The Harlot

It's 05:40 on a Sunday morning. I've been awake since around 3:00. Insomnia is my friend. Well, not really but if I call it my nemesis it doesn't change the fact that I almost never sleep well and only makes me angrier about it. And what good is that? At this point I am simply glad for the 3 hours of sleep I did manage before I woke.

When I wake at odd hours I do try to just roll over and go back to sleep. I swear I do. When that doesn't work, and it rarely does, I then pick up my trusty Blackberry and see if any of my best friends whom I chat with are awake as well. This is the one time where a big time difference actually comes in handy. Sadly, no luck today.

Next up is checking Twitter. And, even though I have friends there from all over the globe and just about very time zone again, no luck today.

At this point I try to roll over and go back to sleep again. However, between a peeling sunburn and a series of mosquito or spider bites I am also suffering from my worst case of itchy-back in years. As if the insomnia isn't enough on its own. By the way, keeping a double pointed knitting needle by your bedside is a huge help when trying to scratch that spot you can never reach on your own in the middle of the night.

So, I go back to the Blackberry and open the browser. I tend to forget that this cute little "smart phone" is really a full computer (practically anyway). There in the bookmarks is "Yarn Harlot" the blog of Stephanie Pearl McPhee.

When I first taught myself how to knit I read every post on Steph's blog. It was in reading the Yarn Harlot that I learned to be fearless. In all things knitting and fiber related. I learned about knitting socks. And lace. I learned about spinning. And indie dyers. I learned lots of ways people can screw up their knitting. And, lots of ways to fix the screwups.

The Yarn Harlot gave me the courage to try lots of new things. Because, if the new thing didn't work out well, so what? It's just sticks and string. That newfound courage with yarn and knitting gave me courage in other areas of my life. The courage to start a blog (this blog in fact). Courage to try dyeing my own yarn. Courage to get to know and appreciate women. And most importantly, the courage to find out who I am and be myself.

Well, with all those new and wonderful things going on in my life I got away from reading Steph's posts. This morning I started working my way back through her recent posts. In doing so, I remember what I love about her and her blog; this woman can really write! And she is an amazing knitter in both quality of her work, and the speed at which she produces it. I don't know how she manages to knit, spin, put together classes and events, write her hysterically funny books, have a life and family and friends, and put it all out there for the world to read about with such amazing style.

For the first time in a long time I won't mind being so tired today. Were it not for this blasted insomnia I wouldn't have rediscovered the Yarn Harlot and her wonderful way with words or more importantly, her amazing way of living life to the fullest and doing those things which bring you the greatest joy. Thanks for everything you do Steph for knitters, for women, and for humanity.

When I grow up I want to be just like her.