Friday, November 5, 2010

Perseverance!

Wow! I am back on track with my homespun sweater! It took over 4 un-knitting tries and much, much concentration. Last night there was victory! I am to the point of decreasing the armholes! I really thought that maybe I was retarded. I just could not get the unknitting to get to a point of figuring out the pattern. I was off my count by two stitches. During CSI last night I took a deep breath, unknit the last row one more time and found the two stitches and was able to get my lace rows on track! WHEW! What a mess.

I also took these blurry photos with my old camera. I did buy a new camera, thought it was easy to use, and it isn't as easy as I thought. Somehow the old camera has forgotten to tell me that there is an error 45, so I did get two shots for the blog.
The reason I took the photo of the marigolds in the weeds is because I did not plant marigolds, I was weeding one day and saw them over to the side. Volunteers are nice to have, but so late in the season is another thing. I did not weed around them, and I am letting them re-seed themselves again. Another perseverance example, huh? I have not "felt" good for a coupla days. I decided maybe I just need to rest and get myself back on my own schedule again. So yesterday I put on the podcasts and made myself spin all day. I was able to find one more little pkg of pin roving that appeared to match the bright orange and yellow yarn I spun. Now that I have finished it-spun and plied-it is not exactly a match. But it is a fraternal twin. I like it.
I like to listen to podcasts or an audible book or something while I am spinning. Especially if I am on a spinning marathon. There certainly is limited interest in t.v. and I especially have been turned off by the election mess. The media is still full of it. As if they can prove anything by talking so much about it. No one knows what is going to happen until it all happens.
I have been thinking a lot lately about my conversation in Tacoma two years ago with another fiber lady that said she belonged to the Slow Fiber Movement. I found a link today for the Slow Cloth Movement. I think this quote from Elaine Lipson sums it up:
"It's not a project or technique; it's a way of working with textiles in any ____ that begins with recognizing the value and beauty making things with integrity and skill." My computer did not print all the way to the side and I can't read the missing word(s) where the blank is. CJE and I talk a lot about only doing things that create joy for us and that we love.
Sometimes I wonder what my perseverance is with this handspun sweater. I got so frustrated when I made the big mistake, recognized it, and was disgusted. I threw it aside for some weeks. But then I was determined to correct the mistake, and that has taken me a week to do. And now I am back on track. I don't think of myself as having a deadline with it; it's just getting it done. It will be a beautiful sweater when completed. It will last a long time. Believe me, the yarn has held up to a lot of unknitting and tugging and poking and pulling. And it is still a nice yarn. Handspun yarn is meant to last a long time.
So I guess I am on the train now with the Slow Fiber Movement. I want to create something I like, something that shows my skills as a spinner and knitter, and yes, it will take me a while to complete it. Actually I have the upper part of the back and the front to knit. Then I block it, and sew it together.
I want to get the dyeing done with the red oak that I have and I have a coupla other things to dye. I looked at the walnut tree, but it appears the squirrels have been busy there too.
So keep working. We have time on our side and we want to use that time wisely. Oh- Fall Back this weekend. I hate daylight savings time. Don't even get me started on that. Have a great weekend.

1 comment:

Elaine said...

Hi, thank you for quoting me! I defined Slow Cloth several years ago, at this link here: http://lainie.typepad.com/redthread/2008/01/this-must-be-th.html

(you may quote or reprint my material, including the definition of Slow Cloth, under the Creative Commons license, as long as you include a link back to the original, full attribution, and do not change the text in any way. Thanks!)

I appreciate the quote on your lovely blog. Thank you so much.
Elaine Lipson