Monday I received the most wonderful surprise. I am so touched and it is so beautiful and I did what anyone who is the recipient of such love and care does. I cried. There were two white boxes at the gate. I pulled up to the gate in my PT Cruiser with a dog hanging out of each back window and thought, “Hmm, I know one of those is my elann order but I don’t know what the other one could be.” I saw my friend Libby’s name on the box and still didn’t have a clue. I opened up the box and there was the most beautiful handknitted blanket! For ME! It was a gift from my friends at the elann chatsite. It’s the first site I ever typed a word on years ago and it is still and will always be my home on the net. I have met, in real life and virtually, some of the most generous and caring people on the planet there.
There was a very pretty card in the box from the elannites. A Blankie Tales booklet is in the works so I will know who knitted each lovely 12″X12″ square. There was also a card from Ghislaine, a very talented knitter, and one square knitted by my elann chatsite and in person friend, Chris. It was a square she knitted up and then it turned out there were enough squares so her square didn’t make it into the blanket. I have plans for it but I don’t want to say what those plans are yet.
All of these wonderful people got together and made a blanket for me to wrap up in and feel the hugs and warmth while recuperating from my eye surgery on July 8th. They managed all this in 3 weeks with knitting needles on fire, smokin’ the phone lines, burning up the email servers and the postal services of two countries.
And I never suspected a thing. I think I just lost my sleuth badge. Nancy Drew would scoff at me. Monk would find me unworthy of notice and Sherlock Holmes would throw me over Reichenbach Falls. I suspect Miss Marple might be the only detective sympathetic to my oblivion and she would only give me a break because we are both knitters. All I know is, everyone was very, very quiet but I didn’t know I had anything to do with it.
Grace sent me the knitted bunny. Grace knits more beautiful shawls than anyone I know. Even her bunnies wear lace shawls. Shui Kuen, who was dealing with terrible flooding, no drinking water and no roads, sent me a real treat, very dark, very special European chocolate, the kind I can’t find anywhere within a hundred miles and she knows I love, and a very pretty shoulder shawl in Noro Hotaru in colors I love to wear; hot pink, fuchsia and lovely greens and bronzes. It is perfect for summer.
The blanket has twenty-five beautiful squares of knitting in earthen shades of elann’s Highland Wool and lovely edging knit by four different knitters. It is truly MY blanket, made for me by my friends, people who are caring and giving, and I am most blessed to have my path cross theirs in this journey we are all on. Sometimes I am just so damn lucky!
Each square is unique and I love them all. One even has a lovely pearl added by the very creative Evelyn. It made me smile and it is the perfect touch for that square. I will take a picture of each one when I have the Nikon camera to use. For now, I want to show you one square that is very special. It is a square that my friend T and her teenage son Braveheart made for me. This one is very special because I can feel the touch and effort of one very determined young man in the stitches, and while T hasn’t told me, I know he picked this design for me. Thank you, Braveheart, and thank you T for sharing your son with me.
I realized last fall the time to tell people how I feel about them, to say the things that make life brighter, kinder, and more true, may quickly be gone and those things may never be said. I resolved to say those things; to let people know how much they are appreciated for who they are and the things they do. So to everyone who planned, knitted, wanted to knit, said a prayer, thought a thought for me, thank you, and I love you all.
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and we love you dear friend, and just want you healthy and happy!!!
Comment by Grace July 17, 2008 @ 10:24 pmBenne, I’m glad that you like the blankie, and I hope you know just how much we care about you. You are a dear friend and a major part of the Elannites’ community. It was lovely to finally meet you.
Comment by CatBookMom July 17, 2008 @ 10:56 pmOh, my-T and Braveheart’s square is AWESOME. Love it. Tales are still trickling in, Benne, the needles were smoking so hot no one could write anything down!!!
Comment by bets July 17, 2008 @ 11:08 pmI’m so glad you like your blanket. It was such fun to be a part of this endeavor. Hee hee. You shoulda seen the email exchanges during the planning stages of this project. So exciting to keep a secret.
Comment by Marie July 18, 2008 @ 12:02 amBenne, I’m so glad that you love your blankie. We were all thinking of you and wanted you to get better in the fastest way possible so we decided a blankie was in order for a speedy recovery.
Libby
Comment by Libby July 18, 2008 @ 4:47 amThat blanket turned out beautifully! Smoking needles is right - I can’t believe how fast I knit my square, and yet every stitch was truly a prayer composed of yarn. I’m so happy you love it!
Trish
Comment by My Merino Mantra July 18, 2008 @ 7:04 amI really enjoyed being one of the BW lace “edgers” and would have done more edges but Libby was overrun in volunteers. Everyone wanted to knit for Benne! Enjoy Benne and all the good vibes from your knitting buds and admirers will propel your eyes to wellness in no time.
Comment by Joan July 18, 2008 @ 9:35 amGorgeous blanket, and what a nice surprise!
Comment by Rachel July 18, 2008 @ 11:07 amI am so glad you like you blankie. I can’t believe how big it is. Hard to imagine when you just have one square in hand.
You are, but you are so much more.
Comment by Suzann July 18, 2008 @ 3:19 pmWe wanted you to feel how much we love you. Dawn sewed in the ends for me. She said “ohhhhhhh the duck lady”
The needles were indeed smoking. I can’t imagine how Libby got it all pulled together so fast.
I am so dumbfounded at having our square featured! Braveheart was absolutely bound and determined to get those stitches done. We are just so glad that you are ok and have been and will continue to pray for you. You are one special person, and all of us know how lucky we are to have you as a friend.
Love, T
Comment by T from Elann July 19, 2008 @ 2:11 ambenne, i lve you!
braveHeart
(He typed that with a little help. T)
Comment by Braveheart July 19, 2008 @ 10:30 amI am happy you are happy with your blankie. I even talked to you on the phone while knitting an edging! I hope you spend many an evening curled up under it.
Comment by bri July 19, 2008 @ 11:15 amBri
Your photo of the finished blanket is a gift to all who participated in this project. Amazing what Libby and others can put together with the help of e-mail, telephone and perhaps mental telepathy! It was my delight to be able to complete the square while in Canada in the company of Alice, Barbara and Lorraine. Lorraine’s gift was mailing our three squares from Seattle. Benne, my thoughts and prayers are with you for your complete recovery from both surgeries, last fall and this summer. Your presence in our lives is a true gift.
Comment by Jamie July 19, 2008 @ 11:51 amHugs, Jamie
Wow, it looks so wonderful in the alltogether state!
I was so happy to be a part of it because you are a very special person. (my square was green in a horseshoe lace pattern)
Speedy Recovery, Benne!
Comment by Gaile July 19, 2008 @ 1:23 pmBenne, I am glad you love your blankie!
I was so disappointed.
Comment by Minnie~Knits July 21, 2008 @ 3:36 pmJoan is right, everyone wanted to participate…I was in the middle of a busy week, didn’t check my email, and guess what?
Libby said she was sorry but I could not knit a square
I really wanted to knit one, because you the sweetest, and you gave me yarn to knit my clappy and my Wisp, just because you could. So I really wanted to give back, and say thanks…but I was too late…I’m really sorry…
Minnie
o my goodness! please foreward to them my appreciation of their work! i blew up each picture so i could better see the details! each is so amazing! and as for you, you, my little nudlick, are so very deserving of the love and hugs the squares represent! i wish i could have added one!
so you just have to take a written one from me…put left hand on right shoulder, now don’t let go. put right hand on left shoulder…now squeeze really tight…that’s just from me to you my gentle hearted friend!
Comment by sandy August 19, 2008 @ 4:52 pmps. that was july…why are you not writing and sharing pictures? i miss you!
Comment by sandy August 19, 2008 @ 4:53 pm