Giving Thanks: What I'm Thankful For this Year

Amanda Wells
Nov 21, 2017
3 min read

Hello, friends! I apologize for missing out on writing these past few weeks. Things have been pretty hectic for me. I was feeling really burned out and drained. Two weeks ago, it literally felt like every day was a Monday. I got nothing done and I was barely knitting. And last week, I was trying to readjust my structure throughout the day everyday and it was really really hard. These couple of weeks were really hard, but I'm happy to be back and I'm still happy to be able to have a career as a freelance knitting pattern designer!

If I learned anything in these two weeks on hiatus from this website, it's these things:

1. I really need to structure my day. Honestly, structure doesn't come easily for me, so this is a real struggle. I need to structure my day so I don't forget to do the things that I want to do for that day.

2. I can't always watch Netflix and knit. When I get complacent, I immediately turn to Netflix. But, I've noticed how wasteful that actually is. So instead of Netflix, I've been opting for listening to music on Spotify or listening to podcasts to keep me focused and motivated, so I don't feel like I'm being lazy and wasting my day.

3. I can't skimp on my time with Jesus. Sometimes, I get so caught up in the stuff I want to do for the day, that I forget that I need to start the day with Jesus and end up complacent and unproductive. He is the one that has called my heart toward becoming a freelancer. The least I can do is spend time with Him. Also, I am starting to give Him more control over my projects and asking what HE would like me to make instead of me trying to go my own way.

What I'm Thankful For

Anyway, let's talk about what I'm thankful for! I love Christmas, so sometime's it's hard to think about Thanksgiving and talk about what I'm thankful for.

1. I'm thankful to have financial stability in times of uncertainty. I'm paying off student loans right now and while it's really hard to be a freelancer, I'm thankful that my husband and I are both financially stable enough for me to be able to do this.

2. Speaking of husband, I'm really thankful for him. I'm thankful that he is in tune with the Holy Spirit and that he supports anything I do. When I felt that God was calling me into this career as a knitting pattern designer, before I quit my job, I asked my husband what he thought about it. After both of us taking time to pray about it, we both agreed that this is something God was calling me to do. When I was deprived of all energy at my job as a childcare teacher, I finally left it.

3. I'm thankful for community. I'm so blessed to have people in my life who have been supporting my decision to become a freelancer. Not a single person ever tried to cause doubt in my heart, everybody that I talked to about this job has been nothing but encouraging and supportive. Some have gone so far as to ask me to knit something for them, because they want to support what I do! Also, I'm so thankful for the knitting community, that we can support each other and build each other up, whether we're designers, editors, yarn dyers, store owners or just makers. I'm so thankful for all of you!

4. Finally, I want to thank all of you lovely readers! Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my blog posts. I find it really encouraging that there are people here reading the content that I put on my website. Thank you so much for your support!

Also, I just released a pattern on Friday! If you follow me on Instagram, you may have already seen it. It's called Forget-Me-Not, after my habit of knitting a hat every fall and losing it before winter is over! Hopefully I never forget this one! Also, keep your eyes peeled on my Ravelry page, I might have a sale happening soon!