Writing Letters

Here's an excerpt from an article on writing letters.


"Traditional letter writing made us take the time to think of what we wanted to say, and how to say it, and what impact it would have on the person receiving it," Ms. Baron said.

In the long run, she said: "We are losing the message. We'll have nothing to look back on, and people are just not realizing this."

Of course, there are letter-writing holdouts. Even though Jill L. Johnson, 48, relies on e-mail messages in her job as a marketing executive for an insurance company in Madison, Wis., she corresponds with certain friends the old-fashioned way.

"You have to put something more into it," Ms. Johnson said. "Putting script to paper connotes something special."

She writes down thoughts, reminiscences or quotes she has read and sends them to her father and other relatives, friends and her four children, including her college-age daughter in Washington. She also jots missives to her fiancé, Joel Chapiewsky, who also lives in Madison, and who "just eats it up that I send him notes," Ms. Johnson said.

While avid letter writers among men are a rarity, Phil Witt, an anchorman and senior reporter at WDAF in Kansas City, Mo., confesses to being among them.

"I spend so much time on the phone at work," he said, "that it is nice to use another method for staying in touch with my friends and family. I learned a long time ago that there is value in thanking people and keeping a connection through a handwritten note."

Like many, Mr. Witt said that his communications are mostly limited to a few paragraphs, and very far from the long letters that his father-in-law wrote to his future wife while he served in World War II.

"I honestly don't know anyone who writes those kinds of letters any more," Mr. Witt said.

A written letter or note, said Maria Everding, an etiquette consultant in St. Louis, Mo., "lasts longer, and you can read it over and over."

"And you can put it in a box," she said, "and get it out and read it again if you are feeling down in the dumps."

At least one person is working to revive the art of letter writing. Inspired by having nothing written — not even a signature — to remember his father after he died, Greg Vaughn, a producer of Christian films who lives in Richardson, Tex., began writing letters to his family in 2002. Then two years ago, Mr. Vaughn, 58, began offering training to help fathers communicate meaningfully with their wives, children and parents.

So far more than 6,000 men have taken his course, called "Letters From Dad," in churches and synagogues around the country. "I don't know that this will put men in the same category as women in expressing their feelings," he said, "but we have to start somewhere."

Recently, Mr. Kowtoniuk, the Harvard graduate student, bought a card for his mother's birthday and added his own handwritten message. But first he typed out what he wanted to say on his computer. Then he spell-checked it, found a pen and wrote his message in ink on the card.

"I was afraid of making a mistake," he explained. His painstaking efforts to get it just right were appreciated. His mother, he said, "was surprised and cried when she opened the card."

5-Petal Flower

I wasn't too happy with the flowers I crocheted last time. I found this link in my drafts folder and I ought to try this soon. I still have some beautiful coloured yarns left.

Here is crochet flower # 1...the basic five petal flower....( I have used an 8 ply wool and 3.50mm or size 9 hook)

#1 Five petal flower

To begin: Chain 5 and join with Sal st to first chain to form ring. ( if you prefer use the base adjustable ring method which results in a perfect centre every time...I use it for everything now...)

Round 1: Ch 2 ( counts as 1 dc) and work 15 dc into the ring, sl st to beginning chain.

Round 2: *Ch 4, skip 2 dc, sl st into next dc: repeat from * 4 more times ending in last stitch in base of beginning chain.

Round 3: in each Ch 4 space work 1dc, 4 tr ,1 db tr, 4 tr, 1 dc: join with a sl st to first dc.

End yarn, leaving a tail for stitching or joining if desired.

(Note: Instructions are British/European so for US/Canadian use sc for my dc and dc for my tr.)

The great thing about this flower is that you can stop after the second round and have a small very basic flower like the blue one on the left...I have used these on hairclips (and I'm sure that there will be few of those in Christmas stockings this year!)

The pink flower on the right is made in a Manos Del Uruguay Handspun Semi Solid kettle dyed yarn, one of my favourites( you should see the colours!) with a slight variation in round 3: into each 4 ch space I have worked 1 dc, 9 tr, 1 dc to give a more rounded petal shape.It had been worked on the same size hook so it is only the wool that makes the difference in size.

Calendar update.....almost there with my special dates pages and my April pages for the other calendar should start arriving at their new homes this week....hope you all like them!

Crochet Jacket

I crocheted my first jacket a few months ago; learning how to do things along the way. I finally got to wear it this week and got a couple of compliments.

The pattern I used is from Lions Brand (far right), and yes, I found the exact colour at the yarn shop. I realized that I seem to have a predilection for this colour. I have a backpack and a winter jacket in this colour (called tarragon or lime green).