Esmerelda, The Knitting Wench, bids shy knitters to split their cocoons in the spring of curiosity and flutter away as flashy gypsy knitters. As the bower bird adorns its nest with findings, so may you gild yourself with confetti cast-offs. Joy is not in perfect purchases; rather, search for quiet exhilaration as a child on a treasure hunt... beneath the leaves; under a gnome; within a bellflower; on a crisp breeze.

All the colours of the seasons are yours to play with. Nature's wild fibres caress your soul. Trinkets and embellishments delight your natural self… it's the gypsy spirit in you. Defy faultlessness. Form your knotty stitches on vintage glass tortoiseshell needles. Knit an Elizabethan petticoat on a set of five double-points. Become a collector of antique and vintage knitting books and leaflets. Keep every tail of wool in a cotton bag -- one bright morning sprawl on the lawn, joining the endless ends. Garter stitch a peasant's throw-on. Simmer rose petals and poach a skein of hand spun wool in it. Knit a Victorian baby bonnet in a serious! lace pattern for your childhood doll. Churn out a long spaghetti squiggle for a mindless orgasm. Ferret out an old stand with drawers that you can position beside your homely stuffed armchair. Set on it a wicker basket for handy oddities. Screw a small gold cup-hook on one side for hanging a couple of cotton bags and you have a nook for your gatherings. Knit or crochet tube cosies for your cherished implements (toss away those forlorn plastic jackets they come in) then bunch them up in a flea market china jug that's hand-painted with splotched old-fashioned flowers.

 
Think like a gypsy; knit like a wench… and be free. The Magpie Faery searches eBay for gypsy pickings.