The beret looks terrible. I'm gonna have to fix, uh, something. The problem is the brim, so I may have to take the whole thing out and do it again. Ugh.
But that's not the point. The point is that a wonderful thing happened to me this morning at work. Six months ago or so I had a disappointing incident with the art teacher at my (former) school, which I wrote about here.
This morning, one of the teachers at my new school approached me in the hallway and asked if I'd made my scarf (the Kata/Felicity Scarf). She then asked me what stitch combination I'd used. She then asked what yarn I'd used. ("It's, um, Alchemy? I had to go to North Carolina for it?" "Oh, yeah, I know that one.") She then invited me to help her lead the knitting club on Mondays after school. Aha! She's the art teacher!
"Come by my room, we'll talk fibers sometime," she said as we parted ways.
I am so working at the right school now.
And there is hope for the creative futures of our children.
Thank you, God.
28 September 2006
27 September 2006
Lull
There has been a bit of a lull in the knitting.
First of all, I finished the Kata/Felicity Scarf from the previous post, and knitting with any other yarn just seems like kind of a letdown.
Secondly, I've been working on getting ordained. That takes considerably more time and effort when the people who are in charge of your process act like they have their heads up orafices that they'd have to be pretty stupid to stick their heads up in the first place.
Thirdly, I ran out of yarn and patterns that worked together. Well, I ran out of neither yarn nor patterns, really, but it sure felt like it for a while.
Then I went to a therapist for a day (part of the ordination stuff -- "they" have to make sure I'm not crazy. And I'm officially not!), in a part of the Atlanta metro where I almost never go, and so I spent a bit of time at this yarn store. I spent a bit of money there, too. I'm just sayin'. It was a good store -- if it weren't an hour away from any place I ever want to be, I'd go there more often. But I have new yarn now, which means new knitting inspiration.
I've been needing some inspiration lately. I was going to write a post titled "Inspiration," but I just couldn't get excited about it.
Anyway, inspiration. I now have yarn with which to make Christmas presents for Joel and for his mother. I think I'm going to start, though, with a beret for myself. I'm feeling the beret again this season, which is nice. I used to be a beret kid, back when I was a kid. I think it's time again. I'm hoping I bought enough of the yarn I plan to use, because I misread the label in the store and may have underbought. And that store is at least an hour from my house.
And I have two discoveries to share. The first is that my old-new favorite yarn store is no longer a favorite (they're moving away from the yarns I love, toward lots of yarns I don't love), which is especially too bad because my job is a less-than-five-minute drive away. The second is a new-ish blog that has quickly become a must-read for me: PeaceBang's Beauty Tips for Ministers is a hilarious read (the Manolo meets New England Unitarian Universalism in the form of a fabulous single female minister who just wants us all to look as good as God intended) by a dedicated almost-daily blogger with a sense of decency and style. If PeaceBang had an email address, I'd let her know privately how much I enjoy her blog, but as it is, she has no contact info on her Blogger Profile, and so I must share with the world my love for her (and let her know about Ann Taylor LOFT's new "Julie" trousers, which are the most flattering trousers I have perhaps ever found for the very-bootylicious ministers among us). Thank you, Ann Taylor LOFT. And thank you, too, PeaceBang, for your unending quest to bring a little bit of taste to those who think they are not of this world (but who still have to live in it!).
Now. To the beret!
First of all, I finished the Kata/Felicity Scarf from the previous post, and knitting with any other yarn just seems like kind of a letdown.
Secondly, I've been working on getting ordained. That takes considerably more time and effort when the people who are in charge of your process act like they have their heads up orafices that they'd have to be pretty stupid to stick their heads up in the first place.
Thirdly, I ran out of yarn and patterns that worked together. Well, I ran out of neither yarn nor patterns, really, but it sure felt like it for a while.
Then I went to a therapist for a day (part of the ordination stuff -- "they" have to make sure I'm not crazy. And I'm officially not!), in a part of the Atlanta metro where I almost never go, and so I spent a bit of time at this yarn store. I spent a bit of money there, too. I'm just sayin'. It was a good store -- if it weren't an hour away from any place I ever want to be, I'd go there more often. But I have new yarn now, which means new knitting inspiration.
I've been needing some inspiration lately. I was going to write a post titled "Inspiration," but I just couldn't get excited about it.
Anyway, inspiration. I now have yarn with which to make Christmas presents for Joel and for his mother. I think I'm going to start, though, with a beret for myself. I'm feeling the beret again this season, which is nice. I used to be a beret kid, back when I was a kid. I think it's time again. I'm hoping I bought enough of the yarn I plan to use, because I misread the label in the store and may have underbought. And that store is at least an hour from my house.
And I have two discoveries to share. The first is that my old-new favorite yarn store is no longer a favorite (they're moving away from the yarns I love, toward lots of yarns I don't love), which is especially too bad because my job is a less-than-five-minute drive away. The second is a new-ish blog that has quickly become a must-read for me: PeaceBang's Beauty Tips for Ministers is a hilarious read (the Manolo meets New England Unitarian Universalism in the form of a fabulous single female minister who just wants us all to look as good as God intended) by a dedicated almost-daily blogger with a sense of decency and style. If PeaceBang had an email address, I'd let her know privately how much I enjoy her blog, but as it is, she has no contact info on her Blogger Profile, and so I must share with the world my love for her (and let her know about Ann Taylor LOFT's new "Julie" trousers, which are the most flattering trousers I have perhaps ever found for the very-bootylicious ministers among us). Thank you, Ann Taylor LOFT. And thank you, too, PeaceBang, for your unending quest to bring a little bit of taste to those who think they are not of this world (but who still have to live in it!).
Now. To the beret!
02 September 2006
Knitting with Honey
So, that link I used to have over in the sidebar that said something like "Yarn I Love But Have Never Seen"? I've seen it now. And I love it even more than I thought I would. If it weren't so darned expensive, I would swear to knit with nothing else for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, at $20 a skein, I simply cannot afford to make a promise like that.
Joel and I went to North Carolina a few weeks ago. A college friend of his had eloped last January, and she and her husband had this big "We Got Married" weekend celebration up in the mountains near Boone. (Great town. I could totally dig that vibe, man.) And as any good knitter would do, I googled something like "yarn store, Boone, NC" and came across a couple of different options, one in a town just over the mountain that sold Alchemy Yarns. So when we got up to Boone, I made Joel drive over the mountain in the rain -- we had to call for directions twice -- to find this shop and buy some yarn. I bought two skeins of Synchronicity, a 50/50 silk/wool DKish blend. Amazing stuff. I normally hate knitting with silk. There's something about the feel of it that grates on me, like knitting with synthetic fibers. But like I said, I really don't want to knit with any other yarn, ever. It doesn't feel like silk, it feels like honey.
I immediately went to the new yarn store I love in my old 'hood and begged the owner to start carrying Synchronicity. We'll see.
After carrying the two skeins around for about three weeks, they finally told me what they want to be. The Kata Felicity Scarf from Mindful Knitting (a book that I do eventually plan to review). I've been working on it for a couple of days now, and the yarn is perfect for this pattern. Just the right shine, just the right drape -- the particular stitch pattern combined with the silk makes the yarn look like ropes of jewels (emeralds, since I bought a deep green) that somehow magically hang together in invisible settings.
Despite the premise of the book from which I got the pattern, I am not meditating while making this scarf. I am watching improv comedy. There's a huge tournament happening this weekend at the theater where Joel works, and I almost always knit during the shows. (I've made it my short-term goal, since I apparently am going to be in Atlanta longer than I had intended, to become one of those local celebrities: "The Girl Who Knits At Dad's Garage.") So I've been working this pattern in the dark, which is particularly fun because it's a lace pattern -- lots of yarnover and s1k2togPsso action to keep track of, but a pretty simple repeat -- and I have not made a single mistake in the pattern (knock wood). It looks amazing. And when the lights come on, I stop knitting and work a crossword or talk with friends instead.
I hadn't realized that knitting in the dark was all that unusual (everyone knits at the movies, right?), but last night I met a fellow knitter during intermission. She was working on a sweater and I asked if she was making much progress during the shows, and she said that it was too complicated a stitch pattern to work in the dark. A k1p1 rib. Too complicated. Oh. I had just showed her my lacy scarf. On the one hand, I am terribly proud of my knitting-in-the-dark skillz. On the other hand, I hadn't meant to make her feel like an inferiorly-skilled knitter. Whoops. Hopefully she didn't notice, or overanalyze the situation like I just did.
Anyway, there are two more shows tonight, and then the tournament is over and I'll have to knit my honey/jewel/improv-not-meditiation scarf by the light of day again if I want to finish it and move on to something else. But for now, I'm just enjoying the feel of time slipping through my fingers.
Joel and I went to North Carolina a few weeks ago. A college friend of his had eloped last January, and she and her husband had this big "We Got Married" weekend celebration up in the mountains near Boone. (Great town. I could totally dig that vibe, man.) And as any good knitter would do, I googled something like "yarn store, Boone, NC" and came across a couple of different options, one in a town just over the mountain that sold Alchemy Yarns. So when we got up to Boone, I made Joel drive over the mountain in the rain -- we had to call for directions twice -- to find this shop and buy some yarn. I bought two skeins of Synchronicity, a 50/50 silk/wool DKish blend. Amazing stuff. I normally hate knitting with silk. There's something about the feel of it that grates on me, like knitting with synthetic fibers. But like I said, I really don't want to knit with any other yarn, ever. It doesn't feel like silk, it feels like honey.
I immediately went to the new yarn store I love in my old 'hood and begged the owner to start carrying Synchronicity. We'll see.
After carrying the two skeins around for about three weeks, they finally told me what they want to be. The Kata Felicity Scarf from Mindful Knitting (a book that I do eventually plan to review). I've been working on it for a couple of days now, and the yarn is perfect for this pattern. Just the right shine, just the right drape -- the particular stitch pattern combined with the silk makes the yarn look like ropes of jewels (emeralds, since I bought a deep green) that somehow magically hang together in invisible settings.
Despite the premise of the book from which I got the pattern, I am not meditating while making this scarf. I am watching improv comedy. There's a huge tournament happening this weekend at the theater where Joel works, and I almost always knit during the shows. (I've made it my short-term goal, since I apparently am going to be in Atlanta longer than I had intended, to become one of those local celebrities: "The Girl Who Knits At Dad's Garage.") So I've been working this pattern in the dark, which is particularly fun because it's a lace pattern -- lots of yarnover and s1k2togPsso action to keep track of, but a pretty simple repeat -- and I have not made a single mistake in the pattern (knock wood). It looks amazing. And when the lights come on, I stop knitting and work a crossword or talk with friends instead.
I hadn't realized that knitting in the dark was all that unusual (everyone knits at the movies, right?), but last night I met a fellow knitter during intermission. She was working on a sweater and I asked if she was making much progress during the shows, and she said that it was too complicated a stitch pattern to work in the dark. A k1p1 rib. Too complicated. Oh. I had just showed her my lacy scarf. On the one hand, I am terribly proud of my knitting-in-the-dark skillz. On the other hand, I hadn't meant to make her feel like an inferiorly-skilled knitter. Whoops. Hopefully she didn't notice, or overanalyze the situation like I just did.
Anyway, there are two more shows tonight, and then the tournament is over and I'll have to knit my honey/jewel/improv-not-meditiation scarf by the light of day again if I want to finish it and move on to something else. But for now, I'm just enjoying the feel of time slipping through my fingers.
05 August 2006
Victory is Mine! ...more or less
I knitted a sweater in two days. Giant yarn (Cascade's Lana Grande, in black), big needles (US 13s), no sleeves, super-easy. But still. Two days! I have a couple of ends to weave in, and it needs a light blocking, but other than that, it's a whole garment that took seemingly no time at all and I can wear it to work and everything! I made the body about four inches longer than the pattern called for, so it's a little less teenager-y and a little more jacket-y.
So, I'm boring and lazy and technologically not-very-with-it, but Jennie isn't, and she's posted pictures of our Florida trip (scroll down till you see palm trees). Yes, we really were on the Jumbotron at the Devil Rays game!
So, I'm boring and lazy and technologically not-very-with-it, but Jennie isn't, and she's posted pictures of our Florida trip (scroll down till you see palm trees). Yes, we really were on the Jumbotron at the Devil Rays game!
02 August 2006
Disconnected
Today I'm having something of an off day. Grumpy grump grump. Maybe it was the bickering in the car as I drove my boyfriend to the airport this morning. Maybe it was the loneliness on the drive home. Maybe it's the post-vacation back-to-real-life blues. Maybe it's the impending end-of-summer back-to-work blues. Right now I just feel bleh.
BUT! A new yarn store opened up in Atlanta about two weeks ago. It's everything a yarn store should be. Beautiful layout. Great atmosphere. Friendly service. Cool owner. No snobbery. Their own custom-roasted blend of organic and socially-conscious coffee that is always freshly-brewed and all-you-can-drink. Awesome selection of really nice yarns in a variety of prices, and no novelty crap. Even sample layout copies of books that aren't yet published but for which they are already taking preorders. Seriously, I may never shop anywhere else for yarn ever again. The only bad thing about this shop is that I used to live down the street from the location, and now I don't anymore. Then again, now that I'll have to drive 20 minutes to get there, as opposed to the six-minute walk I would have if I still lived in my beautiful Blue Apartment at 780 St. Charles Ave., maybe I won't spend as much money there as I otherwise would. But since I really want this shop to do well (and goodness knows we've got a ton of yarn stores in the Atlanta area and nobody seems to understand how they can all stay in business in this market), I could see spending more than I should there anyway. And maybe if I went every day, I wouldn't feel obliged to buy something every time I go in. As it is... I'm thinking of driving to choir a little early tonight and stopping in for some superchunky something that will knit up quickly into this little number.
There are only about four more days of summer vacation. Work starts Monday. In fact, there's a meet-and-greet potluck for the new folks (that's me) this Friday, for which I haven't RSVPed but which I plan to attend anyway. That's two days away. And my knitting goal for the summer had been to learn how to do colorwork. Both intarsia and Fair Isle. I did the intarsia bit. That was way easy. I have yet to bother with the Fair Isle thing, though. I have yet to find a pattern I like enough to want to make it. I haven't done much looking, but I have done a little. I'm just a solid-color kind of gal, really. I always have been. There was a time in my life when I refused to wear any clothing that wasn't completely solid colored -- no subtle floral patterns, no polka dots, no stripes of any kind. And definitely no writing! Not even a tag that poked out from the side seam. Growing up in the label-conscious eighties (when it was the height of cool in the halls of my elementary school to wear sweatshirts with "United Colors of Bennetton" blazed across the chest), I was in trouble. Apparently, I'm still in trouble, when it comes to doing this Fair Isle thing. I want to know how to do it. Knowing that I will never bother to wear it is something of a motivation-killer, though.
One last non sequitur. I've always been something of a "Mary Mary Quite Contrary." Never one to jump on the bandwagon, go along with the crowd simply for the sake of being like everybody else, etc. And so it goes with yarn. I'm a huge fiber snob. I have a very limited scope when it comes to what yarns I will use. Heck, I don't even like knitting with cotton! Or silk! So when I was talking with the owner of my new awesome LYS about possible yarns to use for a sweater I'm going to do someday, she suggested I use Cascade 220, or possibly something by Debbie Bliss, or something else, blah blah blah. "Ugh. 220 is what everyone uses. It's everywhere. Forget it." I thought. But, she handed me a skein of Cascade Pastaza, and pointed out that it's 50% llama wool. LLAMA, people! So I bought a skein to play with. And grabbed one skein of an interesting colorway of 22o while I was at it, not realizing that it was 220. Brougth them home, swatched them up... and oh my goodness, I understand now why everyone loves 220 as much as they do. Geez, it's a beautiful yarn, and so soft to touch, and so easy to work up! Love love love love! It's not my New Favorite Yarn or anything, because that's just going too far, but wow do I like this yarn. The Pastaza's great too (I like the shine it has -- without silk, even!). Never again will I turn up my nose at Cascade yarns. And after Ann Shayne's gorgeous porch chair pillows, I'm inspired to knit some like hers for our porch rocking chairs as well... which means going back to the LYS and buying some Cotton Classic. Breaking all kinds of self-imposed rules here, people! Throwing caution to the wind! Learning how to do that really cool hexagonal stitch pattern is just the bonus.
Also, I purchased two books from KnitPicks last night and am eagerly awaiting their arrival. Also also, I finally broke down and subscribed to Interweave Knits. Lots of inspiration headed my way. It's about time, since I have been feeling somewhat stagnant in terms of my knitting this past month or so.
BUT! A new yarn store opened up in Atlanta about two weeks ago. It's everything a yarn store should be. Beautiful layout. Great atmosphere. Friendly service. Cool owner. No snobbery. Their own custom-roasted blend of organic and socially-conscious coffee that is always freshly-brewed and all-you-can-drink. Awesome selection of really nice yarns in a variety of prices, and no novelty crap. Even sample layout copies of books that aren't yet published but for which they are already taking preorders. Seriously, I may never shop anywhere else for yarn ever again. The only bad thing about this shop is that I used to live down the street from the location, and now I don't anymore. Then again, now that I'll have to drive 20 minutes to get there, as opposed to the six-minute walk I would have if I still lived in my beautiful Blue Apartment at 780 St. Charles Ave., maybe I won't spend as much money there as I otherwise would. But since I really want this shop to do well (and goodness knows we've got a ton of yarn stores in the Atlanta area and nobody seems to understand how they can all stay in business in this market), I could see spending more than I should there anyway. And maybe if I went every day, I wouldn't feel obliged to buy something every time I go in. As it is... I'm thinking of driving to choir a little early tonight and stopping in for some superchunky something that will knit up quickly into this little number.
There are only about four more days of summer vacation. Work starts Monday. In fact, there's a meet-and-greet potluck for the new folks (that's me) this Friday, for which I haven't RSVPed but which I plan to attend anyway. That's two days away. And my knitting goal for the summer had been to learn how to do colorwork. Both intarsia and Fair Isle. I did the intarsia bit. That was way easy. I have yet to bother with the Fair Isle thing, though. I have yet to find a pattern I like enough to want to make it. I haven't done much looking, but I have done a little. I'm just a solid-color kind of gal, really. I always have been. There was a time in my life when I refused to wear any clothing that wasn't completely solid colored -- no subtle floral patterns, no polka dots, no stripes of any kind. And definitely no writing! Not even a tag that poked out from the side seam. Growing up in the label-conscious eighties (when it was the height of cool in the halls of my elementary school to wear sweatshirts with "United Colors of Bennetton" blazed across the chest), I was in trouble. Apparently, I'm still in trouble, when it comes to doing this Fair Isle thing. I want to know how to do it. Knowing that I will never bother to wear it is something of a motivation-killer, though.
One last non sequitur. I've always been something of a "Mary Mary Quite Contrary." Never one to jump on the bandwagon, go along with the crowd simply for the sake of being like everybody else, etc. And so it goes with yarn. I'm a huge fiber snob. I have a very limited scope when it comes to what yarns I will use. Heck, I don't even like knitting with cotton! Or silk! So when I was talking with the owner of my new awesome LYS about possible yarns to use for a sweater I'm going to do someday, she suggested I use Cascade 220, or possibly something by Debbie Bliss, or something else, blah blah blah. "Ugh. 220 is what everyone uses. It's everywhere. Forget it." I thought. But, she handed me a skein of Cascade Pastaza, and pointed out that it's 50% llama wool. LLAMA, people! So I bought a skein to play with. And grabbed one skein of an interesting colorway of 22o while I was at it, not realizing that it was 220. Brougth them home, swatched them up... and oh my goodness, I understand now why everyone loves 220 as much as they do. Geez, it's a beautiful yarn, and so soft to touch, and so easy to work up! Love love love love! It's not my New Favorite Yarn or anything, because that's just going too far, but wow do I like this yarn. The Pastaza's great too (I like the shine it has -- without silk, even!). Never again will I turn up my nose at Cascade yarns. And after Ann Shayne's gorgeous porch chair pillows, I'm inspired to knit some like hers for our porch rocking chairs as well... which means going back to the LYS and buying some Cotton Classic. Breaking all kinds of self-imposed rules here, people! Throwing caution to the wind! Learning how to do that really cool hexagonal stitch pattern is just the bonus.
Also, I purchased two books from KnitPicks last night and am eagerly awaiting their arrival. Also also, I finally broke down and subscribed to Interweave Knits. Lots of inspiration headed my way. It's about time, since I have been feeling somewhat stagnant in terms of my knitting this past month or so.
20 July 2006
Connections
I don't remember to check Knitters Review all that often, but I was poking around there one day a couple of weeks ago and found this poll, which I loved. KR polls really only tend to scratch the surface of any issue, but I love that of the 1924 people who have taken this poll as of this moment, nearly three-quarters think that there may be something to the idea that knitting and spirituality are connected. That's 1400 people! And considering how many more knitters there are in the world who haven't taken the poll (I mean, how many thousands of people participated in the Knitting Olympics? over 4000? And how many more of us didn't participate? Like me?)... that's a lot of knitters who connect to The Great Something-Out-There (or, as I like to say, The Big Chick in the Sky). We could start a church. And if we can start a church, then we can start a REVOLUTION!
Ok, about the revolution...too much? Too much.
I think that knitters already have started churches, actually. Weekly knit-nights, S'nB groups (or whatever we're saying these days that isn't a contested trademark), whatever you call 'em. They're knitters' church. Come together, from your different worlds and busy lives, shut out the chaos and the obligations for just a moment, join each other in this space to learn and grow and share something of ourselves with another person who would otherwise be a total stranger, but who isn't because you have this common love for something that is greater than yourselves, bigger than each individual would be on his or her own. We don't always know why we do it, except that we have to -- something has called us to create, to build, to join, to love. Something bigger than we are is calling out to us, inviting us to be a part of this world that not everyone sees or appreciates or understands. And we can make the whole world a better place, simply by listening to that Something Bigger, giving ourselves to it, letting go of all that external stuff that's holding us back, and connecting -- stitch by stitch -- to this fabric that we are creating, and which in turn creates us.
And I don't just mean the physical fabric of the garment that we're making out of needles and yarn and time and effort. I mean the spiritual fabric, the metaphorical and metaphysical fabric, knitting us to one another, to the person who receives the garment we make, to the other people who share this calling to create, to the Big Chick in the Sky who breathed into us and gave us the needles and yarn and told us to be fruitful and multiply. That fabric stretches over all of us, bundling us together, blanketing us in this Something Bigger.
I am constantly amazed at the sheer size of the internet knitting community. I'm not a frequent commenter on others' blogs (and I have yet to receive any comments on mine, or even to check and see how many people read it), but I lurk on several, and I am amazed at how comfortable I feel peeking into the lives of these people I've never met, and how much I want to share myself with them. If I were to go to LA, I'd totally email Crazy Aunt Purl to see if she would drink wine with me. A friend of mine is getting married in Toronto in October, and if I go, I totally want to meet the Yarn Harlot. Et cetera. There are thousands of us out there, all lurking on each others' blogs, all wanting to meet (and occasionally doing so), all knowing that we're going to be fast friends the second we see each other -- already being fast friends, in many cases, in spite of never having been in the same time zone at the same time, even. Amazing.
This weekend I am going to Florida for a girls' weekend with two of my best girlfriends from college. Jennie is the one who encouraged me to get back into knitting, after having laid aside the needles when I was young. Ali is the one who sat next to me in our painful Senior Seminar, knitting away furiously on our sweaters and trying not to scream our heads off. And both of them are trying to figure out things to do while we're together for two days: there's been lots of emailing back-and-forth, what about amusement parks in the area, what about a baseball game, what about this, what about that??? And all that's well and good. I'm all for the Axis of Diva going to see a Devil Rays game. But what I really want to do is sit around with two of my best girlfriends and knit. Knit on the beach, knit on the dock, knit by the pool, knit inside where it's air conditioned and simply look out the window... whatever. I'm just happy to have knitters' church and connect with my girls.
Ok, about the revolution...too much? Too much.
I think that knitters already have started churches, actually. Weekly knit-nights, S'nB groups (or whatever we're saying these days that isn't a contested trademark), whatever you call 'em. They're knitters' church. Come together, from your different worlds and busy lives, shut out the chaos and the obligations for just a moment, join each other in this space to learn and grow and share something of ourselves with another person who would otherwise be a total stranger, but who isn't because you have this common love for something that is greater than yourselves, bigger than each individual would be on his or her own. We don't always know why we do it, except that we have to -- something has called us to create, to build, to join, to love. Something bigger than we are is calling out to us, inviting us to be a part of this world that not everyone sees or appreciates or understands. And we can make the whole world a better place, simply by listening to that Something Bigger, giving ourselves to it, letting go of all that external stuff that's holding us back, and connecting -- stitch by stitch -- to this fabric that we are creating, and which in turn creates us.
And I don't just mean the physical fabric of the garment that we're making out of needles and yarn and time and effort. I mean the spiritual fabric, the metaphorical and metaphysical fabric, knitting us to one another, to the person who receives the garment we make, to the other people who share this calling to create, to the Big Chick in the Sky who breathed into us and gave us the needles and yarn and told us to be fruitful and multiply. That fabric stretches over all of us, bundling us together, blanketing us in this Something Bigger.
I am constantly amazed at the sheer size of the internet knitting community. I'm not a frequent commenter on others' blogs (and I have yet to receive any comments on mine, or even to check and see how many people read it), but I lurk on several, and I am amazed at how comfortable I feel peeking into the lives of these people I've never met, and how much I want to share myself with them. If I were to go to LA, I'd totally email Crazy Aunt Purl to see if she would drink wine with me. A friend of mine is getting married in Toronto in October, and if I go, I totally want to meet the Yarn Harlot. Et cetera. There are thousands of us out there, all lurking on each others' blogs, all wanting to meet (and occasionally doing so), all knowing that we're going to be fast friends the second we see each other -- already being fast friends, in many cases, in spite of never having been in the same time zone at the same time, even. Amazing.
This weekend I am going to Florida for a girls' weekend with two of my best girlfriends from college. Jennie is the one who encouraged me to get back into knitting, after having laid aside the needles when I was young. Ali is the one who sat next to me in our painful Senior Seminar, knitting away furiously on our sweaters and trying not to scream our heads off. And both of them are trying to figure out things to do while we're together for two days: there's been lots of emailing back-and-forth, what about amusement parks in the area, what about a baseball game, what about this, what about that??? And all that's well and good. I'm all for the Axis of Diva going to see a Devil Rays game. But what I really want to do is sit around with two of my best girlfriends and knit. Knit on the beach, knit on the dock, knit by the pool, knit inside where it's air conditioned and simply look out the window... whatever. I'm just happy to have knitters' church and connect with my girls.
08 July 2006
Callous
Hooray for the new Knitty! I am particularly enamored of the lilies -- but I'm having needle issues. I only have two plastic size-one dpns, and two metal size-two dpns plus a really long size-two circular. This makes knitting in the round very difficult. I generally prefer knitting with larger needles (size 5 is on the small end), and after doing 12 inches of i-cord on my size-ones, my fingers hurt! A lot! I'm afraid that I'm going to develop a callous on the tip of my left finger.
In other news, I'm stalling on the SCJ. I have no desire to sew the hem flat. I still can't decide if I'm going to felt it or not. I don't quite like the way it hangs on me, but I can't figure out how to fix it. Meow, meow, meow.
Been catching up on lots of KnitCast listening this afternoon. And I found my Weekend Knitting (it was on the floor next to the bed, of all places!). And I'm trying really hard not to purchase any new yarn in order to save money for upcoming travels. Really, I just want to be on the beach in Florida with my girls, sipping fuzzy drinks and knitting fuzzy goodness. Not getting callouses.
In other news, I'm stalling on the SCJ. I have no desire to sew the hem flat. I still can't decide if I'm going to felt it or not. I don't quite like the way it hangs on me, but I can't figure out how to fix it. Meow, meow, meow.
Been catching up on lots of KnitCast listening this afternoon. And I found my Weekend Knitting (it was on the floor next to the bed, of all places!). And I'm trying really hard not to purchase any new yarn in order to save money for upcoming travels. Really, I just want to be on the beach in Florida with my girls, sipping fuzzy drinks and knitting fuzzy goodness. Not getting callouses.
07 July 2006
Where does the time go?
I cannot believe that it's July. I only get two months of summer this year (I'd gotten used to a cushy three-and-a-half. Ah, grad school, I do miss some things about you). Still, I have one more big trip coming up: a girlfriends weekend in Florida, followed by a week in New York City with Joel. There is much knitting yet to be accomplished before elementary school hell begins again! Oh, and I'm running vacation Bible school all next week. Man, I wish I could just sit there and teach the kids to knit. Knit for Jesus, kids!
And by the way, I totally didn't write that song I posted for the Fourth of July. L. Stone did (no, I don't know his first name), to the tune of Finlandia (by J. Sibelius)(and his first name was Johann). But I did grow up singing it in church. Maybe I should teach the kids this song.
And by the way, I totally didn't write that song I posted for the Fourth of July. L. Stone did (no, I don't know his first name), to the tune of Finlandia (by J. Sibelius)(and his first name was Johann). But I did grow up singing it in church. Maybe I should teach the kids this song.
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