pen pals

I remember when I was in grade 5 - our teacher arranged for us to be pen pals with another school. It wasn't very far away, certainly in the same district, but far enough away that we didn't know any of the kids we were writing to. Elizabeth and I kept in touch through the school year, and a little bit beyond that. We gradually lost contact over the next few years. Fast forward 4 years later - grade nine. Small fish in a big pond. My high school drew from about 3 or 4 middle schools, and my middle school sent very few kids to this particular high school, so those of us that went were pretty close knit (most of us had been in school together since the first grade). We made up a small contingent of the incoming grade nine class. You know what's coming next - the 10 or so of us that had been in grade 5 together met up with a contingent of niners from another middle school - yep, our pen pals were there! At the time, we were very impressed with how it worked out. Of course, looking back now, it seems out grade 5 teachers knew what we didn't - that for the most part, we would meet up again in grade nine, since she knew how the school boundaries worked. Still, at the time, it was very cool.
What the internet has given us (certainly me), is the opportunity to recreate the concept of pen pals. Maybe not in the traditional sense of the word - there are very few hand written missives being sent along snail mail routes. Email and forums (fora?) and chat rooms have become the new pen pal venues. I know, whenever I log into the Knitting.About.com forum, I will see familiar names, and some new ones. Many of the posters I consider friends in a loose sense of the word. For the most part, we've never met, and probably will never meet. Others have become friends in our 3-D lives (Hi Lucky! Hi Tracy! And some become a little bit more than just a name on a screen. Take CatBookMom for example. A while ago, on the forum, she made a comment on Chibis, those bent tip darning needles that everyone in the US seems to be talking about. I commented that, being Canadian, I have never seen them in the LYS's I frequent. (Admittedly, I rarely venture to downtown Toronto - I'm a suburban chik!) She took pity on me and sent me this




How cool is this? All the way from Burbank, CA. (I will always associate Burbank with Johnny Carson) And, she is promising to come to Toronto to visit. In summer, she says. I think our winters scare her. CBM - anytime you want to come, Lucky and I will roll out the hand knitted carpet. I'll even try to wrangle the Yarn Harlot for you. (I'll have to bait the traps with beer, veggie quesadillas and the promise of more new yarn at Tove's).

By the way, I still write letters. Not to my original pen pal, but my university roommate now lives near Cincinnati, and I have a cousin in St. Sauveur, Quebec. I write (intermittently, I admit) to both. There's nothing like getting a hand written envelope in the mail.

CBM, get ready. I know I promised Fleece Artist in return, however, all the FA I have is sock weight - not your favourite. I went to my LYS, but her supply of FA was not what I was looking for (as much as I love the Chibis, I coudln't bring myself to send you the FA cashmere. But if you come to visit this summer, I'll bet some goes home with you!) I wanted to send you someting uniquely Canadian, so may I introduce you to Shelridge Farms. (can you see the little flag on the label?) Four ply, worsted weight, hand dyed, superwash wool. Sproingy, delicious, and the blue and purple you crave. The blue is called Misty Blue, and is nicer than the picture shows. The purple is Eggplant, and the depth of colour is wonderful. Mix them up. use them individually, whatever turns your crank. I just hope you enjoy them as much as I will the Chibis. Now I can start sewing in the ends on projects!
(I'm heading to the post office tomorrow, right after I go to the dentist. Sending luscious wool to a friend should offset the bad karma of a dental cleaning.)



And speaking of karma, help me deflect the bad stuff away from Stephanie - she had a book deadline and a shawl deadline both coming up on Saturday. We really want her to make both, so I've offered myself up as a "bad karma sacrifice", so that she gets only the good vibes. Dude, I've got your back.