STREETWALKING FOR CHARITY

The princess and her friends are street walkers. Ye of evil mind may disabuse yourself of the notion that they are doing anything naughty. They are fitness walkers who choose the streets of our village over the treadmill, the Tow Path and local parks. Me, I have a "the world is too much with us" attitude that keeps me off the streets. I prefer quieter places where evidence of human presence is kept to a minimum. The princess is gregarious, ebullient and full of fun. She loves the hurly-burly of main street and its denizens--the latte sipping, Italian lingerie buying Dual Income No Kids, the well-heeled empty nesters, the local shakers and movers. She has a great imagination and she can spin a story from the most tenuous details. For example, she sees a hibachi, unopened bags of Easter grass, clean, brand new skeins of yarn and she constructs domestic drama--a girlfriend tossed out of the house, a jilted boyfriend too wounded to face the remains of shared happiness long gone. I get the yarn from the streets because the princess knows I can use it to knit and crochet caps for oncology patients and preemies. I also get a lesson on the many advantages of streetwalking--close yourself in and you gain in quiet; join the streewalkers and all manner of goods and stories fall at your feet.

PRESENTS, PRESENTS, I GET PRESENTS

I get a Kate Spade handbag, to be precise. I also get money to pad it it with, albeit briefly . Both gifts come come from my sister, who excels in giving. She also excels in mind reading. How else would she know that I think my old handbag is due for retirement? How else would she know that the check she sent me will go to much wanted craft related supplies--yarn, Piecework Magazine, Nicky Epstein books, yarn, yarn, yarn, I cannot decide just yet.
Getting gifts inspires me to make gifts--a cotton blanket for a little baby who lives in Jerusalem, a cotton pinafore for K's granddaughter, a blue shawl for an Ukrainian princess, caps for preemies and oncology patients. Passing on goodwill is a sensible tradition. It keeps us from being too grabby, too self-involved. I don't mean this in a preachy way. Sharing is practical. It Time is a valuable commodity these days and sharing it with my best friend enriches me. It is good to rake a walk by the river, listening to the geese squabble. It is heart warming to see the first daffodils blooming in cottage gardens by the Potomac. In my own weed choked garden brave little iris cristatas dazzle me with their blue blossoms. We drink this in, my love and I, along a a cup of chai, an almond croissant and the certainty that at least for today, something is right with the world.

SHARING THE BOUNTY

K is one of my best beloved people. She is a no-nonsense lawyer turned editor whose intelligence and kindness make her a valued friend. Her generosity includes traveling miles to comfort my daughter and me during a crisis. She has hosted an open house twice, so that I could show and sell some of my crafts and Dame d'Escoffier that she is, she cooked mountains of delectable food for both occasions. Sharing is part of K's values and those lucky enough to be her friends rejoice in her presence in their lives. I think you will agree that someone that good deserves a knitted gift.

Being a novice knitter the gift I plan for K is a shawl in a lovely sienna mohair yarn from Turkey which I found at http://www.pocketmeadow.net/ I might add some Malabrigo or Handpainted Yarn to it, for texture. The design will be a simple knit and purl which has a lovely lacy quality when knitted with size 15 needles. I think K will like and I hope to finish it before she leaves for Italy where she will spend not only Pessach, but most of April, lucky girl.

SERVICE BEYOND THE CALL

Junior, who is the real knitter in the family, deserves the prettiest yarn. Kauni seemed the prettiest I had ever seen until I happened on other equally attractive brands. Naturally, it was imperative that I order someas a gift for deserving Junior. My source was knitpurl.com and to my surprise, the skeins I got were not the rainbow coloured EQ I expected. I got three skeins: two in burnt orange and one in a mix of blues. Rather than to deal with the hassle of returning my unsatisfactory order, I decided to hold on to it in hopes that Jr. would transform it into something lovely.

Tonight I got a call from Knit Purl. It turns out that they realised--by telepathy, I think-- that something was amiss and they offered to replace the skeins I received with the EQ I wanted. They also ordered to send a stamped, addressed envelope to make it easier for me to send back the misdirected skeins. Now, that is service I admire. Knit Purl has just added a for life fan to its list.

OLDER POSTS FROM WORD PRESS

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LIVE TO KNIT ANOTHER DAY
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SIGNS OF SPRING
March 6, 2008 - No Responses
The first snowdrop of the season bloomed on my birthday, three days ago. Indoors, paperwhite narcissi given to me for Christmas, demurred until today. A pale peach rose, my favorite, graces my dinner table, courtesy of my beloved. Valentine flowers keep it company. Although the weather turned cold after last night’s downpour, winter is pretty much over. To celebrate spring, I crochet a possible bag in yellow cotton and embroidered it with red ribbons. What kind of delights will it hold in days to come–a handful of sunshine, a perfectly preserved paperwhite blossom, a rose, pages from my finished novel? Remember, everything is possible when one has a place to keep the unexpected.
Categorised in Uncategorized Tags: crochet, narcissi, possible bag, rose, spring
Yarn and the global economy
March 5, 2008 - No Responses
Presumably, to become an artisan is to take a step towards self-reliance. One imagines that those who can make their own clothing, their own their own linens, their own shoes are immune to the shop-till-you-drop virus. As the dollar plunges, as the price of gas edges close to $4 per gallon, as consumer goods become more and more expensive–for example, the cost of a 20 lb. bag of dog food at the local Wal Mart went up by two dollars in a month–one assumes that artisans will think hard before they go on shopping sprees. One assumes incorrectly. Ill paid as they are, most artisans are essentially shopaholics. As jewelry maker, I remember rushing to stock up on malachite in response to rumors that political turmoil in Africa would make it scarce. Long before the price of metal went up, silversmiths I know quickly called their suppliers, just in case it was true that the American government would indeed start buying sterling them in the open market. As a polymer clay artist, I look at rising oil prices and reflect I had better go shopping before fossil fuel byproducts become luxury items. I know knitters who follow the dollar’s downward spiral and think, as I do,
a) European yarn is out.
b) Japanese yarn will cost too much.
c) Chilean, Peruvian and Uruguyan yarns are probably affordable unless the Chilean, Peruvian and Uruguyan currencies become as strong as the Euro.
Does that stop is from adding to our stash? Not. bThe reasoning is,
d) Might as well buy whatever is on sale. It’s only going to get more expensive. Thus, I have recently become the owner of,
a) Four skeins of Kid Silk Haze–on sale at Little Knits, for half the usual price.
b) Five skeins of Noro Kureyon– on sale at Little Knits for $ 5.95
c)Four skeins each of Dale of Norway’ Daletta and Sisik for less than four dollars each.
d) 8 skeins of Kiddie Prints also on sale
e) Two skeins of Brown Sheep worsted.
That should be enough, what with two batches of Kauni EQ and one of Habu Stainless Steel and Silk already on their way. But, oh, what of the wonderful deals at Handpainted Silk? What of the bags of ten skeins af Ella Rae’s silk Shibu at a mere $26? What about the yummy Tilli Thomas Mogul at only $19 per? What about cashmere, baby yak, silk and camel blends ? Will they ever cost the same again? Only one thing is certain, as long as there are artisans, all will be well with capitalism.
Categorised in knitting Tags: gas prices, hoarding, knitter's stash, recession, weak dollar, yarn sales
Hello world!
March 2, 2008 - One Response
It seems inconsequential to write about prosaic pursuits such knitting while the Israeli Defence Forces fight Islamic jihaddists in Gaza. Yet this has ever been the quintessential quality of Jews–the refusal to give in to despair. Hamas had it coming, no question. It pished Israel to the limit with the shelling of Sderot and more recently with the attacks on Askelon. What is dreadful is that the average Palestinian trapped in Gaza is now caught between the hammer of the IDF and the anvil of the Hamas thugs who use religion to justify their disregard for human life. What is dreadful is that coverage of the conflict in western and in the Arab media portrays Israel as the aggressor and portrays all Palestinians as victi ms. Indeed there are Palestinian victims, as there are Israeli victims. The question is why the media fails to hold Hamas accountable for the suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis.
Knitting changes the situation in the Middle East not a single iota. It has no standing with the United nations. It does not keep oil producing countries from jacking up the price of crude nor does it prevent inflation. All it can do is help the knitter get through the tense wait for news that can be very, very bad.
Knitting helps because it is calming and comforting. It creates order out of the chaos of jumbled threads–in this case, red mercerized cotton. The chaos began as a freform crochet project. It should have formed a square but it insisted in turning the corner and curving upon itself. Switching to knitting needles from a size seven crochet hook is an attempt to retain the curve without adding extra stitches. Eventually, the finished bag should look like sliced fig. In terms of design, it is somewhat unpredictable. In uncertain times such as ours, what with the Iranian Amahdinejad rattling his nuclear saber, Venezuela Hugo Chavez making veiled threars to his country’s Jewish community, what with large numbers of the First World’s intelligentsia spouting anti-zionist cliches that seem to echo Hitler’s Mein Kampf, there is little little comfort in much of the the predictable. Knitting is hopeful, as in, “come summer I will wear a nice red handbag.” Come summer there might be a miracle. Come summer there might be peace.
Categorised in knitting Tags: anti-semitism, gaza, hamas, israel, knitting

POCKETFUL OF JOY

Every second Tuesday of the month, sevenish, Ellen, who owns Pocket Meadow Farm, a delightful yarn shop in Berkeley Spring, West Virginia, opens her house to fellow knitters. The group includes a computer technician, a meeting planner and her lovely sixteen year-old daughter, a young mother, a museum volunteer and several other women whose backgrounds, age and training are as diverse as the projects they have chosen . The techie crochets brilliantly and in the most recent meeting she whipped up baby booties of rare elegance. The planner and her daughter both worked on gossamer delicate lace. The young mother finished a deliciously spring like yellow sweater for her toddler. My own daughter worked on her Evangeline knucks, made of Noro Kureyon 40. Ellen offered practical help and advice. Her cats contributed inspirational yoga poses. Ther was much laughter, much comraderie and the sense that this is a good, gentle place to be. Now all we have to do is buy more uarn and Ellen certainly has a wondertful selection. Check it out at http://www.pocketmeadowfarm.net/

TOO MUCH C'EST TOO MUCH

It is probably unfair of me to call the stainless steel and silk yarn from Habu Textiles the yarn from hell. That, however, is what I call it. After waiting for weeks to get my hands on two cones of this stuff, I finally had a chance to try and cast on enough stitches for a simple scarf. What I had in mind was simple elagance--a silvery grey, jwel-like piece. To my surprise the yarn was as easy to handle as a handful of spiderwebs. I am relatively new to knitting, which might account for my difficulties. Possibly, Habu Textiles had a particular niche market in mind when it came up with this product--uberknitters and masochists. If so, I wish they had added a warning label to this yarn. I ama meisterknitter nor am I the sort who loves pain . That is why I gave my daughter permission to put my two cones of Habu in her Ravelry swap list. She is trading it for two skeins of Berrufa Cashwool. I am sure the Ravelry member who participated in the swap will make something gorgeous with the Habu. I wish her the best.

Along with Habu I got yarn the much ballyhooed Kauni, which seems to be highly desirable due to a combination limited availability--the laws of supply and demand also applies to yarn--high price and clever marketing. Call me a grouch, but is Kauni really all that superior to a more reasonably priced lace yarn, such as the dazzling beautiful Handpainted Yarn from Uruguay? I ordered Kauni before of became aware of the vast variety of choicesavailable to me. Sure, one knitters may choose to pay over fifty bucks for yarn spun in Ulan Bator from the eyelashes af a are fruit eating bat. That is their privilege. Somehow, this trend toward the precious and the chichi reminds me too much of the competitive shopping of the Eighties when it became imperative to outdo the Joneses in their frenzy to acquite exotic consumer goods. "Those were the times, and that was New York." We are headed towards a recession. Our country is ar war. The dollar is perilously weak. But I repeat myself. Maybe Kauni is worth its high price. Danes have a long and glorious history of knitting and I suspect they know good yarn. I hope they do. I just spent one fourth of my family's food budget on Kauni. It had better be good.

My current project is modest--a stole made from Malabrigo lace Geranio bought for $ 8.75 and Laines du Nord Kiddy Print, also bought on sale for $ 5.50. The texture of these combined yarns is that of rose petals and down, which is, in part, why I am calling the project Roses and Doves. Rosas y Palomas is a design Mathilde Poulat, of my favourite silversmiths from the Mexican Silver Renaissance used with great success. It is a fusion of Spanish Baroque and timeless Mexican styles. Poulat used mostly turquoise, coral and garnet in her work. Chilean rhodochrosite, which the colour combination in my stole approximate most closely was probably too rare in the Nineteen Twenties. But the idea is fusion. In knitting together Uruguyan and Italian yarns I bring European and Latin American cultural perspectives together. Not bad for a day's work.

Lila Downs, one of the singers whose music make up the soundtrack for the movie "Frieda" wrote a song called "Agua de Rosas" in which Old and New World traditions dovetail. I could have called the srole "Rosewater" after that song. I could also have called it "Raspberries and Vanilla" to please the man in my life. I chose Rosas y Palomas. I hope it flies.