No Fear

Every Friday around lunchtime I get together at a coffee shop with my friends Sue and Beth and we knit or crochet. We've been doing this since January and we always have a most excellent time. We laugh and chat and discuss Project Runway and sometimes we even get some knitting done. Currently, I'm working on a smallish Fair Isle tote that will eventually get felted. The pattern was a freebie from this great shop. For the base color I'm using some dark purple blue lopi lite left over from the very first sweater that I knit. The pattern originally called for using the lovely Noro Kureyon for the contrasting yarn which produces a wonderful variegated wave of color. Since I wanted to knit this bag from yarn that I already had, I'm using two odd balls of stuff that my sister Brenda hand spun and sent to me. They're a sort of medium periwinkle blue with bits of other colors thrown in. I am pretty sure that she spun them quite a while ago because there are some odd bumps and thin patches in the yarn. It's the perfect yarn for felting. Now, should anyone jump to the false conclusion that I am dissing Brenda's spinning skills, I must state that the yarn she spins now is a flawless work of art. She has gifted me with some loverly hand spun yarn that, were I not such an exceptionally fine sister, I would not be worthy of. Brenda told me today that she's sending me half of her massive yarn stash and her collection of Addi Turbos next week. Not really, but she did promise to send me some tasty alpaca yarn.
Back to the felted tote....the fair isle pattern is super simple and since it's knit in the round, it's a perfect project for someone new to working with two colors of yarn. My friend Sue completed one of these bags in less than a week and she had never done two stranded knitting before. But then again, she's a knitting wizard. Last month she knit a scarf the length of the Great Wall of China while watching the summer Olympics. Not really, but she was a mad knitting fool for those two weeks!
Today before we went to meet Sue at the coffee shop, Beth and I went to The Yarnery to look at yarn and fondle the fabulous sample projects in the store. When Beth picked me up at my house she noticed the treadmill that I have in the entryway. I said that Adrian and I had bought it after I broke my neck last year so that I'd have an easy way to get some exercise. I mentioned how after my accident things like walking on icy streets and going down steep stairs made me kind of nervous. Beth, in her wise, matter of fact way, reminded me that do I have two titanium rods bolted to my spine which makes my neck plenty strong because it's re-enforced. It's certainly not going to break again with all that metal attached to it! I laughed because she was absolutely right, but later on when I was thinking about it, I had one of those wonderful AHA! moments. The truth is, the accident shook my confidence and made me feel physically vulnerable. I do still have some bad days and the pain can be frustrating, but I think that it's time for me to let go of some of that fear that I've been hanging on to. Today I accepted that my neck is strong and chances are pretty darn excellent that I am not going to re injure myself. Which is why I've decided to go cliff diving this weekend. Not really, but I am going camping next week and I will try to go on a few challenging hikes.
Beth is amazing. She could have very easily said "Get over your fear Pam, it's time to move on with your life". But she would never ever in a million years do that. Instead she said something that prompted me to reach that conclusion on my own. Beth is all about letting people be in charge of their own life and their own destiny. Clever woman, that Beth. She's running for president this year and everyone should vote for her. Not really, but I'm really lucky to have her as a friend.