Making a list

But I had to make a song to go with it first. It's an unfinished song to the tune of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallejulah'. I particularly like the Choir of Hard Knocks version (you can see a short selection of it here), but kd lang is also hard to beat, even at the Logies.

A writer gets organised

I think about the life I’ve missed
And now I think I’ll make a list
Of things to do before life passes by me
And on the list is
‘Write some stuff’
Write it now, and write enough
Procrastinate no more and write it truly

Write it truly, write it truly
Write it truly, write it truly

I can do it but I need a shove
An iron fist in velvet glove
Get it down then prune it with a hacksaw
Lock me to
My writing chair
Chocolate, wine, a bit of air
And let me pick the cabbage from coleslaw

From the coleslaw, from the coleslaw
From the coleslaw, from the coleslaw

I know that I’ve been here before
The shirts I’ve washed hang on the door
And all of them I know are needing pressing,
I feel that I
Must clean my desk
So much dust it looks grotesque
It’ll be back next week so there’s no point in stressing

No point in stressing, no point in stressing
No point in stressing, no point in stressing

I’ll feed the cats, put out the bin
And notify the next of kin
I’ll be going incommunicado
When I get
The writer’s block
I’ll do some rows and finish Sock
I’ll be doing stuff and that is my bravado

My bravado,my bravado
My bravado, my bravado

If all I write is judged as shit
At least I’ll know I tried a bit
Who knows how times to come will score it
And even if
I go awry
It’s not as if I didn’t try
And told the story exactly as I saw it

As I saw it, as I saw it
As I saw it, as I saw it

Motivation strategies

Sock still stranded on the needles
Unfinished objects piling up
Not busy enough to finish this stuff

In misty, magical Daylesford there's an exhibition of Sheila Hollingworth's cartoons, part of the annual Words in Winter program. Sheila's quest to complete a cartoon a day based on the theme of Pet Hates reminds me of an article that I read in Textile Fibre Forum, by Inga Hunter, where a group of artists committed themselves to the idea of a Drawing a Day. The article featured some images of pages from a most beautiful journal with drawings and notes.

I can't possibly knit now. I'm starting a journal.

On sock knitting

I used to think knitting socks was a waste of time. Why would you? They are so cheap to buy and so on. And then my elder brother had a big birthday coming up and I decided that all I could give a man who had everything was a hand-knitted pair of socks. I added a personal message knitted in a contrasting colour close to the band.

I managed to finish the first sock for the Significant Birthday and then the second one for the Significant Birthday Plus One Year. Before long another of my brothers was due for a Significant Birthday, then a sister-in-law...
 
My next pair will be a pair of spiral socks. Spiral socks have no heels, but because they are made from a spiralling rib pattern that clings and massages the feet and legs, they fit well. They are good bed socks too. Each time they are washed, the indentations where the heels have been are smoothed out, which extends the life of the heel and probably the toe.

Good vegie knitting.

In my own defence - a reply to Sock

I can appreciate that it is no fun being jammed in my carry bag - all those redundant supermarket dockets, pen tops with no pens, dog-eared copies of The Big Issue, clean tissues just-in-case and the odd chocolate wrapper. But what happened was this-

I sat happily on the tram knitting. All good, no one sat next to me - something about the fear of double pointed needles. There's probably a fancy phobia with a Latin name for that - the best bet would be to look on airline websites to give it a name.

When I reached the city I had to put Sock In Progress in my bag. When one of the double-pointed needles jabbed me in the leg through the bag on a pedestrian crossing, I attempted to rearrange the configuration of needles. At this point, some stitches went freeform - they slipped cheerfully off one needle. On the odd occasions when I opened the bag, I thought I could hear some whooping noises.

I tried to put it out of my mind while I was shopping and to avoid disturbing the stitches so that I could pick them up later.

I tried to coerce them back on to the needle on the train ride home. Some of them are a bit twisted - having tasted freedom they don't want to go back on the needle and the ones that were already on the needle tightened up.

I don't know quite how to break this to Sock, but, assuming I finish both socks, they are destined for a someone's foot.

In this case, the journey seems a whole lot better than the destination.

Sock

I don't want to appear malicious
Or in any way repetitious
But
She was knitting on a tram
And dropped some stitches off
Consequently I find I am
Still a foot without a toe
Oh, woe

Tea cosy world

If this is a tea cosy, it must have been made in Australia. Right?

Australia seems to produce more tea cosy books per head of population than any other country in the world. For some inspiration, visit the works of Loani Prior or the Miles (Queensland, Australia) Tea Cosy Competition.

This is my prototype

Not posting, knitting

June flashed by with a click, clack of needles.
There was no time to post.
Projects finished - one feather and fan shoulder shawl in a beautiful superwash sock yarn by Lang. Knitted in two weeks - nothing like a deadline to focus the mind.
The yarn, Jawoll Magic, is dyed so it drifts from one colour to another, which has the effect of creating beautiful, but gentle, striping throughout. It has a soft feel to it and slips easily through the fingers.
I knitted it on 4.50mm needles and one skein was enough to cover the shoulders.
I forgot to take a picture before I gave it away to my mother for her 90th birthday, so I'll have to make another, won't I?

Sock now has a heel, but I'm hearing no gush of gratitude
'Oh, woe
I've got part of a foot
But still missing a toe'

Projects begun - the first of the patterns for a book I started in 2007. A practice piece will be revealed soon...