Blog, Last Train to Knitsville

October 31, 2026

I Say a Little Prayer

I say a little prayer throughout the day. I pray a lot. I wonder if I pray correctly then I wonder if there’s a correct way to pray. Some will say there is; some will say there isn’t. I tend to believe our relationship with God is personal and we know in our own hearts in our own relationship, if we are falling short authentically or if we fall short because we just fall short despite our best efforts.

I find prayer in my knitting and crochet. There is something rhythmic and steady and I touch God and God touches me. That is in every piece I make and those I start and start again.

More and more, I am meeting God in my designing. When I decided to do a revamp of Abbey & Lincoln, I knew I wanted to niche to crafters and faith. The two connect and yet they also have lives of their own. I would need a new name and I decided the name would reflect what I did a lot of: Stitch. Pray. Repeat.

My idea was to do mugs, tees and tote bags. My niece convinced me to do ornaments. It is something I enjoy. My first series was to celebrate the new shop,

The collection begins with three ceramic ornaments, each with its own personality.

Stitch Pray Repeat (Heart & Infinity). Stitch, Pray, and Repeat are spelled out in colorful yarn script, connected by a crochet hook, a knitting needle, and a single strand that loops into a heart and an infinity symbol. It’s a picture of love that keeps going, one loop at a time. The back is personalized with a name and “Christmas 2026,” framed by a pom-pom garland. You can, of course, put your own name there.

Stitch With Joy. A cheerful ring of cross-stitch X’s surrounds three lines of encouragement: Stitch with joy. Pray without ceasing. Repeat with no limits. That middle line comes straight from 1 Thessalonians 5:17. The back holds up to 100 characters of your own words, in your choice of 4 fonts.

A Maker’s Blessing. Our signature phrase in bold green letters, framed by a winding thread and the tools so many of us keep close: a spool, scissors, a needle, a hook, a hoop, a thimble, a button, and a tape measure. The back carries a blessing personalized with her name: May every stitch bring peace, every prayer bring strength, and every new idea bring joy.

This is only the beginning

The Stitch Pray Repeat Collection will keep growing all year. New designs will arrive season by season, created for crafters who carry their faith into their work. I’d love for you to grow with it.

If there’s a phrase, verse, or craft you’d love to see in the collection, leave a comment or send me a message. Some of the best ideas come from this community.

Shop the collection

You’ll find all three ornaments in our Etsy shop: Here Each one is printed on glossy white ceramic and made to order, ready to become part of someone’s Christmas tradition.

From my crafting chair to yours: keep stitching, keep praying, and keep repeating.

October 31, 2026

Make Me Feel Brand New

When I first thought of designing, part of the appeal was do it once and move on. Create the pattern, launch it and sit back and let the coins drop. And it almost works just like that. The one thing I didn’t count on was repetition. I sell the finished products of my patterns and sometimes they sell well enough that I make it over and over during the course of a year.

I don’t open the pattern each time I make it but every so often, I do go back and see if I am being true to my own pattern. Well…. It seems I don’t stick to my own patterns. This is not surprising as I don’t stick to anyone else’s either. But I have found that I made my own patterns better by adding something or taking it away or using a different stitch. But the original pattern, which people buy, remained the same. I’ve knitted enough hats, written enough patterns, and answered enough questions to have a better understanding of what makes instructions useful to someone who wasn’t sitting beside me when I designed the thing. That’s really the point of these revamps. I’m not trying to turn every older pattern into something new. I’m trying to make the original design easier to understand, easier to follow, and better presented. The Rasta Slouchy has received that attention, with updated instructions and new photographs that give a much better look at the finished hat.

There’s something worth mentioning about knitting patterns. When I sell a finished hat, I’m selling the materials, the labor, and the completed design. Someone can put it on and enjoy it without ever picking up a knitting needle.
A pattern is different. I’m selling the instructions and the design knowledge that allow someone else to make the hat. The buyer chooses the yarn, decides on the color, does the knitting, and eventually has something that reflects both my design and their own handiwork. So we become partners, I would even say co designers. Like I said, I don’t know of a knitting pattern that I’ve followed to the letter and even if I did, my hat would be slightly different than the original made by the designer or the same hat knit by the person sitting next to me. We have our own way of putting our signature on our work.

This revised version makes the texture pop more and ups the personality factor. I love the drape and the chunkiness. The color I used is so rich and fu but I can imagine it in different colors from subtle to variegated. That’s the fu of being a design parent. All the siblings are unique.

You can find the Rasta Slouchy here.

October 21, 2026

Honoring the Quiet Ministry of Prayer-Shawl Makers

In many churches, there is a ministry that works quietly behind the scenes. Its members gather with yarn, knitting needles, crochet hooks and willing hands. They choose colors, count stitches and work row after row—often while praying for someone they may never meet.

They are the makers behind the prayer-shawl ministry. When a shawl is given to someone facing illness, grief, surgery, loneliness or another difficult season, the recipient receives far more than something warm to place around their shoulders. The shawl carries a message:

You are remembered. You are surrounded by prayer. You are not walking through this alone.

Prayer Made Tangible

Prayer can sometimes feel difficult to grasp, particularly during a crisis. A person may know that others are praying, but fear and uncertainty can still feel overwhelming.

A prayer shawl makes that care tangible.

It can be wrapped around someone during a hospital treatment, taken to a doctor’s appointment, held during a sleepless night or kept nearby during a period of grief. Long after the first prayers are spoken, the shawl remains as a physical reminder of the church community’s love.

Every stitch represents time freely given. Every completed row becomes part of a larger expression of compassion.

The recipient may never know how many hours went into making the shawl. They may not know the conversations shared around the crafting table or the prayers whispered while the maker worked. But they feel the result.

They feel covered.

The Unsung Heroines of the Ministry

Prayer-shawl makers rarely seek recognition.

They work at home, during ministry gatherings, in waiting rooms and wherever they can find a few peaceful minutes. They purchase or donate yarn, repair mistakes, weave in ends and begin new shawls whenever another need arises.

Their contribution may not happen in front of the congregation, but it becomes part of the church’s pastoral care.

These crafters are often unsung heroines answering prayers in times of need. They use the skills in their hands to serve people who are frightened, hurting or grieving. Their work reaches hospital rooms, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes and private homes. It offers comfort when words are inadequate.

Prayer-shawl ministry is not simply about knitting or crocheting. It is about showing up for another person through the gifts one already possesses.

That is ministry in one of its most personal forms.

The Gift Moves in Both Directions

Prayer shawls certainly affect the people who receive them, but the ministry also touches the makers.

The steady rhythm of knitting or crocheting can create space for reflection and prayer. Working alongside other members strengthens friendships and gives participants a meaningful way to serve. Makers often say they receive comfort, purpose and fellowship through the ministry even as they create comfort for others.

A prayer shawl therefore connects several lives at once: the person who makes it, the people who pray over it, the church that sends it and the person who ultimately receives it.

One handmade item can carry the love of an entire community.

Remembering the People Who Remember Everyone Else

Because these makers serve so quietly, it is easy for their faithfulness to go unnoticed.

Christmas offers a lovely opportunity to thank them.

A handwritten note, a ministry luncheon or a small personalized gift can let a prayer-shawl maker know that the care she gives has been seen and valued. It does not need to be elaborate. Recognition is meaningful because these women spend so much of their time making sure someone else feels remembered.

A personalized ornament can become a lasting token of appreciation. The words of Joshua 24:15—“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”—reflect the spirit behind their work. Adding the maker’s family name or the name of the prayer-shawl ministry makes the ornament especially personal.

Placed on the Christmas tree each year, it can remind the recipient that her service has become part of other people’s stories.

You can find the Joshua 24:15 ornament here.

More Than Yarn

A prayer shawl begins with yarn, but it becomes something much greater.

It becomes warmth during treatment.

It becomes reassurance during uncertainty.

It becomes companionship during grief.

It becomes evidence that someone cared enough to pray, create and give.

This Christmas, may we remember the faithful makers whose hands help carry those prayers into hospital rooms and homes. Their names may not always be announced, but their ministry is felt wherever someone wraps a handmade shawl around their shoulders and realizes they are loved.

To every prayer-shawl maker quietly serving through her craft: thank you. Your stitches have traveled farther—and touched more lives—than you may ever know.

October 15, 2026

Here Comes the Sun

Back in September, I told you about a little rally cry: We Craft at Dawn. Two ornaments rode out first, and I promised the rest of the army was on its way.

Well, the sun is up, the troops have assembled, and every one of them is here. Eight ornaments, eight crafts, one battle cry.

Each ornament is glossy white ceramic, about 3 inches, printed on both sides, and hangs from a gold string. The front carries the badge design. The back is yours: up to 100 characters for a name, a year, an inside joke from craft night, or a note to the maker you love. Personalization is included at no extra cost.

Find your craft below. Or find your crafts, because let’s be honest, most of us enlisted in more than one.

We Craft at Dawn

The one that started it all, for the maker whose answer to “What do you make?” is simply “Yes.” A craft box overflows with yarn, fabric, embroidery, scissors and brushes while the sun breaks over the mountains behind it.

See the We Craft at Dawn ornament here. A heart would be so appreciated!

We Crochet at Dawn

The first craft-specific ornament out of the gate. It’s for the crocheter who always has another project planned, another skein waiting and at least one work in progress within arm’s reach. Yarn and a hook are serious business.

See the We Crochet at Dawn ornament here. Hearts welcome!

We Knit at Dawn

The needles are ready. The yarn is wound. This one is for the knitter who casts on like she’s charging into battle and refuses to retreat until the bind-off. A deep red yarn ball sits on crossed needles under a golden sunrise.

See the We Knit at Dawn ornament here. Hearts are always welcome!

We Sew at Dawn

Crossed scissors and a seam ripper are basically a coat of arms if you sew often enough. This design has a vintage sewing machine front and center, for the seamstress who has a whole battle plan pinned to the fabric before anyone else is up.

See the We Sew at Dawn ornament here. One little heart?

We Stitch at Dawn

Hoop, needle, floss: armed and ready. This one honors the embroiderers and cross-stitchers whose patience could outlast any siege, one tiny stitch at a time.

See the We Stitch at Dawn ornament here. Your heart would mean a lot!

We Quilt at Dawn

A rotary cutter and a quilting ruler, crossed like swords, over a pieced star block in red, gold and green. Every quilter knows a perfect star block is basically a battle plan.

See the We Quilt at Dawn ornament here. Give it a heart!

We Weave at Dawn

A table loom, crossed shuttles and a warp that won’t weave itself. This is for the weaver who builds cloth thread by thread and takes on every pick like it’s the front line.

See the We Weave at Dawn ornament here. Another heart would be wonderful!

We Spin at Dawn

A spinning wheel, a bobbin of deep red yarn and a hank of raw wool. Spinners don’t just use yarn; they make it from scratch, which may be the most hardcore move in the whole army.

See the We Spin at Dawn ornament here. Hearts keep the wheel turning!

Outfit the Whole Regiment

Have a knitting group, a quilt guild or a sewing circle? Mix and match the crafts, personalize each back with a name and the year, and every member gets her own rally cry for the tree. They work just as well for Secret Santa, stocking stuffers, or the friend who taught you to craft in the first place.

Coming Next: The Mugs

The battle cry is coming to coffee mugs too. The We Craft at Dawn mug and the We Crochet at Dawn mug are already in the shop, and the rest of the army joins them over the next two weeks. Because nobody rides at dawn without coffee.

Gather your supplies. Choose your project. Pour the coffee.

We craft at dawn!

October 9, 2026October 10, 2026

Happy Birthday to Ya

Happy birthday to ya, Happy birthday, Mr. Honey. I am no longer allowed to say how old he is. The number is rather impressive, He doesn’t look, think or act anywhere near what I think someone that age should look, think or act like. Those are good things and it makes me rethink how I view people that age – since I aspire to be that age one day myself and don’t want to think, look or at like it then.

He goes out to dinner a lot thin month. His brother will take him out. So will his sister. So will I. (I already have.) If his friends remember, they’ll do something for him too. He deserves all of it for being a great brother, friend and hubby. He’d be proud, and also a little annoyed, at being singled out so we won’t tell him and we won’t make a fuss. But he can’t stop the blessings being sent his way for being such a good guy.

What’s New in the Shops

The new ‘At Dawn’ additions, The we Craft at Dawn Shirt. 5 colors. 8 sizes Shop/Heart it here.

The we Knit at Dawn Shirt. Heart it here.

October 6, 2026

All We Need Is

All we need is…..apple cider. At least today.

The mug says all i need is coffee, prayer and yarn. The prayer and the yarn are pretty much a given. The coffee is a regular of sorts. I still have not made myself coffee at home. Coffee, which I started drinking about two years ago, is still one of those luxury things for me. I don’t drink it every day the way Mr. Honey does. It is a treat for me, whether iced or hot. I didn’t understand people’s dedication to the elixir but I am converted. Except I don’t make it for myself.

So, while the mug in the photo is filled with coffee, I am drinking apple cider from Quednow Farm in Elkhorn, WI where we go every year to get apples and apple cider. I didn’t get a lot this year. We went a little late in the season and the staff there was saying it was not their best harvest year. I only picked up a dozen apples and a quart of the cider which came out really nice this season.

The apple cider is bolstering me as I rework the pattern for my Rasta Slouchy. This is one of the first hats I ever did and I have made it so much that I don’t refer back to the pattern. Recently though, I had the feeling I was making it more than a little different than the pattern I sell and that seemed a bit unfair. Opening the pattern and reading it, yep, this needs a refresh. So, that’s what I’m doing. The added benefit is that I get inventory for the shows and ready to ship for the shop. I am moving designbcb more to ready to ship and patterns and away from made to order.

The yarn and the prayer are constant: always there and always changing. Fitting the mood and the time and the piece and the maker. It is possible for some things to stay the same and change.

What do you have in your mug, cup. bottle as you work? Find the mug at StitchPrayRepeat and watch for the pattern refresh at designbcb.

October 1, 2026October 3, 2026

Ooo Baby, Baby

October kind of caught me by surprise – even though I saw it coming. It’s here and now the count down to busy season and craft season begins and I am thinking what I always think: I will not be ready.

There are things to knit. Patterns to refresh. Pictures to take. Listings to write. Then there are the things I hadn’t planned to make until I had an idea that seemed too good to leave alone. That last part might have something to do with it.

Between DesignBCB and Stitch, Pray, Repeat, I can always find something else that would be lovely to offer. A hat in another color. An ornament for another kind of crafter. A mug for the person who believes dawn is a perfectly reasonable time to start a project—as long as there is coffee.

Coming up with the idea is quick. Getting it ready for someone to buy takes considerably longer. And the ordinary work does not stop while I prepare for the extraordinary work. Orders still need attention. There is still a household, a church calendar, and a life beyond the shops. I cannot simply put everything else in a drawer until January.

Although I could probably find a drawer. Whether it would close is another matter.

I am beginning to suspect that my definition of “ready” is part of the problem. In my imagination, ready means everything is finished, photographed, listed, packed, and waiting. Every good idea has become an actual product. There are no loose ends. For someone who works with yarn, that is a fairly ambitious position on loose ends.

Perhaps I need to ask a smaller question: What needs to be ready first?

The things people already love. The things I can realistically finish. The new pieces that deserve a proper introduction, rather than a hurried photograph and a promise to talk about them later. Some ideas will have to wait. I don’t especially enjoy that part, but having an idea does not automatically give it a place at the front of the line. This I learned from years of thinking it did and still not getting it done.

So here I am again, heading into the busy season with work on the needles, products to share, and a list that could use some firm supervision. If you are also looking at the calendar and wondering how you can be surprised by something that happens every year, pull up a chair. We can commiserate together.

I would offer you coffee, but we should probably put it somewhere away from the yarn.

New in the Shops

We Craft at Dawn Mugs! As, go take a peek and heart so you can find and so the Etsy algorithm works for me!

We Crochet at Dawn
We Craft at Dawn

A New Ornament
The Stitch with Joy Ornament

September 29, 2026

I Want it That Way

I want it that way – Baked Spaghetti

I made baked spaghetti, and it turned out exactly how I wanted it to—even though I forgot part of my own recipe.

Apparently, writing the instructions does not mean I will follow them.

I started with a pound of Italian sausage, seasoned with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. While it cooked, I made sure to crumble it finely. Mr. Honey has texture issues, so I pay attention to things like that. A big chunk of sausage might be perfectly fine for me, but dinner is for both of us.

While the sausage was cooking, I diced an onion and four cloves of garlic. Once the meat was done, I drained the fat, added the onion and garlic, and let them cook for about a minute. Then I poured in a jar of meat-flavored pasta sauce I ordered from Amazon.

Nothing particularly fancy. Just things coming together in a pan and smelling like dinner. I used angel hair pasta—only four ounces, weighed dry. And before it went into the water, I broke it in half. I know that’s supposed to be a sin. I don’t know why. I’m making dinner in my kitchen, and I want my spaghetti shorter. So I break it.

I cooked the pasta just short of al dente because it still had some time ahead of it in the oven. Then I stirred it into the meat and sauce and transferred everything to a 9×13 baking dish.

Now, this is where knowing my own recipe would have been helpful.

The instructions called for mixing half of the eight ounces of shredded Italian blend cheese into the spaghetti and putting the other half on top. I put all of it on top. By the time I remembered, the cheese was already there. Into the preheated 350-degree oven it went for 20 minutes. You can see in the picture that nobody was going to have to search for the cheese.

I let it cool for about five minutes before serving, and it tasted great. The angel hair, finely crumbled sausage, sauce, onion, and garlic came together just as I had hoped, with that generous layer of melted cheese over everything.

What surprised me was how much it made. Four ounces of dry pasta sounds like such a small beginning, but with the pound of sausage, cheese, and everything else, it made enough for four meals. There was plenty left to enjoy again.

I could tell you I deliberately changed the recipe to try a different cheese arrangement, but that would be giving myself entirely too much credit. I forgot. It worked out.

Next time, I may remember to mix half the cheese in.

I will still be breaking the pasta.

New in the shops

The first tee from the At Dawn Collection has hit the shop! We Crochet at Dawn is ready with 14 colors and 6 sizes. If you know a crocheter who loves tees that celebrate the craft, click the link, heart it and share it!

September 27, 2026

Faithfully

There’s an agreement every business owner wants to make with the public: I’ll make something you want – you buy it. Without that agreement, there is no business.

It’s even more of a thing when you are asking people to give up their disposable income. I love looking at this piece. I love it in the photo and I love it even more in real time. Someone else looking at may love it, too. They can see the squishy and know it would feel great around their neck. If they didn’t just buy another cowl last week.

They may love the colors and it goes perfectly with that coat they got last year. But the $20 it takes to get it has to go into savings account because buying that car is more important.

As a person with not a lot of money, I faithfully consider all of that as I make something and consider if I am going to sell it. Of course I’m going to sell it – that’s the job. But how do I make it equitable for the buyer and for me? Because doing the work is part of the spiritual gift which also has to be considered.

I’m learning to listen as carefully as I design. I can be proud of what comes off my needles and still ask whether I’ve made a good offer. I can adjust the design, the photos, the description, or the price without pretending the work meant less. I’m learning to leave it up to someone else to take a look at it and decide ‘Is this a good choice for me?’

What’s new in the shops?

Aadi Cowl – ready to ship.
The We Crochet at Dawn Mug