Letters
Why We’re Here
Dear everybody,
I went on a walk on Sunday in Bells Bend, a park in Nashville located in a spectacular horseshoe-shaped bend in the Cumberland River.
Apart from the setting, it was memorable for the company. A group! We were a group of seven plus two dogs. It was the first time we’d all been together for more than a year, and the whole thing felt like we were off on the Appalachian Trail. Much talk of gear (jackets or no jackets?), provisions (who’s bringing what?), even decorations (a tablecloth and little flowers gleaned from a garden and wrapped in wet paper towels).
I thought about knitting, as we walked. I thought about all the knitters I haven’t seen in so long.
Kay and I met on the internet, almost 20 years ago. Since then, we have traveled thousands of miles together, lived through endless ridiculous and sublime moments, written a river of emails to each other. Still, even as we are constant internet correspondents, we do our best work when we’re in the same room.
Kay just landed in Nashville Monday afternoon, and she’ll be visiting our new headquarters for the first time. It’s been 15 months since we’ve been together.
I wrote the headline for this post before I wrote the post. Why We’re Here. I was intending to write about why MDK is here—as a place for knitters, an entertainment, a source of help. But the question quickly expanded the more I thought about it. It’s the kind of cosmic question that comes to mind while wandering vast meadows beside a river. Why are we here, really?
As best I can tell, we’re all here for each other. We all crave company, and the internet makes that possible. In the past months of isolation, the kindness we have seen on a daily basis from everybody coming to this site is such a balm, such a gift.
Here’s to the day when we can all go wander Bells Bend and stop to knit for a bit.
Love,
Ann
MDK has been a wonderful source of entertainment, education and emotional support for me during this difficult year. I feel that I have found a new circle of friends. Thank you for “being here”.
I for one am very glad you are here!
Well now I have something in my eye…! I love reading your posts here. Sending virtual hugs in lieu of the real thing that will have to wait a wee while longer…
So well said, Ann. So glad you had Bell’s Bend. And so glad that both you and Kay have been here all these months. (Must have been great to have shown her around!)
So lovely…enjoy the time with Kay, I know from knitting group that she is so very excited for her trip!! Fyi, when I first read Bells Bend I thought it said Ball Band lol
Hallelujah! So much to savor. Remarkable how amazingly huge “small” freedoms are!
I’ve been with you guys almost that long. And it has been good. Just referred to your first book( mine is signed) to knit another wedding blanket. I read your posts every day and share many of them with friends and family. Now that the blanket’s finished, it’s time for some English smocking and French hand sewing. Keep those posts coming.
I start my days reading you posts , always imaginative and filled with with inspiration for on all levels. We all this positivity in are lives. You both constantly show everyone, its not just creating, its community and how we treat each other. You have proven to be excellent examples during the last year of Covid, changing MDK business name in response to the national awareness of BLM and your own weather crises in Nashville. You are amazing women. Thank you for being so much more than a business.
Please correct my post. I wanted to write something, ut I just had surgery, so there were spelling & grammar errors. Shelly.
Shelly, no corrections needed, your meaning came through loud and clear! I couldn’t have said it better. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Thank you (both) for being here for all of us and creating this community that crosses time and space, connected by kindness and love and wool.
Yes! What Deb W said
Because of MDK and your fabulous Knitting Getaways, I am part of a group of knitters who has supported each other in the past year in so many ways. Reading about your walk makes me even more excited about seeing all of them in person in June. We have been literally knit together! ❤️❤️❤️ Thank you, Ann and Kay.
As a member of that group, I agree! Thank you, Ann and Kay, for fostering community the way you do.
Thank you Ann and Kay for being here in this space.
Ann, I just flat out love this letter.
Beautifully said. We’re all here for each other. That touches something deep inside. You’re bringing tears to my eyes, Ann.
Thank you so much for being here for all us knitters, especially the past year and a half. Your daily blog has been such a source of comfort. It’s wonderful to have a virtual place we can go and be understood by others who share our passion. My knitting friends and I have stayed in touch with you and one another throughout the long months of isolation. Saturday, June 12, is World Wide Knit in Public Day so we’re all planning to meet up in a big, grassy meadow at Glendale Ridge Vineyard (wine too) in Southampton, MA. If you or your readers are anywhere near Western Massachusetts on June 12 we invite you to join us for what promises to be a wonderful celebration of summer and knitting.
This last year or so has got us all thinking, and rearranging priorities. Enjoy your visit! Hugs in person are the best.
Every day I have my morning coffee with MDK. It just gives my day such a nice start….smart interesting people, colour, challenge, wit. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy our morning visit! We just entered our third full lockdown, and you just help me keep my balance! Thanks and see you tomorrow!
MDK has become a part of my life and family. I’ve shopped with my mom and daughter over the phone and online to choose yarn and patterns for projects. It’s a way our family has stayed connected through the pandemic. When you changed your name, it was a huge topic of discussion in our home and very much celebrated. It came at time when my community need a salve and your change helped us feel stronger and more empowered in our quest for equality. Thank you!
Sometimes days go by when I am busy, then I think “What’s going on over at MDK World HQ?” Thank you for creating and encouraging such a fun, diverse community of like-minded souls.
As always, one of my favorite ways to start my day. Have a wonderful visit full of live and hugs.
Well said, so very well said. Thank you❤️
Beyond why MDK is here, I am very thankful for the fact that it *is* here. You ladies have been my constant companions since the earliest days of this period of my knitting life. Back when there were no other knitters that I knew near me – you understood my obsession. I may not have time to read them every day but I look forward to your posts every day. Enjoy your visit with Kay!
I have discovered such a wealthy environment in MDK. Rich with positive people, brilliant people, good people. All kinds of people at their best. The mother lode of folks. This week I wandered into the archives. The only place to start…at the beginning—2003. I read letters and discovered comments could not be skipped. I am not living in the past. I’m just getting acquainted with friends who are the people I thought they were. OMG, there’s a great book, movie, series in the archives. I’m hooked and I highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dear Ann and Kay – Just one of many knitters I’m sure, among many, I “discovered” your blog a number of years ago – a bit before Bowling Avenue, which I was lucky enough to enjoy. I was still working at a bank in NYC then and checked in online every day – made dreary office life endurable! I have your first book, yarn from your shop (I would have it all if I win the lottery). Anyway I still count the evening not long before covid when I took the local uptown after work and saw you get on (14th street?) – my first and only celeb siting in NYC! You were wonderful – me, a middle aged fan girl .
Anyway I am glad, Ann, that you got outdoors with pals for what looks like a beautiful time – friends and fresh air and food. Nothing better! And how wonderful that Kay will finally be there again.
Best to both and hope to see you in NYC again – maybe finally I will get to Vogue KL.
As much as we may have screen fatigue and what a dear friend calls ‘Covid Malaise’ our lives would have been much lonelier without the abilities these devices give us. To work, to connect, to teach, even to shop and share the daily NYT crossword. It is not 1918, thankfully.
And can’t help but add, Bravo Science!
What are we here for, if not to help each other?
I’m so grateful that I discovered MDK at the beginning of Covid shutdowns. I look forward to your emails first thing each morning. Thanks to the field guides I have a huge stack of quarantine knitting that provided hours of pleasure. It’s wonderful to feel like a part of such a supportive knitting community. Thanks!!!
Happy Reunion!!
Can I just say I’ m jealous! Have A great time!
Thank you for being you MDK!❤️
Your point is so well taken. I have been having those deep thoughts and I have a similar conclusion we are all here for each other. No Man is an Island. My knitting and blog pals have been hugely therapeutic during the pandemic.
Ann your letter made me sniffle a bit. I think you hit it on the head.
Lovely letter, thank you. I just found this MDK a few weeks ago, & have been reading through archives, mostly the technical ones. They’re great.
I had sort-of deduced the name change after finding your book at the library (and I found the original a bit cringy after the events of the last few years), but would love to read the story of why you changed it. Is there a link?
Here’s the official announcement – https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/change/
Thanks!
Having a daily chat has been a blessing in so many ways, one of which is that it’s a refreshment for my soul. Love the bluebells!
Well said. Thank you for being here.
very beautiful and touching sentiment. enjoy your day with your wonderful friend!
How fun that you got together! I have been an MDK fan for a long time, I have your original books, autographed. I think that you all have evolved in the very best way and are such an integral part of my day.
Thank you for all the inspiration and introductions and humor and dishcloths and pattern parties and, and, and… ❤️
Hear! Hear!
I know I’m so happy you are here every morning. Thank you. Always something new to learn, to see, to be amazed by.
Hope you and Kay enjoy your visit.
I’m seeing my oldest son this weekend and I can’t wait. So I sort of know how y’all feel.
Lovely letter – So glad you and Kay are going to be together. Your site is always an inspiration. I’m starting on that striped Baby Blanket – very excited!
Ann and Kay, and worker bees in the Headquarters: Thanks very much for your time and efforts. They have been a beacon for the past 13 months. Knitting is so many things – MDK is one of my centers!! Stay safe and keep up the fantastic work.
Your daily emails bring another wonderful dimension to my knitting. It helps me to think about new projects and ways to expand to my knitting abilities and you bring new and wonderful people into our knitting world. Thank you Kay and Ann. Also thank you for changing your name.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The parents of a friend of mine told me this story. They were in bed falling asleep when the husband suddenly asked, “why are we here?” The wife, jolted awake, pulled her thoughts together and tried to express her ideas: we want to be a support and help to the people we know, to be good citizens of the world, to leave the planet a better place – did that make any sense? The husband mulled that over and said it did, but he really was wondering why they were way down at the bottom of the bed instead of in the middle.
Just as with Ann’s essay today – this is a question with many kinds of answers!
Am so glad to have the opportunity to share ‘here’ with all the folks at MDK and with the other readers and commenters. Thanks everyone for making life a little brighter and woolier!
What a wonderful story.
Such a great story!
❤️❤️❤️
Beautiful! What a year it’s been … so wonderful you two are finally able to hang out in the same space. Grateful for everyone here, being here.
Thank you for connecting me to the world of knitting. MDK is the first email I read every morning.
And I need to ask what fabulous pieces were worn for the warehouse visit?
I love this so much.
I’m happy to read the two of you were finally able to reunite. I’m sure it was a lovely time, with laughter, knitting, and pondering life. I am very excited to do this exact thing with my small neighborhood knitting circle. Here’s to better days ahead.
A friend gave me a coaster that says “we are all just walking each other home”. I like what it implies about why we are here.
Glad for you being there together and always here .❤️
I love everything about this! We have been spoiled to be able to read hear each day, be inspired an entertained in community, Zooming with y’all has been a delightful treat! Now, someone please pass me a tissue!
*here
Honestly so many of your comments hit home. Every little adventure MDK takes me on there is always a chuckle or a big laugh.
Thank you for MDK and all the contagious fun that has followed. I’m very grateful for your meeting so long ago. xxoo
I love the MDK community – it has been so much fun knitting together, seeing each other on Zoom meetings, leaving notes for each other on IG, reading the daily posts and getting my yarn boxes in the mail! Thank you for being here and helping me through this pandemic – you have made a huge difference
Beautiful, Ann! I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad we’re all still here!
Sigh, counting the days to Sewanee!
This article says it all about humanity. Namaste.
I’m not crying, you’re…oh shoot! Thank you for being here for us!
20 years!!! Remember way back then when you were knitting that leafy shawl in Rowan kid silk haze, can’t remember it’s name? You made a chart! My daughter and I spent the early evening with Kay in Central Park the weekend she left. We had not seen her in over a year. We didn’t cry, but I am crying now, acknowledging, I think for the first time how lonely we have been for our friends and family. Kay is both. Big hugs and love to you both.