I am a Knitter. It is important to know that there is a difference between knitters and people who knit. People who knit can put it down for years and years at a time. They do simple things, and complex things, large things and small things, but while the people who knit enjoy doing it…well, they are not necessarily Knitters. Knitters are CONSUMED in small or large part with knitting. We live it, we breathe it, we have whole communities of friends we know just BECAUSE of it. We have process knitters and project knitters. We have knitters with many UFOs (Unfinished Objects) and knitters who will only have one project on the needles at a time. They are a smaller sub-set, but we have seen them! We have knitters who are into bright colors and novelty yarns and knitters who are into tweeds and fine, smooth wools. We have the wool loving, and the wool allergic, the organic cotton lovers and the lovers of the resiliency of acrylics. We have gadget happy knitters (who, me?) who love almost any and every tool involved in knitting and there are a lot more than just the needles out there, people. We will plot family vacation travel routes around where the yarn shops are along the way, even if along the way involves 20 miles OUT of the way. We speak of Elizabeth and Cat and Norah. We speak in a code of DPNS and PSSOs and Kitchener and Circs and Noro and Jojoland and Repeats that give our Muggle friends and family (non-knitters in this case) serious headaches.
The reason why we love Knitters are vast and varied. The knitting is The Great Equalizer. It brings together pairs and groups of people that would surely never find each other any other way. I do include our Crocheters/Spinners/Weavers in this group too…but for purposes of blogging…I’m not doing Knitters/Crocheters/Spinners/Weavers all the way through here!
My current group of LYS friends (Local Yarn Shop for the not-yet-fiberholics of you) is pretty interesting. We have teachers of all kinds, nurses, headhunters, engineers, social workers, retired double-dipping military, librarians, students, clergy, web designers, roller derby queens, computer nerds of all varieties, folks on sabbaticals, from all religions, ages, colors and creeds. We even have some guys and some children. It is pretty cool. Most of us would not have crossed paths with each other but for the string, pointy sticks and hooks. But what happens over time is that friends and family are created along with some beautiful pieces of wearable fiber art. In some cases, in lighting fast amounts of time and in others slowly, like a fine wine ages.
We knit and crochet and spin and do bobbin lace. We tat, we felt and we dye. We wind yarn and double ply our strands and bless out our test knits “It’s wrong…it’s wrong…it’s just wrong!”. ”I can’t see out of this hat” “That’s because it’s falling down over your eyes…think it just might be too big?” “Um, yeah.” We rip projects back inches, if not feet sometimes when they don’t behave. And we take care of each other.
We bring food to share at our weekly meeting. We facebook friend every single one of us we can find. We give each other rides when the car is in the shop. We bring food to the sick friends. We help move house when needed. We call, email, or send up smoke signals to each other when someone has been missing for awhile. As we are SHAMELESS, we have been known to send the young, cute one over to compel those who hole up at home for too long to pick said knitter up. We share our lives, our stories, our good doctors’ phone numbers, our stash, our snacks, our time. Because we love each other.
Recently, a dear Knitter has suffered the most awful, sudden loss of a child. Our friend was, no big surprise, at a fiber festival in a neighboring state when she got the horrible news. Our friend is here and her (adult) child was far away in another state. She had to fly down by herself at the last minute. But we are Knitters too. And we love her. So one Knitter talked her through her whole drive home so she wouldn’t crash. Another Knitter channeled angels and told her to make sure she told at least one flight attendant what happened so she would be looked after and make her next flight. And they did (I bet they knit). Many other Knitters and Spinners called her, texted her and sent her messages to keep her going and to see what they could do to help. All the Knitters cried for her, and the rest of her family. When the friend was talking out of her terrible grief about coming home before any services were had or any fellowship had been gathered for, the Knitters sent her a valuable donation: Another Knitter (in truth that Knitter sent herself, but she has the love and thanks of the crew). The friend has found out how many friends she had, and how much we love her. The friend seems to be surprised by all of this…but the friend does many things without thinking it’s any big deal. She designs beautiful lace knitting patterns, which bring us joy. Without many resources herself, she makes sure that homeless people in our local big city have warm hand-knitted things to help them over the cold Fall and Winter months and show them some caring. She also drags in, er, recruits others to help with this project. She holds the hand of other Knitters when their children are in a bad way and they need some comfort. She baby-sits children of our medically sidelined Knitter friends. She has been known to dog sit too. She is a Knitter. And Knitters, like so many other numbers of people that are group-specific in some way, we take care of our own.
We love you, Bead Sue. We are with you in heart, spirit and stitches. We are hurting right along with you from afar, and we will hold you and your lace-knitting hands when you get home for as many years as you need. Because you are OUR knitter.
Love, The Knitters, Spinners and Crocheters
In Memory of Kimberly White
