No doubt your world was rocked this week with the news that Heidi Klum and Seal are getting divorced. Seal we know as the soulful, mysteriously scarred, stylish one-named singer of about two songs or so. Heidi we all know as supermodel, but more importantly, as the producer/host of the really-rocky-in-recent-years Project Runway. Along with Tim Gunn’s “It’s make it work time, people!,” Heidi sprouts the immortal line “Az you know, in fashion, you’re eizer in…or you’re out.”

Which leads me down this particular rabbit-hole. Follow me, dear reader, won’t you?

I recently had a little chat with a friend who seemed, shockingly, not to understand the earth-shattering importance of Princess Animal. From the outside, the World of Yarn Craft, or yarn stores, seems trivial.  But from inside our little not-so-secret, not-so-elitist society, it can be everything.

I found I had a really hard time explaining to an outsider how important the craft is to us fiberphiles.

Outside: uh, okay, you’re knitting. Whatever, old lady/man. Why would you make socks when you can buy them for a pittance of the price and time?

Inside: It’s an addiction, a life we can’t get enough of, a way to calm our minds (I’m a big fan of the neurological effects of knitting), restore order, think things through, relax, engage, connect with our special community, create, design, stretch our abilities, learn, check out, check in, show love, show art, show off, and continue a tradition that’s bound people together and clothed the world since (at least) ancient Egyptian times.

For the Princess and our Regent (me), it really is a way to connect with the People. Every day, we see the particular slightly crazy shine in the eye when someone realizes we have yarn. It’s the spark of a lot of conversations, of a pastime rediscovered or a fix fed. We can immediately tell you’re One of Us, One of Us. And we’re breeding more One of Us’s all the time. Currently, we have a little contingent of super hip 10 year olds who are big fans. Like, way cooler than I was when I was 10. I’m hoping to do an interview with one of them coming up, and Z., I think you know who you are…

It’s like the secret society anybody can join, if you have the desire to persevere. Once you get past that initial frustration, you’re in. And we’re happy to have you. We want you in our secret society. And once you’re in, yup, most likely you’ll spend the equivalent of a church’s tithe. It’s like Ravelry. You request an invitation (do they still do that?), but once you’re in, a whole world is revealed to you.

Skull and Bones. The Masons. The Yarn and Needles/and/or/Hooks. Not to get all woo-woo, but it’s all about community.

So, welcome in. The yarn’s fine.

What’s your favorite aspect of the community of yarnies? Or is it a solitary exercise for you, like onanism?

And sorry about the repeated image, here. Effing wordpress.