The Gift of Being a Knitter

I just drowned a very handsome cowl made from a lovely Louisa Harding 50% Merino, 50% Silk, hand-spun and hand-dyed yarn.  I’m getting ready to wash, and then block it.

I hope I don’t look ridiculous wearing it.  But, how I might or might not look in it is not what I want to write about.  No, it’s something much deeper than that.  It’s an often over-looked facet of the wonderful world of knitters.

Precisely, it’s a lovely string of memories.  The end result, at least so far, is this trendy cowl.  Somehow I offered to make a blanket for a dear friend’s little one.  If I remember correctly, she was showing me a pattern and yarn she was having difficulty with, but was determined to make for the little bundle.  She began while she was pregnant, and the sweet one was about 6 months old at the time of our conversation. 

I said something like, “Let me do it.  The poor thing’ll be grown before you get it done.”

She gladly obliged, and some time later the blanket was delivered.  She was very appreciative and insisted I take something for my kindness.  The beautiful, burgundy skein was given to me that day. 

I didn't use it until this week, which is about a year later.  Well, I didn't knit with it until now.  But, there it sat, in plain view, for this past year as I considered one project, and then another.  More importantly, every time I saw it, I thought of the sweet lady and her precious family, and I smiled, and I thanked the Lord for them.  Sometimes my smile was visible, other times it was on the inside.

Over the months I rejected project after project for the yarn.  One wasn't worthy of the yarn’s heritage, another was not right for me and I didn't want to let go of whatever it was I made of it.  Another project required too much yarn, another would not get enough use, and on, and on, and more smiles and kind memories ensued. 

So, as I drowned the finished cowl, I realized how much I've already enjoyed its place in my life.  If I never wear this cowl, I've been blessed more than most by its very birth.

Knitter’s get warm fuzzys like this all the time.  Wanna knit now, don’t ya?