Cobra Dance

K,

Do you remember the wool from the other day? Go look at it. You might even want to embiggify it. That's 4 ounces of gorgeous Finn that I dyed, inspired by the colors from a Bollywood movie street dance scene which had a lot of earthy yet bold and bright colors. The film was Bride and Prejudice, and the trailor is actually a fairly good representation of the film, if you're interested. The scene was Marriage Into Town, which is a pretty hilarious song. I'm pretty sure I messed up and should have done this for you before your wedding. Sorry.



Delightfully, I spun this up the week before school started into singles.

Somehow, amazingly, I managed to spin this onto the two bobbins just perfectly so that when I double-plied it they came out even. I had Kris point out where the yarn started and the leader stopped for you.


Isn't that incredible? I'm still stupified.

Washed, beat-up, dried, and the yarn looked a million times better. At first I was a tad unsure if I liked how the colors were meshing together, but now I truly liked them.

The finished skein.




A fast shot, as it was what we refer to as a "wintery mix" or what I call, bad weather, during my photoshoot.

This has not stayed as mere yarn for long. For now, however, I'll leave you with the Cobra Dance. From another movie.

Love,
A

Poetry on the Rise

K,
At least with me, until I stop being lazy, poetry is on the rise.

Things to Do in the Belly of the Whale

by Dan Albergotti

Measure the walls. Count the ribs. Notch the long days.
Look up for blue sky through the spout. Make small fires
with the broken hulls of fishing boats. Practice smoke signals.
Call old friends, and listen for echoes of distant voices.
Organize your calendar. Dream of the beach. Look each way
for the dim glow of light. Work on your reports. Review
each of your life's ten million choices. Endure moments
of self-loathing. Find the evidence of those before you.
Destroy it. Try to be very quiet, and listen for the sound
of gears and moving water. Listen for the sound of your heart.
Be thankful that you are here, swallowed with all hope,
where you can rest and wait. Be nostalgic. Think of all
the things you did and could have done. Remember
treading water in the center of the still night sea, your toes
pointing again and again down, down into the black depths.

Yarny things to come,

A

St. Brigid's Day

K,

It's St. Brigid's Day, which means that it's also Silent Poetry Reading Day. Today I've selected one from Mary Oliver.

Mockingbirds

This morning
two mockingbirds
in the green field
were spinning and tossing

the white ribbons
of their songs
into the air.
I had nothing

better to do
than listen.
I mean this
seriously.

In Greece,
a long time ago,
an old couple
opened their door

to two strangers
who were,
it soon appeared,
not men at all,

but gods.
It is my favorite story--
how the old couple
had almost nothing to give

but their willingness
to be attentive--
but for this alone
the gods loved them

and blessed them--
when they rose
out of their mortal bodies,
like a million particles of water

from a fountain,
the light
swept into all the corners
of the cottage,

and the old couple,
shaken with understanding,
bowed down--
but still they asked for nothing

but the difficult life
which they had already.
And the gods smiled, as they vanished,
clapping their great wings.

Wherever it was
I was supposed to be
this morning--
whatever it was I said

I would be doing--
I was standing
at the edge of the field--
I was hurrying

through my own soul,
opening its dark doors--
I was leaning out;
I was listening.

Always,
A

Zzzzz

K,

I dream of sleep. Deep, beautiful, long, uninterrupted sleep.

For days. Perhaps interrupted by showers. And doing my hair. Then more sleep and then more baths.

Just wanted to let you know.

A

slow fingers

A,
Babies are so exciting! I have a friend here in Arizona who is pregnant, and my first thought was of what to knit her. My mind immediately leapt to baby sweater, although after thinking about how the baby would be due in May, and how the baby would be living in Arizona, I decided that a sweater might be a little inappropriate given the circumstances. My plans were headed in the direction of knitted toys as well. And oh my goodness. Bunny with dress is about the most adorable thing I've ever seen. So cute.

Speaking of knitting gifts, I've been trying to finish up some Christmas gifts before I go back to WI in January. And as I was working on Christmas presents this morning, I was thinking about the world's fastest knitter and how long it would take her to knit the projects that I am working on. I mean, look at her go! She's absolutely amazing. When I read other blogs I often wonder about the productivity of these knitters and feel humble and slow in comparison. I certainly can't knit a hat in an hour, and I don't even want to know how sadly I would fare in comparison to this world-fast knitter. I used to tell James that they should make a show on TV similar to project runway, only make it about knitting designers. He told me that it would be slow and no one would be able to make any project within a reasonable amount of time. (He also said no one would watch it) But hey! If we just gathered up all of these world-fast knitters we could make it happen, don't you think? I would watch it.

Besides being a "slow" knitter, I am also a slow reader. In comparison, I guess. Kate was always a speed reader. I swear she could read a hundred pages in an hour. Maybe not so much, but I was always impressed. You can definitely make it through your classes with much more ease if you can speed read. And honestly, I've been a little jealous. But not too jealous. Because unlike knitting projects, I view good books as a limited commodity. There are only so many amazing books in the world, and the rest are closer to mediocre. And once you get your hands on that one amazing book, who wants to speed read through it? The best books that I have ever read, I've almost hesitated to read them, because I don't want them to be over. Because once you've read them they're gone, and there's nothing like reading a book for the first time. My favorite author has several books out that I haven't read yet, but I'm saving them for later in life, because I know he's old and won't publish many more books, and I want to savor each page.

So how is reading like knitting? Well, I guess there's a little bit of me that always wants to be the fastest and the best at everything. If I can whiz through it, it means I'm an expert, right? Well, I have come to accept my reading. But that knitting, wow. Think of how productive I could be. Think of how many new projects I could start. Think of all the yarn! Truth be told, I see knitting much differently than I see reading. There really are more projects that I want to work on than I have time for. The more I knit, the more ideas I have, and the less time I have to finish them. Here's me wishing I could finish another Christmas gift this afternoon, and realizing that most likely I will progress no farther than an inch or two.

When my fingers are cold they move so much slower. Perhaps that is my clue for the day. You know, the one time I played well in viola seminar, I warmed my hands in thrummed mittens until the very minute that I needed to play. And it was beautiful. Perhaps I should do the same here, prepare my hands for extra knitting strength and speed by prepping them with thrummed mittens. You see? In a round-about way, knitting begets knitting. Thrummed mittens beget more thrummed mittens and once I am warm, perhaps I will be able to crank those gifts out like a world-class knitter.

Hope your hands are staying warm. Let me know which adorable toy you are going to create.

Karen

Babies

K,

She's having a girl! My friend Jessica is pregnant, and we just learned that she's having a girl! Now, I owe Jessica. I owe her big time. Not only is she really nice, but she's really nice. I worked with her this past summer, and when I got behind on my work, she took over and did about 10 of my transcriptions for me.

You really have to understand how horribly annoying transcriptions are to do in order to love her so much. Because that took days and days of her time, and she asked for nothing in return. I really appreciate it.

So I'm really excited to knit her something nice, and I'm actually going to knit her something really special, in appreciation of what she did for me this summer as well. Because I truly wouldn't have finished my research this summer without her help!

I'm trying to stay on task...I really am. But...so....much...cute. It's going to be a late April baby. So I'm thinking...summer baby...knitting might not be a good idea! But toys are always good, no? Bunny? Otto? Elephant? This is cuteness overload.

I'm really leaning toward a bunny with a cute knitted dress. I think that'd be adorable.

And then I've heard that it's a good idea to give gifts for later on as well, not just the first few months, and so I thought, well maybe a nice sweater for when she's months 6-12, and not growing quite to fast, too! My favourite is the baby surprise jacket, and I think if I make it a little larger, it would be nice for growing into.

Oh my gosh! I'm in finals! I need to stop thinking about this!!!!

Love you.

A

wintry visit

A,
I was back in Wisconsin this weekend, and it was a constant flutter of nostalgia and being homesick. I was overjoyed to see my friends and family, but in a strange way I was almost just as affected simply by being in the town in which I had grown up. I was surprised by how the power of place could hold such an effect on my emotions. It made me feel small.

The reason for my trip was Sheri's wedding, and it was amazing to be able to reconnect with my high school friends and be present for this huge step in her life. It had been almost a year since I had been back, and it was good to reconnect. I love the moments where you can just pick up and continue where you left off and fill in the gaps along the way so that there is no awkwardness but rather excitement and joy.

This is a picture of Sheri and Owen (her new husband). Notice how Jesus is now between them. Ahh, the symbolism. My pictures are a little fuzzy, but the receiving line would not wait for my slow camera to work, and the Jesus picture needed to be taken.


Personally I like the rockstar wedding pictures the best.


It snowed a bit for me while I was visiting, which was a nice surprise. Well, besides the fact that it kept me waiting on the runway for two hours while the airport was being plowed. I got to try out my new mittens and scarf in the wintry climate. Check them out. Or, I guess just the mittens since there's no picture of my scarf on my camera right now.


I remembered what it was like to knit something for a practical purpose. I had carefully washed and blocked my knitted items before leaving so that they would be soft and shapely when I wore them. But I'm pretty sure that my hands could have dealt with scratchy and ugly just as well, as long as they were still kept warm. When your fingers start to feel tingly, you stop worrying about what is soft and beautiful and start worrying about getting frostbite.

I do have to say, however, that these mittens and scarf fulfilled their warmth as well as fashion purposes. The scarf could have been thicker, but I was working with limited yardage, so I would not change a thing. It was an exciting thing to feel as though I had knit with a purpose again and that my time had been put to good use. I was warm and snuggly in my knitted accessories and happy and full in this familiar place.

Now I need an excuse to visit you. You should to talk to me so we can come up with reasons together and so I can see you again.

K