I was so so so cheered by all the lovely messages, newsletter replies, tweets, and of course blog comments I received yesterday. And a mention on the Electric Sheep Podcast was just the icing on the birthday cake. Thank you, thank you, thank you, lovely knitters! Replies are on their way.
I’m usually a pretty upbeat, positive person, and I adore doing this here, with you. I still find this a little hard to define, because as you know I do a lot of random, silly things, and knitwear design sometimes seems like a small part of it. I love ideas more than anything, and design more than most, and knitting as much as, well… you, and all together they make me very happy indeed. But every day I meet people who scoff at my work, who ask me snidely how much I make, and inevitably wonder when I will get a proper job (& my own place). Luckily for me, none of these people are in my family. I don’t get hurt by these comments (that would be ridiculous), but I certainly get cross. There was a time when they made me doubt myself, and I sat in a dark office and did work that made no one on earth happy, least of all me. But now I brush them aside and try to use my crossness to fuel me in my work. Still, if it wasn’t for the positive feedback I get from you, I don’t know how long I’d be able to sustain this.
So THANK YOU! & if you’re just heading out on your own path and working for yourself, please don’t listen to the naysayers. Listen to your own true, brave voice and no other. Trust your own confident, capable hands. Don’t let anyone come between you and the joy of steering your craft.
You might be interested to note that my cynics all share one common factor (apart from cynicism, that is): they’re inevitably non-knitters. Which leads me to believe that there is a higher preponderance of nice people among knitters than in the general public. I have some theories about this:
- Knitting is a calming occupation. Because knitters relieve stress through knitting, they’re less likely to lash out at others.
- Knitting is a creative act, and it’s my belief that creating something makes people feel more fulfilled, so that they don’t have the urge to belittle the work of other people to make themselves feel better.
- Knitting is contemplative, and anyone who takes the time to slow down and listen to their thoughts is better able to assess their relationships with others.
- Knitting teaches you patience.
- The devil makes work for idle hands. A knitter’s hands are always busy.
Of course we all have a long way to go, but I do believe that knitting can help us get there. Don’t you agree? :)
“Now that lilacs are in bloom
She has a bowl of lilacs in her room
And twists one in her fingers while she talks.”
- T.S. Eliot, ‘Portrait of a Lady’
Few things are as uplifting as a bunch of lilacs in a room. Even when you’re not looking at them, their scent still surprises you. Being able to pick them myself from the garden is a priceless pleasure. And even after the lilac flowers have gone over, I love seeing the name ‘Laylock’, and remembering the inspiration this plant offers. What a delightful business growth model lilacs would make! Graceful, profuse, colourful, robust, and full of heart.
In the door-yard fronting an old farm-house, near the white-wash’d palings,
Stands the lilac bush, tall-growing, with heart-shaped leaves of rich green,
With many a pointed blossom, rising, delicate, with the perfume strong I love,
With every leaf a miracle……and from this bush in the door-yard,
With delicate-color’d blossoms, and heart-shaped leaves of rich green,
A sprig, with its flower, I break.
- Walt Whitman, ‘When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d’
The first postcard set is now available for purchase! There are 5 postcards in the set entitled warm wool heart, and I’m so so pleased with them. There are small motifs that thread through the images and pull them together: hearts, curls, folds, snows & greys. I also think one could construct a timeline of the life of the knitted garment from these photos: the yarn in a foetal ball, the cast on, the ‘live’ stage, the finished fabric, and the leftovers. The more I look at the postcards, the most I realise how many memories I have attached to them, and… how wonderful all these memories are! This one winter of working on Laylock; all tentative beginnings, slow beginnings, false starts & restarts, Welsh snow, Turkish snow, the metre-deep, draughty windowsills of this small cottage, days alone with my camera, wrapped in shawls & wearing many skirts, crackly cricket on LW, birdsong. Honestly, I can’t say how they all sneaked in there…
Well, if you feel even a fraction of what I do about this set of postcards, I thought you might like to send them as gifts. To this end, there are instructions here, and here’s a peek at the envelopes, and one of the ‘wrappers’ that I designed. Thank you once more for all your support. :)
Speaking of packaging, I requisitioned my free Graze box to keep buttons & bits in. If you’re in the UK, I strongly recommend you give them a try. You can get a free box using this code: V2M17XB, and a selection of yummy healthy snacks will be delivered to you by Royal Mail, in a handy box that’s small enough to fit through your letter box. Just remember to cancel the next delivery if you don’t want to receive any more.
21 June, 2011 | 
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