Personal: August 2006 Archives
Every year around about this time I pull out our wedding album and look for a good picture. Our wedding happened just before the entry of the digital camera into wedding photography, so this process involves pulling out our proofs, flipping through pages and travelling back in time. But the goal is to find a picture from 1998 that reflects back some light from today. Most of the time I am drawn to our artsier pictures. Pictures where we have been carefully posed or are very conscious of the fact that we are being photographed for posterity. Serious pictures.
But this year I was drawn to something different. This year, almost without looking I knew which picture I wanted. We've had so much seriousness this year and I think we're both a little worn out by that. The last picture in our album is the one you see above. We're not serious, we're not posed, we're mostly revelling in the fact that we've survived all the planning, finished all the serious business and we've come through the day, very happy to be married. How could a girl not smile?
Eight years later, I am still completely happy to be married and John still makes me smile all the time. Every thing from little grins to laughing so hard that my stomach muscles hurt and my eyes tear up. He has such a knack for helping me lighten up and put the difficult things aside for a bit. While there is much seriousness to going through life and to being married, for us there's been a great deal of happiness and laughter, too. I wouldn't trade that for anything.
Happy Anniversary, Love. I want to laugh with you forever and for always.
Some days I just can't wait to come home and find out what might be waiting on the back porch. Today was one of those days. You see, a very kind blog reader, Gwen (sadly blogless) has shifted her focus from knitting to quilting. And in order to make way for more fabric stash (which I can completely understand, since my mother's passion for fiber tends more towards fabric than yarn) she decided that she wanted to send some of her yarn stash out into the world to see what it might become. It turns out that I am very fortunate, because Gwen, who has read my blog for a while, thought some of her lovely stash would find its future with me.
I love surprises, and while I knew the box was coming, I had no idea what might be inside. After getting all my stuff inside the house, I grabbed the box and my scissors and took it all up to my favorite place to be in the early evening: my upstairs balcony. I love the light and the breeze and the odd view I have of the Sears Tower. I spend most evenings out there when the weather is tolerable. And tonight I had a mystery box to explore.
After opening the box, I got bathed in more color and texture. I just had to spread it out so that I could take it all in and do some serious yarn petting. I've seen Malabrigo before, but I'd never picked it up and realized how soft it was. And here were two skeins in a beautiful blue/green colorway. Ditto for the beautiful rich purple Karabella Aurora 8. With 4 balls, I can imagine a lovely special occasion scarf (I've read that Aurora 8, while lovely, does what most merino does, and pills a bit when it gets used a lot). And then there's the sage colored Classic Elite Premier and Attitude -- pima cotton and tencel and pima cotton and silk blends, respectively. Both are soft buttery yarns that remind me that I don't usually give cotton blends enough of a chance when I knit.
On the flashier side (in the center of the picture) are 3 skeins of one of my all time favorite yarns, Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb. The colorway, Watercolor, is suble shades of some of my favorite colors and just calls out to be in a special project. And it's hard to miss the Colinette Prism in "Jamboree". I'd love to try spinning a yarn like that myself -- if ever I could convince my fingers to make a bigger diameter, fluffier single.
Just too much good stuff to list!
Lately, I've been feeling kind of uninspired about knitting, but this bountiful box of color has really got my brain whirring away... What could be the best use of 10 skeins of beautiful chocolate brown Jo Sharp wool? Is it cool enough to start on a pair of socks for myself in Mountain Colors Bearfoot? Is the pima/tencel blend a good substitute for the pima cotton yarn called for in Annie Modesitt's crochet cardigan pattern from the last Interweave Crochet? I just want to bury myself in my fiber room and start thinking about all the possibilities.
Thank you so much, Gwen. I am still overwhelmed in the best possible way by this treasure chest from your stash. I promise to give your yarn a very good home. Every time I knit with it, I will remember your generosity and that there is so much good energy and so many good people in the fiber/fabric/crafting community. And someday, I will brighten someone else's doorstep with a special gift in your honor.
Edited 8/19/2006 -- I'm turning off the comments for this post because it seems like the spammers have found something to love about it. Must be that spammers like gift yarn as well!
