95 Comments 3 min read

A Knitter’s Thanksgiving

Join us at Maker Festivals Colorado, the ultimate crafting extravaganza in Loveland from April 10-13, 2024, where the beloved Yarn Fest evolves with an exciting addition of beads and jewelry artists!


Me, at Sunny Rock B&B

I am back from Canada, and instead of being a respite from my work, the trip allowed me to re-connect with the joy behind what I do for a living. I am a professional knitter; I am a professional writer-about-knitting; knitting permeates every moment of every day of my life. However, sometimes the daily hustle-bustle of getting the Knitting Daily posts out leaves little space in my life for experiencing the simple joys of being a knitter…and this trip, though short, was full of little special moments that brought back these joys to my knitterly heart.

The first sight that greeted me, 1700 miles from home, in a lovely bed and breakfast hideaway called Sunny Rock (www.sunnyrock.on.ca) was what you see in the photo at right: a pair of antique sock blockers.
Antique sock blockers
Sock blockers! And in one of the guest rooms, a vintage spinning wheel sat in a bedroom corner. The oh-so-gracious (and funny!) owners of Sunny Rock, Sally and Jan, upon hearing what I did for a living, brought out a gorgeous handknit aran cardigan given to them by a neighbor, and they allowed me to chatter on and on about staghorn cables and honeycomb stitches and how cleverly the sweater was designed.


The perfect place to knit

On the wide veranda overlooking a river and waterfall were the perfect chairs to sit and spend an afternoon knitting and chatting, admiring the beautiful music of the water and laughing at the antics of the beaver family who live under the dock.

One afternoon, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, so I laid down for a nap. When I woke up, my husband Nicholas had pulled up a chair close by the bed, and was quietly knitting away on a pair of socks he is making just for me.


The view from our knitting chairs

And on my last day in the Toronto area, we made a mad dash to Lettuce Knit (www.lettuceknit.com), one of the area's local yarn shops, to buy Canadian yarn. I bought Fleece Artist and SeaSilk and would have bought more, but my husband reminded me that Christmas was coming…so I pointed out a couple more goodies in the shop and made sure I carefully said the name of each one twice in his hearing.


Canadian yarn!

And on the plane journey home, a young man, very puzzled by the orderly tangle of circular needles and sock yarn in my hands, got up the courage to ask what the heck I was doing. I explained the idea behind knitting two socks on two circular needles, and he told me stories of his grandmum knitting shawls and hats.

Everywhere I went, the mere fact that I was a knitter seemed to bring out tales of family and friends, gifts and histories, often from total strangers. Everyone had a knitting story, or a special knitted gift to share.

I am so lucky to be a knitter. I am so fortunate to be able to listen to stories of how knitting touches everyone's lives.


The bounty of a Local Yarn Shop!

And so, this Thanksgiving week, I am deeply grateful for all the gifts in my knitter's life: For yarn, that sweet, seductive, magical substance that I can never get enough of. For knitting needles, that quietly click and feel so warm and useful in my hands. For the creative geniuses (who humbly call themselves "knitwear designers") who come up with lovely patterns so worthy of time spent knitting thousands of stitches to bring their designs to life. And of course, I am grateful for all the elves behind the scenes who tech edit, test knit, edit, copyedit, layout, and otherwise make the patterns make the journey from designer to book or magazine.

I am grateful for my knitting friends, and for my non-knitting friends who politely compliment me on every knitted item as though it were the Sistine Chapel of knitwear. I am full of gratitude for local yarn shop owners, who are the heart of knitting in each town I visit. And when I need something exotic, the online shops are there to send me goodies from far away.

And finally, I am grateful for you, our Knitting Daily readers, who share your passion and your humor so generously.


We here at Knitting Daily wanted to share a special message with you this holiday season—so here, just for you, a little video greeting card from all of us to all of you.

[View:http://www.youtube.com/v/SW_AKth5ovs&rel=0:425:350]



Nicholas and I

Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.

A special thank you to our guest editors, Amy Clarke Moore, Kim Werker, and Lisa Shroyer, for writing such wonderful posts while I was gone. And to those of you who asked: No, I am not Canadian, but my husband Nicholas teaches at York University in Toronto most of the year, so he was the loved one I was up there visiting!


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