Clue, April 3

On where to find the spring bunny, my contribution to Free Art Friday Montclair.



Along the trail named for residents previous
flows a shallow brook with course sometimes devious:
it goes behind houses and under the street
(but don't bother the neighbors when seeking your treat).

Upstream of its pond a sign marks the spot.
Free Art waits beyond, placed at 10 on the dot.
Your prize is a bunny, seasonal and representational,
protected against weather, clement or precipitational.

On April 3
should you find this objet wee,
please snap a selfie
and post to #FAFMTC.

Good luck to the seekers, and I sure hope this time the finder posts a selfie!

April Tortoise

This morning there was one last (?) hurrah from Old Man Winter, a surprise snowfall. So of course I rushed out to pose the wee bunny I crocheted for Free Art Friday Montclair. I'll announce where it's placed on Friday. Erm, is it wrong for a church lady to hide a spring bunny on Good Friday?



Making the bunny from the excellent pattern and photo tutorial by Janette Williams was fun and satisfying. Participating in Free Art Friday has been less so. Maybe continuing to do so makes me as mad as a March hare or as gullible as an April Fool. Ah well, my wrists needed a break from fast and furious Mad sock knitting.

Speaking of Sock Madness, here's a Sunday Review progress shot, which is when it became apparent that I possibly might be able to finish the pair before the April 3 deadline but definitely would not make the cut to advance from Round 2 to Round 3.



The cut happened the very next day. It would seem other participants are far speedier than I and have far more time to devote to Mad knitting. Or I have too many distractions. For example, on Sunday, which was Palm Sunday, I was making palm crosses instead of knitting. Slacker that I am, I made mine after the worship service to give away. Whereas overly competitive crafty types industriously weave their palm crosses ::cough:: during the worship service and ::cough:: pridefully hand them out in vast numbers afterward. I'm not very attached to the process (or the competition) – I just make 'em and give 'em away – but a few people reminded me I made them palm crosses last year, which surprised and touched me.

Usually I make the palm crosses on the left, but this year I also tried the palm crosses on the right, which are fussier to make and yield tidier results.

Then there was the matter of replacing the lawn mower blade. It really, really needed replacing.



So, there might be snow on the ground, I may be DNQ for Sock Madness Round 3, but at least I'm ready for lawn-mowing season (whenever that may be)!

Voluntarily

I feel stupid posting this. So why voluntarily engage in stupid? Well, because I'm not so loftily principled that I would spurn something positive and fun just because it's also partly stupid. It's a matter of degree, and naming the beast is the first step towards embracing reluctance.

For February Sockdown I have to furnish proof of sock, so here it is. First up, my project in good light. It's Queen of Diamonds Sock by Kristi Schueler worked in Spunky Eclectic handspun Superwash Corriedale, colorway Tahiti.



The yarn was a 2010 Ravellenics project. The pattern is written toe-up but I'm knitting it top-down because I cast on when I was tired and cranky after shoveling snow. Here's a requisite photo showing my cast on and the number of projects (14) before I set up my Ravelry project page.



And here's a photo showing my project page and the number of projects (15) after I set up my Ravelry project page.



I also need to furnish proof of placement for my second giveaway for Free Art Friday Montclair (#fafmtclr), coming soon. ETA: Here it is in the wild, on the Northeast sled hill. Also, now we're supposed to use #fafmtc. OK, whatever, photographic proof.



Such tough-sounding talk has its appeal, I suppose, by derivation. Kittens enjoying pretending to be tigers. Rawr. (I am the only one troubled by the hint of animal cruelty in the video?) I've never much cared for the fad of knitters appropriating the language of racism and addiction or ultraviolent competition. Similarly, I'm increasingly troubled by my own use of the language hostage negotiators use when dealing with psychopaths who kidnap and brutally execute people. Such language doesn't seem strong or daring to me – while admittedly colorful, it also seems inauthentic and unreasoning. Gentle readers, YMMV, if it works for you that's dandy. All I know is I need a different vocabulary.

First Friday

Happy New Year! Roundabout casa Jersey Knitter it seems especially auspicious that 2015 is the Year of the Sheep. In Japan the New Year's postage stamp depicts a knitter sheep that has finished the scarf it was making 12 years ago. May that bode well for the many UFOs buzzing around Area 151!

Photo credit: AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama.

Indeed, encouraged by that example, I dug out an, er, vintage UFO, the wee beaded bag from ::cough:: September 2006 and finished it with an I-cord strap and a beaded edging around the flap. It felt wonderfully right, as if I'd never put it down. Behold, the first FO of the new year (with NJ quarter for scale)!



It seems to me one shouldn't hoard such good karma for oneself. Accordingly, I left the wee bag by BAB for Free Art Friday Montclair (#fafmtclr), a local version of a global scavenger hunt. A lot of FAF pieces involve graphic arts, but I thought an objet could add a touch of whimsy to the day. It does seem as if some FAF scavengers take things a bit too seriously, as if the goal is having rather than finding. That said, if you find the wee bag, take it if you wish – it's free. Or, leave it to brighten someone else's day.