the spiral

saturday, while the rest of the city celebrated “hall of fame weekend”, my friend debbie and i went to the new salvation army store. debbie found this blank music book and i was instantly jealous. then she let me buy it (she SO puts me to shame in the generosity department—why can’t i be more like her?)! i love it—thanks debbie!
and i found a really cool coffee table dish that is in mint condition and signed by evelyn moore, 1973. i have no idea who that is, but she did a bang-up job on this dish.

they really didn’t have very much in the way of great stuff, but it was worth the trip just to be able to tell you this story:
we were trying on coats and fooling around, laughing, and suddenly we notice this, er, rather unkempt man just standing there in the aisle watching us.
i say, “hi” and he says “wow, you really have the figure for that coat!”
i said “thanks!” and tried desperately not to look at debbie
(have i mentioned that she’s a giggler?).
“yeah”, he said, “it isn’t just anybody has the figure for clothes like you do. except did you notice that lady that just walked by here, that came in with me? she’s another one. you know how she keeps her figure?”
i shook my head.
“she’s been twirling a baton for 30 years, THAT’S how!” he crowed.
now, i let that image swirl around inside my head for just a sec, while i gathered my wits to answer him—30 years?? continuously?
does he “watch”? is it a regular friday night thing for them?
i shook that away. all i could muster in the way of response was a weak “wow!”

i mean, how did he know that i have been (mentally) exploring interesting ways to get myself back into better upper body shape! i am a weenie in the shoulders-and-arms department (cycling does nothing for arms, unfortunately, and neither does knitting. heh.). for many years i lifted weights religiously to help things out, but somehow, after i moved to ohio, i became very lax about it (how does that happen?). of course, the effects of laziness eventually let themselves be known, and now i am having to take a serious look at where in my schedule i can insert some time for strength and toning exercise.

(BTW, when i got home from our encounter with the guy in the Army store, i saw this on gapingvoid.com!!) did i mention we met up with him twice more?
yeah, we did. in shoes. and blouses.
if you don’t subscribe to gapingvoid—you gotta. just. do.

most importantly, i have to find something interesting that i will stick to. apparently, i have lost my enthusiasm for free weights, which i always loved! (???—when i said religious, i meant that . . .) or maybe i have just lost some structure that made the habit possible. or maybe they need to make weighted knitting needles. in any case, i need to look at ways to fix that, and PRONTO. either that, or hire someone to lift things for me. like my purse. i’m not kidding.

funny thing, too because yesterday, stephanie wrote about a similar state of affairs in her house and i am wondering if that’s what’s to blame here—an advanced case of creative-people-who-have-run-of-the-place. since we moved here, and both of us work freelance, AND we don’t have a family, we really don’t have a schedule. we sleep, eat, work, and entertain ourselves at all different (and odd) times.
we work really hard—we get a lot done. but all else sorta goes to hell in the process. it’s very good for fostering creativity, but very difficult making room for things that require routines. or for appearing to be normal in any way, to the neighbors. who love us despite that, thank goodness.

and how does all this relate to knitting, you ask?? i think i am getting to the point where, in addition to increased muscle tone, i need more non-mental activity each day. some time EACH day that i focus completely on something earthbound (i.e., something besides working out solutions for my life designs). i spend a lot of time banging my head against the desktop, when i should have just gone off to do yoga, or lift weights, or pull weeds. this almost always does wonders for me—i think most people call it balance.

so yeah, maybe NOT baton twirling, but something . . .

i think i finally settled on how i am going to work with the cashmere.
uh, finally!

don’t get too excited; i have been in this same exact spot at least 47 times in the last few days. first with the “pratice” yarn. then i decided i had to work with the actual cashmere for the magic to take hold. heh. nice theory, but i didn’t really work that way. it was more like i just had to sit and work it out, step by step. and i’m still not really sure i can realize the vision i have in my head.

(i love these photos—they are SO me)
the color of this yarn (or lack of it, really) is so poetic, that i get choked up over it.
i think of the landscape where i grew up, or how a stand of trees looks in winter, in the fog.
or rocks. wet slate, dusk, carbon steel.
i love grey. i love it, i love it, i love it.
i want this piece to be perfect, because the yarn is so perfect. of course, that is the problem.
i need to be more flexible and i need to ready myself, because i may still have to give in and make a rectangle shawl instead of a triangle.

i know. listen to that. i mean, people are starving!
i really need to get a grip on myself here. my “vision” may have become just a little too important. i’m clinging to something which may be unrealistic. no perspective. no balance. no fun.

OMG! and no knitting! duh! it just hit me like a ton of bricks. i am wasting all this time “designing” when i could be knitting cashmere. you know, someone should really just put me in a white room. any volunteers? c’mon, you know you want to . . .

that’s another good reason to have other things to knit! like a merry red skirt, the color of watermelon, faded red sneakers, or a red rubber ball. i am in LOVE.

i started the second lace tier in porcupine stitch. it’s a larger, rounder, more open stitch. i have about 5 or 6 more inches of that i think, and then something to edge it off. i’m thinking cat’s paw, crown of thorns, or something really open like that for the last 3 or 4 inches. it will make a nice flippy edge.

i can also cheer myself up with the sock parade—they make a great distraction. last night i did a few inches on these camoSox, which are advancing at quite a crawl.

this is lorna’s laces in camouflage. i noticed last night that it feels quite a bit heavier when i pick it up, than, say, a trekking sock.
yesterday in class i worked on the mermaid socks and they are starting to take shape, which is always an exciting moment for me.

after i cast on, the first few inches of a sock just seem to take forever. then, once i see a shape there on the needles, i get excited and the part that goes to the heel knits up much faster (it seems. in actuality, i’m sure i knit the same pace all the time).
oh look, there just happens to BE a trekking sock right here.

it’s growing! yesterday, i had a meeting with my supervisor at 5 pm. he asked me to wait a few mins, so i knitted and read blogs. at 6:30, i finally realized he wasn’t coming back . . .

i am also working on the pattern for the green, black, and beige skirt, which i am calling ziggy, unless anyone has a better idea. can i just say again, how much i love it?
over the weekend i washed and dried it in the machine. and it came out beautifully. i used the “casual” wash cycle (who knew), which is somewhere between normal and delicate. and for the dryer, i started out on med-heat/less dry, and when that did nothing, i cranked it up to normal, which worked a treat. it came out fluffy, dry, and not shrunken at all. good job, classic elite! i want a whole summer wardrobe in this yarn!