Post 586 Mostly knitting

Three personal events dominated this week, with Pilates on Thursday and dinner on Saturday providing sanity breaks. The three events were the World Embroidery Study Group meeting on Wednesday, 70 minutes in a dentist chair on Friday, and today's deadline for my Walk for Justice beanies.

In between the sun and the moon rose and set, the carpet was strewn with scraps of wool and biscuit crumbs and the coffee machine worked overtime as I knitted beanies, while listening to the radio, or to the television. I haven't read the Book Club picks for next Sunday, the pots haven't been fertilised or repotted, I bought Dulwich Bakery pies for Monday's family dinner, and there are knitting and embroidery projects waiting attention.

The Evil Eye had a go at stopping our WES meeting. The  Guild Office Manager, tasked with setting up the laptop and projector for us, notified me at 7.30am that she was ill. One regular member of our group has a key to the equipment cupboard, but when I contacted her at 8.15am, her car was out of action and she couldn't get there. I offered to pick her up along with the key. 

When we arrived just after 10 and opened up the cupboard,  an essential connecting cord was missing.  Our tech guru could find no substitute anywhere on the premises. Fortunately I had my laptop with me - operating on battery only. We reorganised ourselves around the lunch table, me in one corner with my 13” laptop pointing towards the 15 gathered faces. We managed. It was a lively meeting - some said the best we've had. People loved the intimacy, the ease of hearing, the sharing and discussion. I'm now considering buying a 17 1/2" smart photo frame to conduct future meetings in a similar way.

In summary, the Evil Eye is a concept at least 4000 years old and consistent across cultures of Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. It is the notion that evil can be transmitted by a glance, from eye to eye and always derives from envy. The concept that envy is dangerous underpins the Evil Eye in all cultures. Not only does it mean the envious might seek to take what they covert, but if you allow envy into your heart or mind, it will harm your very being. Amulets, symbols, materials and placement protect from the Evil Eye. Basically they distract so the evil will not focus on, and enter, your eye. They often take the form of an eye - frequently blue in southern Mediterranean societies, because blue eyes were rarer and therefore more likely to attract the Evil Eye’s attention, deflecting it from its target. In some societies red was the predominant distracting colour.

Mirrors (including shisha) not only distract the evil eye, but reflect the evil back to the transmitter. As with other amulets, they are placed above doors , entrances and around the openings on clothing.  It is envy as the underlying evil that distinguishes the Evil Eye from other sources of evil and associated  amulets.

Seafaring nations have long used opercula, or Cats Eyes, as amulets to ward off the Evil Eye. I wear one in a ring. It was given to me when I was 8 by my Uncle Sid, amongst a shell collection he brought back from New Guinea after WWII. My mother put it aside because it was such a good example and returned it to me on her deathbed. I wear it most days, to honour both my mother and my uncle- and just in case.

It, and the power of community, served me well on Wednesday. We overcame the obstacles thrown in our path, to have a most successful meeting.

My 4 root canals are now clean and disinfected. There were no complications and I return in 5 weeks time to have them filled.

The Walk for Justice took place this morning, an all-round success. The AG's team was fully equipped with beanies to deal with the 7.30am 6C temperature.

I've had a rewarding time knitting the beanies. Now the walk is over, the details are in my embroidery blog. I've learnt quite a lot, thought healing thoughts for my friend ill in hospital, staying warm and in the moment. 

I'm feeling protected, blessed and engaged.