Winter

I pull on music.  It fills me in ways no other can. It expresses that which words lack.  It takes me to the place that is here, yet on a different plane, at a different level.  Recently I heard the depth of humanity and the expanse of spirit, and I was relieved and grateful for the experience.

I use my hands.  To shape, twist, and guide forms into being.  A latent fear of mine about losing use of my senses has been settled:  I will adjust and prevail when the diagnosis arrives.

These roots run deep and feed me well even if I appear to be dead.  The cold air pushes my warmth closer to my heart.  Steam rises.

And despite churning muck, charlatans, and fools behind masks who are recently revealing themselves through their actions, I am very optimistic that what is good will prevail. 

core

Blubbery mess from a cathartic encore tonight.

Laden

Sometimes what I need to do is look up after looking down from the weight of the past week.

That big ol' supermoon is buttercream yellow, low in the eastern sky above the hills, with a stripe of a cloud veil to mimic Saturn, and with her top lopped off in a hazy line.

8 Nov 2016

As people watch in horror, I'm thinking about what the domestic abuse count will be tonight.

Dusk

The cruel year took more under its wing.
So the simple ritual learned a generation ago was
resurrected:
Bourbon on the rocks,
Ritz or Wheat-Thins,
Sharp aged cheddar or Stilton.
Tonight's ingredients were slightly different
but had the same effect:
direct and stark, with a wake.

Tumult

A great loss occurs before the black moon of the month.  And when the sun rises the furies flare again.  They have been ever-present, and have arisen in force after the prime milestone, and they are building strength with relentless intensity and anger.  It becomes difficult to bend or step aside and let them pass.

RIP rc

Life seems so short when a childhood friend dies.

Primes

The tenth prime doubled will be the milestone tonight as I embark on my seventeenth prime year.  This milestone is also the year I was born in, also preceded by a prime.  I haven't been this excited since I commemorated an event during my fifteenth prime.

"Wait, what?" How life is sometimes.

Place

'Auhea wale ana 'oe?
Harvest moon signals the time to reap. Tables are laden and we celebrate the bounty. Thunder booms and flares ignite, yet this place remains calm. We embrace this season of warmth.

Content

My approach when "generating content" includes the following:

1. Who cares? and why should they?
2. Use a sieve to filter information - start with the big-holed sieve first.
3. Write the interesting story. Not everyone will find the story interesting so figure out who the story is being written for.

Yeah this hurts one side of my brain. The muscle has not been flexed and needs exercise. I have not written nearly enough words to keep this process flowing. Time to resume writing to specific recipients.

Down by the Sea

From the archives.

Not what I expected to hear.

Millennia revealed at the shore.

The afternoon commute.

TdF 2016

End of Day One.

Beaded flow

I saw one in the window and I went inside to find its companion in midnight blue, slender, v-neck front and back, with a few strings of black and silver beads in the bodice to set off the moonlight and more sewn in wavy lines in the chiffon drape to hold the fabric close to the body.  I borrowed a bit of time with this one.

Leaping Molly

I started it in 2012, finished it last night, and prepped it for final wearing today, this leap day.

After taking a class from JC Briar and appreciating her description of the construction of the sweater she wore, I purchased the kit at Stitches West in 2012 from Shelridge Yarns and started pretty quickly.

A month later there were some issues, and some separation was needed.  I might have picked up a bad habit along the way.

Progress a year later?  Two steps forward and nearly two steps backward.

Reconciliation occurred soon afterward. There was commitment to bring this beauty forward.

Finally, half of the piece was finished!  Wearing it was a dream.  Still more to do, though. It became the piece I dedicated myself to each February, commemorating Stitches West. And the sleeves took three (3) years to complete.

I would have been lost if I had not taken notes.

The notes saved me and reflected the amount of planning, work, and rework that I devoted to this piece over the years.

My struggles with the piece are a reflection of my desire to speed things up and not pay attention to the pattern in front of me.  I have no regrets from this experience, and I hope I am a better knitter.

JC Briar is a fantastic designer.  The pattern is beautifully designed and very well written.  You can find it here, and purchase it here.

Keep it

Sometimes the first and early versions of products are the best.  Too much editing later in time tends to delete important information.

Looking ahead

A beautiful specimen of fabric has imprinted itself into my brain, and I am studying it over and over in my head.  I was tempted to buy it, but I resisted because possession is not the same as creation.  A graphic from another source reinforces the ideas used in the fabric.  Fibers and yarn overflow in my space - I consider spilling them out and randomly selecting ones to use as the work progresses.

Competing for the next projects:
Double weave for a single layer.
Double weave for double width.
Variations on a backstrap, expanding the 2-shaft configuration with sticks for something more than tabby.

I cannot wait to see my friends.