Color and Camaraderie

My friend Sheli loves fiber. She knits, crochets, spins, and even collects spindles.

It’s magical to watch a friend come alive, animated about something they love to do.

Sheli loves yarn.

She can tell you about the difference in quality of sheep wool versus alpaca. Just last weekend, I heard her say she once spun the fur of a house cat.​

We were at the Wool Gathering near Yellow Springs, Ohio. This was my third year in a row tagging along with my friend. Keep in mind I don’t knit, don’t crochet, and don’t want to learn. Maybe 2–3% of me might like to give it a try to make a scarf someday.

Mostly not, though. I go for the color and camaraderie.

I mean, it’s her world, it’s their world. So many products I don’t recognize. I’ve learned what a spindle is, for example, and that’s about it.

I enjoy being immersed in this sea of creatives. It’s really an intersection of creativity and entrepreneurship. I’d call it smart, friendly people making connections. Trading their creations.

A favorite moment from that weekend was buying a headband and wearing it all day. The vendor explained that bin of headbands was made by people in Ecuador.

I’ve always had hippie tendencies, so I was excited to root through the pretty stash and find one for me. Then I picked another. Both in shades of yellow, oranges, a little red. Summer/Fall colors.

Wearing that colorful headband was more than just a way to opt of my bad hair day that Saturday. Yes, it was more.

It was a chance to interact with the people selling these items that so piqued my interest. Many times I’ve been too shy to keep a conversation going, but this time I was enjoying the interaction. Anticipating the perfect color would be found near the bottom of the box.

I found one, put it on my head, and let my freak flag fly. I was a hippie girl at the Wool Gathering. Yes, I care where it was made, my little orange/yellow patterned $5 headband.

I’m a girl from Ohio joining in. I choose my tribe, these creative ones. I like your colors. I reached out and grabbed a handful of color and put it on my head. Made me smile.

I reached out and pet an alpaca, too. I made remarkable eye contact with a goat, and took a video of that beautiful creature. I felt a connection with the vendors, my friend, and the goat who shared a moment with me.

The drive up and back, the pit stop at Subway. A beautiful sunny sky in Yellow Springs, Ohio, a place where hippies roam, tie dye shirts are sold on the street corner in view from where we ate our 6-inch subs.

That’s where I want to be, more and more. The fiber tribe isn’t perfectly my tribe, what with my allergies that managed to flare the week after the adventure. Maybe petting the llama and spending so much time near hay wasn’t 100% wise.

But it was fun connecting under that blue sky with creative people. I want to have more adventures connecting with creatives and building my tribe of like-minded writers and human beings.

If you’re a fellow writer, I’d love to hear about your connections, about the beauty you’ve made contact with lately. Keep on seeking out and sharing your experiences of beauty and connection, headbands, tie dye, or otherwise!

Thank you for reading my Color and Camaraderie. If you liked it please clap, share, and connect with me! I’d love for you to read my Wave Hi Manifesto and subscribe to my weekly newsletter!

Connect at:

Related posts:

During a NetSuite implementation, you can run into a lot of problems. Whether you have misaligned goals, delays, mismanagement, or other factors, these can have a serious impact on your business…

In a dark world where arbitrary writing tips and tropes rain eternal, a race of modern Fantasy Authors battle to tell the most original story. My co-mod argued that the whole concept of originality…

Are you looking to lose weight with keto meal prepping at home? If so, you’re in the right place! In this blog post, we will share our top tips for successful weight loss while following a keto…