I can't remember quite how long I've know Cristina. The knit night at Looped is about nine years old, but over the years there have been regulars, irregulars, folks whose lives, jobs, kids, and/or school have caused them to cycle in and out.
At some point Cristina and I figured out we were the same age. I am a dedicated cat person. She was a dog person who had also had cats, but been too sad to find another when her previous one passed away. But then she took over a relative's and she shared the slow winning over process as the cat decided she might be an okay caretaker.
The nature of knit nights are that I can remember talking jobs, and bad bosses, and taxes, and condoms with Cristina. She was firm in what she wanted in so many ways. She went from knitting stockinette that she never quite finished (oh those seemingly easy projects) to amazing colorwork.
It is easy to assign battle terms to illness, as if the amount of fight in a person has some bearing in their eventual success. Cristina said they considered her young and healthy when she came in (which, being the same age, I heartily approve of this framing).
COVID-19 is a nasty germ. Cristina was added to the death totals in Maryland this week. Due to various social distancing policies, we obviously haven't done in person knit night for a few weeks now. It's heartbreaking to think I won't ever get to see her in person again.
