Writers On Knitting

I realize I've been gone for a while and hopefully soon I'll show you what I've been up to (because it clearly hasn't been blogging), but for today I wanted to bring to your attention a wonderful piece of writing by one of my favorite authors, Barbara Kingsolver.  In the latest edition of Orion Magazine is a piece by Kingsolver about knitting.  I am constantly in awe of her way with words, the way she can so perfectly put into words those feelings and emotions that I thought could only be felt, but never expressed.  And here I am again at a loss (I've deleted the rest of this paragraph more than once), unable to describe in words how easily her writing is able to reach into that deepest part of your being and express the truth, pen to paper, of an experience, belief, emotion... that pure humanness that connects us all.

Here's a link to her article, I suggest you all read it.  She has managed to capture so beautifully what knitting means to us.  And not just making hats or sweaters, but spinning, dying, shearing and raising sheep, sitting in a barn... everything.

And if you look closely at the bottom of the article, it mentions that this piece will be published in a book, Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting.  I have to say, if the other contributors to that book are as thought-provoking as Barbara Kingsolver, I'll be first in line when that book is published.

And just because I can't stop myself now that I'm talking about her writing, if you're dying to read more of her work, may I recommend Animal Dreams?  The characters she creates in that book are so heartbreakingly raw and vulnerable, and relatable, that you can't help but be moved by the story.  I made the mistake of reading it in public while traveling and found myself unable to stop crying in the Minneapolis airport, in the Dallas airport, and 20,000 feet above the ground.  It was so moving and therapeutic.  It was exactly what I needed.