At Its Essence

Knitting may not, on the surface, seem relevant to engines that run the world, but at its essence, it is actually quite vital. For knitting, which can express so many emotions, most often expresses love. And when all else is lost, love is what most often stays with us.

                                                                                              –Melanie Falick

To console someone who has experienced loss, to celebrate a new life, to nurture someone who is ill, I most often turn to knitting. Usually it is when life is at its most intimate and vulnerable that words fail to express how much I care. And so, it is in the act of selecting the project, picking the perfect pattern and yarn, and sitting down to create something for someone that knitting becomes the only thing I can think of to do.

Every single stitch becomes infused with the love I feel for that person. Thousands upon thousands of stitches culminate into one entity. All my disjointed thoughts, worries, intentions, wishes, and love come together into this one thing. In the case of a shawl, this one thing becomes the literal embodiment of a hug.

Reading the news and following the horror that is real for millions of refugees and immigrants around the world, I ache for a way to help. There are millions of people in crisis right now, and I am just one human. What can I do? Fortunately, there are people and organizations in place to provide appropriate, immediate help.

It is my goal with this next auction to offer one shawl to help raise money to benefit the International Rescue Committee, who “helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and regain control of their future.” It is my hope that my small offering will contribute to a greater good, that it will provide tangible assistance to those in crisis.

The current shawl up for bid is the Color Affection shawl by Veera Valimaki. It is knit out of three colors of a spongy-soft merino wool/nylon blend yarn that is hand-dyed by a local Utah artisan, The March Hare. It is bright, squishy, has a lovely drape, and is easy to wear.

Please feel free to share this post with anyone and everyone, because the higher the bidding goes, the more impact this one beautiful shawl can have.

• The opening bid starts at $50 and begins NOW.
• Please bid in whole dollar amounts.
• All bids need to be within the comment thread of this blog post in order for everyone to keep track of the highest bid.
• I will close the auction at 8:00 PM MST on Wednesday, February 15th.
• When the auction is over, I will send the winner an email; the winner must donate directly to the IRC within 48 hours and then forward the confirmation email to me as proof; I’ll coordinate getting the shawl to you by February 27th.
• If the winner lives away, I will cover the cost of shipping the shawl via Priority Mail.
• Once again, 100% of the proceeds of the winning bid will go towards the cause, this time the IRC (please click on link to watch video).

Much love to all of you…and happy bidding!

My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.                 

–Desmond Tutu