The dear friend who knit this insisted on remaining anonymous. "It's a group effort," she says about Northern Loops and our blankets,"I just happen to have more time than the others." And so she turns out these lovely warm creations for someone who will never know her name or how much she fussed over needing that last ball of wool for that mauve colour on the end to finish it properly.And she is right. It is better to be known by what we do and the stitches that we keep. The person who gets this blanket will only need to know that someone somewhere is looking after him/her. The stitches, which grow into blankets, are a statement of our faith in the fabric of our community.
I continue to learn from my knitting friends--not just stitches or tips of the craft or even patience to try something new, but the reminders about how to be a bit more wise as a human being. I know I need reminding of that and I believe that our young people need to hear it, and, more importantly to see it in action.
As I sat in the Castletown council and learned of one young person responsible for 14 acts of vandalism who had now been apprehended I was reminded that one of the reasons I started Northern Loops was three young girls playing in traffic--jumping into the street and daring each other to get close to the oncoming cars, and then jeering and making obscene gestures at any drivers who stopped. They probably think of knitting as old lady fuddy duddy and lacking the excitement of dodging in and out of traffic and they certainly don't think of themselves as "heroes is waiting"--a phrase from this morning's thought for the day on BBC. I don't know how we can reach them, but I believe they are heroes in waiting and we can welcome them around the table at Dunnet Church Hall and give them a pair of needles and let them discover just how much more they have to offer the world than they thought.
It is a timely reminder in the current clmate of watch the pennies and guard the home that we are not measured by our own things and world as much as by our interactions and the foot prints we leave in other peoples lives, I like the idea of heros in waiting but I heard of a more long term return the other day. An academic gentleman who had been a pupil, years ago of Wick High, has written his latest book for high schoolers, and the dedication was to 4 of the staff who had made a difference to his life, even if they hadnt known how much it meant to him until now. The footprints and finger pinrts we leave on other peoples lives if we know and are known or not is the true measure of a person.
ReplyDeleteThe love put into these blankets will show when they get new homes and will pass on, who ever made them, and that is the heros in waiting, I do hope the girls you saw can be drawn in by someone, if not us.