Join Mary on her adventures in playing with string.
I now present the Red Faery, as promised (gamely modeled by my mom on the occasion of her 76th birthday):
Was it worth my struggle to the finish line? Sewing in the sleeves on the ferry to the island? Stitching on the buttons in the dark of the night before Mom's party? You bet your sweet Faery Ring.
Greetings from my annual summer vacay! Each August, My family and I make a wee pilgrimage to Whidbey Island, WA to celebrate my mom's birthday, and attend the Island County Fair. The fair is about the biggest thing that happens on the island every year. There is a ferris wheel, the Republicans have an ice cream booth, the Democrats sell pronto pups (insert smartass political remark here), and everbody gets heartburn in time to coincide with their ferris wheel nausea. Big ol' slice of Americana Pie.
On Sunday, Susie and I went for a motorcycle ride:
Susie on the left, me on the right: visions of lovliness in helmet hair
Then we loaded all the kids, the husbands and the Grammy into the car and went to the fair.
Guess which exhibits I always hit first? After fiber arts I go straight over and pet the sheep.
Campbell made friends with the Island County firefighters and got to try out the big rig:
A great time was had by all, and continues for the rest of the week. For those who are wondering, I did, in fact, complete the Red Faery in time for Mom's birthday - more on that next time (with art).
Yesterday I gave a talk at a local chapter meeting for the Philanthropic Education Organization. I had a great time meeting knitters and non-knitters there. It was a real ladies' lunch, with aspic and tea and wee dainty cookies. Totally out of my element, you understand, but lovely just the same.
Tonight we have plans to attend a real drive-in movie (can you imagine? The last drive-in in Portland closed down in the late 70's), which pleasure I can't wait to introduce to my smallies.
Small Town. Big Fun. Yes, I'm still knitting.
Someday (may be the last thing I ever do), I'm going to finish a project before the final possible second. The Red Faery is not that project. It's Friday, and I'm headed to the island for a desperately needed vacation with my family. There's a birthday party for my mom on Sunday, and I'm going to be knitting in the car, on the ferry, and probably in the dark of night, too, in order to give her a present that actually is finished. The irony is, of course, that I'm killing myself to finish this sweater in time for her birthday IN AUGUST, when it's much too hot for her to wear it. But that's not what this is about, for me.
A while back I "turned pro" as a knitter. That is to say, I started writing about the knitting I do, and the people I know who also do it. I made a book about it, and people started to call me things like "Designer" and "Author". My professional status was more a result of not stopping them from doing that than it was actually having achieved some benchmark. In lots of avocations, there are certificates, or even licenses you can earn, stick in frames, and hang on your wall. Knitting doesn't have that kind of tangible proof, outside the actual sweaters and socks. I'm totally okay with that, not being the sort of person who's much impressed by framed certifications. I just roll with it, and hope that nobody asks me a question I can't find an answer to. So far my strategy is working. I can tell this, because I have noticed that I will probably never be able to just knit something for the heck of it again. My knitting time has become totally devoted to people outside my immediate circle of friends and family. I knit for yarnmakers. I knit for book publishers. I knit for other knitters whom I may never even meet. And it is wonderful. What better validation and affirmation could I ask for? There are just these little times when I wish I could make my mom a birthday sweater without an unusual planetary alignment, or an act of Congress. I'd like it if I could make that little doll sweater for Lindsay before she outgrows dolls. Campbell should have two mittens, not one. And don't even ask me what the last thing I made for Phillip was. Can't remember.
So getting this project done for my mom is not just a triumph of will over day job. It's proof to me that I can still make room in my priority queue for the people I love. And that's why a box of disembodied sweater parts for mom's birthday simply would not do. Here are the sleeves, by the way:
You may notice that they are neither seamed, nor attached to the sweater. Still. I'm gonna make it to the finish line. There's like hours to go before the party.