To the knitters and spinners and all the ships at sea

I think it's about time I said thank you. To anyone who has visited here, who has stopped a while, who has read a post, who has shook her head or smiled. I'm so pleased to have your company.

To those who have left a comment, or a few, I'm especially grateful. I treasure every one. It's lovely to continue a conversation with someone I feel I'm coming to know, and it's a delightful surprise to hear from someone new.

I don't always know how to reciprocate. In this blogging adventure, I'm still learning my way. I enjoy going to visit a blog and pay a call and get acquainted with someone who has visited here. For visitors who have left a comment but not a website or an e-mail address, I know of no place to visit, though, to say hello in return. And most of what I write here seems to come out more as little essays than as direct dialog. My appreciation is heartfelt nonetheless.

In my circle of face-to-face friends, there are not many kindred spirits who share my enthusiasm for knitting or spinning. But here there are people who match it and more. It's rewarding to find that once in a while, for someone, I've struck a chord. It's wonderful and astonishing to muse aloud, to tell a story, or show a project, or bemoan a difficulty, and find that someone has stopped by to offer advice or moral support, a suggestion or a similar experience, a compliment or sympathy. It feels like magic.

I began writing here a few months ago, thinking I was shouting "hellooooo" out into a canyon and might hear just the echoes of my own voice reverberating. Instead, it feels like I've set some words loose upon the air and conjured up new friends. I wasn't sure I wanted to begin, and now I don't want to stop. So, new friends, Amy, and Bess, Beate and Bette, and others who have visited now and then, thank you for your ideas and your wisdom, your thoughts and your quips, your encouragement and your smiles.

This pink heart of Corriedale roving is for you.