It is said that there is always a fault in the beautiful symmetry of a Persian carpet because only God is perfect. Looking at my old worn carpet from Anatolia in Eastern Turkey there is more wrong with it than the odd bit of asymmetry.
It is positively threadbare, but I still love and value it. A couple of weeks ago I became far too like my carpet. There's always been imperfections but also plenty of life but suddenly came the realisation that I was running on empty. Now I know there are blogs out there where people bare their souls (or discuss their health in great detail) and they often provide a great opportunity for people to unburden or provide cyber group therapy but a crafty blog is not that medium.. So I won't dwell but I wanted to explain slightly why my knitting is a little grey and wonky at the moment.
Do you see what I mean? I do wear a lot of muted colours and often my impulse yarn buys are too bright for my taste in clothes but this battleship grey is pretty much the dullest colour I have ever knitted with. And it is 4ply knitted on 4.5mm needles - deliberately to give it maximum negative ease and a slightly sheer appearance. But it is sooo hard to knit evenly at such a loose tension. Never-the-less it is beautiful yarn, Drops Alpaca.
Despite the colour the texture is very soothing. It is soft, drapey and smooshy, lovely to knit. And that brings me to knitting as therapy. A few years ago I read a moving article by Ann Hood in the New York Times, how, after the sudden death of her daughter she was paralysed by grief and could not even read, books having been her life support system until then. She began to knit and its comforting rhythm allowed her to think and heal.
So I'm not really concerned about the colour of my yarn, or the unevenness This sweater is knitted in great blocks of stocking stitch, so all I have to do is sit and knit, yoga style, empty my brain and let it reboot.
I shall then soak it and block it and, as I wear it, a lot of the unevenness will work its way out. Just as I hope that with time, peace, quiet, friends and knitting I too will see the lumps of my life work their way out and allow the colour to come back. Just like this wonderful colour combination for my next project, colour affection in the Donegal tweed by Countess Ablaze. And coincidently a perfect match for battleship grey!
xx
C
Yes, knitting is almost a meditation, isn't it? I'm so glad it's helping... I think here in the UK we are all just about at the end of our tethers with this hard, grey winter. Today here in Hastings, it's a sparkling, sunny, blue-skied day - still very cold, though, but people are smiling and stopping to chat - we'll all feel so much better when real Spring comes, which, of course, it will! AnnaC
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting me at Comptonia, and leaving your nice comment about my goats :)
ReplyDeleteI love your image of life's lumps smoothing out with time and peace. I was in the middle of a knitting project when life became a bit lumpy, and I have not wanted to pick up that project again. After reading your post, I think perhaps today is the day.
It looks lovely and I can't see any uneveness. I think if there is any it will sort iteself out when you wash it anyway. I hope the uneveness in your life can be smoothed away as easily.
ReplyDeleteJust read this and wanted to reach out with a virtual hug!
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