It is three years since the terrible day, the terrible day, when I lost my husband and I was lost.   Once upon a time, I was a professional quilter.  People would bring me the bits and I would quilt them together on a giant industrial machine.   But, I found myself unable to work.   A friend suggested that I come to a knitting circle with her, so I went.   In this time I have knitted two sweaters,

 

hats and neck warmers,

 

an image of my favorite monster, Cthulu,

 

little shawls,

 

and innumerable scarves.

 

 

Some I wear, some I have given away, but most of these sit in the box.  People sometimes ask ‘What am I going to do with them?   Do I want to donate them to a charity?’   The answer is always “No”.   They just exist in the box, that is their purpose.

This is the latest thing I finished.  A friend recently died quite unexpectedly.   She was working on this baby afghan for another friend’s first grandbaby.  This was mostly done, and it was one of her last wishes that this project be finished, so I completed this for her.

There is something soothing in the mechanical action of forming stitch after stitch.   The project takes shape, comes together and is complete, a tiny bit of order in the chaos of life.