Prayer Scarves

I'm knitting a scarf for a woman named Amanda in Richmond, Virginia.

A college freshman at Western Kentucky University named Bonnie is knitting a scarf for me.

We are all part of the Ravelry Scarf Exchange! More than a hundred of us are knitting and exchanging scarves and other goodies - just for the fun of it.

It's hard to know what Amanda might like. I looked around her Ravelry pages and project pictures. I poked around her blog and read a little bit about her life. Then I started paging through books planning the scarf I'm going to knit for her.

As I was doing that I realized that this Scarf Exchange is a little bit like knitting a prayer shawl. I don't really know much about the person that will receive my creation. I don't know her dreams. I don't know her frustrations. Pretty much all I know is that the process of MY knitting will somehow brighten her day and make her feel like someone is caring for her - even if just in a small way.

When I used to knit prayer shawls I never knew who I was knitting them for. All I knew is that I hoped this little act of making knots with string on two pointy sticks made them feel comforted and cared for in the middle of some kind of life event. I'm not sure what kind of prayer I believe in right now. While I'm knitting for Amanda I will think positive thoughts and visualize peace and tranquility surrounding her.

Maybe Bonnie will do the same for me.