Gratitude & a new cardigan

In this episode, I talk about Thanksgiving, gratitude, knitting and recovery.

Music credit: Ketsa Day Trips

Transcript

[Intro: upbeat instrumental song with bells and trills]

Holly 00:36
Hey Friends! I’m so happy you’re hear. It’s thanksgiving morning if you’re in the United States. It’s a weird one, to be honest, given all that’s happening in the world. But I am grateful for knitting and for making and I thought I’d come on and talk about what I’ve been up to.

 
Holly 01:01

I am so excited to be here. I have…(laughter) I always think about my friend who said no one ever takes up knitting when their life is going well. (laughter) friends, I’ve been knitting A Lot. So if knitting is an indicator of distress then it sure is a productive one! I’ve had a challenging season with work and with kids. It’s just been… nothing major but little things that make it more challenging. The kids both started at new schools and there are some gaps at work so I’m covering for other people and it’s just a lot on my plate. And so as always knitting is something that helps me to stay steady.

 Holly 01:48

I’ve been knitting a lot. I’m so excited. I finished the Flaum cardigan, a pattern from Amirisu published years ago. That pattern has been on my to do list forever and I finally found yarn for it this summer. My LYS had Berrocco mochi yarn on sale. It’s now discontinued but boy is it a great yarn. [sound of a dog shaking his head and flapping his ears] Excuse my dog! It’s a great yarn but boy is it expensive. It was totally out of range. But when they discontinued it everyone halved it and it became more affordable. It was $15 a skein—it’s like a blown yarn—and it has a main color with flecks of other yarn. I found a putty color with neon flecks in it. Oh it’s so good. So when it was $8 or $7.5 a skein, which is manageable for me, so I scooped it up and I thought I could finally make this cardigan. 

Holly 03:40

It’s originally made with Quince and Co Owl yarn. It has to be made with a yarn that’s lightweight because it is fisherman’s rib so it could become like armor if you pick the wrong yarn. I could never afford the Quince and Co owl nor could I easily source it. It was like I had to pay shipping, which for me is always kind of a mental block. I’m more of an impulse shopper if it’s in front of me than if it’s online. And I could never figure out a yarnsub since it’s such a unique yarn. 

 Holly 03:32

I’m very pleased with myself that my patience paid off. And let me tell you I wore the cardigan yesterday. It was a crazy day. It was fun—I saw a friend—but then I also had to take my son to a hockey thing that surprised me at the last minute. And this cardigan is just like a hhug. It is so easy wear, it’s warm and fuzzy, it’s so pretty. I’m not sure how well this yarn will hold up but for now, I was really feeling myself. I just think that’s one of the joys of knitting.

Holly 04:15 

There’s a lot that’s challenging in my life right now but I’ve got this great cardigan that I’ve wanted to make forever. And I finally figured out a way to make in a way that I could afford. It’s not like one of those things I used to do in the past, which is like fill a gap or a hole, I feel like it’s good recovery principles. I was honest with myself, I waited, I took small steps and I have a good payoff. 

Holly 04:48 

Even my kiddo, who can be harsh—nothing like a 12-year old to tell you about yourself (laughter). They tried to take it from me! They now want one for themselves. They are quite picky about yarn, they don’t like wool they think it’s itchy. By the way it’s not itchy it’s fuzzy but they’re quite particular and that’s the only thing that stopped it from being stolen from me, which is the highest compliment from my fashionista. I was just so pleased with myself.

 Holly 05:18

That’s where I am at. Knitting has been a constant companion this year. I know I haven’t been on here very much, partly because I’ve been so overwhelmed with other things in my life and I’ve been really trying to stay focused on recovery, trying to make time for meetings. So I’m back to step one in a lot of ways really, listening to my podcast and reading daily readers, trying to find a touchstone in a crazy moment to stay healthy. And it’s reminded me of where I was when I started this, how important it was to hear people talk about their journey. 

 Holly 06:06

I am feeling hopeful and grateful this morning. I am not worried, and I have spent so many Thanksgiving mornings worried about the chaos that was going to unfold. I’m not cooking a big meal and pretending for anyone that our family is fine. I’ve let some of that stuff go which made this holiday so challenging for me. I have a quiet house I have a nice meal planned I’m about to bake a pie. I’m working on my totallytessellated sock challenge with scrap yarn I’ve mapped out my shopping sales for tomorrow so I have a plan. I feel like there’s definitely some growth and recovery since I started this so I just wanted to come on and let you know I’m thinking about you and sending you good thoughts on this challenging day.

 Holly 07:10

I hope you have really beautiful materials to work with. I hoep you have a restful day ahead of you and I hope you are doing whatever you can to feel joy and gratitude for the recovery in your life.

Holly 07:26 

Thanks friends! Bye!

[Outro music, same as intro but with longer trills]