It could be a bin right now. Or wrapped around a thieving stranger's neck. But I'm afraid it's probably in a bin, buried under lots of manky sweet wrappers and crisp packets. I'm talking about the lovely hooded scarf I knitted from this pattern a few years ago in a gorgeous and luxurious reddish pink wool, which has kept me (and my ears) warm for two long winters.
I took it with me at the weekend on a trip to Northumberland, and managed to guard it carefully through one flight, a visit to a gallery, a long car journey and a weekend full of country walks and good pubs, another flight, and somehow managed to lose it between the baggage claim of Dublin airport (when I definitely know I had it) and my house. Laden down with bags and knackered when we got home, I only discovered it was missing the next day.
And I'm not ashamed to say that I actually cried after I'd looked all over the house and realised that no, it really was gone.
O Scarf, Where Art Thou? (Photo: Ysolda.com)In the grand scheme of things it's clearly not a huge problem, but there's something really depressing about losing a beloved object.
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First of all, there's disbelief - it must be around here somewhere, it can't have just vanished. Then there's the horrified moment when you realise it really is gone forever. Then there's the rage (especially if the object has been stolen, not just left on the bus). And finally there's acceptance, when you know you're just going to have to go on without that favourite watch/book/discontinued lipstick.
I think I might have finally reached that with my lovely scarf - I went into This Is Knit today and got some yarn for a replacement. Though I didn't try to totally replicate my lost treasure - I got a nice blue and green wool this time.
Of course, miracles do happen. A few years ago my house was broken into while my husband and I were asleep upstairs. The burglars stole our laptops, phones, iPods and a few other small gadgets, leaving us in a state of distressed shock. My precious laptop, gone forever!
But then that afternoon we got a phone call from the guards. It turned out that the burglars had stolen a car from our neighbours which was later chased by the gardaí. They eventually abandoned it and ran away, leaving all the stolen booty in the back sea. So we got all our stuff back! You never know, maybe my precious scarf will return. And in the meantime, I'll get knitting its replacement.
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So what precious items have you lost over the years? Is there anything you've never really got over? And - on a positive note - did you ever get any of it back?
