20 Sunday Apr 2025
Posted in Thoughts
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Isaiah 61:3
Photo by James Miller
04 Friday Apr 2025
Posted in Thoughts
Tags
Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe.
No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise.
Indeed it has been said that democracy is the
worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…
Winston S Churchill, 11 November 1947
Almost seventy years ago, I entered the high school “I Speak for Democracy” contest. The speech is still stashed somewhere but all I can remember about it is standing in front of my classmates and reading it in a shaky voice that matched my shaky hands. I still speak for democracy, the rule of law and the experiment that is America. As Ronald Regan said,
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction; it must be actively fought for and protected, as it is not inherited but must be passed on through effort and vigilance. This idea emphasizes the importance of each generation’s responsibility to safeguard their liberties.
Add to that these words by Jimmy Carter,
We will have an unchallenged, open, panoramic opportunity on a global scale to demonstrate the finest aspects of what we know in this country: peace, freedom, democracy, human rights, benevolent sharing, love, the easing of human suffering.
Is that going to be our list of priorities or not?
We need leadership that is truthful, honest and a shining example of integrity for our democracy to survive. In the face of current events, there is something we can do to make our voices heard. You can attend the Hands Off rally being held in your area April 5th if you are able. Here is the national link to their information.
06 Monday Jan 2025
Posted in Thoughts
I’d like to be remembered as someone who was a champion of peace and human rights.
I’ve admired this kind gentleman for over 50 years.
His abiding faith and integrity made him the best of people.
20 Friday Dec 2024
Christmas joy comes in stocking-sized packages
Snow is falling this morning in Indiana. It is as dark as dawn in my sun room where I hang all of the Christmas stockings. The one in the photo is the newest and fanciest that I’ve ever knit. It is for my grandson’s bride. It has lace, glass beads, satin ribbons and golden bells.
28 Monday Oct 2024
Posted in Free Pattern, Knitting, teaching classes, Thoughts
Make your heart like a lake
with a calm, still surface and
great depths of kindness.”
[Lao Tzu]
Lake Huron at sunrise.
I just returned from a speaking engagement at a knitting retreat on the shore of Lake Huron, just north of Port Huron. For me, it was delightful, enriching and encouraging.
The Woolgatherers’ Knitting Guild in Ann Arbor, MI sponsors their annual retreat in Burtchville, MI at the Lake Huron Retreat Center. The facility not only offers comfortable accommodations and nice meals, but also has ample meeting rooms for classes.
The next post down shows a photo of the Lake Huron mitten from the Great Lakes Chill Chaser Collection. We spent Saturday creating mittens. The knitters found several errors in the pattern and I realized I’d accidentally printed a version for handouts that was an earlier iteration of the final version. I have uploaded a correct version in the mitten post so the knitters among you can try it out.
The other class was an exploration of the technique called Ladder-back Jacquard. This is a commercial machine knitting technique that has been adapted to hand knitting. You may download the swatch handout that we used at this LINK. There are many how-to YouTube videos that demonstrate a variety of interpretations of this technique.
Look at the horizon in the middle of the sunrise photo. You can just see a cargo ship steaming its way south to Lake St. Claire and points east. It put me in mind of the Edmond Fitzgerald.
23 Wednesday Oct 2024
Posted in Thoughts
In order to realize the worth of the anchor
we need to feel the stress of the storm.
Corrie Ten Boom
Great Lakes Chill Chaser Collection
These mittens are accessories for the Lake Huron Gansey. I replaced the PDF copy of the hand knitting pattern with a revised copy so you may download the corrected PDF version HERE.
The pattern is both charted and written out. It also offers a choice of cuffs — knit to-and-fro or knit in-the-round.
In addition to the pattern, here are two one-page leaflets that are a closer look at mitten knitting techniques. You may download the PDFs at the following links:
14 Sunday Apr 2024
Now, of my threescore years and ten,
A. E. Housman
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.
As Louie and I took our gratitude walk this morning, I marveled at the jonquils, tulips, flowering trees and the warmth of 55 degrees. I thought, “Loveliest of trees, the cherry now…” in Housman’s poem and my heart was warmed that I’d been blessed with four score springs and two!
Several friends are very ill. If I could give them anything, I’d gladly share my wellbeing.
24 Sunday Jul 2022
Posted in Technology, Thoughts, Writing
Tags
I can’t change the direction of the wind,
but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
[Jimmy Dean]
Malware infected my website and showed up as the dreaded, ”white screen of death.” My friend, Janet, redirected atimetoknit.com to this blog while I decide what to do about my site. I’ve had a site online for a quarter of a century and want to redefine my offerings. I still have hand-knitting patterns to share including new ones so I am renewing my efforts in that direction while still maintaining a general topic blog.
With the help of my friend, Lynne, we are making progress toward publishing another Great Lakes Chill Chaser pattern. This one is, ”Niagara Shawls.” The lace shawl in the photo above is one version. We are trying to make this pattern easy to follow, but flexible enough that knitters can choose how use garter or lace repeats to personalize their project. We are getting there.
Recently, most of my writing has involved revising patterns and recovering text from my ailing website. I accomplish most when I make written lists. Not only do lists help me prioritize tasks, but they encourage me and keep me on point.
My main joy since my 79th birthday last November has been enjoying my 80th year. Each morning, my little buddy, Louie, and I go on a gratitude walk. I find that sets a positive tone for the day and keeps us agile. I’ve started going through the address book on my computer and writing at least one real letter a day to old friends. I’m exploring handwork skills that have fascinated me for years. I’m teaching myself new computer skills. I’m learning a lot of things that make me wonder how I didn’t learn it sooner. I’m realizing the effectiveness of Anne Lamott’s advice:
Almost everything will work again
if you unplug it for a few minutes,
including you.
15 Friday Jan 2021
O, it sets my heart a clickin’ like the tickin’ of a clock,
when the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.
[James Whitcomb Riley]
It was 6 AM and my ears were cold. I was on my morning walk with my buddy, Louie, and I just wanted to get home where I could warm up. As we walked, I dreamed of a hat that I could quickly knit in one piece out of one 200-yard ball of yarn. When we got home, Louie got a treat and I knit the Hoosier Hood.
Here is the pattern (select the following link to download the PDF file): Hoosier Hood. I hope you enjoy it as much as my warm ears have.
Note: James Whitcomb Riley was a poet who wrote in hoosier dialect. Most of his poems appealed to children and the children’s hospital was named to honor him.
08 Tuesday Dec 2020
Posted in Free Pattern, Knitting, Thoughts
When we were children
we were grateful
to those who filled our stockings
at Christmas time.
Why are we not grateful to God
for filling our stockings with legs?
[G.K. Chesterton]
Last summer, I wrote a brief article for the Call of the Wool, the Dayton Knitting Guild newsletter. It was about the Christmas stocking tradition among the knitters in my family and included this new pattern as a ‘thank you’ for the encouragement and support I’ve received from the members of the guild. Here it is for you, my much appreciated blog readers, at no charge. Download a printable PDF by selecting this link.
While I knit, I listen to audio books. Some are checked out of our local library using the Libby app, and some are purchased. About a third of them are non-fiction history books—mostly about the American Civil War and World War One. Code Breakers are an interest of mine. I enjoy the books of specific historical writers such as David McCullough, Barbara Tuchman, Shelby Foote, and James McPherson.
I often listen again to a number of fiction books—especially if a favorite author is about to publish a new book in a series. I recently re-listened to Jacqueline Winspear’s Masie Dobbs series.
My furry buddy, Louie, and I walk every morning at six. Now that it is dark and chilly, I carry a flash light in my pocket. Lately, Christmas lights brighten our December walks and make it a happy exercise.
Another joy is having my grandson arrive every morning for school in my sunroom. He connects with his classes by WiFi on a laptop loaned to him by the school. I feed him breakfast, and serve him hot tea. PE has been reduced to exercises but I don’t think this will set him back. I wish I could have attended seventh grade in my grandma’s sunroom.
Knitting, writing and other joys 