Casbah comfort
Friday July 11th 2008, 10:40 am
Filed under: Family,Friends,Life,LYS

I love knit night at Purlescence.  I was going through serious knitters deprivation while we were on vacation and then they were too for awhile there.

So here’s the scene: I asked if I could have the shawl back that they had in the window, the Julia pattern from “Wrapped in Comfort,” a little one made out of one skein of Handmaiden Casbah on big needles to stretch the yardage as far as it could go.  It’s softer than the blue Bare one I’d been working on, and softness was something the circumstances really needed.

Kay not only gave it back to me, it had been held on the model with a shawl pin made by a local artist, which she put in my hands and asked that I send it with the shawl to the woman whose husband Marc is so very ill.

Wow.

I regretted not having the Casbah to knit the shop another one; they have it on backorder, and it hadn’t come in.

At which point a woman across the room, Mary, who’d been quietly spinning away at her wheel, and who I hadn’t even known had heard any of that, reached into her knitting bag, stood up and walked over to me, and asked how many skeins it had taken to knit that shawl that was now in my hands.  One?  Good, then!  And she held out a skeiCasbah sings the bluen, a beautiful blue, Casbah no less, and urged me to take it.

It took me a moment to sink in.  Wow.  I could knit it up and gift it in turn to the dear friends who own that shop.  And that’s what Mary was hoping I would do.  She was giving me her Casbah and blessing all of us in the face of the loss that this other woman that none of them had ever met was dealing with.  We were all in this life thing together.

I was fighting tears.  Wow.

Cast on.


11 Comments so far
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Hearing a story like that let’s you know the world is full of good and grand people. Knit on.

Comment by margene 07.11.08 @ 11:26 am

I wish I lived closer to be able to visit more often. Sadly the southbay on a weeknight is not feesible.

I love those amazing women at Purlescence. I love them, their store and what they are managing to accomplish. I am not at all suprised by this generosity. This is simply who they are.

Comment by Jamie/Moira 07.11.08 @ 11:41 am

WOW! Thats awsome 🙂
Are the fires anywhere near you? I saw on the news this am that he fires were expanding and thought of you, I hope everything is fine for you.

Comment by Danielle from SW MO 07.11.08 @ 12:05 pm

aren’t knitters the BEST!

Comment by rho 07.11.08 @ 4:43 pm

What a beautiful story – I am in tears, too!

Comment by Amanda 07.11.08 @ 5:11 pm

knitters have tremendous heart!!

Comment by grace 07.11.08 @ 5:27 pm

Knitters rock.
Crafters rock.

99.99% of everyone I have met in the handwork arena have been good, thoughtful, warm and loving folks. Knitters, crocheters, quilters, weavers, potters..
Something about the love they give to the objects they make expands their souls outward, and we all intersect.

Comment by Diana Troldahl 07.11.08 @ 5:57 pm

No fight here; the tears are sliding on down my cheeks… Knitters are the best of human kindness.

Comment by Channon 07.12.08 @ 10:53 am

I agree, knitters have kind and loving hearts.

Comment by Sonya 07.12.08 @ 5:13 pm

That’s just awesome. Right up my alley. I love anything Celtic or knotwork based.

Comment by Christy 07.15.08 @ 6:58 pm

Alison – I love it, it is probably the most heart-felt gift I have ever received, and it can still make me cry, days later – thank you so much!
Work has been *so* crazy I hadn’t managed to keep up with the blog-world, and so it was a complete surprise. *hug*

Comment by Mary Seabrook 08.04.08 @ 10:48 am



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