Knitting in Community

I’ve been a solo knitter for years – in fact, for most of my time as a knitter. Occasionally, my mom and I knit or crochet together, but that was more incidental than intentional.

Recently, that all changed for me.

I happened to get tagged on Facebook in a picture from back in my high school days, along with some of friends from that time in my life. I’ve lived in a number of different cities since and have lost touch with nearly everyone I was friendly with in high school. What’s remarkable is that through this picture, I discovered an old friend who happens to live less than five miles away from where I am now, in a different city in a different part of the state than where we both grew up. We both discovered that we were knitters, and now we knit on Tuesday evenings while our kids have extra-curricular activities.

What has come out of this experience for me is the opportunity to really connect with someone, and on a different level. Knitting seems to somehow relax us or drop our guards, so our conversations are about real stuff that happens to people in real life. It’s real bonding, and it happens over a hot cup of something comforting, some needles, and some yarn.

Knitting is about more than making something. It’s about connecting; it’s about friendships; it’s about community. And if you’re missing that, let me know. I’ll knit with you.