Confluence

Listening to NPR while I beautified myself the other morning, I heard a voice; a familiar voice even though the speaker was a complete stranger. This voice stood out, apart from the other hushed and studious ones of the day's panel. Her words caused me to stop, put down the sundry brushes and powders, and listen. Really listen.

The woman speaking was Eudora Welty, late novelist, photographer, Southern woman, and master architect of exalting the mundane into magic. The excerpt was from one of her lectures, ending with the famous quote, " A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within." She speaks here of confluence, a coming together of things. To listen to the segment go here.

Mindful of confluence the past two days, I have seen in my small world, a much larger life, joined by friends whose ideas and generosity meet in me and flow onward towards the future. I look at my daughter, on the verge of being 5, trying to read, trying to reach out beyond her small world, and I imagine her one day, knitting, reading, baking, sharing,and savoring the confluence of inspiration from the creative women, familiar or not, who precede her, surround her, are her. My thanks to Quelle Erqsome for the delicious foccacia recipe and to The Lady for her gift of yarn, I am in your debt.

Slow Going

Introducing the Schooner socks, first of several pair of socks I will knit for the Summer of Socks '08 knit a long. Honestly, I'd be knitting socks anyway, but this affords me the honor of having a badge. Who doesn't like to have badges and buttons? The yarn is Knit Picks Felici in 'schooner'


The February Lady Sweater is moving slowly simply due to my lack of focus. I usually knit patterned items at night, when the distractions ( a.k.a. my children) are asleep. However, I have been dawdling on Ravelry late into the night instead of knitting. Funny how things don't get done when you aren't actively doing them. I don't think the sweater looks this lumpy in real life, but I guess being shoved into a knitting bag would rumple the most even garter stitch. She'll look much more presentable after a bath.

Welcome, Summer

In summer, the song sings itself.

William Carlos Williams

Ennui

Boredom, despondency, the lazies; I've got 'em. I am studiously knitting away on the warm shawl and the February Lady Sweater ( which I am making in a blue similar to the Crayola crayon pacific blue) and waiting to cast on for a pair of socks on the 21st to kick off Summer of Socks '08.

Pictures of a large black rectangle, a blue yoke, and me waiting, are too boring to post. So, with a deep sigh and a great shove, I give you a comforting shot of the bread I made and have already eaten. I really want to make more, but this ennui weighs a ton. I am hoping if I sit quietly for long enough, it might grow bored with me and move along.

Ticket to Ride

photo by Pamela Wynne, Flint Knits

I am not by nature a joiner, but sometimes the drums and whistles playing from the newest bandwagon to slowly roll past me are too enticing to ignore. I am usually content to wave to the Doers and sit in the grass with the Watchers until all the dust and hype has settled. Today I firmly took hold of the bed rail running, jumping and landing in the middle of a throng of screaming knitters, needles and yarn waving like flags. See me- I'm the one with the sheepish look, mouthing the words to the chants and cheers I never bothered to learn. I am waving this sign:

I Am Knitting the February Lady Sweater

because I Cannot Help Myself!!

My sign is large and poking the fellow wagoners, so I'll put it down now. So, how may thousands of you are knitting this too? If not, what are you waiting for?

The Wind in the Willows

To honor the PSv3 element, Air, I am reading the classic storybook, The Wind in the Willows. I read a bit each evening to my daughter as she falls asleep, and I struggle not to read ahead long after she slumbers. I am currently knitting the warm shawl which at the moment is a large black rectangle; dense and boring. I would rather share an airy and charming excerpt from the first chapter of the book, in which we meet Mole, emancipated from spring cleaning:

" It all seemed too good to be true. Hither and thither through the meadows he rambled busily, along the hedgerows, across the copses, finding everywhere birds building, flowers budding, leaves thrusting- everything happy, and progressive, and occupied. And instead of having an uneasy conscience pricking him and whispering "Whitewash!" he somehow could only feel how jolly it was to be the only idle dog among all these busy citizens. After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working."

Baby Rollin' Beret

Patterns: Baby Rollin' Beret by Wooly Wormhead
Magic Slippers by Caroline Dlugy-Hegwer
Yarn: Comfy by Knitpicks in Creme Brulee
Needles: Us# 2 and 4 DPN's

I knit the beret with the size 4 needles, I think Comfy is closer to DK than the labeled worsted.
The magic slippers were knit with the size 2's, I simply modified the stitch counts slightly to acheive a newborn foot size ( 3.5 inches). I tried to get a picture of the beret that would show the dapper rolled brim, but had no newborn on hand, so the bedpost volunteered. Voila!

Air

Swatching with the yellow Comfy, which I have designated with a tender pat and knowing nod as the ultimate baby yarn, I was also put in mind of one of the most poignant guides to life, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In The Marvelous Land of Oz, one of the many sequels to the popular volume, the women revolt with the aid of knitting needles and make the men do all of the chores.

To celebrate the Air Element (gray, white, and yellow) for Project Spectrum 3, I will take Lolly's advice to find inspiration in unusual places since air itself can infiltrate even the most hidden of spaces. I will be searching children's classic literature which is absolutely worth reading and quite magical when read aloud. Join me on my journey to capture the invisible, indispensable, and irrepressible breath of life.

The road to the City of Emeralds

is paved with yellow brick.

L. Frank Baum