Connecting

I've spent the last couple of days nestled into the corner of a couch with a cup of coffee, three colors of wool, wooden needles and a hat pattern. Big flakes float past the window as I work, collecting on the frozen lake outside.  During a break to stretch or eat or chat with my husband, I've spotted an occasional trio of deer or a cross country skier moving across the ice. They are stick figures silhouetted in reflected light. Morning and evening fog slips in and out and I'm content to sit and knit. A couple days working yarn in winter weather making something I hope will be beautiful.....connecting me with others who practice this ancient art.

I have to admit to being a yarn junkie with probably much too much of it at home hanging out in baskets and drawers and bags. There is something irresistible about walking into a yarn store and being surrounded floor to ceiling by walls and bins of color and texture and weight. Natural fibers are a weakness......especially when I come across those that have been produced in small batches. They are the ones with a story to tell about where and how and why someone chose to spin their wool or cotton or anything else into strands. My fingers get lost in the feel. My imagination in endless possibilities. I savor the thought of taking time.....of focusing attention on making a single item. 

A few years ago I ran into someone I went to college with at a pumpkin patch close to home. We were each with our little ones and introduced them to one another. She was holding a baby who wore the most beautiful red and green fuzzy-ish sweater. When I commented on it she mentioned that the wool was from goats that she and her husband kept. The sweater was from start to finish sheared, spun, dyed, designed and knit up by her. I haven't seen this woman since, but have often thought about that sweater. I love that the single connection I still have with her is a memory of something she spent time making. 

Happy Friday......I'm heading to the yarn store......

Warmly,
    Margaret