I really love my knitting group! We had one of our twice weekly meetings today and I came away with such a good feeling that I had to sit down and write about it. It helps me to prolong that warm glow I always experience after our get-togethers.
Knitting, crocheting, in fact, all the fiber arts, are not just about the production of a finished object, or even the process of creating something. They are also about community. Community as found in the old-fashioned quilting bee or in the very modern online communities, such as Ravelry. I am a member of Ravelry and spend quite a bit of time discussing knitting and crochet related topics in forums, and connecting with fellow knitters and crocheters through shared projects in individual groups I belong to. Most of these people, however, I will never meet in person. So when I need that face to face connection with people who share my passion I rely on my knitting group.
The members of our group are of diverse ages (15-60+), backgrounds, and levels of experience. We give each other encouragement, support, and instruction. We share patterns, books, magazines, and yarn. We even go on yarn buying expeditions to the "big city" together. My life is richer because of my involvement with this group. Moving to a new home in an area of the country far removed from what I was familiar with has been invigorating, but I have also experienced a certain amount of displacement. Since joining this group, I feel I've found my place here in the Southwest. It's like in the theme song from the old TV series "Cheers": it's a place "where everybody knows your name." And that's a good feeling.
1 comment:
Good words.
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