Letters
Knitting and Other Reasons to Give Thanks
Dear Ann and everybody,
It’s Thanksgiving Day here in the United States, and we send you all our love. I could easily get weepy this year, feeling thankful for so much. These are troubled times, no two ways about it. The good things shine even more brightly.
My long list of gratitude includes my little family and big family and the loved ones I think of as family despite the technicality of not being related—all the circles of a Venn diagram of a fortunate life. I am thankful for MDK—what would I do without our morning meeting to put my feet on a righteous path each day? The cheerful stoic madcap mad-talented tenderhearted MDK team. Strong coffee with whole milk. Memories, and also: memory. My four grandparents, gone for so long, yet still showing up with a dollop of unconditional love when I need it most.
And knitting. Always knitting.
Specifically: my 2022 temperature blanket, which is now giving me not just color, but warmth—and weight. Hauling my temperature blanket to Nashville last week was a scene out of The Grapes of Wrath—the ol’ Knitter’s Tote was piled high with Felted Tweed and unwoven-in ends, and we are going to make it to California!
At this point, turning this beast after each row is like docking the Queen Mary, or a space shuttle. I LOVE IT.
This photo was taken when the blanket was knitted through July 25. Hot!
The fun of seeing the colors arrange themselves never gets old.
Shoutout to all my fellow Temperature Blanket Challenge knitters out there. I hope you get to shack up with your temperature blanket for a full four-day weekend, and smash all your goals.
By the way, if you need more Felted Tweed, we’ve just restocked our Temperature Blanket Starter Packs, and we’ve also got Felted Tweed by the ball for resupplying a color or two. I definitely topped up a few colors on my shade card while I was in Nashville.
If you came here for the Dilly Bread recipe, here you go.
If you came here for the corn ’n’ crackers casserole recipe, here you go.
Have the best Thanksgiving, everyone.
Love,
Kay
Kay, allow me to tell you I’m thankful for your writing skills, your coversational tone makes me smile and even a giggle slips in now and then. I look forward to reading EVERYTHING on MDK. What a bright spot you folks add to our days. I’m thankful for that and so much more in my life. Take care.
P.S. your temp blanket is lovely.
I too, am extremely thankful for knitting with you lovely ladies all these years, and fully intend to try dilly bread, since no shopping trip will be needed! Thank you!
Happy Thanksgiving MDK! You are a bright spot every single day.
I am falling down grateful for the entire team at MDK…your abundant talents, your senses of humor, your hard work, collaborative natures, and your dedication to us. THANK YOU!!!!!
Kathleen, can you explain to me how to get a cool photo attached to my comments? It was easy enough in the Lounge but I can’t figure it out for here. Thanks!
To me too please!
Thank you Kay, Ann and everyone at MDK. My temperature blanket looks just like yours, Kay – not surprising since I used your color chart, adjusted some degrees cooler for our Maine temperatures. But I have two urgent questions: Why the stitch markers? And wondering why you didn’t used spit joins for all those ends? I was afraid weaving in so many would make that edge a bit too thick.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
The markers just make it easier for me to take attendance (count stitches) now and then—they mark out 50 stitches, and 52 at the end. (Now 51. Don’t ask. Nell fixed it and we are Moving! On!)
I wearied of stopping and spit felting so often, although I still think that’s the best way to go. I experimented with a joining technique called the folded weft or something like that (stay tuned for a tutorial on that)—it works great but is best used when changing color in the middle of a row, so I stopped doing that. And now I’m just letting them fly for a while. Future Me will have to reckon with Present Me’s character flaws! (I actually don’t mind weaving in ends, and Felted Tweed is sticky so it lets you get away with a minimal amount of weaving, I do about an inch and call it good.)
Thanks for everything you have all given us… I am wondering about the ‘2 urgent questions above:Why the stitch markers? And wondering why you didn’t used spit joins for all those ends? I was afraid weaving in so many would make that edge a bit too thick.’ What are you going to do?
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone at MDK. And thank you so much for last weekend. It was an amazing workshop with Arne & Carlos. The MDK staff did a fabulous job providing great food and very kind support. It was a first class event and I am so glad I was able to attend.
Kathy that is so great to hear! We are still floating on Norwegian wool fumes.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and the whole crew! You bring joy to so many with your articles and by advancing knitting skills. You rock!
I am grateful for all y’all @ MDK! You brighten my mornings and I look forward to starting my day, everyday, with your emails. Thank you for being the friends I haven’t met, yet;)
Happy Thanksgiving
The blanket looks amazing! Knitting and yarn are great things to be thankful for.
Wishing you and everyone at MDK a wonderful, peaceful Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving!! Thankful for the MDK team and all things knitting!!
Happy Thanksgiving to MDK! Temp blanket looks AMAAAZING
Need to cast on for this asap
Thank you thank you, everyone at MDK! So grateful to have you every morning while I drink my coffee-that-isn’t-coffee and listen to the animals snore.
Only 3 here this year for the big meal, so no turkey. But my sister is replacing it with duck confit, and rose petal pudding, so I guess we’ll survive….
Happy Thanksgiving! Love these beautiful words, your beautiful blanket, your beautiful spirit!
My heart is full of gratitude! MDK is a light, an inspiration and a wealth of interesting things! Bravo!
My late father would carve the Turkey for holidays and plate it so it was a work of beauty. I can’t even cut it properly.
Yes, memories. Good and bad, old and new.
I’m so full of gratitude for the work you do at MDK. Uniting and entertaining knitters, with a lot of style. Happy day, and thank you so very much.
Happy thanksgiving to all of you at MDK. Thank you for making our days brighter all year long!
Knitting and the community of people that I have met and come to love has made me who I am. So grateful.
Thanks Kay and Ann for keeping my knitting spirit bright! Love all you do. California? Are you coming to my neck of the woods – Oakland? I have a free guest room or two.
Me too, and I’m in Oakland! We could house the whole gang!
Happy Thanksgiving Ann, Kay and Team MDK! Thank you for the recipes, and it was so wonderful seeing you and your temperature blanket last weekend. Good for the soul. Grateful to be part of your extended Venn diagram. (Also, the bit about your grandparents, gone for so long, yet still showing up with a dollop of unconditional love when you need it … beautiful and brought tears to my eyes because I miss mine too but the memories are so sweet.)
MDK is such a bright spot in my day! I learn something new, have a laugh, and find something to inspire or think about with every post. Thank you!
Happy Thanksgiving Kay and the whole MDK gang! We love you and are so happy to be part of your community!
Thankful for this little corner of the fiber world! Goes perfectly with my first cup of tea!
Happy Thanksgiving Ann, Kay, and MDK staff! Many blessings to you all. ❤
Thank you Kay and Ann and the MDK community. We love to knit with grace and blessings, but especially this time of year.
Kay, I am teary-eyed reading your post. You are correct, the world is a troubled place but MDK’s post, very first thing every morning is an important gift I am thankful for today. Thanks to you and Anne and all your contributors. Good wishes for a lovely holiday and weekend.
I’m grateful for many things including MDK. Look forward to reading each email & even read the comments! Have learned & enjoyed so much. Thanks for all you do!
When doing blankets, as soon as they are a couple of feet long, and getting harder to turn, I tie about every foot with whatever… shoelaces, pieces of t-shirt…makes them much easier to toss around but certainly not any lighter. My last was just over 9 pounds and generous queen size. Not a take-along!
I cannot end the day without thanking everyone at MDK for being right there in my email every morning. So much more than knitting…recipes to cook, series to binge, books to read, podcasts, movies, Paris…I am grateful.
Happy thanksgiving! I did as you said, kept warm Uber my gargantuan temp blanket while knitting it and watching movies. I’m curious, did you consider spit splicing as you started each new color, to avoid the dreaded weaving in of lots of ends? That’s how mine goes. I’m now thinking ahead, wondering if it will take another year to do the colorful I cord edging.
I wearied of stopping and spit felting so often, although I still think that’s the best way to go. I experimented with a joining technique called the folded weft or something like that (stay tuned for a tutorial on that, the latest from a wise contributor)—it works great but is best used when changing color in the middle of a row, so I stopped doing that. And now I’m just letting them fly for a while.
It’s a marathon not a sprint, or something like that!
Do you have 100% wool roving yarn?
Oh my gosh, Kay, I clicked the corn casserole link and the first image in the 2007 post – of knitted squares arranged for a blanket – just rocketed me back in time. I was knitting my square on a short freelancing trip to Paris. SO MUCH STUFF happened on that trip, but I remember the square VIVIDLY! 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving! The picture of your temperature blanket through July 25th felt like a sweet gift – that was the day my son was born. (And boy do I remember how stinkin’ hot that last month was.) He is one of the many things I’m thankful for, along with my daughter who brought home a picture from kindergarten the other day that announced that she is grateful for her baby brother.