A prayer shawl

A dear friend recently had a serious heart attack, so as a knitter, the first thing I did was run for my needles.

My friend is a magnificent poet - like chaucer on a good day -and a sensitive, woman who feels things more deeply than the rest of us. So I knit her a blankie a, well, as I said in my letter, "This is a machine-washable hug. Each square has four hundred stitches, and every stitch in this shawl carries a prayer and a heartbeat of love.

While healing, you will want to spend some time sitting quietly, and this shawl will keep you warm while you are sitting and thinking and growing strong.

You will be going in for tests, and the nurses will give you one of those flimsy gowns and leave you alone in a cold room with maybe one thin sheet. Insist on taking your shawl. Not only will it give you a thermal layer, it will give you control over your environment. It will remind you that you are enwrapped in good wishes. It will comfort and cuddle you like a teddy bear. It will be a source of amusement and a topic of conversation.

While knitting the yellow and multi-colored parts, I prayed that your vivid humor and clarity would shine like sun and flowers. While knitting the greens, I prayed that you would be renewed like the grass. While knitting the beighes, I prayed that you would be strong like a lion. While knitting the pinks, I prayed you would be brave like a woman.

If this is too odd and bulky to actually drag around with you, you have my free and joyful permission to give it to the dog and just carry the spirit of the shawl with you, to fold yourself in love and prayers.

Take your time healing. You need to do a thorough job."

I share this letter with you, my dear blog buddies, in case anyone wants to borrow a few words for a friend of yours. As knitters, it's our job to keep people warm. And the longer we stay in this world, the more occasions we will have to do it.