Plotting revolution while knitting socks not only yields lovely socks, but also creative ideas how to change the world – one thread at a time.
rattling my chains
Doing what is right is not always easy – especially when it comes to political and spiritual (re)action to the current state of world affairs.
Two weeks ago, I took part in the Blockupy demonstrations in Frankfurt, Germany, and was confronted with state violence I had not thought possible in a 21st century central European country. I’m still recovering from the shock and digesting what I experienced. I’m also working on a report for you all. Furthermore, I’m planning further action because, as Rosa Luxemburg noted, “those who do not move, do not notice their chains”.
I’ll post soon…
quick poem
Coffee run
I’m a waiter,
no, wait, wai-tress,
yes, …tress denotes the dress I never wear.
Only aprons.
Black.
No, wait, wai-tresses are not black.
Not always.
But whether black or no,
wearing black, though.
Mourning the morning
rushing past,
catching the glimpses of day
worn by customers.
Have a nice day, or have a nice coffee.
Regular flat white with caramel shot, thanks,
no, wait,
large decaf latte in a tulip without milk
with a little milk in a jug on the side,
extra hot and with a hazelnut shot.
I scald and pour and seethe and smile and run,
run for my money.
Well, I think I’m running -
my boss thinks I’m slow.
How can I be slow if my burning feet
at night are twice as wide
and won’t sleep until they have been plunged
into a bath of Epsom salts?
Not running fast enough for minimum wage
that won’t buy me a meal at that café
after the tax man (also called The Gatherer)
has chopped a fat slice off,
which is neither caramel, nor ginger,
but the part of my income that could be spent
on a new pair of shoes
that could house my wide night feet comfortably.
I’m a waiter.
I wait.
No, wait, I don’t wait.
I run.
the new me is the old me, only different
Hello everyone,
no, I haven’t left the planet, although it feels as if I’d just returned from Jupiter (at the very least). Seriously, I just had to get used to things changing: the days of being a fulltime student are over, the time of workworkwork is back! During the past few months I’ve done NO DYEING (gasp!) and only very little knitting, but A LOT of thinking. As a result, I decided to give up my shop on Felt. In future, I will only dye on commission and for myself. Instead, I’ll concentrate on – and blog about – finding work as an “older” woman, writing, knitting, designing, and anything else that crosses my path.
To mark these changes, I’ve re-named my blog and changed the theme as well. The moody blue and flourishes better reflect my current state of mind. “And yet my days go on, go on” is a quote from a poem by Elizabeth Garreth Browning whom I like for her eminent usability (I know that’s really cheesy, but do read her poems and you’ll see that every other line is rearing to be a blog title, or yearning to be printed on an organic cotton bag. What about, “life answering life across the vast profound”? Or, “Weep, as if you thought of laughter”? I assure you – I’m not making fun of the poet, merely pointing out a fact.
So… let’s see if we can get used to all these changes. I’ll keep you posted on my latest projects (crafty or otherwise) a little later this week. Until then I welcome your thoughts on change.
books, books, books…
Over the past few weeks I have neglected my yarny pleasures. Instead, I’ve been busy wiping books with meths, rearranging them on their shelves and sorting them by categories and authors’ last names. Yes – I’ve been working in the library of our tiny village.
Tangimoana has only about 250 people who live here permanently (a little more in summer). Accordingly, the library is a room of about 20sqm in our local hall. It is run by six volunteers who attend opening hours between 10 and 11.30am every Saturday on a 6-weekly roster.
My dream is to be open longer, get the villagers to come more frequently, borrow more books and get involved with this great little place. We have our own – mostly donated – books, but the library of the next town shares its collection with us by rotating a few boxes full every few months.
I found dog-eared paperbacks with broken spines and a population of silver fish, but also a few gems like Arthur Mee’s “Children’s Encyclopedia”. Its texts are hopelessly out of date, but the books are a treasure trove for hunters of public-domain images, so they will be cleaned and get pride of place.
I’m thinking of raising some funds to buy some more books, mainly non-fiction about knitting, gardening, home maintenance, and other self-help guides, but new fiction, for example some murder mysteries, historical novels, and chick lit wouldn’t go amiss either. Can you think of tips on how to raise funds and/or get good newish books for free? I’d appreciate your input.
For now, however, I’m content to just plod along until all the cobwebs are gone, every book is clean and has its place, and all the musty paperbacks that haven’t been read since the 1970s are packed and given away.
heat, read, and feet…
It’s been so swelteringly hot I haven’t even felt like moving my fingers across the keyboard. Instead, I covered my favourite recliner with a cotton sheet on the day before Christmas, positioned the fan to blow my way, and spent three days reading a NOVEL!!! Since I started studying in February 2010, I haven’t read anything unrelated to my papers so it was quite amazing to be able to just sit and relax with books and ice-cold home made ginger beer. The novel I read was the Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson, which I bought as a boxed set of hardbacks in 2010. I’d seen the first movie, but of course it can never compete with the film that played in my head reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Not by a long shot. The books and the heat kept me glued to my recliner! I only got up to get more ginger beer, or have a cold shower. At 4am I would crawl into bed, vowing to read “only one more page”. No wonder Stieg wanted to call the first book “Men who hate women”! The books, which are as much fiction as they are reality, lay a very nasty “secret” open – one that we’re all busy trying to bury, day after day after day…
After finishing the books, I was emotionally exhausted (and very, very stiff 
)
Before I say good bye to you, I just want to show you a few barefoot sandals I crocheted a while ago and which are available in the shop. The very nice Barbara kindly lent me her feet to show them off.
all things teal
I really love teal! Does anyone know where the name originates? My favourite teal is in the feathers of the peacocks who are roaming the streets of our village, driving everyone nuts with their baby cries.
My fellow Felters make a lot of tealy things, so I thought to share a few with you. Of course I have included two of my yarns – the first (Magic Roundabout) is a 4-ply silk/merino/nylon sock yarn that will give a tweedy effect when knitted, the second (Shirocco) is a silk-merino lace-weight yarn in the tealy colour of Pāua shells.
Enjoy!
