RAK

Many moons ago when I rediscovered knitting I wanted to interact with like minded people. I tried different places on the Internet and eventually I found the the Knitty board (forum) it was like coming home. Knitty introduced me to yarn and patterns from all around the globe, it showed me knitting styles and techniques I had never heard of and it introduced me to some wonderful people. These wonderful people (some of who all these years later I'm still in contact with and quite a few I've met in real life) also introduced me to the joy of the Secret Pal Swap and the RAK. An RAK is a Random Act of Kindness where you send a gift to someone just because you want to with no thought of reward or payment other than they pass the good karma on at some stage.

Yesterday (which was a really shitty day for me) I received a RAK from a Knitty board friend called Dawn. Although I'm not on Knitty much these days we've kept in touch at first via our blogs and later via FB - she used to send me pictures of the magnificent Orb Spiders in her garden and as well as knitting we share a love of kite flying. I read a few weeks back that Dawn was off to Rhinebeck which is a large and wonderful wool festival in the USA. I jokingly told her I was jealous because of all the global yarn related events Rhinebeck is the one I'd go to if I could - just to see and sample some of yarns that are not so easy to get in the UK. Dawn kindly offered to get me a RAK from Rhinebeck - some sock yarn that I have coveted for quite a while. The yarn is dyed by The Sanguine Gryphon and is a sport weight called 'Bugga' it's a blend of super wash merino, cashmere and nylon and is so soft and bouncy, the skein cries out to be squished. The colour of this yarn is 'Fierce Snake' - it is subtle and natural and I love it.

J was there when I opened it and I read the card that was enclosed out to him - Dawn put that the name Fierce Snake put her in mind of me. J laughed and told me there really is a snake called that. Intrigued I mastered the art of Google-foo and I discovered that - the Fierce Snake or Inland Taipan is considered as the most venomous land snake in the world by many and is native to Australia. It is called Fierce because of the strength of its venom not because of its nature - which shy and retiring and prefers to escape from trouble. It changes colour with the seasons and the colours of the yarn shows its winter colouring perfectly.

Dawn and I only know each other online but she chose perfectly for me - I love the name, the yarn, the colour and I can relate to the nature of snake...... the only thing to do now is to decide what to make with such a wonderful gift and to look for the opportunity to pass the karma on.