Better Finished

Remember this post?

I chose.

And I finished.

Yes. Colour Affection.

Yes. I drank the Kool-Aid. Or, since I’ve been working on putting together the perfect colour combination since December, maybe I just finished knitting something that fulfilled my perfect pattern storm: unusual construction + beautiful and elegant shape + simple enough to not be married to the pattern, yet interesting enough to keep me going to the end + colour play.

The colours I chose have names that have a relationship to each other:  I Made This Tape Special for Today (reminds me of every guy I went to high school with who gave me a mixed tape as a sign of affection. So many hours in old record stores…), Sailor Bait: The Official Lipstick of the 2012 Walk of Shame and Not a Suitable Date for a Mormon (named for a person I know who really isn’t. Trust us.)  Basically the trifecta of a really bad first date.  Don’t you think?

What I think is interesting is that the colours go really well together too.  Hmmmm…let’s test this theory some more…

Click on the photo to see the names. I’m thinking this is the Snuff Shawl.

Pink Bubblewrap

I hate pink.  I’m told it was my favourite colour when I was 5, but I grew out of that by the time I was 5 1/2.  Hate. It.  It’s really one of the few colours I want nothing to do with.  As much as I hate pink, Rebecca (a fellow dyer) and Leslie LOVE it.  I mean REALLY love it. The more I hate a particular shade of it, the more they are jumping up and down and screaming “MINE!!!”  

Rebecca falls down stairs.  A lot.  Which kind of makes us all want to wrap her up in bubblewrap in an effort to keep her safe.  It would have to be pink bubblewrap, of course.  The thought of that inspired me to create a colourway based on that idea. Something light and lightly variagated.  And very VERY pink.  Because maybe if we knit Rebecca an entire Pink Bubblewrap wardrobe, it will keep her safe!  Just in case, Rebecca is getting the first skeins out of the dyepot.

Then Leslie’s husband became very ill and was hospitalized.  Leslie’s daily life has become long hours at the hospital and heart wrenching decisions that no one should ever have to make.  I know that she is exhausted and emotionally drained.  

So when it came time to actually dye “Pink Bubblewrap”, I thought of Rebecca, of course, but I also thought of Leslie and her husband.  Willing the pot to stir up some healing for them.  And thinking about how much she loves pink!  And how pink is also a healing colour.  Clearly I knew one of the skeins would be going to her.

The knitters had other plans.  As soon as I “showed” them Pink Bubblewrap, there was a battle over who was going to buy some to send to Leslie.  It was immediate and very touching.  So to keep the peace, here’s what we decided:  anyone who wanted to, contributed a little to a care package.  In the end, the response was completely overwhelming.  Most of those involved have never met Leslie in person, yet they came together to try and show you how much they care. 

So a package of love and the best kind of wishes is making its way to California.  There is enough yarn to make anything Leslie desires…and gift certificates so that she can choose the right pattern(s) (including a gift from Anne Hanson, a truly generous soul!  Go buy something from her today.  You won’t regret it!)…and a small container that holds a piece of fruit, to remind Leslie that the first rule of being a caretaker, is to take care of yourself.  It touches me to no end that everytime Leslie touches this yarn, every stitch she knits and every time she wears the garment she makes from it… a small and very special group of knitters is giving her all the hugs and comfort and support we can from all over the continent.

So where does she come up with this stuff???

I’ve never been very adept at naming my work.  In my career as a sculptural basketmaker, I tended towards very hippie-granola-new-agey names…but with some logic.  I once made a basket that was constructed by linking 3 woven mermaid sculptures together in a circle.  I called it “Taking Back Her Voice.”  Why?  Because I had laryngitis during the entire time I worked on the thing.  I literally got my voice back as soon as it was finished.  I also knew that “Hey! I Got My Voice Back!” probably wouldn’t sell the thing…but that “Taking” implied impowerment and self-determination.  I knew that someone would connect to that.  And many did.

So here I am in the middle of a new venture.  And things need to be named.  There are stories behind the names, so I thought that occasionally I would tell them.

I have a lot of help.  

Do, or Do Not…There is No Try

Carol is one of my oldest friends.  We met taking figure skating lessons when we were 8.  She is one of my movie friends…the friends who have always been there, no matter what.  Carol is one of the toughest people I know, with one of the softest hearts.  She cries when animals are hurt in movies.  And she was devestated by Jim Henson’s death.  (There was an outburst of “That’s not Kermit…Kermit is DEAD!! in the middle of a child-filled movie theatre during Muppet Treasure Island, which we will not speak of).  And despite what she will tell you, Carol is also one of the most creative people I know.  She is working on a list…

Within about 2 minutes of my announcing that I’d be starting a yarn dyeing business, Carol yelled out:  ”Can we name some of the colours????  I want a do or do not…there is no try!” [insert a Yoda voice here, because Carol is completely incapable of doing this quote in her own voice].  Of course.  Muppet yarn.  And yes, we do know the quote is not exactly right…but that’s part of the charm.

In the meantime, an online/knitter friend, Jaya, requested “sagey green” yarn for baby knits.  Jaya and I have a similar rapport online to the one that Carol and I have in person.  It’s based on humour, knowing just a bit too much about each other and a healthy dose of smartass.  Also, the one time that Jaya and I did meet in person, she gave me the kind of incredulous look that Carol gives me on a weekly basis.  If Carol and Jaya were to ever meet…I’d be in BIG trouble!  

I had no idea that both yarns would end up being the same thing.  Sometimes there is magic in the dyepot.  I kind of feel like this was an odd real life/online collaboration inspired by 2 friends who both know how to keep me in line.  

Now, who wants to be the one to let Carol know that naming a yarn after a Yoda quote does NOT mean she gets to meet Frank Oz?