The deal went down at 9:45am.

I had an assignation with a stranger on a street corner this morning.  We confirmed our arrangements over the internet.  Text messages confirming our whereabouts were exchanged on the day.  We met.  We exchanged paper packages. We went our separate ways.  I felt satisfied.  I only got the first name.

What springs to mind?

A drug deal?

A lost property found scenario?

Some kind of new age, web based treasure hunt?

Paying my hit man?

Receiving payment for something shady?  A bribe perhaps.

The blind date?  (But what was in the packages?)

It all hinges on what was in the package.

Here's what was in the one I handed over:

Raku Regenbogen
(c) divacultura 2012

Here's what was in the one I received:

Dornroschen
(c) divacultura 2012

It's my favourite German sock yarn, Wollmeise.  I received the rainbow in a mystery bag.  The red and pink dornroschen has been on my list for a while.  The universe provided when a local, fellow member of Ravelry expressed her desire for my skein.  I went hunting in her stash (online) and boldly proposed a swap.

If anyone saw us, they may be writing about the two unlikely looking women engaged in a brazen drug deal in the legal precinct of the Melbourne CBD before morning smoko.

Now, what to make with my lovely, vibrating red and pink?

Communal knitting.

Tonight I went to knitting group, or stitch and bitch as they are sometimes known.  I remember telling my brother once that I was not available to do work for him because I was going to knitting group and he laughed his head off.  Of course my brother does not knit and so the concept was totally alien to him, but still, his mirth had a little touch of mockery mixed in.

Our group meets in a cafe on a Monday night where Tony, the cafe owner, seems delighted to have us there.  He has a system to allow us to order and pay for our drinks and food separately, so settling the bill isn't a hassle and tonight he even went out and bought more bread.

I have been to this group a few times before (usually in winter) and noticed that we attract a lot of attention.  We've been pointed at, studied and photographed by curious onlookers.  I wonder what the attention would be like if we were doing something exotic!  I was second to arrive tonight and wasn't sure if I had previously met the first arrival (it's been a while).  First names meant nothing until we introduced ourselves using our Ravelry names.

The group of women come from all different occupations, backgrounds and lives, but when we take out our needles and start knitting together we share a common language and appreciation for each other's work.  Tonight I seemed to be surrounded by scientists and learned all kinds of things: there are no caves in Melbourne! the thylacine was present in Papua New Guinea! This is what a blob fish looks like and yes they are real!  We talk about work contracts not being renewed and problems with neighbours and what movies we've seen lately.  And we share knowledge and love of our craft.

It's fascinating to see what everyone is knitting - and how they're knitting it.  There are so many different ways! Tonight I was able to see how someone else changes colours for stripes when knitting socks in the round.  Our collective brains helped someone else decide whether the waistband of a top they had just cast on was going to be the right size and we pondered the question of whether the length of a circular needle includes the needles themselves or just the cables connecting the needles.

But there were also periods of companionable silence.  Just a group of women sitting together and knitting.  A simple and lovely thing.  And then we all disappeared into the night and back to our separate lives.