In the aftermath of discovering her husband was a pedophile, Gail Pilgrim, former Prince George resident, will offer a presentation and book signing of Tightly Knit Secrets Unravelled: My Knitting Story recalling the story of her life at Art Space, 1685 Third Avenue at 2 p.m.
Having worked as a drug and alcohol counselor and a care aid in a hospital, Pilgrim realized drowning in self pity wasn't getting her anywhere.
After some counsel from her local church leaders in Williams Lake where she now resides, she decided to begin the journey on the long road toward healing, she said.
"The tears dried up and I realized that self-pity hindered the healing process," explained Pilgrim. "Then a vivid picture of my 'life's sweater' was before me. Memories of fifty years of living, stitch by stitch, day by day. As I viewed it, recalling some happy and some painful events, someone pulled the wool, starting at the lower corner. The entire sweater unraveled, stitch by stitch, row by row. As I gazed at the heap of used, bumpy wool on the floor, it felt like what had happened to my life."
You could see that it was well used, she added. It used to be something, but you couldn't even identify it.
"The thought came to me that I could continue to be depressed over what it was, and its present uselessness, or choose a new pattern, pick up the needles and using the old wool, begin to knit again," said Pilgrim. "This time, I knew it would take a lot of encouragement to keep my focus on my new pattern and goals."
The longer she knit, the more she realized how effective and useful the experiences from her old sweater were.
"There was less reason to think about what it used to be, because the humps and bumps blended right into the new garment, giving it a whole new look and meaning," said Pilgrim. "It brought hope and excitement to realize the old wool could be useful again and there was less reason for despair over the diminishing pile on the floor. I asked God to remind me to be more watchful with each stitch and if I dropped one, not to be too proud to stop and fix it."
As the old wool took on a new and entirely different shape Pilgrim said she realized that with God's help her life could also have a new beginning.
