Knit 2 Together

I feel I am so out of touch with the virtual knitting world. I haven't visited bloglines for almost three days. The number of posts waiting for my attention must be quite large by now. I haven't been able to find time for my own blog this week despite of having knitting progress to show. Having said that, this week I was reminded how important it is to stay in touch with the real knitting world I live in.

I've been so busy since the holidays, that my weekly knitting time with Tina hasn't happened. Yesterday morning, I received a call from my friend requesting an emergency session and could it be anywhere but her home. In the background, I could hear her normally cute, well-behaved two year old crying like a banshee. The stress in her voice was so thick I could almost see it.

We spent the evening enjoying sushi, coffee, quiet conversation, and knitting. Scarves were our project of choice for the night. The simple pattern - garter for her, stockinette for me - allowed us to concentrate on catching up and letting go of the emotion of the day. No distraction from the yarn that flowed through our fingers. I realized how much I had missed my grrl time with her.

If it weren't for knitting, we would never have been more than colleagues at work. Our lifestyles and personalities differ in ways that would not have led to a meaningful connection through casual work contact. Infact, our friendship was the result of her husband asking me to help Tina knit a real item. Apparently, her instructor from the store had said she wasn't ready for a real garment - she should practice more swatches. Working together on her first project, a felted purse, we found the things that made us friends.

At the coffee house, the wall displayed a quote. "What person are you today?" She and I talked about the past three years of our friendship and the changes we've witnessed. She's become a mother. I've become a wife. We aren't the same persons we were then, but our shared love of knitting has kept us friends.