Welcome to one of Helen and Cameron’s periodic conversations on wool! If you haven’t been following along, this all started when Helen wore a wool dress for 100 days, and Cameron wondered how that was possible. Along the way, the two of us found we had the same sheep-themed place settings. Now, Helen is back from a pilgrimage to Japan where she had deep thoughts on wool, among other things. And there is lots of other news, too, including Helen’s new job as the production manager of the Washington Revels.
Hang on to your knitted hats, here we go!
Cameron: Tell me about your new job!
Helen: I manage the productions. So I’m basically a project manager for getting this thing on stage, making sure that the meetings that need to happen between the stage director and the various designers happen, that the cast knows where to be when, that we have a set. I was thinking while I was making dinner, oh, I need to poke the lighting designer again and tell him to respond to that email about his availability. Here’s an example: We had a photo shoot to take promotional photos for the Winter Revels. And so we had to have about a dozen people in costume, in a historic house with props and a photographer and the artistic director showing people where to stand and what to do with their hands and stuff like that. And so I my job is to manage all of that. (I actually picked that one up halfway through – my predecessor had done most of the planning.) For a fundraiser in September, I had to rent tables and chairs. All that stuff.
How about you? What’s up?
Cameron: So, I have to tell you, I was inspired by you and also by my son, who did the Revels here last year. So now I’m doing it, too. Our theme is Victorian Christmas. What’s yours?
Helen: Ooh! We are actually also Victorian, but the American Victorian era. It’s set in 1870, post-Civil War. It has a lot of African American material and performers, and it’s in the house of an actual historic guy named Senator Hiram Revels, who was the first African American in Congress.
Cameron: No way, is that really his name?
Helen: Yes! We’re basically doing a Christmas party at his house. Because it’s American, it fits in with the 250th anniversary. We get to talk about what we think is important about American history.
Cameron: Well, I’m glad you are also here in America in the present, although I was so delighted to read your dispatches from Japan. I loved hearing about your pilgrimage! And I imagine that wool played a role in your pilgrimage, because it seems to have invaded your life. Maybe all of our lives. Wool!
Helen: I went to Japan! Where wool comes in is with how I packed. I originally thought I was going to be carrying all of my stuff for a long distance walk, every day, forever. I ended up switching my plan to include public transit as well as walking to get to all of the 88 temples, but I still had to carry all of my stuff a lot of the time. And a nice thing about wool is, because it doesn’t get stinky, I could wear the same shirt many days in a row and not worry that I was upsetting people with my stink.
Cameron: This is maybe less wool-related, but I loved reading about all the different clothes that pilgrims wore on this pilgrimage.
Helen: I wore a wool T-shirt under a white pilgrim jacket. The jacket is a traditional part of the gear, and it identifies you to locals and other pilgrims. The jacket that I had at first was a cotton-polyester blend. When it got wet, like when I sweated on a long climb, it stayed wet, and it felt awful to be wearing this clammy jacket, and I’d get cold when I stopped. I often had outdoor lore from my dad in my head (“Cotton kills”) for just this reason — when it gets wet, it stays wet, and you get cold, and that’s potentially dangerous.
So I climbed up to this one temple on a hot day, and I was hanging out in my clammy wet jacket, and another pilgrim, a Japanese woman, got excited because she saw that we had the same silk sash. (Another part of the pilgrim outfit.) I mentioned my wet cotton jacket, and she’s like, “Oh, look, mine is made out of this fabric.” It was all synthetic, so it dried fast. I ended up ordering the same jacket a few days later to be mailed to the next place I was staying, actually the lodging at a temple. It improved my life, although I do think it got stinky. But at least I didn’t feel soggy.
Cameron: Well, I guess it wasn’t wool, even though it was very cool.
Helen: I wished I could’ve bought a nice wool pilgrim jacket! [Digression for the reader: Wool in hot weather may sound crazy, but if it’s the right kind of lightweight merino blend it can be amazingly cool and moisture-wicking, and I choose it over cotton in summer.] Did you ever actually purchase something wool? I remember you were debating forever.
Cameron: Oh, Helen. I kept putting things in my cart and then taking them out. I have a fear of wool commitment. I mean, I used to knit scarves and things out of wool, I even bought special yarn when I was in Ireland. I don’t know what happened.
Helen: Before we had all these synthetics and cheap sources of heat, wool was really important for staying warm in winter. And it was something grown on sheep. I remember a particular church I visited once in England that was very sheep-centric. It was an area that raised a lot of sheep, where people got wealthy on the wool.
Cameron: Did you see sheep in Japan? Are there sheep in Japan?
Helen: I didn’t see any sheep, but my favorite brand of yarn is Japanese. Actually, I’m sitting here knitting, which means I’m thinking about my fingers, and I just realized that I left something in the kitchen. So one moment please. Also, I’m going to stir the chili.
Helen vanishes, then comes back from the kitchen, wearing an engagement ring!
Cameron & Helen: [Happy screaming! Fine, it was mostly Cameron.]
Cameron: Oh my gosh, OK, tell me the story. I’m so excited.
Helen: Last fall, we talked about maybe getting married someday, and then during the government shutdown last year when Daniel didn’t have anything to do and I was unemployed, we went to some jewelry stores around the area just to look. I ended up finding a jeweler in Vermont whose work I really liked, and so we designed it together with that guy.
The last time I saw anything was in February, shortly before we left Japan. Daniel came, too, for the first 17 temples of the pilgrimage, but then he had to go back to work.
After I came back, there were a few little hints that things were moving along. Like he double-checked with me that I prefer white gold. Then a few months later I was out of town and got a notification about a package from Vermont. (Daniel didn’t know that I get a daily email from USPS telling me what mail is coming.)
Cameron: Did you say something or did you pretend you didn’t know what was happening?
Helen: I pretended. I wrestled a little bit with whether I should tell him that the package was ready at the post office, but I reminded myself that he is an adult.
So, once I got home, I knew he had it, and was just wondering when he was going to propose. We had a nice dinner coming up in a few weeks, so I thought that could be it, although I didn’t really like the idea of an engagement in public.
The day before the nice dinner he suggested going on a hike on the Northwest Branch, the creek near my parents’ house. It was a place I went many times with my family. Daniel and my dad and I had all walked there together, a few years ago, before my parents died. I definitely should have been suspicious, but somehow I wasn’t. So we took the dog, who had a wonderful time splashing around and sniffing, and then we got to a bench and rested for a while. I gave the dog some water and treats. I got up because I was ready to go, and Daniel said, “Wait, no, sit down.” Then he starts digging in his backpack . . .
Cameron: “Wait, no, sit down!” [happy screaming]
Helen: And then he asked me to marry him! It’s exciting. I’m solidly middle-aged. I missed the normal life phase when you get engaged. For a long time, I didn’t really think that this was ever going to happen in my life. But then I met Daniel, and realized we have a really good thing and I want to make it permanent. Which means at some point, we get to have a big party!
Cameron: That’s so fun.
Helen: Yeah, it’s fun. Yeah. So I have a new job and a new relationship phase. It’s wonderful! And I’m quite tired.
Cameron: Yeah, I bet. That’s a lot. Even good stuff can be a lot. But I have an important question: is your dress going to be wool?
Helen: I was wearing a wool blend tank top when we got engaged! But for the wedding, whenever we get around to it, I think I probably want to go traditional, with the big dress. Why not have one super fancy, beautifully constructed piece of clothing in your life?
Epilogue: After this conversation, Cameron finally bought a wool dress.
