16 Comments

This definitely resonates. Thank you for the reminder, about practice, persistence, and the perspective of hope.

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A lovely post, Anne. Thank you.

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Thank you for such thoughtful posts, especially in this season. Knitters do know about hope. We start projects with high hopes of enjoying the process and creating something beautiful.

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I always appreciate these weekly e-mails, but today’s resonates especially strongly. I had a boss who used to say that hope is not a strategy - true, but also perhaps not the most helpful way to look at hope.

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Anne, your words are inspiring, and I love everything about the photo—the composition, the colors. I’m not on Instagram (and now never will be), so thank you for sharing all your talents with us.

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My first project was a garter stitch washcloth made from Red Heart yarn. That thing probably weighed 10 pounds when wet. I think back to that compared to what I make now, and it is clear I benefitted from practice.

I liked your description of hope. I've recently realized that I buy patterns and yarn sometimes because of the hope they represent...I can make this if I want. The main issue is time, which will feel slow these next four years. Thank you for the mini-retreat. I have been looking forward to it!

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I’m looking forward to the mini-retreat, too. The November one was just what I needed.

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Thank you, as always. I am meeting a friend for lunch tomorrow. We decided that it would be a good day to be out of the house. In our case, we are having lunch on the newly re-opened Santa Cruz pier. Part of it broke off in recent storms. We can support the local restaurants and have a good time.

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Thank you for this message. I really needed it today!

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Your outlook is always so helpful. I'm getting ready to make a list of happy/funny movies and tv shows to stream tomorrow as I avoid the reality of what's happening, though to be honest, I almost never watch inaugurations - I think President Obama''s was the only one. And of course, as I watch I will knit.

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Thank you for reminding us that bad news "isn't always all the truth." That's such an important statement, and thanks for this space to be reminded of that.

I find that I am focused on sweaters and larger garments these days, in an effort to create more of my wardrobe with things I make for myself (influenced by some of your past posts on the topic). I have never knitted socks. I might get there in an effort to find ways to use up remaining bits in my stash. If you have any stash-busting suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

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I feel the same about crochet. The more I do the better it looks. And this week especially we need hope

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So true. (And I am determined to learn crochet this year!!)

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People often comment on my IG or DM me asking how I have such beautiful tension, and they hate it when I say, “Knit a lot.” Truly, you have to knit a lot and pay attention.

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The “pay attention” part for me is important. I can knit and knit, but if I don’t stop and see what’s working and what isn’t (and take the time to figure out how to make it better), then I’ll just keep knitting the same mess.

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Truth.

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