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.