Day 3...grAtitude

Casting on? Tackling a large number of stitches and fretting over the size of the task. Fear not, break it down into small tasks (e.g. 50 stitches at a time). Make this an opportunity to enjoy and express gratitude for the chance to spend time with your knitting.

Here's a great question to ask yourself...are you approaching _________ (fill in the blank, could be casting on, could be your day, a walk, a conversation with someone) as an operation or an opportunity? For example...

Are you approaching casting on as an opportunity (to reflect, slow down, appreciate the time you have to knit) or an operation (let's hurry up and get this done so I can get on to the next task)?

I have found this a very helpful question to use throughout the day.

Today's day is the letter "A"

Day 2...gRatitude

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.”

— Melody Beattie

What a wonderful outpouring of "G"ratefulness there was yesterday both on the blog comments as well as on the Ravelry group. As I perused the comments throughout the day, there were two that really made me stop and think...one woman from the UK wrote about how she was finding gratefulness in the aftermath of all the recent tragic events.

The other comment pertained to taking time to be grateful for self. How often do we thank ourselves for all that we do. Why is it that it can be easier to acknowledge the goodness in others but forget about the good in each of us. So, today, take moment and find something about you that you are grateful for... but there's one more step to this "tip." Let's say you decide to be grateful for your health; take it just a little farther. What is it that you do that makes you grateful? By this I mean..."I'm grateful that I take the time to prepare wholesome meals." or "I'm grateful that I find time to walk." Acknowledge your efforts not just the result.

As many of you are casting on this weekend, be sure to enjoy the rhythm of the pattern and notice how "chaos turns to order" in the design you are creating.

Today's letter is "R." Feel free to leave comments here or on the Ravelry group.

Day 1...Gratitude Knit-along

Thank you for all the interest and joy you have expressed in the Gratitude Knit-along. I thought it most appropriate that I begin with saying thank you, after all, this is a knit-along focused on gratitude. I must also say thank you to all of you for the amazing support and kindness that's been shared over the past year...there truly is a ripple effect that occurs when people act in kind, gentle, and supporting ways. As you all know, we need more of this in the world.

So, for 9 days we will focus on gratitude. My goal is to share simple ways to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. I'm convinced your actions will magnify and resonate to those around you whether those people are family, friends, or strangers.

Let's begin.

Each day, beginning today and ending with July 1 (my favorite day of the year for several reasons), I'll post a letter. You can print off the "letter" if you want to create your own banner. I must confess my skills at using Adobe Illustrator are still elementary so I'm including this as a prompt to encourage you to be as creative as your heart desires.

For each letter, write word(s) beginning with that letter or maybe it's a sentence that begins with the letter of the day. When this idea came to me, I envisioned that everyone would be able to make a banner (hence the banner on the cover page of Eunomia) that could remind them of all the things they are grateful for in their lives.

If you choose to print the letters (the banner with letter can be printed) each day you might want to do so on cardstock. I found some tiny banner pages at the local craft store that I will use...actually there were all types of banner triangles at the craft store. So, have fun with this. It's not meant to take a lot of time and if you're feeling like you don't have much time to spare then just take a minute or two each day to ponder gratitude.

I'll send an email on the 6th day and on July 1. I'll post daily here on the blog but I want to be mindful that not everyone wants a daily email in their inbox. So check back tomorrow for more on gratitude.

And since this is the first day...leave a comment regarding "G"ratitude and I'll randomly select someone to receive a Project Peace or Healthy Knitter project bag (your choice). Leave your ravid or email in the comment. All comments close by midnight tonight (6/23).

Solstice, pattern, and gratitude knit-along...

Well, it's been a month since we last spoke and what a whirlwind it's been. I'll give you the short and sweet version so as not to bore you but to explain my absence. For the past few years, my family and I have contemplated moving back west. I called it my true test of cultivating patience as it was something I so desperately wanted but knew it would take a long time to come to fruition. And just when I thought all the pieces were falling into place with a job lined up, multiple conversations with my husband, friends and family, I began questioning the move.

Seriously, this was 4 years in the making and my patience was finally paying off. I went to quit my current job and found myself unable to say the words. couldn't do it. All I could tell my boss was "I haven't decided." I felt relieved. I'd said it out loud and at that moment knew I had to follow my gut.

At one point, my dear mum said "Ames is in your head and the West is in your heart." I was having a battle between my intellect and emotions but just when one would win, the other would take over. After I'd finally made my decision to remain in Iowa, a few days later I was attending a yoga class and almost fell to my mat when I heard the teacher state the following:

“There are three levels of intelligence...
your head
your heart...
and your gut.”

There it was...my head and my heart couldn't decide because it was my gut that was telling me to wait on making this big move to the West.

So...when looking for a change you know what comes next? Yes, we moved into a new house in the middle of the woods with lots of natural light, trails close by and an amazing garden. It's not the West but we have some trees. And there is peace!

And here we are at Solstice. I've been planning this for months but carving out the time to be ready by June 1, then June 5, June 11 and so on, never seemed to happen. And then I got a comment on the blog a couple of days ago regarding the "get 'er done" post. A follower was re-reading posts and noticed something about a Solstice knit-along...and since Solstice is somewhere between June 20-22 she wanted to know if this would be happening? And that was just the nudge I needed to bring this project to life.

Introducing Eunomia, a simple to knit textured cowl pattern available now on Ravelry. As a subscriber to the blog you are receiving a subscriber only discount, use the coupon code (GRATITUDE2017) at check-out to receive 20% through June 23 at midnight (central US time).

Eunomia is the Greek Goddess of order and a sister to the Goddess of peace, Eirene. As such, this cowl has similar dimensions and the same beloved applied i-cord edging as the Project Peace 2016 cowl. Yet each sister is unique in her own right and this stitch pattern captures order and times when order seems a bit out of reach. It’s a rhythmic knit with a relatively easy to memorize stitch pattern.

It’s perfect for summer knitting whether you are inside keeping cool, sitting beside the pool or beach, enjoying a picnic at a park, watching a soccer game, or went hiking into a remote spot for a little solitude. If by chance you are south of the equator this will be a comforting knit and the timing is perfect to keep you warm through the cooler months. As you knit this cowl, may you be inspired to reflect on the meaning of order in your life.

From June 23-July 1 of 2017, Eunomia will be accompanied with a Gratitude Knit-along. This is a surprise knit-along as you won’t see a photo until the end but it’s different than a mystery knit-along as there is only one clue that you receive upon purchase.

I'll post on the blog daily with a focus on cultivating more gratitude in our lives. And maybe, just maybe, focusing on gratitude will create order. If you want to interact with other knitters during the Gratitude-along feel free to leave comments on the blog and/or join The Healthy Knitter group on Ravelry and follow the thread "Eunomia."

If you are interested in the Gratitude-along there will be varying levels of ways to participate. Each day we'll be writing down words, thoughts, etc that start with a letter in the word "gratitude." If you want to simply write down words on a piece of paper, sticky notes, or the notes app on your phone those would be easy ways to incorporate the Gratitude-along into your day. You could grab a little journal like this so that you've created a gratitude booklet come the first of July. Finally, you could print the files I'll be posting each day and create yourself a gratitude banner. I'm sure that many of you will have extremely creative approaches and I encourage you to follow your heart with this.

Solstice is really all about new beginnings, right? So, let's start anew and enjoy the meaning of Solstice, expressing our gratitude and finding order in our lives. Here's to Eunomia!