I can’t stand television show finales. They end on a bittersweet note, people dying off, moving, or starting new jobs. Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, How I Met Your Mother… Why can’t the show just end with them doing the same things with the same people, following the same comfortable routines?
And then, my storyline changed: I moved from Colorado to Tennessee. The end of the show. The end of an era! Saying goodbye to my Colorado knitting group? I was as bad as those finales I describe. Cue dramatic music and tears.
Fiber-craft groups are the life and blood of most knitters and crocheters. Soothing, therapeutic gatherings where we can rant about twisted stitches, delight in our lace, or bitch about the stitches in a safe place. It’s certainly better than a book club. The only requirement is yarn, after all. When I got to Tennessee, it wasn’t long before I ached for that space. It was lonely not having anyone to just… “knit” with.
My town is small, coming in with around 30,000 people, so having a yarn store is surprising! After some prompting from my mom, I garnered enough courage to walk through the door. Nervous smile in place, hair pushed back out of the way, and “Hi, I’m new in town.” In the back of my head, you might just make out the theme song of a new show…
The owner and staff welcomed me with open arms, inviting me to join in their Thursday evening/Saturday morning knit-ins, which soon led me to host a mystery knit-along on site. At any time of day, though, I can walk in and find people just knitting, happily chatting away around the coffee table. But, that wasn’t all I found. My local coffee shop sees a couple of different knit and crochet groups gathered around the tables. Their southern-accented laughs peel out over the sounds of the espresso machine, all the while their needles and hooks keep moving.
I haven’t quite found my “regular” group yet, but that suits me right now. Knowing these fiber-loving people are out there, coming together to share their progress, reminds me that the story doesn’t end just because the show does. Our plot just changes direction, following the yarn into its new shape and community.
