Making A Thing For A Friend

Well, how about that? I have a finished thing to show you!



This little scarf is made from some of my precious handspun from Wendy Black. It was a gift for Susie, which I gave her tonight. This leads me to think about two things:



1. So far, with the handspun which I received from Wendy in exchange for the painting I did for her, I have made 4 small projects and given away one skein. The one skein I gave to Amy, because it screamed her name too loudly to ignore. The projects were:
- a small creature (a travel charm) for my brother Dan
- a Flower Basket Shawl for my Mom
- a "Chanson on Crochet" capelet for Bel
- this scarf for Susie. The pattern is from Phildar book #440, which is still available from their website, though I think it's only available in French. I made the scarf fairly short, to wear draped around a jacket collar, or fastened with a pin, or tied like an ascot, or... well, as an accessory. I love how it turned out, and it was really fun to make. Plus, it looks great on Susie.

I really, really want to make things for myself with this yarn, because I adore every single meter of it. Apparently it was instead designed to carry messages of love. Wendy, is this a trick of yours? I swear, I will make at least one thing for myself before this beautiful yarn is all gone!



2. Spending an evening with Susie is definitely in my top small number of things to do with an evening. Often when we hang out, I am reminded of the things I look for in a friend, now that I am old enough to have learned a bit about what I do and do not want in the people I choose to spend my time with. One of the things I was thinking about is this:

When I spend a few hours with a friend, I would like to feel replenished afterwards, instead of drained. I don't want to feel resentful, like I have given a friend the best of myself that I could during the time I was with them, and that it wasn't enough. I don't want to feel like I have poured myself into a black hole or a sucking wound. I don't want to feel used. Instead, I want to feel like I have shared and been shared with, and that my friend and I are both the richer for the time we spend together. That isn't to say that I can't be the shoulder to cry on for a friend who's had something bad happen or is going through a rough time, but I've been in friendships before where that was all the relationship consisted of, and I have to tell you, I'm done with it.

I feel very replenished tonight. :)