New Mitts

Like many knitters, I have a large collection of sock yarn partial skeins. It's difficult to know what to do with all those bits and bobs. I've seen some Ravelers make wonderful stripey socks but that requires the yarns to be all the same brand if it's to work well. One can also use up scraps with the old contrasting heel and toe trick.
When I was knitting my Summerworks Socks, I remember thinking that the Schoppel-Wolle Cat Print yarn would look so pretty on my hands and how unfortunate it was that there wouldn't be enough left over. Then I saw this pattern in Veronik Avery's Knitting 24/7. The original pattern is done in dramatic red and white. My version is far more subtle, using solid Cascade Heritage to offset the variegated yarn. My cable pattern is knit incorrectly as well. There were slipped stitches within the cable crosses that I just couldn't master so I knit everything on those rows. I think the effect, though quite different from the original intention, is quite fetching.

Conclusion? I call this experiment in stash busting a success and see many more stripey projects in my future.

Word On The Street: Sara Peters

As I do every year, I went to Word On The Street, last month. I always try to catch a reading or two and this year, it was local poet Robert Priest I went to hear. Little did I know I was about to be knocked on my ass by the young woman reading with him.
The session was entitled "Out of the Darkness" and supposedly invited "you to reflect on emerging from darkness" or some such bullshit structure forced upon art to give it a sound byte. Sara Peters arrived with her blond hair pinned on top of her head, wearing a simple skirt and red, red lipstick. She sat on her stool and evenly read lines such as:

"And Goldilocks said My life is broken, my heart is over
Snap my neck like a broccoli-stalk."

I fell immediately in love.
After the too-short readings, there was a Q and A moderated by some dude who asked pointed, often inappropriate questions. Whether because she does not know how to play the literary interview game, or because she was deliberately subverting it, Sara paused after each question, then quietly, simply, answered, "Yes," or "I don't know." in her beautiful voice.
My affection deepened.

I bought her book, entitled 1996, and had her sign it. I mentioned that some of her lines sounded familiar to me and it turns out she had made a recording for the Poetry Magazine podcast that I had heard. She seemed genuinely pleased that I recognized it.

Over the past weeks I have spent quite a bit of time with the book. This is serious work - elegant and mysterious - about tough subjects; cruelty, eroticism, abuse, youth and self discovery. It speaks to me deeply, to the person I once was and to the person into whom I have evolved. I get more meaning from each reading and look forward her next book.
Some other favourite random lines:

"I'm not sure why I'm convinced
That expressing contempt is my life's work -
And I should have been back at the party."

"     ...The air smells
Like the mulch of primeval concupiscence! I cried,
and what could you do but agree?"

"but up was the only unoccupied direction, 
so how else to get there? And always
these questions. Who set those fires?
Who broke those mirrors? Is that your blood?"


1996 Sara Peters
House of Anansi Press, 2013

Red

Why is the colour red so hard to photograph? I tried multiple settings on the camera and multiple times of day and this is the best shot I could manage of my most recent project. Notice how everything in the photo is in focus except the actual subject? What is it about red that always makes a blur?

With the exception of the bad photos, I love everything about my new wristers. This is my second go at the free Artyarns pattern. It creates a snug and pretty glove and uses less than one skein. I did make one modification; completing one more cable pattern pass after the thumb rather than going right back to rib as the pattern instructs and I am very happy with the result.
My yarn choice here was Louisa Harding Orielle - a sparkly, super soft alpaca. What a lovely bit of luxury!

A Wee Bit Fishy

Flipping through my pattern collection last night, I came across this 1968 Lady Galt Fisherman Knits booklet. "Classic fisherman knits...Celtic yarns...in a great head-to-toe look for the entire family," says the cover. Now, one's first instinct may be to laugh. The excess, the awkward poses, the fake smiles. But, let's take a closer look shall we?

This cardigan is really quite fetching. The length is cute, the cable work is stunning and the jacket-like shape of the sleeve and shoulder is quite flattering. The collar just needs to be lowered and relaxed a bit, and this easily becomes a classic yet contemporary sweater.
Hmm...wheels turning. Don't I have some lovely Aran weight in my stash?

On The Way To Work...

...I saw this.

Ribbons 2013

Well, it is October 3 and no word from the organizer of the Ribbon Project. This is not surprising. In fact, I didn't even think about it until October One had actually arrived. Only a few people took part in the annual art project last year and its profile was becoming increasingly low. It's natural that such things end eventually.

However, it feels a little strange to me. The first week of October has become a "stop and take stock" time for me. Summer is definitely over and the fall/winter routine is firmly in place. The danger of being swallowed up by the day-to-day is ever present. It's good to pause and reflect now. With that in mind, I took my camera to work with me yesterday and this is what I saw on my way home.

I have undergone many personal changes in the past few months. I feel that I am in a better place than I was this time last year. That is something worth remembering; worth taking stock of. I remain ever grateful for the beauty around me and the joy that is possible if only I open my eyes and recognize that it being offered. So, Ribbon Project or not, I'll be carrying my camera over the next few days and making myself stop and look around.