Friends and new beginnings…

Right now I have come in here to take the chance to write a quick blog so that I can take my mind off of Wool@J13 prep.  The car is loaded, my palms are sweaty and my best friend will soon be with me to give me a hand all weekend (I have the best friends).

In fact, I have amazing friends.  I have friends like the glorious Hester, who made the WIP bags and hook cases for me.  I have friends like Michelle, who made the dopamine and teapot stitch markers for me. Friends like Sue who encouraged me to try this on my own.  And Sam, who has given me common sense and support in equal measure. You can’t do something like this on your own.  You need your support crew.

The blog has been even quieter than normal whilst I have been in the throes of all this.  Shawl club has started again and so I have been developing patterns on top of the show prep.  Outside of Yarnworld, I have started my new job (going OK so far) and I am on the school PTA which is also, it turns out, something of a major time commitment with fundraising.

And I didn’t get a chance to tell you about the amazing send off I got from my old work colleagues.  They decided that they would all buy me yarn or yarn-related goodies for my leaving present, and so I have 4KG of yarn, everything from hand-dyed luxury through to pretty and functional acrylic.  A friend briefed everyone well.  I struggled to find places to put it all, but I got there in the end!

The best bit was the memory box a colleague made.  I had no idea she was crafty, but I was pulled to one side and told to open an envelope.  Inside was a piece of card which was printed with memories that people had from their time working with me.  Some words were in bold, and those words, I was told, were captured in the box.  The box was a perspex cube, which contained a miniaturised representation of my office.  Everywhere in the ‘room’ were tiny objects, and each one was linked to one of my colleagues’ memories of working with me.  It was beautiful and unexpected, and it serves to remind me that sometimes you can affect people without realising it.