I am a knitter. It’s a hobby as well as an addiction of sorts. I get to take raw material and watch it become something. See the unfolding pattern of a design and participate in the process. Taking different strands, different colors... putting them together and seeing what will happen is the coolest thing.
I am also a Felter. This means that I have taken my “addiction” to another level. I take anything made of wool and heat it up, toss it about in a very hot washing machine with some soap and get it very agitated. And it’s not just yarn... You can often find me browsing about Goodwill looking for old wool sweaters to experiment with. Taking something old and seeing what can be made new again with felting... a garment that was first seen as weak, frayed and falling apart can become strong and brand new.
I do this because I know the secret to Felting...
Anything that is felted has the ability to protect against cold and insulate against heat. It can absorb and hold moisture, and can be cut without fraying. Felting is actually the oldest form of material. Older even than spinning weaving or knitting. The felting process takes advantage of what’s already there in the wool and hairs.
“The hairs are made up of unidirectional scales, and they are also naturally kinked. It is this combination which reacts to the friction of the felting process, forcing the scales on the hairs to lock together and thus causing the phenomenon of felting. It tends to work well with wool fibres because their scales, when aggravated, readily bond together.”
Someone figure out long ago that when you take a single strand and join it to another it can become something stronger. And that if those strands were joined together with others - put under pressure, agitation (or resistance), moisture and then heated up, they become even stronger because of it.
The heat of the water... the agitation....the kinks... those hard places and situations (and relationships) become a tool to bring about something more.
*Now follow me on this one, because I promise I am going someplace with it. Those of you who have read my other blogs now how to take an adventure of the “rabbit trails” as they happen.
How many times have you found yourself in a place of intense agitation and heat? How many times have you been put with a group of people and had to work through the “kinks” that naturally occur when a diverse gathering happens?
Love, joy, conflict, sadness, intense change - good and bad, birth, death, family.....all of the stuff of life....
How many times have you discovered the amazing place on the other side of that intensity when a “group of people” becomes a community.....When that community becomes a fabric that is strong enough to walk through the harshest of seasons without tearing apart. Able to wrap around those in need and bring their strength, their insulation of love, unity, agreement, and protect against the heat and cold of the world around them. A community that understands that kind of authentic Love can hold together and walk through anything.
That is what we are called for.. designed for... That is the joy that love takes in creating community.
When I felt a sweater, bag or hat there is an adventure. I am never really sure what it will look like on the other side of the process. I can combine the threads in one pattern and have them come out with a completely different design. I have to be willing to take an adventure each time, knowing that the strength and durability of the material is the most important part of the process. I have to let my heart be open to the possibilities... the different outcome... the way that the treads come together in their own way.
I let my joy and my heart for each one of those threads bring me through. And yes, I think about each one of the threads. It may seem odd, but that is part of the process for me. I love seeing the result that comes together when I open the machine and take out the project. I love seeing the places where there was once a hole become filled. Where there was once a “flaw” in the eyes of someone else become a unique part of something beautiful and strong. All of those threads that were just in a pile someplace with no connection becoming something tangible, wearable, usable.....
I imagine that my Beloved, the one who created my heart feels the same way about my own threads as I am working out my own kinks.... The amazing thing is, He KNOWS what it will look like on the other side.
In those places where you feel “thread bare”... remember that on the other side of the journey there is a place of strength. A place of community. Don’t be afraid of the heat, the agitation, the kinks in yourself and others around you. They are places of opportunity to be knit with another and become stronger.
"By yourself you're unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped."
Ecclesiastes 4:12
The Message
Someone figure out long ago that when you take a single strand and join it to another it can become something stronger. And that if those strands were joined together with others - put under pressure, agitation (or resistance), moisture and then heated up, they become even stronger because of it. 
How many times have you discovered the amazing place on the other side of that intensity when a “group of people” becomes a community.....When that community becomes a fabric that is strong enough to walk through the harshest of seasons without tearing apart. Able to wrap around those in need and bring their strength, their insulation of love, unity, agreement, and protect against the heat and cold of the world around them. A community that understands that kind of authentic Love can hold together and walk through anything. 
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