Tag Archives: ocean park
the essence
just back from our yearly cousin packed vacation.
this was a hard one.
too many people i care too deeply about
were either sick or hurt
for truly relaxing.
but the heart
of vacation
remained
& it
looks
just like this:
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‘looks’ taken from 8:16-17 of job.
non-isolationism
pattern writing is not something
that i would do alone
by any means.
i design,
but there are
oh so many people involved
and my ideas would surely be lost,
in the swirl of the details,
without all the help.
as i wrote ‘asa‘ out,
the line-up went something like this:
1st there was wallace & gromit in ‘a close shave’
inspiring the super bulky yarn & thick stripes.
next my cousin j, who
held the corners of my sketch flat
against the warm ocean breezes of vacation
while i snapped quick photos at dusk for the official proposal
troupe of cousins
were hugely responsible
for entertaining me with their rowdy laughter
while i knit, and reknit, until the swatch was ‘just right’.
fourthly, it took spud and chloe supplying
all the necessary super bulky to knit the final sweater.
(they’ve just added new colors to all 3 of their yarns.
check them out here & here & here.
gorgeous, no?)
fifthly, it took the camaraderie of m
sitting on the livingroom floor very late into the night,
as we scribbled out rectangles & math formulas (& laughed at our ‘skills’)
to accurately determine just how many yards each different size sweater required.
then, of course, my faithful friends at taunton s’n’b
who helped me make a final choice of buttons when i teetered,
on the edge of resorting to ‘eenie, meeni, miney moe’, in the depths of indecision.
and up 6th is a for the super fast, super helpful test-knitting
(in bright pink and yellow, no less. how girly fun!)
while over the oceans from me, j was creating the schematic.
brandy fortune was up next taking the photos
that produced the final, adorable, pictures.
along with the rest of the gals
for their tireless efforts
to put out the consistent, high quality
on-line magazine that petite purls always is.
then, after all these fingers in the pie,
the pattern finally sees the ‘light of day’.
and if those who came in contact with it to this point
were willing to be honest about any weaknesses in my original idea
and to enhance the strengths of the pattern as it came together,
then there is satisfaction at the end of the process for me.
in the case of ‘asa’
there was also an afternoon visit
to my favorite lys where i loaded up
on new yarns that fueled fresh ideas to start the process all over again…
reminiscing
i am not sitting on this bench in the warm august sun writing or reading
or taking the time to consider doing one or the other of these two things.
not too long ago
and i will be again, God willing,
at just about this same time next year.
‘consider’ taken from 7:14 in ecclesiastes.
and out.
[first turn up the base, squash the muddy mid-tones, and fiddle with the high end
… until you get the sound just right. now you’re ready to ‘listen’
to my ride home from vacation which was uncharacteristically childless
since there were 3 cars and 3 grown-ups
and i somehow ended up quietly
behind the wheel
by myself.]
‘feel the rain on your skin
no-one else can feel it for you’
(unknown late 80’s artist)
‘sooner or later you sleep in your own space
either way it’s ok, you wake up with yourself’
(billy joel ‘my life’)
*insert smokin’ tom petty harmonica here*
‘when we were weak, we told ourselves we were strong,
and when we were very weak we told ourselves we were very strong’
(‘fresh air’ with terry gross)
‘baby, i’m ‘n luv wi’chou.’
(random reggae because i so am a radio channel surfer)
‘teen age hopes knock, knocking at the door
leave you with nothing while asking for more’
(indie rock)
‘what you are is what you are or were’
(80’s weekend angst)
‘don’t go changing, to try and please me
you’ve never let me down before.
don’t imagine, you’re too familiar
and i don’t see you anymore…’
(just a little more billy)
*note the mad bass and the swirl of the leslie (organ) in this next one by ‘the who’.
it’d be a shame to miss it since only the smallest clip has become the csi theme song*
‘… get down on our knees and pray we won’t be fooled again…’
‘smoking guns – hot to the touch
would cool down if we didn’t use them so much.’
(hall & oates dance/pop)
‘and even as i wander i’m keeping you in sight
you’re a cool breeze in the window
of a long, hot summer night
and i’m getting closer…’
(reo speedwagon)
and then i was at the grocery to stock up the empty fridge feeling ‘confungry’
(confused and hungry as defined by motel 6 of “we’ll leave the light on for you” fame),
but almost home, sweet home.
over
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what? we have to leave today?
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but it’s been so much fun…
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isn’t there time
for just one more
performance
before we go?
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well ok,
maybe just one
more…
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‘leave’ taken from 3:3 in job.
overlooked
oh why.
did i have
to travel across
two state lines to see
the beauty
in simple flowers,
tiny little geraniums
to be clear, that are exactly
like the ones in my very own backyard?
periscope
everything looks different on vacation.
absolutely everything.