Wednesday, March 28, 2007

The One Eyed Man

Have you ever heard, "The one eyed man is king in the valley of the blind?" I'm not sure but I think they were talking about me. My knitting experience has primarily been between me, my patterns, my yarn and my needles. We, me and all my little buddies mentioned above, have all been happy and somewhat impressed with our progress and creations. I've taught many women how to knit over the past 10 years or so, leading knitting groups at the two churches my husband, David, and I have pastored over the last 24 years or so. Those sweet, dear ladies were usually impressed with my work and looked to me as a knitting mentor. After joining the Barnes & Noble knitting group, (specifically meeting June who has been knitting fair isle since she was 12!!!!) I have realized how sheltered and pathetic my knitting experience has been. I truly am the one eyed man in the valley of the blind. However, the good book says "The truth will set you free!!!!" A wonderful minister, Jamie Buckingham, once stated, "The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable." That is what life is all about isn't it? Growth? To find that there is a better way or that there is so much more to learn and experience? I may be miserable, but I am on my way to knitting freedom!!!!!

On to happier things? Remember I'm trying to knit from my stash, which is looking more and more boring every day. I need something new!!!!! C'est la vie. Several years ago I bought several hanks of a beautiful pink Berroco Cotton Twist with the intent of making Emma Belle (see side pictures) a beautiful sweater called Bethany. Well, after fighting with the dang swatch and laboring over the pattern I set forth on said Bethany. All was going well. I counted and recounted and yes I did indeed have the required number of cast ons. Knit first two rows, a breeze. Basic seed stitch, they call it moss stitch, for eight rows, no biggee. I started the "Vandyke Moss Stripe" and moving right along, when I got to the 13th row low and behold I was short a stitch. I took a deep breath and smiled a most serene smile. I took out a couple of rows painstakingly one stitch at a time. Serenely smiling all the while. It was at this most divine moment I looked up and a little loop from my beautiful, sweet, pure pink cotton yarn had decided to attempt to cause some extra stress to put a stop to the zen moment in my life and the stupid, idiotic little creep had jumped into my 3/4 full coffee cup. I ran to the sink asking it why in the world would it want to do that? Was it taking me too long before I got to that section? Was it getting bored? Did it not want to be seen with a one eyed man? I thrust it under the cold water, swished it in my hand oh to tenderly and then gently applied a little soap, rinsing it thoroughly and carefully drying the tender little thing with the towel. All this effort to no avail. What do you think about a pink sweater with a little section of coffee stained making it a golden color? Yeah, yeah I know, I will remove that section, easy enough. Life if grand. :)

I got my Bosworth spindle and it is awesome!!!! That baby spins and spins and spins. I love it and like all others who own one can do nothing but sing it's praises. I've been spinning the beautiful multi-colored Wensleydale June had given me. Here is a snapshot.


I'm on another mission now. I am always looking for the next endeavor or adventure I want to embark upon. This is it!!!! Isn't that the sweetest little thing you ever did see?

4 comments:

Tabitha said...

What a beautiful sweater! Emma would love it, but yeah your right, she would point that stain out to you in a heartbeat lol. Oh and she said she wanted the white bunny,"He's the cutest!" :) I think he looks like a house slipper in that pic, lol.

Joanne said...

Coffee is a great dye! Maybe this is another life lesson? I'm thinking that maybe learning and growth shouldn't be miserable. It can be fun to learn new stuff, right? (that's what I keep saying to myself. It's a learning experience.)

Glad you have a Bosworth, they are great spinners! Thanks for commenting on my blog...I'm hopeful I'll build up my etsy site. Right now it's limited, but someday the Mermaid Scales will shine and float over there.

Holly said...

Heh, one eyed man, indeed! Funny! Have you read Wendy's book? She talks about her first experience with a knitting group after years of knitting in solitude. She had the opposite problem-being FAR more advanced than any of the older ladies in the group and receiving quite a frosty reception.

June said...

Wow, wow, wow Peggy! Look at you go on that Midi!