The Joke's on ME...and I'm Drooling!

Oh, My!

Never in my wildest dreams did I suspect my ISE3 pal was Dorene, who I call "Mozart" because of her talent and skill at knitting true heirloom works of art.

I've been drooling over Dorene's gorgeous Estonian Garden shawl since I helped her block it in a hotel room. It was simply the most gorgeous shawl, and I fell in love with it that day, pushing in dressing wires and securing them with T-pins.

It was the perfect color. It was the perfect weight--light, cotton, soft and delicious. It was long and luxurious. It was the kind of shawl I'd always wanted to make, but knew I didn't have that kind of patience or skill.

Last week my service dog of twelve years died, and after 5 months of hospice for him here at home, I decided to drive to California to be with family so I could start the healing process.

I was still in California when the package arrived, and when I got home, I looked at the return address and didn't recognize the name. I knew it had to be from my scarf pal, and was expecting a garter stitch scarf, since my pal told me she was a novice knitter.

I ripped into the package and found the most glorious hatbox, heavy duty and covered in a vintage fabric pattern. Opening it up, I see so many wonderful packages, all wrapped beautifully in magenta tissue paper and tied up with cotton yarn. Yippee, I thought---how did my pal ever know one of my fav songs was about "bright paper packages tied up with strings"? It was like Christmas!

Of course, I spotted what had to be the scarf package first--soft, large and wrapped with great care. I opened it up, and saw it was an ESTONIÅN GARDEN SHAWL--just like the one I helped Dorene block a month earlier. Same delicious color, too---a color I flipped over when I first set eyes on it.

I got goosebumps big time. How could my pal have known I was hopelessly in love with that shawl? How could she have chosen just the right color? How on earth could a rank beginning knitter EVER have knitted a whole Estonian, when she stated she'd only been knitting a few months?

The more packages I opened--a chartreuse tape measure (my color!), a melon-cucumber scented candle, so clean and fresh smelling in a matching green color, a bookmark about the joys of sharing hugs--one of my favorite things, and also the very same Lantern Moon knitting needle holder I'd been lusting after. This was getting downright spooky, as the gorgeous hatbox also contained a large sachet of French Lavender flower heads, my all-time favorite scent, and a bar of imported French Lavender soap!

Really, really big goosebumps now. I realize when I finger the shawl that it HAD to have been knit by Dorene, and no way was this novice work. The way the package had been fixed up, the attention to all the little details of elegant wrapping--it all screamed, "MOZART!"

I then found Dorene's silk knitting label inside the shawl, and realized it wasn't my package at all--that it was Dorene's package meant for her secret pal--that oh-so-lucky secret pal! Horrified that I'd opened it all up, and not recognized her daughter-in-law's name, I realized it had come to me by mistake.

I quickly wrote Celia and Cynthia, explaining that I'd received the incredibly glorious Estonian Shawl from Dorene by mistake, ending my explanation with a sigh--because I surely did love that shawl and hoped Dorene's secret pal would appreciate all the endless hours of work Dorene put into this heirloom art piece. I knew her fingers ached, and that she'd worked nonstop on it, pushed through the pain and created something that would be treasured forever.

I'd been begging her to please keep it for herself (she modeled it for me--it looked drop dead gorgeous on her!) and pass it on to her children and grandchildren. I encouraged her to make a different scarf for her novice scarf pal, not an heirloom that should be kept in the family and treasured.

I mean, if I EVER made something that exquisite, I'd make sure a very loved family member got it, one who would be sure to take good care of it and pass it on to her children, and her children's children.

I wrote Dorene and this morning received an email that I was her secret pal for real, and that the package was for me, and that the awesome Estonian was made just for me!!!!!!!

OMG! I'm wheeling on the ceiling. I'm so excited I could burst--never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd ever have something so beautiful, and knit by someone I admire so much, whose work is just out of this world wonderful!

I'm still pinching myself. Is this real? Is this really MINE? I get to wear this gorgeous shawl???????

I'm totally knocked out. This is like a dream come true. MY Estonian! Made JUST for me! Made with love and good thoughts and smiles and hugs, and filled with so much positive energy from the Queen of Lace!