Anatomy of a cliffhanger (part 1)

The sensational story of the

Seaweed of Serenity Sacred & Silly Scarf.

A saga in two parts: a spellbinding suspense full of stunning sparks and sheer sizzle.

Sssssssssss!

***

Things where not all that fun for me in March 2008.

First, I had yet to discover Ravelry.
:)


Second, I had failed to finish in time baby Jacob’s 1st birthday diamond brocade sweater that I had been painstakingly and strenuously knitting for the past ten months. Things didn’t go according to plan and I was so disappointed at my failed attempt despite all those relentless efforts. I hate it when that happens. Hey, that’s not a surprise in a knitter’s life. But at the time, newbie me didn’t know any better.

***

I needed a breath of fresh air. Something exclusive, wacky and spunky to KIP (and maybe even brag about a little) at my beloved Stitch-N-Bitch nights as well as easy enough to knit and tote around on my many commutes.

***

That’s when I came across THE perfect model in the December’s 2007 edition of the Brit magazine Simply Knitting: the Seaweed Scarf!

It was somewhat peculiar but also curiously enticing. Mesmerizing, I might even dare say. I was found of the analogy to seaweed: supple yet adaptable to whichever currents come by, profuse with many frills and tentacles, always on the alert, sensing and feeling intensely every subtle change and going gracefully with the flow. And as such, algae as fertile crop of the Great Big Sea, that yin principle by excellence, represented in it’s essence by the gelatinous and mineral-rich offering that we call seaweed… yada-yada-yada…

I just loved it. And I had to knit it. Enthralled, I was.

There was only one problem arising: the yarn choice. Mind you, I have absolutely no objections against Rowan’s yarn. Who would!?! It’s more of a torrid lusting that we, knitters, all secretly share. But I devised that 6 skeins of Scottish Tweed was kind of an outrageous splurge for a mere “novelty” scarf.

***

So I devised to go for a substitute. Ouch, I know… what a daring and potentially set for disaster idea. But I was surfing some auspicious tidal wave. So, on a glorious and sunny Spring afternoon, I beached at my favorite LYS, and lo and behold, there was this most lovely basket, proudly on display, profuse with iridescent and lustrous skeins toppling all over. A new arrival! Like a bucket of glistening sardines at some busy fishing pier in Lisbon. This was indeed my lucky day.

So, at this very moment, I did set my mind on this beauty, and, future would tell, it proved a very good choice.



Isn’t it all yummy?

***

So, here and there, to and fro, I got busy knitting the scarf the for months to come. It proved a great companion in all the hassle that would follow in my life.

And soon Spring gave way to a Summer. And the scarf patiently grew, at a snail pace, yes, but still it was there. It was there for me in a time where I needed that devout commitment to tiny yarn, tiny needles and a zillion of tiny stitches. A purple and teal blessing in the form of a Zen piece of needle art. All patience, all consistency.

Om.

And the falling shower of golden leaves came to me at its own pace, as well as my slow and cautious acquaintance to my new environment, for I had moved in the meantime. Everything was new, and unfamiliar, but the faithful scarf was there at my side, a reliable dear friend, sharing my sunny afternoons spent on park benches and the many car rides at the discovery of my new neighbourhood. It is so infused with warmth and sun that I can't look at it without smiling. I see it glowing and shining, like a peaceful and most auspicious rainbow. And my heart feels a little lighter.

***

Each time I escaped to my heavenly headspace, that very intimate paradisiacal yarn fantasy, with ze sacred & silly scarf in tow, all but wanting space and silence and anonymity, there it was, flaunting its shiny glistening scales of purple and teal and aqua all over, capturing all the envious gazes. Unbeknownst to me, it was growing a life of its own, more so, a fan base of its own if I consider all the hits on my Ravelry page! Scarier still, maybe, who knows, even a will of its own!

***

I liked that Ranco Araucania Multi yarn so much, that I bought the company…. Not!
;-P

But I frantically searched for another skein. Ginette willingly dug the many treasures stashed away in her Ali Baba’s cave of yarny wonders and hauled back a huge pouch of ze coveted stuff, to plunder at will. We both dug elbow deep, all between the shimmering strands, but could not find any next of kin to my twin skeins. Bummer.

Not that I wanted it to be a mile long. Hell no. It was already as long as could be. But I had a plan in mind for the generous expected leftovers, and didn’t want to be stuck short right in the middle of the creation of my new heartthrob. Yes, the one I will talk to you about in part deux. There is nothing like a little tantalizing suspense, isn’t it?

Insert big devilish grin here.

"Please, would you tell me," said Alice, a little timidly, ... "why your cat grins like that?"
"It's a Cheshire cat," said the Duchess, "and that's why."

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

***

Of course, true to my newbie’s string of untimely delays, detours and obstacles, I failed yet again to get it finished in time for Fall, and as such, am listlessly stuck waiting for Winter to be over to proudly display my trophy around. Drats!

Am I cursed or what?

***

I leave you with an image of the beauty at rest, all coiled up and patiently waiting for Spring to come. Must I remind you to beware of sleeping beasts with a mind of their own?

Ssssssssssss!

A New Dawn

The year of the Earth Ox is here! And as such my 3rd personal new beginning.

Yeah!

You see, I just like to reflect on the past to build the future. I dwell on signs, and omens, as well as ponder on the synchronicities occurring in my life. And I do this in stages: 1st, the Roman calendar New Year. Since I, most of the time, have to spend this holiday with family, I never get the chance to really get within grasp of the degree of interiority I’m seeking for. So there comes along my birthday! I look upon it as my very special renewal day, to which I commune to a renewed sense of self. I don’t know quite how to explain it besides saying it’s sacred for me. And then the Chinese New Year tops it all off. It’s great, because if I missed a resolution, a message, an insight, I do have that second, then that third chance to catch up. What a precious blessing!

Hence, when I get to witness the Chinese New Year dawning on me, like this glorious sunrise, all golden and glowing, lightening afire in the midst of this horrendous freezing cold the petrified snow covered river, I feel whole and at peace, and ready to tackle whatever is ahead.

A new dawn.



Yes, a page has been turned and I’m out of limbo for good.

This means less time for everything I like, mostly knitting and writing, so I must make every minute count.

***

Being a knitter in a non-knitter’s environment is quite difficult at times. I tried to “convert” and “spread the gospel” as much as I could, but it’s not catching up as quickly as I expected. Hence, I didn’t get a single knitting related gift for the holidays, despite all my nudge-nudge-wink-wink efforts of the past 2 years.

But, I got a special intimate birthday celebration that really cheered me and touched me deeply. Thanks so much to Alison and Audrey who took me out for coffee, cake and a nice chit-chat/knitting impromptu session. That was my best ever birthday. And see the superb gift Alison got me:



Isn’t it great: my first ever knitting related gift! All complete with a sock pattern and the dpn’s set. Those socks will be long cherished, I swear. Thanks.

***

Projects.

I have so many on the needles and so many lusted after in my Ravelry queue.

I’m sad I didn’t have a digital cam when I first started bloging and knitting. I feel cut off from my own beginnings. And it’s hard and somewhat pointless to recap now. But I do have some ideas in mind to cope with this. I’ll figure a way, promised. Anyonecanknit got me over my hang-ups. Why not just jump and do it again from the start? Who cares about my two failed first attempts at bloging? I’ll just commit to it as much as I can and have fun with it. That’s it!

***

Same thing with the bilingual blog. Seemed crazy at the time to maintain two versions of my own writting. So, lo and behold, I’ve let go of the French along the way. But now, I think I’m lured into coming back to it, but in a different manner, thanks to Audrey's idea. My way of shoving all in the same post was discouraging. Now, I can translate at my own pace on my 2nd French blog, or so I hope. Ok, I couldn’t keep up and be committed to one sole blog. Let’s just hope I’ll have the stamina and wackiness to keep up with two! No money bets, please!

***

Now, let’s celebrate that Chinese New Year in style!

Limbo

Kept to myself, lately. Circumstances of my life prompted me to it. An intense self-observation and acute self-examination phase, punctuated with rows and rows of escape to my personal knitting haven.

Limbo, but insulated with myriads of bright and lush strands of yarn. Sadness, yes, but not sad to its core. Curiously hollow. More of a salutary purging of the bulging abscesses, giving way to a renewed sense of self seeping through every pore. And then, the sharp shriek of consciousness cutting its way through layers of resistance and aborted persona.

I longed for boundlessness, like that eternal and ethereal moment found in perfect balance at the junction between the in-breath and the out-breath. Space without form, without intent, without weight. Self as whisper. An intimate cocoon that I lovingly spinned around my sorrows and disillusions.

Nine months have passed. And I floated, and I swam, and I slept without dreams.

Some bystanders felt sorry for me. I didn’t. For in silence, I found some paths of atonement. And knitting bestowed me with the needed solace.

So be it.