As those who know me can attest, I am a fairly sceptical sort of person. But I am also a devoted fan of Repo Man, and therefore open to the possibility of meaning behind the randomness of life. Here's my testimony:
This is the shed of my neighbour in the co-op. I rarely see my neighbour, as she is elderly and quite ill. But I found out yesterday that this shed, and indeed the whole upstairs of her house, is filled with yarn! Now how likely is it that an unrepentent wool addict such as myself should find herself living next to the biggest stash in the Lower Mainland, if not all of Western Canada?
Turns out that my neighbour's caregiver has been surrepticiously de-stashing, distributing huge bags of yarn to various churches, charities and other knitters. In my snobbery, I thought it would mostly be acrylic, but no! I heard mention of angora, mohair, even silk!
And Now For A Not Irrelevant Knitting Story From My Past:
When I first began knitting about 25 years ago, my brother, who was just entering acting school, asked me to make him a sweater. He wanted a sweater with "presence", one that would imbue him with the charisma of a De Niro or Brando. I chose a thick, curly coal black yarn, and created a garment that commanded attention (even if, now that I think about it, may have made him more reminiscent of a large Bouvier than Olivier, but never mind). He wore it to one class, forgot it outside the door, and someone stole it. So it goes...
But Here's the Coincidence...
Yesterday my neighbour gave me about 30 balls of this 100% wool treasure. The funny thing? It is exactly the yarn I used to make my brother's famous sweater, just a different colour. I think I may dye it black and knit him another one. I could always spice up the story even more and tell him I found it in a thrift store and that the sweater had now come full circle! That the hand of the knitting goddess moves in mysterious ways.. .And this time keep an eye on it, buddy!! (Hey, Dave, if you're reading, I may have to measure you again!)
And I will end with my latest project: a dorodango. Jason Arnold writes about this Japanese craft of creating perfect, glossy spheres of mud in the latest issue of Craft. He describes the strange attachment that comes over you as you take a hanful of dirt from the garden and, using only your hands, create a ball of unusual significance. I had to try. I wasn't able to get the ball as shiny as the ones pictured in the article, but it was oddly satisfying to discover that I could create a perfect sphere just with my hands.
The dorodango has a very solid, smooth feel, and is very pleasant to hold. I think I will make another, and guess what! I can sit at the foot of the master himself, as Jason Arnold is presenting this strange craft at Maker Faire this weekend!! Hah, thought I'd make it out of here without a plug for this incredibly fabulous event, no way, man!! I'm off to San Francisco - lots of pictures next week!!
This is the shed of my neighbour in the co-op. I rarely see my neighbour, as she is elderly and quite ill. But I found out yesterday that this shed, and indeed the whole upstairs of her house, is filled with yarn! Now how likely is it that an unrepentent wool addict such as myself should find herself living next to the biggest stash in the Lower Mainland, if not all of Western Canada?
Turns out that my neighbour's caregiver has been surrepticiously de-stashing, distributing huge bags of yarn to various churches, charities and other knitters. In my snobbery, I thought it would mostly be acrylic, but no! I heard mention of angora, mohair, even silk!
And Now For A Not Irrelevant Knitting Story From My Past:
When I first began knitting about 25 years ago, my brother, who was just entering acting school, asked me to make him a sweater. He wanted a sweater with "presence", one that would imbue him with the charisma of a De Niro or Brando. I chose a thick, curly coal black yarn, and created a garment that commanded attention (even if, now that I think about it, may have made him more reminiscent of a large Bouvier than Olivier, but never mind). He wore it to one class, forgot it outside the door, and someone stole it. So it goes...
But Here's the Coincidence...
Yesterday my neighbour gave me about 30 balls of this 100% wool treasure. The funny thing? It is exactly the yarn I used to make my brother's famous sweater, just a different colour. I think I may dye it black and knit him another one. I could always spice up the story even more and tell him I found it in a thrift store and that the sweater had now come full circle! That the hand of the knitting goddess moves in mysterious ways.. .And this time keep an eye on it, buddy!! (Hey, Dave, if you're reading, I may have to measure you again!)
And I will end with my latest project: a dorodango. Jason Arnold writes about this Japanese craft of creating perfect, glossy spheres of mud in the latest issue of Craft. He describes the strange attachment that comes over you as you take a hanful of dirt from the garden and, using only your hands, create a ball of unusual significance. I had to try. I wasn't able to get the ball as shiny as the ones pictured in the article, but it was oddly satisfying to discover that I could create a perfect sphere just with my hands.
The dorodango has a very solid, smooth feel, and is very pleasant to hold. I think I will make another, and guess what! I can sit at the foot of the master himself, as Jason Arnold is presenting this strange craft at Maker Faire this weekend!! Hah, thought I'd make it out of here without a plug for this incredibly fabulous event, no way, man!! I'm off to San Francisco - lots of pictures next week!!
Oh! I'm so envious! The Maker Fair is close to you?
ReplyDeleteI love your mud ball. It is gorgeous! I've wanted to make one since I first saw this craft on boingboing.net (Make: and Craft: magazine editors seem to live there).