Not a joiner

Apologies in advance if this is an overly introspective post....

Whenever I explain that I've gone in for a KAL, or an Olympics, and latterly a holiday aaaaahhh-along! or whatever, I always end up prefacing it with "I'm not a joiner, but..." And the series of icons in the sidebar may give the lie to this.



But actually, and temperamentally, it's true. While I like some YahooGroups, I leave as many as I join over an average year. I don't Facebook or Bebo and never subscribed to Friends Reunited. And while I Ravel enthusiastically albeit only at weekends really, if you've tried to friend me on Ravelry and I haven't friended you back (there are a couple of people...), it's because I'm probably just stalking your blog and trying to work out if I know you in real life, or if you're my sort of person online...


Anyway; the weather was like this when I finally drew the curtains an hour or so after I got up;


so I wrote off the idea of going into the Sunday open-air craft market in Cambridge, and I was just musing further about this "joining" thing while knitting today - it's astonishing how quickly you can knit two stocking stitch sleeves for a one-year-old, even with a bit of colourwork - and realising how fortunate I've been in joining a couple of things over the last few years. The first was the KTog in 2004; Rosie came up and introduced herself while I was knitting at the Mill Pond on my birthday thaat year, and four and a half years later I can't imagine how I did without it! And through Rosie I found out about UKHandKnitters, and through UKHandKnitters I found out about SkipNorth, and it all went uphill from there really. Not sure how I found out about I Knit - I think that might have been UKHK as well though.


I have made some good friends in those groups over the years, and it was lovely to see people yesterday. I think, having always been one of those people who's happier in the kitchen at parties, it's been brilliant to meet people you already have something in common with, and then find that they also share an interest in Art Nouveau, or heavy rock, or forensic detective novels, or Seamus Heaney, or the US political system... I think I'm gradually coming out of the kitchen...


In one way, however, I remain a fervent non-joiner. I'm sewing up seams on a sweater today. It's a sweater for a small, small child, and I'm still blogging to avoid sewing up those seams... It will be finished this evening. It will, it will, it will...

And just for once, the Bug actually looked at me when I did those "look here, cat" gestures any cat-owning taker-of-photographs makes. I can't work out whether this is "oh mistress I adore you" or "I wonder if I could maim that finger from here". Could go either way.

The winter coat is definitely In Development. Not fast enough, though - she's been through about 5 sachets of cat-food today which always signals she's not grown enough hair yet... Note to self: leave more out tomorrow.