Another wrap is on the needles. I have been haunted by the thought of knitting a wrap that exemplifies to me the "cabin." Nestled in the "Endless Mountains" (American Indian name) of the Appalachian chain, the cabin exists only in memory now, as it burned to the ground about 10 years ago, but it is so much a part of my life that it demands recreation. So, now it is once again coming out in my knitting as yet another version of Jane Thornley's Feather 'n Fan Organic Wrap. The first was not quite hitting the mark, and was smaller than I had wanted. I wanted a luxuriously abundant wrap that draped about my shoulders the way whipped cream tops a banana split. Abundant. And colors. Colors to use are deep hemlock and mountain laurel greens, powdery reddish earth and hemlock needles, brown tree trunks, gray rocks, blue sky, silvery tin roof, teal shingles covered the outside walls, red bee balm, golden grasses, green of all shades, watery blues and white foam. oh how I wish I could share all this with you, but the digital camera came too late and the only pictoral memories I have are on paper.
I am using mostly the same colors and yarns, but in different combination. As you can see with the first wrap, it has more stripeyness, and the red I added to represent the brilliant red of bee balm growing wild in the field across from the cabin, takes a prominent place. The bee balm was very spotty, and just a few precious heads showed themselves at any one time. The hemlocks are everywhere, and I am making the foundational color of the wrap in the same deep rich greens.
I never thought I would do this, I don't even recall making one when I used to sew constantly for (scratching head), ...hmmm, most of my life. They just seemed so home-made. I always liked leather purses. However, the lure of a quick project with vibrant yarns just got the better of me. After all, I have been working on light tan socks for my hubby's Christmas gift forever. The endless rows of knitting/purling have gotten to me. I get really jazzed with brilliant color and sparkle. I just know I couldn't talk him into any of that. So, when Jane Thornley came up with yet another pattern just before the holidays, and I suffered a cringe as I thought of the line-up of knitting ahead of me, I sort of wrote this one off. Until now. It was as promised, fast and fun. There are endless possibilities for design diversion with the pattern, and it was great, ...no, better than great to be able to use up several bits of yarn that were only about 10 yards in length. Even though it is all in ribbing, just like the socks, it was so much more fun. This purselet only took about 5 days, but I only worked on it for a few minutes each day, and even skipped on some days. It is small, but perfect for holding the driver's license, credit cards, and a lipstick.
The yarns:
I realized as I started out that the browns and
oranges needed another color to perk things up. So, I pulled in a handpainted orphan banana yarn. I bought it on close-out because I wanted to experience alternative yarns, and even though I would never have planned to knit with orange and blue yarn, unless they were school colors and I was a cheerleader, the yarn was wonderful here. 
Time has been in a blender lately, ...and the world is upside-down. At every turn, there is some new critical to-do thing to take care of. My list of to-dos keeps growing instead of getting shorter. With the holidays, and the hubby off work (you can do that when you are the boss), and my Mom living here with us now, my alone time is limited to early morning hours when no-one else is awake. It is the only time I get to play on the computer now. I am counting on some balance here soon, so I can get back to what feels normal for me. Alone time. (thinking of this wistfully...) This is my time for regenerating, new ideas, creative thinking and giving in to somewhat selfish desires. Whether it is watching a few minutes of some TV program focused on cleaning and organizing a trashed house (I watch to assure myself I am NOT that bad!), or browsing for inspiration for a new knitting project, meditating, or getting out of the house altogether, I adore my alone time. I am addicted to it, ...it keeps me going. Knitting has been really off lately too. Some old Christmas stockings were discovered in an attic box by a daughter-in-law, and since there were mine and one for my mother, I had to do one for my sweet hubby. Digging into the stash, I pulled out the old ends left from stockings past, and started out. I have done several version of the old Bucilla
patterns, which I have saved. This one is Santa coming or going from a chimney by the light of a crescent moon. I struggled with the entire awful thing! I am now a yarn snob, and that nasty acrylic
was a nightmare to work with. It was so stiff and had no elasticity. Combined with my tight tension, the patterning
of the changing yarns ended up creating a sculpted Santa. There was no way I was re-knitting anything
! My wrists and hands are still complaining. Now, I am working on a pair of socks for the hubby. For months now he has been asking when I was going to make him something. The socks were a Christmas gift. I have jokingly told him they may be done by next Christmas.
I am now preparing for a Yule celebration. I grew up celebrating Christmas, but its really hard to get my extended family together. This is because my three grown and married sons, and their wives, all have divorced parents who have remarried. That means there are eight parental families that these young people feel duty bound to divide their time and efforts to. Christmas Day and Eve are in high demand. Nobody else in the family has even considered the Solstice but me! Happy Day! They probably never will either, as I live deep in the "Bible Belt."
If you are celebrating any of the traditions of Christmas, remember that you are actually enjoying the rituals and activities of several ancient religions whose traditions have been borrowed by Christians over the years for the celebration of the birth of Christ. Winter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of Light and the rebirth of the Sun. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel. The winter solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. The sun appears at its lowest point in the sky, and its noontime elevation appears to be the same for several days before and after the solstice. Hence the origin of the word solstice, which comes from Latin solstitium, from sol, “sun” and -stitium, “a stoppage.” Following the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer and the nights shorter.
Long before Christ was born, Romans held the celebration of Saturnalia, however, this probably predates even Roman history. In ancient Rome, Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in the third century as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations. Shortly thereafter, in the year 273, the Christian church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus. The early Christian church had gotten tired of unsuccessful efforts to stop people celebrating the solstice and the birthday of the sun god. So the pope at the time decided to make Jesus’ official birthday coincide with the other. No one knows what time of year Jesus was actually born but there is evidence to suggest that it was in midsummer.
This year I am designing a scavenger hunt for my grandson, that will educate him (and the rest of the family) to the history and rich traditions of the season that countries all over the world have contributed to. The symbols we love and use every season are rooted deeply in spiritual tradition.. The Yule log, "Christmas" Tree, holly, ivy, gifting, Wassail, feasting, fires and candle lighting, wreaths, mistletoe, singing, worshiping, etc., go back into antiquity, and all represent abundance, good fortune, love, peace, continuity of life, prosperity, and more. As each clue is followed, a brief description of each symbol will be read and a few "olde" carols will be sung by all.
It has been far too long since my last post, and I apologize. I took off for the West Coast about two weeks ago, with almost no planning. My mother was very unhappy, and for reasons that are best kept within the family. I had to look into things, and determined that I couldn't leave my mother behind. It was a wild week of legal issues and many unpleasant situations, and yesterday my family and I sat down to Thanksgiving dinner and were truly thankful. I need about another week to organize and regain my composure, but I will be back on course as soon as I can!
I have always been different, without even trying to be. Finally, just this last week, the decision was made to embrace my differences and genuinely appreciate them. You see, it is all because of my creative nature. It asserts itself continually. When it is not finding a new way to fry an egg, for instance, it is itching to create some tangible expression of something with just about everything. A few days ago, on my regular checkup at the dentist (of nearly 18 years), one of the hygienists popped her head into the room and gave me a questioning look. I don't know this one very well, and so I must have looked surprised. She just laughed, and said she wanted to see what I was wearing. She was bewildered that I was looking mostly normal in my purple long sleeved T-shirt, and jeans. So, I pulled up one pant leg, and displayed my socks. Designed by artist Laurel Burch, with a mix of happy jewel colored dancing dogs, they are colorfully and playfully certain to make feet want to dance for joy. Laughing and satisfied, she left the room. So, there you are. Different.
My Laurel Burch socks came from one of my trips to the West Coast. There is a small shop in Sausilito which sells her things. This last trip, I decided I wanted to collect mugs. I like generous portions of coffee or tea, and I like my mug to fit my color mood, and I like colorful and happy to start my day. If you are interested in having happy feet, or a cheerful cup, you can find her stuff at: Laurel Burch
Several years ago, when dressing to impress was really hot in the spotlight for women, I became very aware of "colors." At the time, I was really tired of all the clothes in my wardrobe. The popular belief is that you have neutrals that you build, mix, and match around. Well, the long and short of it is that I find browns, tans, and often black, drab or dismal. To me, white is an invitation for mischievous dirt sprites to have at it. However, I discovered something very interesting in the process of taking everything out of my closet and giving it all a hard look.
1. Everything I love wearing sorted into similar color groups, mostly jewels and brights.2. These different color groups relate well together.
3. ...And (drum roll) ...my clothing is mix and match around colorful "neutrals" of purple, or pink, green, or royal blue. ...Or jeans.
4. In addition, my clothing faves are all natural fibers.
5. And, my favorite clothes all have texture, whether it is silky, course, furry, etc.
At one time, while in a serious slump as I transitioned out of my first marriage, I suddenly became aware of the colors in my closet. It was as if someone else had taken it over. Nearly everything in there had turned into shades of brown and (oh, horrors!) ...gray! This couldn't be my wardrobe, I had never dressed in these colors. Yet, there they were, in all their drab and somber glory. It was at this point that I realized my mental state needed a lift. It was probably already lifting, or I likely would not have realized this. Now, every day is a color reflection of how I feel or want to feel. Colors are very important to me and are a source of comfort as well as expression. Each morning as I stand before my closet, I ask myself "what color am I feeling like today?"
As a free range knitter, I am forced to look at my projects with an discerning eye as the yarns present themselves into the design. One of my recent projects, a cardigan, has been snoozing for a few weeks. It had been frogged a few times because there was just something about it that I was not satisfied with. When I pulled it out of the bag it was hiding in yesterday, I knew without a doubt that it would again become a pile of yarns. This is no easy undertaking. With mohair and some furry character yarn, it can take a good bit of teasing to separate them from their nesting places. The flash reflection makes it look pretty good. That furry looking yarn you can easily see across the middle of it all, has an iridescent quality that reflects a lot of the camera's light. However, the yarns actually come across far less bright and somewhat dismal.
The lighter yarns really look brighter too. I have been telling myself it would all work out, all through the back, and one front, but the big picture effect is one of somber colors. Its just not me, and those beautiful yarns are simply dieing in this combination. That gorgeous iridescent is lost among the others. The Fiesta is boring. The regal purple silk charmeuse that gave itself up to become strippon yarn languishes here, as does another beautiful Tartellette ribbon yarn. There are just too many counts against it, so frog I will.
This is the model for this ill-fated cardi. It's a Jane Thornley pattern based on the feather and fan stitch. I do plan to start over, but I must come to terms with what my yarns are looking for to awaken their greatness. Since this is the first time I have come up against this situation, I am still pondering their fate in combination. ...Will keep you posted.
..............As of November 3, this is now a pile of yarn. While I was frogging away, I realized that there was a total upstaging of the yarns which were meant to be in the background. They stole the show from the really beautiful and more expensive yarns that I had been looking to showcase. THAT is why I never felt that it was pleasing me!
I am using mostly the same colors and yarns, but in different combination. As you can see with the first wrap, it has more stripeyness, and the red I added to represent the brilliant red of bee balm growing wild in the field across from the cabin, takes a prominent place. The bee balm was very spotty, and just a few precious heads showed themselves at any one time. The hemlocks are everywhere, and I am making the foundational color of the wrap in the same deep rich greens.
