my mother used to have these same knitting needles as a kid, now she had found this lot at the fleamarket. they make me laugh, jiminy especially.
last night i watched a knitting program online, knitty gritty i think it was called. it blew my mind to see up close all the different ways people knit. not that i didn't already know, but still... there were three generations of women from one family, the grandmother knitted the 'continental way' which is the same way i probably do, but she managed to make it look so sophisticated it was unreal. the other ways are still beyond me... in northern exposure marilyn was always knitting and i remember trying to figure out her style, in vain.
i'm not one of those knitters who is never seen without needles and thread. i mostly knit things when i need something, or as gifts. i have unraveled more than i have finished things and currently there are projects from the 90s still waiting to be done, or undone and started again. so, not very productive... i crochet and sew, too. i'm fully equipped to embroider. and i'm good at those things. i'm good with my hands, have a good eye... it's just that i rarely do.
the more i think about it, the more i see how making things by hand runs in the family. i have crafty and dexterous genes, unfortunately they are not combined with ambition and creativity. i'm left aware of how i could do most anything, but don't quite know what and why...
my excuse has been that i don't have enough room, but even when i did, i was as useless. so it must be that i don't have the ideal space. i envy people who are passionate enough to carve their way through stone to do what they love. i'm not wired that way. i need a stage, visual balance, or my brain begins to shut down. in these bleak surroundings and cramped conditions i hardly even know who i am anymore. with that in mind, and the fact that summer is imminent and brings with it the demolition of my bathroom and the need to move out, i have begun the notorious SPRING CLEANING. everything must go. well, half of everything at least.
so tune in to follow as i attempt this hurdle and begin to fray at the edges... this is a lot to deal with, almost too much. so now, more than ever, i think the blog will be my sanctuary. as much as i would like it to be all pretty pictures and wise words, it probably won't. the next weeks will be reserved for venting and whining and general crankiness. if it goes well, in the end there will be things worth blogging about, for real. in the meantime, you've been warned.
