There's something calming about knitting.
It's a very spiritual process (given the right conditions.)
Following last weeks success with the Swallowtail Shawl, I cast on with some Madelinetosh that I'd just received from Little Knits in Seattle. I've been itching to try this yarn to see just what everyone's been raving about, but as I'd spent weeks knitting with laceweight, I decided to give my fingers a break and went for the Pashmina, a sport weight merino/silk/cashmere blend. Don't you just love the cobalt blue colour?
I'm knitting this, the Moonlight Sonata Shawl by Shui Kuen Kozinski.
It's a reversible design using Barbara Walker's Sunspots motif from her book A Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns.
It's taken me a little while to get into the pattern, but now that I'm off an running it's proving very therapeutic. The 12 row repeat is slowly becoming reliably predictable which is a great comfort following last weeks events in our small country town.
A week ago today, evil revealed itself just 4 blocks from my home. A young man was gunned down in the car park of my church.
It happened during the half hour that the church was closed and didn't involve anyone from the church. It was the culmination of an ongoing disagreement between the gunman and the victim, who we think lived nearby. In an instant, our church parking lot became a crime scene.
In the past week, the victim's life has been saved and the gunman has been arrested. I however, have still not fully processed the situation. Just an hour beforehand I had been walking The Little Guy home from the building nextdoor.
I did not grow up in a country where people carry guns. Even the policemen don't carry firearms in the UK, for goodness sake! The knowledge that my neighbour could have a gun in their house has always made me uneasy, so most of the time I push it to the back of my mind.
Last week it was forced into the front again.
We locked the doors, waited for the helicopters to stop flying overhead and for the police to do their job. I picked up my knitting and went back to the comfort of k2tog, yo, ssk.
I knitted sunspots to brighten the day.
I'm still knitting them.
Beautiful, peaceful color, Jane.
ReplyDeleteYou'd think with all the violence in the world, that there would be a great will to be gunless. Too much history and pandering for votes, I think. It's certainly that way here in Canada. I have always admired the lack of firearms in the UK. There are better ways of getting to the goal than shooting your way through.
Oh, that sounds like hockey, doesn't it? Yes, I feel the same way about violence there.
If guns made us safer, the US would be the safest country in the world. But we're not. Go figure. Ignorance and violence isn't a good combination.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear the violence came so close to your family and home. its good that you can use your knitting to help you stay centered. I have been using mine to stay calm during the severe thunderstorms we have this time of year.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I am ordering that yarn tomorrow. It fits in with what is shaping up to be my year of knitting in blue. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteWe have a gun in our house, but since it's mandated my husband carry a firearm for work, I tolerate its existence. It's locked in a gun safe.
Violence is frightening, but it's good to talk it out, and knit it out when you can. You may need to knit a rainbow to go with your sunspots.
Stay safe.
I had to laugh at what Stephanie said as I'm sitting here watching hockey right now.
The shawl is lovely...Lace knitting intimidates me and it always amazes me to hear people say that it's therapeutic. Ah, yes, I am still getting into my knitting groove.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the stress of the shooting. No one ever wants to know that it is happening so close to home. The world is changing...
Big hugs.
Oh Jane, i sympathise on the gun incident. Being in Ireland, where we're also gun-free, including police, I would find it unnerving too. We've had a couple of "gangland" shootings nearby, and the sound of helicopters overhead is awful.
ReplyDeleteKnitting is a good antidote, and you need one.
I LOVE the colour of that yarn, kind of like denim, is it nice and soft? Looks it!
I finally finished the socks, posted a pic last night. I think I found the pattern here, but maybe wrong?
Tha yarn isn't super soft, in fact it smells a bit strange and I've put it down to the dye. It reminds me of Elsabeth Lavold's Silky Wool. The red I used once wasn't very soft to knit with but then blocked into the most luscious texture. Hoping this proves to be the same.
ReplyDeletethat's a beautiful shawl in a stunning colour.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that you've had a shocking episode so close to home. We're not used to guns in the UK are we?
keep knitting, just keep knitting
I'm wondering how are you getting along with your new project? By the way, your red shawl was absolutely fabulous.
ReplyDeleteSorry that such a dreadful deed was committed on the doorstep of God's house and so close to your home.
Growing up, my dad always had a gun as a part of his job as a specialist firearms officer, but to use a gun for murder is just plain wrong.
Peace, Love, Knitting
Rachida :)