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PICKING UP THREADS

This was written in
2007
so is now very dated

A little while ago, on one of the internet knitting lists there was a thread entitled ‘How do you know when you’ve arrived in knitting?’

For the uninitiated, perhaps I should explain what that means. An internet list (in this case, a knitting list) is a group of people, with a common interest, who can send messages to each other with a few clicks of a computer mouse. Some lists have only a handful of members. This particular list happens to have around six thousand. They live in all parts of the world though the majority are from US, Canada, UK and Australia. To join a list you usually have to register, be approved, and agree to keep the rules laid down by the ‘owners’ of the list. Rules vary enormously. Some lists are very free-and-easy, others insist on strictly adhering to the topic and not doing anything that might offend others.

A message can be sent to the whole group or to an individual in the group. Messages sent to the whole group generally pass the eye of a ‘moderator’ or ‘List Mom’. Members decide how they want to receive the messages and can usually choose between receiving each message immediately or as a daily digest though, in reality, these rarely arrive daily. There may be several in one day, on a busy list, or perhaps only one per week on a small list. You can also choose not to have any messages sent to your computer and then log on to the list and read the messages online whenever you want to.

Clearly, even though members may have the same interests, not all messages appeal to all members. Some messages may be simple comments or thoughts that nobody feels the urge to reply to. Others may be cries for help and there is generally someone ready to offer advice and encouragement. The replies become a kind of conversation which is known as a thread. A few provoke long-running discussions – which is what happened with ‘How do you know when you’ve arrived in knitting?’

Every day there were accounts of knitters’ triumphs, ranging from finishing the first row of a scarf to designing and making an elaborate Shetland shawl or a sweater to fulfil all the desires of a grandchild. There were hundreds of personal stories.

I sat at my computer many times, intending to add to the thread but never managed to compose a message because so many things came to mind as points where I had achieved something and surprised myself with what I had done. These weren’t arrivals, they were brief resting points and the road ahead was always there but with no signposts to say where it eventually led. The more I thought the more difficult it became. I have been wandering this route for fifty plus years and I still don’t know where it’s taking me. I don’t want to know but I will continue to follow its twists and turns for as long as I am able.

This path has never been the Road to Damascus. There has not been one defining moment that led me where I am now. It has been a series of circumstances and opportunities that have combined together, sometimes showing a clear, open road ahead and sometimes leading to a misty bog. As with any journey, much of it is now forgotten but I am left with many memories of events along the way. This is an account of the bits I remember.

1. JOINING THE THREADS