Old World Scarf

Knitting, crafting and baking are great hobbies. Although I sell some of my items I have not done anything so creative that I can make a living off these really fun activities. In other words...I am not giving up my day job. The great thing about my day job (besides the fact it is very rewarding and I love the people I work with) is that I get to travel to interesting places in and out of the Country.

Last September I had the opportunity to travel to Portugal. It was an incredible learning experience and I met people who have made a lasting impression on me. During one of our tours of Villa Real we started by a yarn store. Actually the group wandered by it and I of course wandered inside.

There were all sorts of yarn, on SALE! I could have stayed in there for hours looking touching smelling. Mind you I am sure that the store clerk thought I was a crazy American and the group I was with was trying to explain what a knitting freak I am to our tour guide. The big difference about the yarn was not what it was made of (or the incredibly cheap price) but that it was sold by weight, not by the skein but by the weight of what was picked out. I grabbed a navy blue bouclee yarn and one of the people I was travelling with picked out a white yarn with shreds of green ribbon weaved through it. This second skein had a purpose, to knit it into a scarf and put up for auction for the 4-H leaders association auction. It was actually chosen by our state specialist in charge of our volunteers, Harriett Edwards.

I must admit I stared at the yarn for a few months before trying to figure out what to do with it. After a few unsuccessful attempts at a scarf I finally got size 15 needles out and knitted from side to side (not end to end) a very long scarf. The purpose was to allow the person who wears it to wrap it and tie the scarf like they do in Portugal. Scarf wearing is very sheik there.

When the item came up for auction, I must admit I was tickled. I explained the story of the scarf and the bidding started. Usually I sell a scarf for $15. This one sold for $35 with a great story and pictures to go with it. The most important part is that the money raised went back to the North Carolina 4-H Volunteer Leaders Association to help support the incredible work they do in this state.

To learn more about our incredible trip to Portugal check out our blog we kept at http://www.4-hinportugal.blogspot.com/.