About 6 years ago, I started up a weekly knitting group in a nearby cafe. The local paper covered the story, I invited knitting friends to come along and I hoped others would join either by word of mouth or as a result of the newspaper article. And that is how it happened, a friendly gathering on a Tuesday afternoon for chat coffee and craft.
After a couple of months, a new woman joined us, older, less self assured, but a very competent knitter! She latched herself onto me and for a few weeks she came and went without contributing much, seemingly shy of the relaxed conversations from the rest of us .
It was after several weeks, when we were the last to leave that she told me. For two years she had been in her house, unable to leave due to severe depression. She had seen the article, cut it out, meaning to try and come. She said that for a few weeks she had got as far as the door of the cafe and then turned for home, knowing that she could not make that initial contact. It took her all the courage she could muster, not knowing what she would find or how she would be accepted - a huge leap of faith - to do something most of wouldn't give a second thought to.
I am so proud of the way she overcame her fears. She is now the stalwart member of our group - the one who sorts out all the knitting disasters for the rest of us, who teaches the new members tricky techniques, who has a pattern or just the right colour wool for someone's project. She has blossomed into a relaxed, confident and contented person. I am grateful for the many lessons she has taught me - not just 'knit two together, pass slip stitch over and repeat to end' but the power of simple friendship, the danger of making assumptions, the importance of using our hands to access our hearts and minds.
And the support we all gain from community. Sometimes, she is in full flow - telling the rest of us some story about her family- and I just look at her and marvel at the journey she has been on.
Submitted by Katie Jackson: http://www.whatkatiedid.typepad.com/
After a couple of months, a new woman joined us, older, less self assured, but a very competent knitter! She latched herself onto me and for a few weeks she came and went without contributing much, seemingly shy of the relaxed conversations from the rest of us .
It was after several weeks, when we were the last to leave that she told me. For two years she had been in her house, unable to leave due to severe depression. She had seen the article, cut it out, meaning to try and come. She said that for a few weeks she had got as far as the door of the cafe and then turned for home, knowing that she could not make that initial contact. It took her all the courage she could muster, not knowing what she would find or how she would be accepted - a huge leap of faith - to do something most of wouldn't give a second thought to.
I am so proud of the way she overcame her fears. She is now the stalwart member of our group - the one who sorts out all the knitting disasters for the rest of us, who teaches the new members tricky techniques, who has a pattern or just the right colour wool for someone's project. She has blossomed into a relaxed, confident and contented person. I am grateful for the many lessons she has taught me - not just 'knit two together, pass slip stitch over and repeat to end' but the power of simple friendship, the danger of making assumptions, the importance of using our hands to access our hearts and minds.
And the support we all gain from community. Sometimes, she is in full flow - telling the rest of us some story about her family- and I just look at her and marvel at the journey she has been on.
Submitted by Katie Jackson: http://www.whatkatiedid.typepad.com/
RSS Feed