Sunday, January 27, 2013

The Gift Within the Gift

This Christmas, my lovely sister-in-law, Ruthie, sent me a delicious skein of yarn, made with fine merino wool, cashmere and silk, and dyed a deep, rich, garnet red.  This yarn is just dreamy.  Soooo soft and warm.  She stipulated that it was to be made into something for me - a treat!

You'd think that I would know exactly what I would want to make.  Well, no.  Especially lately.  I've been having these creative voids these days - a combination of burnout after the busy holiday crafting season and cabin fever, I think.  Mostly I've spent a lot of time groping this yarn, trying to get a feel (literally) for what it might want to be.

One thing I know:  I want this yarn next to my skin a lot, for sure.  Hat, scarf, cowl, mitts, socks, some kind of shoulder wrap?  Lacey or solid?  What stitch pattern(s)?  Dimensions?  Use a pattern already written or create my own?  Use the yarn alone or add in other yarns?  Add beading?  Fringe?  Ribbon?  Oh, the possibilities!!

The design process can be overwhelming. And yet...

It strikes me that the real gift I have received here isn't just a skein of beautiful yarn.  I've been given the gift of endless possibility and the opportunity to uniquely express myself.  I've been given the gift of another's confidence in my creative ability.  Best of all, I've been given the gift of having people in my life who understand that, for me, a simple skein of yarn means so much.  

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