A yarn

I went to a yarn store's charity knitting event today a bit blind--no clue about what the charities were or what items they wanted. I brought my big tote bag of needles and notions and a handful of yarns that are pretty suitable for gifting to vulnerable strangers (in my mind it was going to be nicu babies and chemo patients)--chenille yarn and a nylon-cotton sock yarn blend.

My yarns were all wrong for the charities in question--they had a no chenille rule, possibly because it's hard to wash because its truly the softest yarn you can get--and they wanted the cotton-nylons to only be from certain brands. Amazon/temu yarn has ruined the reputation of basic cotton-nylon blends.

I was introduced to three women while I figured out what yarn I would buy for this project--Joanne, Nel, and Diane. They were all in their early 80s. Joanne was the clear leader of the pack and set the conversational tone. She and Nel sat across from me and filled me in on the make up of all the regulars who come to the store--I was suggested a younger crowd on Wednesdays around 5 by Nel, but Joanne seemed miffed at their mention, informing me that she wouldn't go to that group because "two members had a certain attitude." I diplomatically said I work Wednesdays and Nel told me all about her old job as a nurse--Nel and Joanne both worked as nurses for over 50 years. Diane was a teacher and married a teacher and has a daughter who became a teacher.

We talked about many things--Joanne wanted to rant about how bitcoin was going to put big brother in our purchases, and I let her, but also let her know that credit cards are much easier for the government to track, and that I don't care if the government knows how many times I buy carrots and chips a month. Diane said "the whole world's mad and I'm glad I'm not going to be around for when it ends." Nel nodded and said "amen," while I just smiled uncomfortably.

I decided to make a nicu blanket because they are rectangular and I'm only a beginner-intermediate knitter. Nel tried to show me a very good cast-on--a stretchy German--but I couldn't figure it out. Diane laughed when she saw me struggling and said "Nel's always trying to get people to do that hard stuff," which made it sound like Nel was giving me a free hit of heroin to get me hooked. This was an inside thought that I managed to keep in.

We talked more about the state of the world: how shitty healthcare is, how shitty men who leave their families are--Joanne revealed her husband was gay and left her and her kids after her youngest turned 18 to go be with his boyfriend--and how shitty schools are. Diane was very passionate about just how shitty schools are, but did give them credit for allowing kids with disabilities to attend. Back in her day, they did not have the same rights to go to school. I thought about a man I knew as a boy who is training to be a sped teacher and how full his heart is.

They asked me a bit about my life, though they had been the big talkers this evening--and for good reason, they'd lived full lives and had so much more to talk about. They all warned me not to get married but then changed their minds the second I said I wanted kids, which was a signifier of good wisdom. If you want a baby, you should get married.

Diane helped me fix a stitch that I think I dropped when I sneezed but told me not to fix mistakes "unless you can see them from a horse," which is a phrase I've never heard before but love. I told her about how some cultures leave a visible mistake in their arts so that bad spirits don't get trapped. Joanne said "well, nothings getting trapped in this then," and held up a tiny mitten. It's for her great grandson.

They invited me to come back tomorrow, which is a funny thing to do to about a public store, but I said I would love to come back soon. I can't wait to hear about Diane's trip to Norway and Nel's granddaughter's wedding.