When I first moved to California from my home state of Illinois at the age of 21, I worked in a foundry in Santa Rosa. One of the friends I made at that job was Amanda. She was fun. We hung out after work. She was an instigator, I mean that in a good way; she made things happen.
Amanda was creative , working in stained glass and playing music.
She brought me a small bag of shredded dollar bills one day and asked if I could weave them into a guitar strap for her, along with some black and metallic gold yarn. It was a request that I just couldn't figure out how to accomplish. The inspiration didn't come until years later.
I hadn't been able to see how I could use small paper strips. They weren't going to work for warp! A supplementary weft? Then one day, out of the blue, it occurred to me. Rya knots. It's the way pile rugs are woven.
So here is the guitar strap. Now that I have woven it, I can't figure out what to do with it. There is no Amanda to give it to. After I quit my job to raise kids and then eventually moved away, Amanda tragically took her own life. I think she would have liked it, though.
I have kept it for years. Stuck again. Not knowing what to do.
I am trying to talk myself into letting it go. I will never be able to give it to her. Maybe someone else could rock that guitar strap and in some way carry on the spirit of a very cool girl named Amanda.
(Note: There is a sequel. Please follow this link to read what happened after I wrote this post.)
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