Another stitch in the wall

Time keeps ticking away in this crazy July. It is in the 50s outside and raining almost everyday. Today I had to put on a sweatshirt!

I continue to gain strength, and am so blessed that I have been able to knit all week. I have been working on a series of mittens for an Interweave ebook. The mittens are due in a month, and I have the hardest one yet to complete: 12 sts to the inch in multiple colors. It will be beautiful, but it is a lot of exacting work.

I also had a heartbreaking series of email interchange with a lady in the far north of Norway who took serious offense at my work. It weighs me down to be thought ill of, but I understand it is a frequent event when working with the Sámi, especially since I am working at such a distance. Their personal and collective history is so filled with attacks and robbery from outsiders that a defensive position is the often the first assumed stance.

My answer is good motives, good communication and full disclosure. In all my work, I seek to give back to the communities from which I have learned so much. I know full well from living in other countries that intercultural communication can be fraught with difficulties and, as a result, takes time and commitment. So, I keep working to get there... In the in-between, weeks highlight the gracious Sámi I have worked with. They are such a joy to my heart! I truly rejoice in the beautiful artists and their artistry, which I see daily in colorful mittens, dazzling jewelry and stunning carving work.

In other news, I have had some great conversations with people in Minnesota about coming out to teach. One group is at North House Folk School in Grand Marais. They are built on a Danish model of Folk Schools, stressing the building of community among the students and artisans. North House has been around since 1997, and starting about five years ago they began a more concentrated Fiber weekend in February. Next February, I'll journey out and join them for a long weekend. I'm really looking forward to it!

Michigander Mittens

I'm super excited to give a little drum roll to my next knitting pattern out...

Michigander Mittens by Laura Ricketts

Meet Michigander Mittens! I grew up in Michigan -- outside of Allegan to be exact -- and it is such a joy to have spent my formative years in a state shaped like a mitten.

There are plenty of Michigan-map potholders available for retail, but I'm the mitten lady. Where were the map mittens of Michigan? You can't find them, either? Never fear: I made my own. In August they will be available via the Midwestern Knits book, available for preorder HERE. Marvelous!

On one side is the map. On the other side is the state motto -- in Latin on one palm and in English on the other: Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice / If you seek a pleasant peninsula look about you. We learned it in fourth grade. Did you, fellow Michiganders?

This knit is done in a Michigan yarn, Stonehedge Fiber's Shepherd's Wool, and it does get a little tricky with all the color changes back and forth between the Beach and Frosty Blue yarns. The tricky part is just being mindful to twist the two yarns together every 5 stitches or so to keep the stranding inside from getting too long. That could bring about a risk of pulling one of them. But, with a little mindful knitting, you, too, could be safe with your stranding and sporting these snazzy accessories next winter.

Make them in your favorite Michigan sports team's colors! Put an X on where you were born. Or, live now. Or, have a cabin. Or, once caught a really big fish.

Michigander Mittens by Laura Ricketts, closeup

Then, you just tell them: I'm from here!

Summer work...

I want to thank so many of you who called, texted, messaged, emailed me and commented on my last blog post! Thank you, thank you for your many offers of help. It is very heartening to know I have friends out there in the wide world.

I have been feeling exponentially better each of the past three days. I was so thankful (thank you, praying buddies!), because it meant I was able to go to the Detroit airport to see my little, baby girl off on her three week trip to Australia.

Neither of us is looking too great, but such is life.

She is journeying there with People to People in a group of 41 middle schoolers. By the end of today, she will have cuddled a koala. Sigh.

But, work has not waited for me. In the past few weeks, I have done the final edits for Michigander Mittens, my contribution to the Midwest Knits! book, put out by Sweatshop of Love's Allyson Dykhuizen and Carina Spencer. Estimated time it is on the shelves is mid-August. It's available for preorder via the link above.

I also am excited to be finalizing plans to teach at the American Swedish Institute this October and give a talk to the Minneapolis Knitting Guild during the same visit. More details to follow. 

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy this amazingly cool weather we're having for July 1. Happy Canada Day, Canadian friends!

Summer Sickness

Five weeks ago we had a major event in the family, and at the same time I got sick with a whopper of a cold. It lengthened and elongated, and now, for two weeks I have been stuck in bed.

For some (hint: my teenage son) this would be a dream come true: lie in bed and read books. I got over the novelty of it in the first day. I can't do house work; I can't do work work; I can't even knit.

So many people say, "If you don't have your health, you don't have anything." I can say with authority, that that isn't true. In health or in sickness, I am still in God's hand. At times, when I feel worried or frustrated, I have been reminded of all of God's blessings in my life: a house, a wonderful husband, a family, and a content soul. Like Corrie Ten Boom, who wrote the Hiding Place, I'm even trying to be thankful for the things I don't understand. For Corrie it was lice. For me, it's a dog.

What are your biggest blessings?