My Traveling Mercies

I wonder how many independent and stubborn knitters in the world who, like myself, have all but banned the books written by the 'most popular' modern-day Knitting Gurus from their bookshelves because they see it as hopping on a bandwagon, going main-stream or being too trendy for them.

I have to admit...I never had the desire to read any of the Yarn Harlot's stuff before today. 

Yarn Harlot Casts Off

 I thought it was cool for her to get to have photos of thousands of people holding her socks, or her holding other's socks in progress on the needles (as is her signature move) while she travels to speaking engagements all across the globe.  I guess I felt like she must have enough fans without me becoming one.  Does that make any sense?  Maybe it was jealousy.  Maybe I felt like it should be me.

I don't know...anyway...here's where the Traveling Mercies post title comes in.  Today at the library, I came across one of her books called Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off - The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting.  Now, anything having to do with traveling just intrigues me.  Well, this was a knitting book with a travel theme!  Doubly interesting!  When I scanned through the book, I noticed the clever way she compared knitting to traveling.  It really got my attention.  So, I checked it out. 

I came home and started to read it.  I was extremely INTO the book, almost instantly.  I thought to myself, "Oh no.  I'm becoming a Yarn Harlot Fan!"  Argh!!!!  The thing that I didn't want to do!  I didn't want to become some sort of freaky fanatic who drives three hours to get my photo taken holding a Yarn Harlot sock!  I didn't want to give up being 'too avant-garde for the Best Seller List Club'. 

Then, I saw them...three or four words within the first few chapters.  Words that you don't want your young children repeating.  As harmless as they are to most people in today's society, the words suck, hell and crap were never allowed in our vocabulary growing up.  I don't even use them to this day out of respect for my elders (who probably blurt them out on a regular basis by now)...in fact this post is the first time in 35 years that I have ever spelled them out in that context.  It's just the ultra-moral conservative code I have made for myself. 

So...NOW I have a reason to retreat, right?  NOW I have a reason to put the book down.   I mean, I WILL NOT read such things written by someone called a Yarn HARLOT!

Would you believe, two years ago, I would have stopped reading at the first offensive word?  In fact, I may not have checked it out at all for the sake of the moniker 'Yarn Harlot' alone.  It's true!  That's how I lived my life.  You couldn't say 'butt' in my presence without me either sneering, scolding or marking you as an uncouth lout for using such a word.  "We don't say that word...say 'bottom' or 'rear-end'".  Seriously, you know people like that, don't you?  Are you such an individual?

Craftster Ad

Well, I am so proud to say that within the last two years I have certainly mellowed and learned a lot about acceptance, tolerance and love.  Can you guess from where I've learned these things?  Well, I'll tell you...from a wonderful on-line crafting community.  I joined Craftster.org about two years ago and it opened my eyes to different cultures, ways of life and camaraderie that I had never known before.  I quickly found that I could either cancel my membership because I saw some posts with words that I didn't like to read and realized that some folks there were of different sexual and religious persuasions than I was, or I could stay in that super-creative atmosphere and learn so much from crafters from all over the world.  Obviously, I decided to stick it out and not run away from fear of the unknown. I tell you, I learned a lot more than great crafting techniques there.  I seriously learned to connect with and not 'disconnect' from people who did some of the things in the morally grey area that I saw as 'wrong' in the morally black and white world in which I lived.

So, my friends and family...I'm a changed woman.  I know some of you who are  'on the straight and narrow' will be just as narrow as I used to be in your thoughts about my revelation, but I really can't help that.  You may think, "Well, that's what she gets for consorting with sinners."   I know that's what you might be thinking because I had the same thoughts you do about it for the first 30 years of my cognitive-thought life. It's what I was taught. Oh...and if you are offended and think that I could not be referring to YOU, then chill!  I must not be talking about you.  Hee-hee.   

Obviously, not everyone can relate to this way of thinking...but I really used to feel sorry for people like me.  I felt as though they had lost 'the righteous way'...and had fallen into a sea of mediocrity. Please, my dear family and long-time church-going friends...may I put your mind at ease?  I feel set free!  I have had a world of people put before me and I've been asked to love them, genuinely.  And only now can I love them, faults and all.  So, be encouraged...because that means that I can even love myself now.  My imperfect self...and even you, too!  :-)  Even if you say the word 'butt'!  Whoa! 

So...back on topic.  Today, I've become a Yarn Harlot fan. You may even see a photo some day of me standing next to her with a sock in both of our hands!  I can't wait to finish reading this book.  It even made me cry two times thus far.  Not because it's sad in any way...but I had to shed a few tears for being blessed with the Traveling Mercies that have led me to a greater love of people, art, hobbies, excellent authors, traveling, culture, tolerance and humility. 

I am forever your humble creative friend,

RM