The new socks & slippers booklet is fun, fun, fun, with items made from many of the different Patons yarn, in all kinds of styles and textures. It is designed to take you from basic to challenging and there is something for everyone from classic ribbed or cabled socks to skirted fair isles socks to liven up your hiking boots! The slippers included suede bottomed with woolly lamb cuffs, your Gramma’s standard pull-on’s, Peter-Pan’s and more fair isle booties! Again, something for everyone and in every size.
As well, Carol showed us some of the latest items in the store – did you know they are caring Cascade now – and the colors are amazing, with more to come! And Aerquipa continues to fly off the shelves, with new solids on the way. I was hard pressed not buy another skein, but I have one luscious skein from my toes-up class still waiting to be knit up, so I resisted!
Actually, is hard to believe but I only came away with the new Interweave Knits (which has been sold out everywhere I’ve gone!). Why this absence of yarn acquisition you may ask?
Wellllllll….. the G-man has been re-shelving my craft room cupboard so that I can more effectively store my fabric stash, and so out came all the yarn stashed in there, and oh yeah, you guessed it. There was quite a bit not yet knitted up. It covers the entire guest bed (it’s a single so don’t get too excited!). See what I mean (I think I may have a wee problem with stash enhancement!):
So it seemed an appropriate time to go on another stash reduction diet. Spring approaches and I do like to take advantage of those spring cleaning urges. Patons Trunk show or not, I need room for more yarns, and in that the new booklets that I liked are not yet out, and that Yarn Forward is very good about having regular sales, I could stand to wait a bit, get my butt in gear and finish up some of my current WIP’s and think up some new uses for my stash! I’ll gift some to DD1 who is always looking for oddities to make up her baby blanket squares (her friends are in full re-production mode!) or bits suitable for the awesome one of kind scarves she makes. I’ll purge some under the what-was-I-thinking category. I’ll re-vamp my project line-up to quickly knit up the smaller projects that have been languishing patiently. Then I’ll squirrel the rest away again likely to be forgotten until the next time I re-arrange!!
So there you have it – I’m halfway through a perfectly knitter-ly week! Tonight, Knit Night at the Pinecrest Chapters! Yippee!
Knit on………..
At the end of her talk I, and others too I think, was gripped with the new thoughts and ideas she had put into my head. She had talked at great length about how knitting is a process and not just a way to get a product. I learned why the process is so compelling on a physical level, and how appealing the process is to specific aspects of both the right and left brain. She spoke about the value of learning to knit, that the lessons we learn that are paramount to achieving success in life, and the growth these lessons provide over the course of a lifetime.
Much has been discussed in knitting blogdom about production knitting vs. process knitting. Sally’s mantra is “The process is more precious than the product”. Even I have mentioned this process vs. product thing before, about the fact that I seem to be more of a product knitter first, seeing the actual knitting process as a means to an end. This is not to say I don’t enjoy it the process, because I certainly do. I am completely driven to knit to since I picked up the needles and cast off my first scarf some almost 4 years ago. It is just to say that I crave the satisfaction of a completed item in my hands, and token of my sometime tremendous effort especially when trying something new.
But each person is different. Susan too, has written that she is a process knitter, easily finding simple joy in the just the knitting, even she says, to the extreme of knitting the same skein of yarn over and over again if she had to. Privately I worry that my need to knit and produce things, perhaps even too quickly, somehow shows a lack of discipline and patience, or a materialist need I need to examine more fully.
Either way, we are both compelled to knit. And at the core of Sally’s talk was the why of that necessity. What makes us do it? Why do we become so addicted to knitting? What need does it feed us and why is it so important to listen to that voice in your head to the exclusion of all else?
Sally’s talk and my subsequent musing while trying unsuccessfully to fall asleep last night has left me with more questions than answers (I think that might have been her intent!) and is driving me to look deeper inside my self to see if I can find a way to slow down my production needs, and instead become a more active and attentive participant in my own knitting process. You can bet that I have reserved a copy of her books from the library this morning. Seems like a good place to start my next life lessons!
At the end of a thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking evening, Sally advised that she is moving to Ottawa! I can only hope that I will have many more opportunities to hear her speak again as she infuses this town with her wisdom, talent, enthusiasm, and knitting wonder!
Knit on…………
Me? Ya, I was looking forward to this extra day to spend with all of my family for a change - both DD’s are actually off, and it would be one of only 4 possible days where we might be all off at the same time. Sadly this is not to be. I am hoping that by next year, the regulations will have been sorted out and perhaps this holiday will be added to our list, but I won’t hold my breath. And I’m ok with the fact that some of you will undoubtedly remind me that I already have a great deal of extra days in relation to other Ontario workers, particularly in the private sector. Yes – I know that, and truly I’m not whining, merely observing the differences, and lamenting the missed opportunity to spend with my DD’s as they are going their own ways more and more with every passing day. You will at least begrudge me that from a maternal perspective, please.
I know from previously working for a German owned company, the same or better holds true for many German workers. Every August in the sweltering North American heat, we kept our plants across the continent churning, while in Germany most of our counter-parts would enjoy 4 weeks of down time, sunning in the south of France, Italy or Portugal. In addition, another 4 weeks taken throughout the winter, fall and spring were also enjoyed, for things like skiing the Alps. Even those who didn’t have the means or wherewithal to travel, enjoyed time with family and friends and cite it as an important part of their lifestyle and one they can’t imagine being without.
Now both England and Germany are seemingly prosperous countries, and there seems to be little in the way of economic impact from the extensive time off, and the Brits I spoke with appear rested and fit from their vacations, although I admit I do not know what business owners think of that time that they must give employees off. I wonder at the positive impact on the health care – would there be less stress, exhaustion or burn-out related claims? These countries seem to function just fine with all these people enjoying their extended recuperation periods. It was interesting to note that in both my encounters with the various Europeans groups, they expressed their disbelief at the precious little amount of time we Canadians, being only slightly ahead of our American friends in this regard, are given to spend with family and recharge our batteries so to speak and wonder how we manage our both our young and ageing family members. It’s a good question! One we should as employees in all sectors give careful consideration to. If we had sufficient time to recuperate each year or mange family responsibilities, would our rising national health crisis in the areas of heart and stroke, mental health, and other socio-health concerns known to be influenced by work, see a sharp decrease for the better?
No don’t get me wrong, I think working hard is good for a body, and I am not advocating that we get 6 weeks a year starting tomorrow, although that might be fun! But playing hard is also good for us too. I recognize and even perhaps understand a little bit the economic change that would bring to business owners, especially small ones, if such a plan was implemented without care. But still, doesn’t it make you wonder how other countries do it? I sure do.
Something to think about as you pick up your knitting today, on your new Family Day holiday. I hope you enjoyed it!
Knit on…….
What a beautiful island St. Lucia (West Indies) is! Lush with a well-protected rainforest, lovely beaches, and a sedate but still actively bubbling smelly volcano, it is an interesting place to visit. Easy to get around for English-speaking vacationers, as that is the language of schools and commerce, but quaint with the local French Patios that is still spoken and taught at home, and totally not understood by anyone but the locals!
If we had any complaint it was the rampant contamination of local culture created by catering to tourists, myself included, but particularly to the cruise ships that dock at Castries, the main port. Sadly there was little or no locally made goods to be found, most being imported from the Asian Pacific. Key-chains, magnets, straw bags, T-shirts and all the crap that goes with it, and unbelievably expensive emerald jewellery from Venezuela all imported for the tourist trade. Boring!
Bolts of Batik, a hand dyed fabric usually found with patterns or pictures incorporated in the dyeing process which the West Indies was once known world wide for, was relegated to a few small samples in commercial gift shops, and although I did purchase two very small panels under the premise it was locally created, it is hard to authenticate its origin.
One other thing we brought home was this hand carved wooden game board (we saw them being made at the carvers studio, so this I know was local) for the game known on the islands as Wa-wee, also called Mancala or Oware in West Africa. A holdover from the days of slave trading, the game remains popular around the world under various names and a variety of game rules. I hope to learn the game, which is often used in teaching mathematics worldwide. If I don’t master the game (since math is definitely not a strong point!) it is still a lovely piece to add to the décor in our home.
And we heard little Caribbean music, and were sadly subjected to the constant twanging of American Country and Western music, which the locals are completely mad for (go figure?)!!
Still we did hear one really great West Indies style band one day at lunch in another resort, which featured the most un-likely looking female lead singer, who in complete contradiction to her homeless Gramma groupie appearance, had a stunning and captivating voice. And on another occasion, a visiting steel drum group of young high school students and their band teacher entertained us for several hours with their un-flagging energy and talents. So perhaps tourists like ourselves need to better communicate our desire the see and hear more local talent if we expect these cultural experiences to be continued.
But the food – oh, the food was incredible, whether we ate on the resorts or in the local market (where we had probably our best meal on the island as you can see !). With all that wonderful Creole-style food and darn tasty locally produced Piton beer (pronounced Pee-tawn by the locals) it is remarkable I didn’t gain a ton, and can only credit all the walking we did.
In light of the busy sight-seeing schedule we imposed on ourselves, and then collapsing on the beach in our down time for some sun accompanied by lovely little naps, pathetically little knitting was accomplished. I had big plans and took 3 projects, but really only one was worked on, and that was the Koigu Wrap Shawl in Aerquipa, since the pattern was long, easy and repetitious, and well suited to airport or airplane knitting.
So next year, we will try again for a two week break from reality – I need more beach time, and definitely more knitting time! But it was good while it lasted.
Knit on….
Yippee! Yahoo! Yeah me!! Next week, if you care to look, you will find me in a lounge chair here.
