My second marriage fell apart in January 2000. In June of 2001, I opened a small needlework shop in Glenwood Springs called Needles & Pins. I lost my shirt with that business. Twice, actually. But, like buying TOW-Wanda and camping helped me heal after losing Mr. Virgo…that little shop helped me heal and find my long lost self-confidence after my 21 year marriage ended. I mostly sold cross-stitch supplies, a little needlepoint, some gift items, and eventually branched out and sold some yarn.

I’m not an accomplished knitter, but I did knit a cute little dress for my first grandchild. I have knit socks and hats and scarves. But once my shop closed and I got rid of most of the inventory, I was pretty burned out on needlework. Since Mr. Virgo died, I haven’t really been able to concentrate on anything like this. I don’t have the attention span to watch a movie, let alone knit something to completion.

We were exploring Kitty Hawk the other day. We were looking for some really good cheese to eat while sitting on the beach and found a little wine and cheese bar called Trio. And, a couple of doors down is a yarn shop. Knitting Addiction is two stories of brightly lit space filled with a cornucopia of yummy yarns. I have always enjoyed knitting socks because it’s a relatively small project that you can work on in the summer without feeling like you’re wearing a winter coat. They go pretty fast, and they make lovely handmade gifts for the special people in your life.

I talked with the shop owner, Jeanne. I told her it had been years since I could concentrate enough to knit. She got it. She has this pattern for socks, she told me. She wrote it herself for people who don’t like terribly complicated stuff but still want to create cool things. Sign me up! We went through the cool yarns and I picked out a couple. Her pattern is knit using four double point needles…three holding stitches and one for working the rows. Now, it’s been twenty years since I knit socks that way. I’ve always used the book “Socks That Soar” which uses two circular needles. I was afraid it would be too much, but I really, really wanted to try.

I sat down that night and looked at the pattern and I could feel that familiar glaze forming over my mind and I thought, “Uh-oh…I’ve just wasted my money.” Then I ran my fingers over the soft yarn. I thought of how my daughter asked me to knit her another pair of socks years ago. She never asks for anything, but I just couldn’t do it. I was determined not to give up. When we were out and about yesterday, I asked Mr. FixIt to drop me off at the yarn shop for a little while. I wanted to sit down with Jeanne for a little refresher course.

Jeanne was wonderful and showed me how to cast on and join in the round. It was like riding a bicycle…I picked it right up. I do have to work on my tension. I take tension VERY seriously…and it shows in my very tight knitting stitches. Jeanne carefully took out my cast on stitches and knit them with the proper tension that I can duplicate.

Here’s something interesting. When I meet people like Jeanne, I am often asked “What do you do?” Then the story comes out about being a writer and a speaker and a gypsy. I tell about TOW-Wanda and The Grand Adventure and the reason behind it. But this time, Spirit said…”Less is more.” So I talked about my needlework shop. Nothing about the blog or loss or Mr. Virgo. Last night, when I was writing this post, I couldn’t remember the shop owner’s name so I went to her website. On it, I found her blog. Her latest post disclosed she had lost “sweet guy” in October. And while she was doing ok, she was still struggling. She asked people to come in with a smile or pictures of the grandbaby with the new woobie you knitted for her. She asked you to make her laugh. Ohhhh, I can SO relate to that.

What made me thank God last night was this…He told me to “go see this lady. Don’t tell her of your pain. Have her help you relearn something you used to love doing. Make her laugh, even when she tells you she is struggling today. And I will renew for you this love affair with yarn.” I love the shoulder taps.

And…I made her laugh. ❤

“For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10:20‬ ‭ESV‬‬