"facilitating"

I had been knitting for decades when I moved to Louisiana.
Decades…. Ohhh that’s creepy to think about.
Anyway, here I was in a new town and working with men, again.

I decided that I needed to meet other women. Get out and make friends.
I found a group on Yahoo and made arrangements to attend a meeting. I read up on latest trends. I subscribed to a couple of e-news letters and read them.

I was in for a surprise.

They didn’t talk knitting much.

They talked about a great deal but not knitting in and of itself.

This was great!!!

After 40 plus years of working with men in construction and usually having just about exactly one female friend I was in heaven!!!! I discussed kids, men, society, politics, even religion!

I met Neesie. She was to the oil industry what I had been to construction! She knitted. Just knitted; I got to teach her to Perl! She made gorgeous scarves. They were made of two or three strands of the most wonderful fun furs! I think I developed knitter’s envy. It gave me the guts to attempt it myself. It is fun. I do it a lot now days. Before she had to relocate I got to see here first baby blanket she had knitted for a grandchild. I miss her. I wonder if she’s still knitting on the plane as she goes all over the world or is she knitting on the porch of her home in NO.

I met Kat. She is like a mirror image of me. Warm and wonderful in every way, she is all the calm I wish I were, all the knowledge I wish I had picked up. She, however, is a technician. She tackles lace, she makes bobbles, and she does cables. I have developed the impression that she revels more in the learning of the technique ahead of the completion of the project. Again, at times I get knitter’s envy. I have begun to attempt learn to use patterns instead of looking at the picture and “getting there”. After all these years she is the sister I never had. I would have never have met her if I didn’t knit.

There was another group and another and finally a third and a fourth.

I loaded up Tori and JB and off we go. We have a large circle of friends now. Many I feel are sisters. I adore attending Roxanne’s group at the Church. It feels so good to have friends who a spiritual.

Peggy’s group was a result in a real desire to knit. She is something else. She hasn’t been knitting all that long, but she started the Chicks with Sticks and pulled all the local groups into one effort. We make doll blankets to give to children at Christmas. The inmates at the prison she works at make doll beds. The pictures and thank you notes she posted on her blog made me cry with joy.

Now after four years she needs to move her meeting night. I know I will go. I go to all of them; unless I don’t have a car…..
But there are those who can’t do Wednesday night. I understand. It looked like these wonderful gals would get left behind. Soooo I spoke up. I told Peggy I would “facilitate” the Thursday meetings. I just don't want anyone to miss out.

I wonder how I will feel to have "Melinda’s group". I suspect it will be Tori and Melinda’s group.

I suspect that little will change except that we will miss Peggy and I will get to update folks because I just saw her last night.....

At times like this I begin to see that knitting has been more than a pastime. It has helped me weave my life together.