Such Sweet Hands

The fall issue of Knitscene is headed to your newsstand if it isn’t already there. There isn’t much crochet in it. My scarf and a flaming bowling ball bag by Regina Rioux Gonzalez. There are some lovely knitted sweaters and the photography is nice. Will have to make note to self to nudge them to have more crochet next time!

This is the same little scarf that appeared in my photo-a-day run last March.

There’s certainly more to chat about. It’s been a busy and very social month. Several good friends are moving away this summer, all moving on to new and exciting adventures. There’s a wedding this weekend too. You’ll hear more from me about that, I’m currently enjoying watching the stain of my first ever mehndi deepen and can’t wait to wear my new sari to the beach side ceremony. Lots of pictures on the way!

I’m sometimes asked where to find Craft, Interweave Crochet, Crochet Today, etc. I’ve seen Craft in bookstores, Barnes & Noble and Borders. I’ve seen Interweave Crochet as well as Crochet Today in a local Ralph’s Grocery store magazine aisle. I’ve also seen both at Barnes and Noble. I’ve found Interweave Crochet in plenty of local yarn stores.

I’ve yet to see Crochet Today in a LYS, which I think is a shame. I assume it’s because the magazine features Coats and Clark yarns. If you want it in your LYS, work up something from the mag in yarn you bought at the store and then bring it in to show off the result of mixing the store’s yarn with the pattern from the mag. LYS owners tend to listen to their customers. If you show them there’s something good they’re missing (something that helps sell their yarn!), they usually listen.

More thoughts on encouraging the crochet in the local “knitting” store later…

Meanwhile, share with us where you are finding your magazines. Which ones are you using and where do you get them? Include your region or city too, since things seem to vary by area.

I said that the finale of the Sopranos left me “awed and thrilled and touched”

Awed: in the second to last scene with Junior, the masks fell away from the characters, from the men themselves. There was a silent moment where the characters became the men who are actors, the men washed away too and simply were humans to me. A reminder that in the end, we just simply exist. The fears and things that define us, even our memories can be washed away simply leaving what is at our center. At that moment I just blurted out a “wow” and felt soothed. Reminded that this is all just a story. The same way Shakespeare often reminds us. “If these shadows have offended think but this and all is mended. That you have but slumbered here while these visions did appear…”

Thrilled: After the simple unspoken resolution in the scene with Junior we step into a tension filled series of moments as Tony waits for and greets his wife, son, and daughter. Each stranger’s action seems the step before he or she pulls out a gun or badge. It was so tense I huddled up to Rob while I imagined each possible ending each of these strangers may deliver for us. I appreciate that the storytellers had fun having their way with us here.

Touched: This is where I read into things. An overly aware geek for storytelling, I am touched by the way storytellers handle certain moments. From the Wow moment with Junior on through I was feeling this glee that these last scenes were so much about the epic story, that in the end the character mask is removed and the actor is left. That we humans just need stories. Regardless of the plot and topic, at the core are the issues of our humanity for which there are no clean endings. (which is partly why we need stories, to problem solve through our condition). That we all participate in this process.

It’s like Mr S. said when setting the stage for Henry V, “Pardon, gentles all these flat unraised spirits that have dared on this unworthy scaffold to bring forth so great an object.” That it is up to us to put our imagination into the story. So as life goes on and the Sopranos trudge forward with no bombastic finale and we all have problems we can’t fully sort out. We want to end the war, but take a cushy job instead. There is no neat or clean ending, it’s all just fretting on the stage. It felt like a thank you. Thank you for watching the story, and the possibly cheesy lyrics to a Journey song sum it up: it goes on and on and on and on. And with that ending we are allowed to believe that. There’s no telling what may happen next in those characters’ lives. Just like we don’t know what’s next in our own. I found that very comforting.

Note: Please don’t hold me to a perfect quotation of the Shakespeare bits, both are from memory and possibly butchered compared to first folio punctuation and such.

I am quite satisfied by the Sopranos finale. Indeed, I’ll say it rocked. I don’t want to say much because I don’t want to give anything away. I will say that as a person who loves to feel out the storytelling methods of any of my favorite productions, I was awed and thrilled and touched. But maybe I read too much into things…

It goes on and on and on and on….

Did you watch it?

Look what landed in my mailbox today!

The July/August Issue of Crochet Today includes my pattern for a sweet, quick, and fun to work up stole/capelet, the “Rolling Waves Stole”. For all ya’ll recently entranced by ripple patterns, it’s a fun stitch pattern that flies off the hook once you get the hang.

There was a slight difference of vision in this case, the powers that be at the magazine added some length and a border. That’s how the cookie crumbles and I’m not displeased with the outcome of combining my whim with their needs. Because we don’t get to keep the samples, I still need to finish up my own to wear to a beach side wedding in a few weeks. The one (or two I might whip an extra up in a different color) I make for my own use will be a tad different. I promise to share pictures and input on taking a pattern and changing it up to make it your own.

I also want to note that I really enjoyed working with Moda Dea Fashionista to make this piece. It’s a nice acrylic yarn with an almost chenille sort of texture. Well, chenille-like in the richness of the colors and the look of the texture. Without the worming and chenille weirdness! It works up nice and soft and light with just the right amount of cozy warmth for a light wrap. I bet worked in a tighter gauge it could make a great granny motif bag…