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Lizards
No more on lizards? Really nothing more to tell? Last chance to email me your stories. |
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to browse and drool |
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s*t*a*s*h! (blush) |
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Beaded top in hemp
Hemp yarn from House of Hemp in 'gosh', kingfisher blue / green. Very, very nearly there 
Sleeveless top for Toz in duck-egg blue Rowan DK Soft. Toria started it and has run out of steam. Crochet throw in sueded velour stuff Progressing slowly. Crochet is not comfortable for me. |
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Off for two weeks I'm going on eight days' further clinical training in psycho-neuro-immunology, and then four days of clinical assessments in applying it with real people. Gulp. Won't be able to post in that time, firstly because I may not have access or time and secondly because I shall probably be incoherent :) Behave yourselves, all of you, and send good wishes to JT, Phoebe and Cleo, would you? The kits haven't had me away for two whole weeks yet, and they seem to be quite attached to me. April 9th Bits and pieces... ... of knitting, academic work, playing with kittens and Jam Tart, reading blogs, stash-gazing, more academic work, even more academic stuff (I'll get this thing written by deadline 'cause I've never, ever missed a deadline!), meeting other knitters, wondering whether I could enhance my stash just a little bit, finishing several chunks of writing, drooling over mac laptops and sony laptops, looking forward to spring. Wool Fest I can't remember where I found this, so please forgive... the woolfest looks fun. I want to go, but I dont' think I can. Work and all that. There are some very prolific knitters out there: Dawn, over at skein has just finished Plaza, and exceedingly lovely it looks too. Drool. She is frolicking around with a 'jumper a month' theme for 2005 and has Jan, Feb and March done and dusted. Now that's upping the ante for you! Happy news - I want babies! We have goose eggs on the island. The pair flew in a couple of days ago. They liked both ponds, particularly the one that is long enough to provide good take-off and landing facilities; when you're a goose, the length of runway is really important, otherwise landing can be less than elegant. They were cool enough to be unimpressed by DH and me walking around, wine glasses in hand and furthermore, they seem to be unphased by half-grown hooligan kittens: we took Sweet Cleo down with us that evening, or rather, she joined us, yowling 'wait for meeeeeeee!'. Mummy goose has now dug out a nest about 20cm deep and has laid two beautiful eggs. We discovered the nest this morning as DH Mike rowed over to strim the grass. Usually we don't disturb them (or the ducks) if they have decided to nest with us, but the geese weren't there, so in the end he clipped by hand over the island and all around the nest, leaving a good wide chunk of uncut grass fringing the nest. We often get geese, but usually canada geese. These are different, shorter necks, more stripes. We haven't identified them yet, but DS1 Chris is working on it. He has friends in goose-rich places. And apropos nothing at all, I have to announce: I don't like Clapotis. Not even now after everyone has finally worked out how to pronounce it. Not even knit in sumptuous yarns. April 3rd Knit me a herb garden Here is the step underneath my clinic window. Eagle eyes amongst you may notice Phoebe in my new Knitty French Market Bag. I had put the bag on the step to dry in the sun and within 30 seconds Phoebe appeared and settled herself in. I coaxed her out and it is now swinging on a hook on the terrace to dry. The herbs have bushed up significantly in the sunshine of the last few days. In the other corners I have more herbs (as we cut them with gusto) and some tomato plants growing up under the kitchen wall. Yum. 
Kitpics Phoebe and JamTart sunning themselves on the patio. They love the sunny weather. Cleo was later found in the radiator hammock in one of the bathrooms. The one in which the radiator is always warm (something to do with hot water and plumbing) and where the hammock is in full sunlight all morning. Cleo Cleverclogs. 
Process versus product Knitting insight (they don't come often): I have discovered the reason I much prefer knitting with finer rather than thick yarns. It has to do with the concept of process vis-à-vis content or product. It's very simple: when I knit with thick yarns I tend to be product-orientated. That means that I think more about the finished object than immersing myself in the process. This has all sorts of stimulating effects such as activating the sympathetic nervous system, raising blood pressure and making me more alert. All good things in their place. I tend to excel in goal-orientated productivity; some people call it 'driven', others 'overachieving'. It can be very tiring :) When I knit with fine yarns, however, I focus on the process of knitting. I sense that this is very good for me. I enjoy the act of winding the yarn around the needles, feeling it slip through my fingers, watching patterns magically appear. And after an hour or so I have maybe an inch to show for it. I hardly think about the finished object at all, except maybe at the beginning or the end of a long session, reluctantly, to compare current state with the proposed finished object. Focusing on process rather than product also has far-reaching effects on mind and physiology: it induces a light trance in me, slows my breathing, allows the parasympathetic nervous system to activate. If I have been thinking over a knotty problem, knitting with fine yarns almost always allows an elegant solution to emerge without any cognitive effort at all. Any stress or agitation I had been feeling before dissolves away over a period of 5, 10 minutes of focused fine-yarn knitting. It's like meditation; for me it's much easier than meditation. Banned books and other commentary Sara at Downward Facing LIfe is writing some interesting stuff at the moment. Including the Banned Books list - how many of these have you read? Here's my version. I was really surprised that there were not others in the top 110 list. I suppose it depends on powerful men's top current peeves. I also find it interesting that so many of these are on the National Curriculum or the A-level syllabus in the UK. When I read several of the others I had no idea that they had been banned - somewhere at some time. |
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Archives:
2005 January February March Knitting Archives 2004 Knitting Archives 2003 Knitting Archives 2002 |
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Send an email to Anne
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Knitting books now:
Color Works Deb Menz Useful, very useful. US readers shop here
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Reading this month:
All About Fibromyalgia - Daniel J. Wallace, Janice Brock Wallace US shoppers click here Aura Advantage - Cynthia Sue Larson US shoppers click here Fingersmith - Sarah Waters US shoppers click here |
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Explore a quality, original, independent web site here: The Infinite Stitch Money, religion, politics. Yes. |
