New Year

It is cold and sunny outside my window, and I am looking across a large field where the corn will be planted and grown high this summer, as it is every summer. But for now it contains only the broken, yellowed remains of last year's harvest I wonder what I will be doing then, what will have happened while the stalks are growing. How much change is to come, how much joy and sadness will the year hold for me.

Patterns

I have the house to myself, for the first time in two weeks. So made myself a nice breakfast, with some creative detours. It was so nice to be alone again, to be able to have a quiet moment and think about things. I woke up too early, with going to bed too late. Reading late into the night is something which I always seem to fall into around here. Of course there recently seems to be an added anxiety when I try to rest, thoughts, memories, the future keep drifting in and out of my mind. I've always been anxious, and don't easily relax.
Planning on getting some flower bulbs soon, seeing them on other blogs (yarnstorm) makes me crave them even more. They evoke a feeling of home and comfort which I need right now, at a time when "home" does not feel like Home anymore.

Love at First Click

I love my new Nikon! Its so sleek, I've been walking around all day snapping pictures. Here is a prime example of how green Florida is in the dead of winter.
Getting ready for my trip to PA on Friday, with three hundred pages of Middlemarch to read on the plane. Not to mention all the gifts that are to be wrapped (not on the plane of course) for my friends up there. Oh and the packing, that will inevitably turn into crumple-stuffing.



This was the sky near sunset today, as we walked to a local coffee shop to get our coffee fix. I think this photo really reflects the day I had, very slow, soft and relaxing. Despite some small family squabbles, but thats normal (or thats what I keep telling myself).
I'm planning on doing some more knitting and reading tonight (now that my shoulder is rested up).

Merry Christmas

Hope you're having a great one! I got a shiny new camera (hooray) and a bunch of gift certificates...which I have great plans for. Did you know that digital cameras don't come with memory cards? I didn't either, oh well, I'll get to try it out tomorrow, but for now here are some pictures from my older camera.
I think I pulled something in my shoulder with all the knitting that I've been doing recently so I've taken a break (ha, its come to this already). Anyway have a great Christmas!

Dreaming of a White Christmas

These are photos from Maryland, earlier in December when the first snow fell.
I can't believe that its Christmas eve already. Hope everyone is having a happy one.
Knitting a lot, just started chart 4 of Icarus today. So very nearly done, about 30 rows more. I can hardly wait to block it. Enjoying staying at home, and reading a bunch. I've also been drinking lots and lots of tea. Soon I'll be off the Pennsylvania, and I'm hoping that a winter wonderland will be waiting for me. I especially love all the deer and foxes out there and driving around the country side late at night. Well have a Merry Christmas, I'll show you all the loot tomorrow!

Rest

Hello. Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season (tip: avoid malls). I know I've been enjoying myself, knitting and reading up a storm. Speaking of storms we have been getting some excellent ones here in Florida, of course they come through late at night and I feel the need to stay up and watch them. As a result my sleep schedule is somewhat off, but well worth it.
Its very much summer-like the rest of the time, the sun is shinning throughout the day, and the temperatures reach a humid 75 degrees. If there wasn't for the christmas tree, I would forget that it was december.
My laziness knows no bounds now, but I've managed to buy (almost) all the presents, just two or three or four more (ahh). But on the upside I'm now on the edging part of Icarus, it looks so cool, I'm so addicted. My next project is going to be the Shetland lace tea shawl from A Gathering of Wool. I recently picked up this book and its so gorgeous, even E. agrees with me on this one. Of course I think he just likes the pretty girl on the cover, while I like the shawl she is wearing (oh well).

The Postman

"For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream."
Vincent Van Gogh

Cookies

Oh my so much baking, knitting and reading. First the cookies, my initial attempt to make short bread christmas cookies left me with a kitchen filled with cookie carnage, switching to a much easier sugar cookie I ended up with very nice (and tasty) results. I'm not much of a frosting person, so I will probably decorate some of them because lets face it, thats the main glory of christmas cookie making. I fear that I've already had too many, they taste too good with tea.



I really wanted to make some lavender cookies but I can't find dried lavender flowers any where. So I have to put it off, whether I like it or not. But on my hunts, I've discovered the wonder of Whole Foods (I am very glad that this store is 45 minutes away from my house because I would spend a fortune). Every time I walk in to that place the desire to cook is over-powering. Oh and the flowers, vegetables and fruit....sigh the colors and smells.
My knitting is progressing, I'm hoping to finish my lace shawl before I go up to Pennsylvania, but I think that might be a little to ambitious seeing as I have a 800 page book to finish before then. Middlemarch is slowly becoming one of my favorites, its so so beautiful. Eliot's writing is breath taking. Thats all I can say.
I'm freaking out a bit about all the people left to shop for. I wont see them until after christmas so that gives me some extra time but I'm a little nervous anyway.

Green Winter

Oh my so much to do, so many presents to buy, its a bit overwhelming. But I finally untangled the knot that is my parents internet, just for you (and my sanity). I've also managed to do some much needed relaxing. Its so nice to watch the news and see that some of you are getting snow, lots and lots of snow, its a warm 61 degrees here in Florida, and of course this is considered "cold". As you can see I'm still a bit bitter about not having any snow for Christmas. Hopefully my Pennsylvania New Years will be snow filled.



While traveling home I discovered the hypnotic magic of knitting in airports. I brought my lace with me for my five hour wait before boarding and I think I drew at least seven people, one of which was an army boy who informed me that his mama also knits. Most were nice, some slightly odd. The airplane was a bit less enjoyable, some gentleman thought it would be great to get really plastered before and during the late night flight....let me tell you the entire airplane cheered the second he left. And the trip was ended by me forgetting Middlemarch in the airport, and after traveling to four different book stores (Florida seems not to like George Eliot) I finally found a copy, not the one I was looking for though. Oh well, it could be worse. Overall I am quite happy and much more relaxed now that first semester is over.

Looking Up, Looking Down

My don rag has come and gone, and again I have escaped unscathed. For those of you who may not be familiar with a don rag, it is basically all of your professors sitting in a room ( with you in it ) speaking of your performance in class and speaking of you in the third person...as if you weren't even there. This clearly has the potential for much trauma and countless comfort cookies (consumed both before and after). Luckily, I have never had a bad one and if I did I think I would just crumple up and die. This is all made worse by one actually knowing ones professors, or tutors as we call them.
Anyway on to more pleasant subjects, I am working hard on my lace shawl (Icarus) and should be done fairly soon-- I shall then proceed to take hundreds of pictures of it :). Speaking of Icarus, I feel compelled to make an announcement (to all the non-knitters out there), each pattern has a name given to it by its designer, I don't name my knitting (this is not to say that I wouldn't, only that I don't currently ; ) ). Now I wont name any names but one of my best friends asked me why in the world I had named my knitting (thinking that I had clearly gone mad playing with pointy sticks and string). I, of course, found this very endearing.



Slowly realizing how tired I am, and how much I need home baked goods. I really want to try making lavender cookies, or maybe I'll just stick to good old chocolate chip (for sanity's sake).
Oh I got a christmas present today! A ball of Lacey Lamb lace wieght yarn!! Its so pretty, sort of a deep eggplant purple and so so soft. Thanks Molly!

Done!

Or pretty much done, classes are drawing to a close and my Blake project is complete ( as you can see). All is well and I am preparing for a huge knitting/reading binge which will last an untold number of days and nights. Sort of sad that I am going to be spending Christmas in Florida, which is anything but Christmasy. However, it can not be helped and besides I will be going up North for New Years (and much yarn buying). Its strange that Florida (at least my area of it) has no decent yarn stores. But this means that I can justify buying a whole bunch of yarn at once when visiting E. because who knows when I will be able to restock?!?! Or at least thats what I tell myself when I total up the damage.

2

Today was mine and E.'s two year anniversary. It feels like we have known each other forever and seeing that only two years have passed seems unthinkable. We celebrated with one of our best friends who was in town visiting. All three of us went out to eat at this Irish pub, and I had a "special" coffee with some really great chocolate cake.
Also I finally finished my Tychus! No pictures yet I'm afraid the person I was making it for was very eager to receive it, so now I have to chase him down and make him pose. I think it turned out quite well. Plus I can finally work on my poor Icarus shawl which has been very much neglected.
My blake project is nearly done, which is great because its the last thing I have to do before my winter break! hooray! Freedom, I can almost smell it. I can sit in front of the fire and knit until my fingers bleed ( attractive image I know). I'm also going to be reading Middlemarch during the break for seminar. I've been wanting to read this book for a long time, so I'm excited!

Beauty

The snow has begun to melt and all the green leaves, which had not yet turned, have fallen and lay green on white snow.

Snow

Its snowing, and I am very happy! Now there isn't a lot of it, but for Maryland its decent especially this early in the winter. I was looking through some other (clearly arctic) blogs today which had mountains of snow in every picture, this I must admit puts my snow to shame but never-mind. This is the first snow of the year, and its amazing how one day its still pretty much fall, leaves are blowing around etc and then you wake up one morning and poof everything is blanketed.
The urge to make/eat many cookies is strong, but must be overcome. Also the urge to just sit here and do nothing...you know like those clever bears...must be controlled for I have much more papering and illustrating ahead of me.
Hope its snowing where you are!

Peaceful

Painting by Vanessa Bell of Virginia Woolf knitting.

The Wind is Windy

Its a very windy day today, and of course I have decided to wear a skirt, because you know its great to be on the verge of flashing the whole campus at any moment.
There are leaves flying about everywhere and the wind is literally howling ( I love when this happens ). I usually enjoy very bad weather, as long as I don't have to do anything or go anywhere but am safe and sound inside my house. E, also shares this love of observing the fierce elements.



Sitting in my room and watching the wind or staying up all night to look at the lightning storm gives me a feeling of warmth and security because my appreciation for a home, a warm bed, and cosy quilts is heightened and I am no longer jaded to what I have. This always reminds me of something Lucretius said,
"Sweet it is, when the wind whips the water on the great sea, to gaze from the land upon the great struggles of another, not because it is a delightful pleasure for anyone to be distressed, but because it is sweet to observe those evils which you lack yourself." (Book II, On the Nature of Things)
This passage always communicates that soft comforted feeling that one gets when seeing great turmoil and realizing that one is safe from it, free from the struggle. Many people take this as heartless, a casting away of sympathy for others, but I do not think that is Lucretius' intention. It seems he desires to communicate the joy which we feel at being safe from trouble, almost a thankfulness realized.


Hope you are safe on a shore (with lots of hot chocolate and plenty of yarn).

I Flit, I Float

Cold and rainy Sunday, not much to report, although I did get a bunch of work done on Tychus. I really do love the alternating colors, they look so neat and put- together.
My bedroom is a complete mess, but my light paper is finished and I am properly inspired to begin working on my Blake poems and illustrations. I also brought out all the christmas decor, or that is to say E. did. He was very excited to begin, I helped by oohing and ahhing from the comfort of the bed as I did my homework/ surfed knitting blogs.



So there it is, the mini-christmas tree is up, the wreaths are hung and the candy canes abound. I have not bought any presents, and the pressure to do so is mounting, especially because I have no clue as to what to get anyone. Knitted goods are out of the question because I would just stress out about them, while finishing them on time and convincing my self that they were not good enough to gift to anyone and thus keep them. Oh well, I'm sure it will come together at the last minute (ha).



Here are some pictures from the summer when I visited Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, I keep daydreaming about sitting in a big green house and drinking some sort of delicate tea while the rain pours down the glass roof and walls, so I thought these images fit my mood pretty well.

Agora

Today was the Agora, it went pretty well. In my opinion, there weren't enough people there. But I sold some photos and had fun knitting my hat and talking to other artists. Now I'm settling in to do some other work and watching for the snow (squeak). I think my love of snow comes from spending my childhood in Florida, where the christmases are green, bright, and 80 degrees.
Oh which reminds me, happy December! Can you believe its already winter, I was just settling into fall. Soon I will be sitting in front of a fire, drinking tea and not writing papers.
Hope your December is starting well!

Sleep and Waking

I've been so worn out the last couple of days, on Wednesday it got so bad that a half hour nap turned into a seven hour snooze, with a rude awakening at midnight and then after about a hour of reading I went right back for another seven hours or so of sleep.
But the good news is that I convinced my preceptorial professor to let me hand in an illustrated series of poems rather than an essay (hooray). Blake doesn't really lend himself to the essay form, and I'm sort of sick of writing essays at the moment.
Also tomorrow is the Agora art fair, which I am very excited about and they are predicting some snow for the weekend ( thats always good news).

Kristina Knits

Lots of knitting and writing going on. With winter pretty much here, the weather dictates that I must knit and I follow its decree with the utmost sense of duty :) Also working on an essay about light for my lab class. Its going pretty well I already have most of it down.



I got my brand new rain boots in the mail today! YAY they are full of rubber goodness perfect for those dark, rainy days; during which it seems women (including myself) feel the need to look like their former six year old selves as they dawn their pink and green duck patterned boots---mine are not so drastic--- and prepare to explore the puddles. E., does not understand this overwhelming need and just shook his head as I paraded up and down the room. They are surprisingly comfortable for being made almost completely of rubber, I think they are well lined inside with some sort of soft fabric. Anyway I love them and I'm hoping it rains tomorrow.
I've started the tychus hat. Thank you very much Eliza for your help!

Past and Present

Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a
book known to him by heart and his friends
can only read the title.
-Virginia Woolf

Routine

Its back to classes today after a nice week off. Its sort of funny to be back because there are only two more weeks until winter break ( which I long for ). However there is much (too much) to do and I unfortunately could not bring myself to do any work over break. So here I am ready to take on a nice long winter break with a stack of work by my side! Oh well, I like class and thats what I plan to keep repeating to myself until December 12.
My shawl is going well, I've sort of not been working on it very much but I'm nearly done with chart one. Also if anyone has ever made a Tychus hat, or is familiar with the pattern or with using short rows, I need help, I just don't seem to understand how to alternate the colors.
Hope everyone has a happy monday. Good luck with all the holiday shopping ( I know I'll need it)

Change

I love fall, it is my favorite season, but nevertheless it is sad to see the flowers go and the leaves laying, brown and crisp, on the ground. They always remind me of the passage from Milton's Paradise Lost where he is describing the fallen angels.

"Of that inflamed Sea, he stood and call'd
His Legions, Angel Forms, who lay intrans't
Thick as Autumnal Leaves that strow the Brooks
In Vallombrosa, where th' Etrurian shades
High overarch't imbowr; or scatterd sedge
Afloat, when with fierce Winds Orion arm'd"




The first time I read this I lived in Florida, and the image didn't really stick out, but now as I drive through the country roads in autumn and see the forest carpeted with these fallen leaves, I think of Satan's newly banished legions and try to comprehend there number.



Winter, I think, has its own beauty because with winter comes snow, fires, cider, scarfs and boots. And there is nothing quite like the stillness which is felt when crossing a freshly snow covered field late at night and seeing the stars, bright and far away. On those nights it is as though the atmosphere had dissolved with the cold and that there is no barrier between heaven and earth. And as I look up at the sky and see my breath, I am struck by the vastness of it all.

Sitting in the Park

I am a park sitter. I bring my books along and my softest wrap, and find a bench preferably near some lovely trees. There I will stay sometimes only for an hour and sometimes for five, depending on my mood and the weather conditions. Today was a perfect day for us park sitters it was crisp, bright and the benches where moisture free, I had my new shoes on, my camera, a well loved shawl, as well as Blake and Baudelaire as my chaperones. Didn't get a stitch of work done but was relaxed and happy at the end of it.



While I was at my parents, I framed and matted all the photography that will be sold in the up coming craft fair my college is hosting -its official name is Agora which is greek for marketplace. It was a lot of work but I did it, all 35 pictures framed and matted (and anxiously awaiting their new owners). Oh which reminds me, if you ever get a burning urge to own one of my photos all you have to do is email me and we can work it out as far as pricing, size and frames are concerned.