A new knitter moved into town a few months ago. I think some folks expected a showdown like the old days of gunslingers shooting it out on the main street. What would the knitting equivalent of that be? Some folks did take a bit of umbrage that this new knitter acted as if she had just invented knitting for charity and chose to put herself at the centre of the gratitude and the giving, but that is, after all, just a detail. So she staked another day in another church hall and got a handful of knitters and they did what knitters do--made things for people who--we hope--need them and like them.
If Martha Washington and her handful of ladies had not taken a wagon into Valley Forge and knitted and darned and stitched and spun, then that grisly winter would have taken an even more desperate toll than it did.
I confess I took pride in upholding the first law of Maimonides that the best giving is where both the donor and the recipient are anonymous with our charity knitting, but now it is personal with me. I asked my pals to knit along with me for someone we know.
Because she is a private person, I will not put her name or relationship or anything like that here. She does not want to be thought of any differently because of her health issue. I have to respect that if I am going to help.
And helping is what it is all about. In the way of magical thinking, which we all invoke when faced with the too many things we cannot fix, I've learned a new cast on and learned how to use yfwd and skpo to make designs. I've picked designs that mean something to me and to the shawl-ee and asked all my friends to pick designs that mean something to them. And it is wonderful to hear reports of the incredible talent and imagination my friends are bringing to the task. Together we'll come up with the 46 squares that comprise the Herring Girl Wrap (you can find it on Ravelry if you're curious).and certainly all that good will and imagination will work its magic.
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