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<\/a><\/p>\nNearly all the pilgrims we met on the Camino Primitivo promptly separated themselves from any spiritual motive attached to their walk, myself included. But I wonder, if like me, they secretly hoped for a bit of magic, transformation, transcendence.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t help myself. For the most part, I\u2019ve returned to the faith of my childhood, which is best represented by the It’s a Small World*, a ride at Disney World circa 1978. My twenties however, were spent under the council of a self proclaimed prophet, and my world got very small indeed.<\/p>\n
Perhaps this is why Alejandro and his refugio defines the Camino for me. He expanded\u00a0his\u00a0contribution to his community by shrinking the physical world he inhabited. His doors were open to all people. He lived in an expansive world by creating the perfect small world.<\/p>\n Our new shop on Quincy St. is more of a cathedral than a chapel, but my hope for it is the same\u00a0as the little shop on Washington St.,\u00a0a refugio for fiber artists. The shop is an honor to tend. Routine is finally taking shape, which makes it harder to leave. Preparing for the Camino, however, has already created positive patterns. The documentary\u00a0Jiro Dreams of Sushi\u00a0exemplifies my point perfectly. Jiro is in his eighties, and has been doing the same thing everyday for decades. As a result food critics around the world find his sushi transcendent. It\u2019s a fabulous movie. But Jiro\u2019s wife and children certainly paid a price for his complete devotion to fish. As much as I loved the film, I had to ask, \u201cwhere exactly can sushi transcend anyone?\u201d I\u2019ll boldly bet not as far as fiber craft. There isn\u2019t a culture on the planet that doesn\u2019t have a fiber tradition. It is truly the thread that ties us together and distinguishes all of our different cultures.<\/p>\n Jiro\u2019s drive was free of all compromise and \u00a0was sushi focused. The man I once believed to be a prophet, clouded his vision with the belief that he alone could interpret the word of God for himself and others. Alejandro’s vision held everyone. Like Jiro, I can become maniacally focused and forget people. I bridle my drive and vision with Alejandro’s voice and our embroidered motto.<\/p>\n Our mouse is alone on his hill to remind me\u00a0here, starts within.<\/p>\n I woke up at 5:30 this morning, I had to finish cleaning my apartment. My living space is never as clean as when I\u2019m about to leave for awhile. Then, I checked for the umteenth time that I had\u00a0everything\u00a0I could possibly need on a pilgrimage, and went to the shop to clean up Crafternoon. That\u2019s what I do on Monday mornings, clean up after Sunday Crafternoon. I\u2019ll miss it. I\u2019ll miss all our Crafternooners, and Natalia, Aaron, Robert and Numahka. I\u2019ll miss George the King Fisher who perches on the old ferry dock. But I will be a better Bazaar Girl when I return, and the store will grow in interesting ways, differently than how it does when I\u2019m here. The \u00a0journey back to the Camino begins now. My yarn is wound, we\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n I\u2019m ready for a bit of magic.<\/p>\n Kerri<\/p>\n *It’s a Small World\u00a0is the perfect religion. Growing up in Florida I rode It’s a Small World\u00a0more times than I can count, if you haven\u2019t had the pleasure, I highly recommend clicking on the link below. \u00a0http:\/\/youtu.be\/7jiaU0xbOKs\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Two Weeks \u2018til Take Off<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Recalling the faces of the old women we saw along the way, helps me keep Camino mind in a different way than Alejandro. I started wearing aprons when we came home. A garment my generation was told was oppressive, and \u201clittle old ladyish.\u201d Old Spanish women wear theirs like superheroes.<\/p>\n Theirs is a strength and happiness I don\u2019t see here.<\/p>\n I have a story as to why.<\/p>\n All the caminos are dotted with chapels. \u00a0On the Primitivo many were \u201crestored\u201d in the 1600\u2019s. There\u2019s nothing in America that was restored in the 1600\u2019s.<\/p>\n In the villages we often saw old women singing to their chickens as they sprinkled bread crumbs from their aprons. This needs no romanticizing. I imagine a band of these women sharing the duties of maintaining the tiny ancient chapels in the center of their villages. We could only peer through barred windows at \u00a0highly polished pews, crisp linens trimmed with bobbin lace, fresh flowers, and gleaming candlesticks. I envied the women that tended these altars. Altars at which Mary always took center stage, never her crucified son.<\/p>\n In the cities old women walked with command, dressed with style, and sipped sweet vermouth garnished with oranges. There wasn\u2019t a feeble bone in their bodies. In town and country they walked with shoulders back, capable of carrying the honor bestowed their gender.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not Catholic. I\u2019m a born again agnostic. I went too far with faith during my twenties. Too far?<\/p>\n Well, I suppose it\u2019s when your brain allows you to accept an us and them worldview. \u00a0Our species has wasted enough time playing that game. But I do romanticize tradition. And I do long for a faith that holds everyone.<\/p>\n I think I have everything gathered for my walk, by the end of the week for sure.<\/p>\n I almost forgot, The Aranami shawl for the knit along is available as a $7.00 Ravelry download.<\/p>\n And don\u2019t forget Our Spincycle trunk show!! This Saturday, April 19th, from noon to six.<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ll post again before we leave.<\/p>\n Kerri<\/p>\n Knitting Along the Way<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 One of our favorite Crafter-nooners, Lissa, inspired us to choose the \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>Aranami shawl as our first knit along. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Two and a half years ago my husband Steve and I walked The Camino Primativo. A 900 year old, 180 mile\u00a0pilgrimage in North Western Spain. I brought knitting and a determination to escape food service.<\/p>\n On April 29th, we leave Seattle for Madrid, board a train to Seville, and begin the 300 mile walk to Salamanca. The first half of the Camino de la Plata. I\u2019ll bring knitting again, and a bit of guilt and anxiety, which, I believe, is standard issue on pilgrimages.<\/p>\n A very large part of me doesn’t want to leave the shop. We\u2019re planning a knit along to keep me from a total-separation-anxiety-meltdown. \u00a0And besides, I learned everything I needed to know on my first pilgrimage. Everything. \u00a0Steve felt he needed at least one more.<\/p>\n Alejandro taught me how to keep a Camino state of mind. He built and runs a refugio for pilgrims, on the Camino Primitivo. When we stayed with him, he did everyone\u2019s laundry, fed us dinner, woke us with John Lennon\u2019s imagine, fed us breakfast and sent us on our way. \u00a0He does this over 300 days a year for up to 15 pilgrims a night, and accepts only donations. Before we left he let me interview him.<\/p>\n Alejandro had walked a combination of all the Camino de Santiago\u2019s over 20 times.<\/p>\n Before building his hostel, he was a cab driver in Madrid. When I asked him why he quit his job, stopped walking, and built his refugio he said he wanted to find a way to keep the feeling he had on the camino, and help other pilgrims on their journey. In his previous life as a cab driver, he said, \u00a0\u201cEveryone was always hurried, sometimes angry and rarely happy. On the Camino you don\u2019t constantly check your watch, everything is peaceful.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s right. The unending decision making of daily life disappears. You wake up knowing everything you need to know. Get up, walk, have cafe con leche and toast with jam, walk more, have beer and ham sandwiches, put your pack back on and walk some more. Find a hostel, shower, wash clothes, hang clothes in sun, eat a three course pilgrims meal, sleep, repeat. Each day is the same and different. The tempo of your thoughts change. Routine leads to efficient flow. The shared destination creates a supportive community.<\/p>\n It was soon after our first Camino that the Bazaar Girls took over The Twisted Ewe. \u00a0I saw our little yarn shop on Washington street as a refugio, a supportive community for fiber artists. But keeping a Camino pace isn’t as easy as it I thought. I call upon the face of Alejandro when I lose my way. \u00a0Speak to me Alejandro, \u201cRoutine, efficiency, generosity, trust.\u201d I feel him say. He’d probably politely add that I might benefit from walking again.<\/p>\n But before I get too philosophical, I should tell you more about the knit along. While Steve has spent the last month weighing gear, calibrating his fitbit , and studying \u00a0maps, I have been deciding on a knitting project, and wondering if I can I pull off really short bangs. If I can\u2019t I\u2019ll have a month to grow \u2018em out.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nA month ago I committed to coming to the shop two hours before opening everyday. I organize, write, clean, open, and meet with Numahka. I\u00a0serve customers, answer phone calls & emails, close, organize, and write some more. I knit, bathe, sleep, repeat. Repetition offers a sense of security without the price attached to any spirituality I\u2019ve encountered. \u00a0It was repetition I craved more than anything when we returned\u00a0home from the Primitivo, although routine can have an extremist element as well.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0Knitting Along the Way, Part II<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>Custom apron sewn by Linda Varela. More styles available at Summer House Design.<\/em><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Alejandro center.<\/em><\/p>\n