YAWN! Another Summer-ish Day!

Not a lot to report to anyone about anything. I have been reading the new Spin Off. I don't think it is wrong to say everything old is now new. I have been subscribing to this magazine since the early 80's, and I sometimes think, "I have read this before." Only it is written freshly from a new perspective. But I will stick with this magazine. I am kinda out of love with many of the knitting magazines. I like to look at the pictures, but frankly, I get more ideas and pleasure out of reading peoples' blogs. I get the real deal about what happens if you change the pattern, or tweek the yarn somehow, or use a particular needle. I remember when my grandmother would get her magnifying glass up to the TV screen and study the actress's sweater on a soap opera. Never mind what the story was about. It was about fashion then. She would sketch the sweater out on a pad of paper, and then would make it. I learned a lot from her during those days. She was never a yarn snob, in the sense of yarn snobs today. But she believed in good yarn to last forever. That's why I have so many sweaters now.

I remember when my grandmother helped a lady make a wedding dress. A friend was in the dressmaking business, and she got the commission to make a wedding dress. In the early 60's, $5000 was a lot of money for a wedding dress. And it would make this lady's business either go bust or boom. My grandmother helped her design a simple sheath of satin as the basic gown. But they ordered Chantilly lace from France by the yards! They made another gown to go over the satin sheath. Then they beaded and sequined every bit of that lace by hand. The first thing my grandmother did was cut Jackie's fingernails. Then she showed her how to do the beading and sewing of the sequins. I helped some after school, but they worked hours and hours on that. Then they made the veil and train out of the lace, too. The mother of the bride liked the dress so much, she ordered her dress, and two suits for the bride to take on her honeymoon. So it was a profitable effort. Back then women wore suits with hats, gloves, and matching shoes. Oh- they sewed beads and sequins on the satin covered shoes, too.

So, who are we to say something is too hard, or that it takes too long to make something?

I have a bell in my yard that was made by an artist friend. He found out there are oxygen bottles at the welding shops that are not being used. You know- those long, tall cylinders of steel. So he bought some really old ones, and took to a friend to have them cut and soldered the way he wanted them. He then carved a wooden clapper to put inside. It is wonderful on a day like today to listen to it. It is a very deep, melodic tone, and I call it my church bell. I have heard it from a mile away. This friend carves huge wooden fish -3-D- and hangs them from the trees and from the porch ceiling and from anywhere he can. They are wonderful. He went to Italy recently, and at some market found someone who makes grasshoppers with metal pieces. So he bought one. So I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't start carving grasshoppers to have around too. We all find our bliss in strange ways. He laughed at me when I told him I hated this one scarf I knit. I told him I was actually going to make it into a prayer flag instead to blow in the wind. He said the wind is good. He loves to put things in the wind.

Well, I guess I will walk to the mailbox and see if I have any new bills. It is that time of the month!