On Languages and Blogging
"It is a sign of a deeply disturbed civilization where Tree huggers and Whale huggers in their weirdness are acceptable... while no one embraces the last speakers of a language." -Werner Herzog
Found here which looks at whether we should preserve languages and whether a world with monolithic language usage would be a bad thing? More on this later.
Mooncalf left an astute comment on my last entry wherein I had a mini-rant about Danish lifestyle blogs being smug and self-satisfied. She linked two blog entries, both of which reacts to the Martha Stewart-ness of some blogs. I really enjoyed reading the entries and I have taken some of their points to heart. I think it is important to remember that all blogs are edited in one way or another. We all have messy tables, bad days, sweaters that do not fit, unread books and frozen pizzas. I tend to shy away from confessional blogging (and I'm also notoriously private for someone who has blogged continuously for almost nine years), but I do attempt to create a fairly realistic picture of my life whilst leaving out things I would feel uncomfortable sharing.
So, bearing all this in mind, please ask me a question.
And, going back to the idea of language, notions of identity etc etc, I found this little tidbit in one of my commonplace books:
"As there is no selfhood without some other, a national canon -- whether attached to land or language -- is constituted in such a way that its identity has both intra- and intercultural aspects. In other words, it is mediated by the memory of the other and its development always involves at least two cultures. The court of Louis XIV, English Classicism, or the Weimar Klassik defined itself with reference to Graeco-Roman Antiquity. Thus, it is possible to argue that national canons reveal an interacting with other creeds. They are intercultural manifestations, conflictual as well as mutually complementary, configurations that are, in relation to each other, not only powerfully reciprocal but also strongly oppositional." -Mihály Szegedy-Maszák
I think that pretty much reveals my stance on whether we should preserve* languages or not.
(* I'm not of a prescriptive bend, mind.)
I Apologise In Advance
I don't know if I am being particularly bitchy today, but when I came across the following pattern note on Ravelry, I stopped in my tracks:
When I’m knitting a Jared Flood pattern, I feel like he’s making love to me. When I finish a Jared Flood pattern, I feel like I just gave birth to his child.
I feel this quote is almost worthy of a lolcat picture - you know the "U R DOING IT WRONG" type - because either I'm not knitting the right kind of patterns or the quoted knitter has not been involved in the right kind of love-making. Also, I know that seaming stuff is seen as a painful process but it is as painful as child birth? Really? And, finally, I just find the pattern note a touch on the creepy side of things.
But I do think I am in a bitchy mood today. I spent my lunch catching up with blogs and after a few reads I decided I had had enough of self-congratulatory, self-satisfied glimpses of homemade organic bread, tidy houses with expensive Scandinavian design furniture and delicate beige sweaters paraded on a series of identikit children who are all doing so incredibly well at school.
I think tonight I'll need to crash a lot of cars on the Xbox 360 whilst eating chocolate. And possibly knit a couple of more rows on David's sweater (I'm hoping stocking stitch will make me go completely zen).
I'll leave you with one of the greatest Halloween costumes I've seen for a long, long time.. and a slightly bitchy link: Regretsy.
Chasing Wool
I had to chase a greyhound today. It went up to me in the park, looked adoringly at me, then grabbed a ball of wool and ran away. It did not get very far - not because I am a fast runner (ahahahahaha!) but because its owner was right next to us. According to Lilith, who is wise in the ways of dogs and wool, some dogs react instinctively to the smell of sheep even if they're a nice city-dwelling dog. Guess that tells you just how rustic and just-off-the-sheepsies New Lanark's wool is..
.. yes, I have begun knitting David's sweater and I'm using New Lanark Aran in the "Bramble" colourway. David chose the colour himself, bless him. I have decided to make up my own pattern as most men's patterns are not geared towards a skinny indie kid like David. I'm knitting bottom-up and am yet to decide what to do once I reach the yoke. In other words, so far it is pure stocking stitch in the round. It's not very exciting, but it is plain knitting and rather hypnotic. I'll get it done in plenty of time for our overseas visit to colder climes.
I have also begun a quick little colourwork project. I've long thought back to my favourite sweater ever: a green and red sweater with a cowl which my gran knitted for me when I was twelve or thirteen. Sadly she gave the sweater away to charity when I moved across to the UK (I've always felt the timing was highly suspicious). So I'm trying to create the sweater as colourwork mitts and I'm trying to do this from memory.
I'm using two partial skeins from the stash - Artesano DK and Rowan Felted Tweed - and am enjoying the process a lot. I'm frogging a lot as I'm working out what I want from this project, but it is pretty cool stuff. I'm learning a lot about colour dominance and about the Faroese geometric patterns which inspired the old sweater. Also, ignore the "holes" you see in the top bit of the mitten - they have been fixed.
Finally, I'm going to rip out the first sweater I ever made (rav link). I have worn it three times, it does not fit and I love the yarn and colour so much that it seems an awful shame to let the yarn go unused. So, ten balls of Noro Kureyon in a fabulous purple-pink-charteuse colourway. What would you make? I found this pattern earlier today but I would prefer something with sleeves (it's the Scotland-is-chilly thing) and I'm not sure if I could pull off wearing that top.
Deja Vu
YouTube Comment or E.E.Cummings? One of the funniest 20th century poetry/21st Century internet crossovers I have seen today. Not that I have seen that many, of course.
After a few weeks of awe-inspiring knitting productivity, my busy fingers have become almost idle. I cast on, knit maybe twenty rows, decide the project doesn't thrill me and I rip it all out. Lather, rinse, repeat. Possibly it is the continuous failure of Topstykke that haunts me. The pattern is great, of course, but I keep messing up:
- I cast on too few stitches and tried to remedy this whilst on a fast moving bus to Aberdeenshire filled with shouty Russian students.
- I cast on the correct number of stitches but lost my stitch markers somewhere between a sofa and the kitchen table (a 3 year old nephew might have been involved).
- I cast on correct number of stitches, got all of the set-up row right and blissfully knitted on until I realised that I was knitting a size up from what I'm supposed to knit.
- I cast on correct number of stitches, got all of the set-up row right and blissfully knitted on until I realised I had twisted my cast-on and I was knitting a moebius-shaped top which will be impossible to wear (in this dimension, at least).
So I think it is time to let Topstykke rest for a few weeks whilst I get other things done. David's sweater is a top priority (he won the Halloween costume competition, by the way) and I want to have another lace shawl on my needles (Aeolian, I'm looking at you). I just hope that I can stick with those two projects and not rip them out after twenty rows.
Shockingly enough I have begun reading again and am currently one-third through Iain Banks' Transition. Banks strides the literary and speculative fiction divide, but cunningly uses a middle initial "M" to differentiate between the two genres. Interestingly, "Transition" is being marketed in the UK without the "M" (i.e. it is not speculative fiction, you fools!) whereas the US market gets courted with the "M" (hey, it's speculative fiction!). My favourite Banks novel, The Bridge, is a non-M novel but is more speculative than many genre novels. It's all about marketing, isn't it? So far I'm enjoying the novel, in case you were wondering..
Self Portrait With Dark Felt Hat
.. one Halloween costume down, one to go.
Other Half is currently trying to consider whether or not to stab the ear with a palette knife or not.
Oh, decisions...
I Tried to Drown My Sorrows, But the Bastards Learned to Swim
Tomorrow my partner, David, and I are off to an arty little Halloween party. As I'm writing this, David is busy getting himself all Van Gogh'ed up. Both ears are still intact, thankfully. I have chosen to go as Frida Kahlo, who is pictured to the left. Having a similar colouring as Ms Kahlo made it an obvious choice - plus I get to accessorise my outfit with my beautiful Laminaria shawl. I just need to find some statement ear rings and my outfit is complete.
But look at that photo. Isn't it stunning? I keep meaning to write about what inspires me as a knitter (and as an artist - I splash paint on canvases occasionally). Art history is a huge source of inspiration as is vintage fashion plates and photography. I continue to be fascinated by how other people approach and use colour. This photo is a brilliant example: the red playing off the teal blue with small hints of pale yellow/gold(?) offering a bit of calmness. I can see those colours being translated into, say, some beautiful teal/red colourwork mittens with a tiny pale yellow motif around the wrist.
Speaking of colourwork, I started knitting the Selbu Modern beret the other night. I uncovered two colours of Sandnes Tove in my stash and cast on cheerfully. I completed eight rows of colourwork before admitting to myself that I did not like how it was working up: the grey main colour was overpowering the purple contrast colour. Time to rip out. I'm currently considering whether to use the purple yarn as the main colour and go grey for the contrast - or whether to dig deeper into the stash.
Wholly unrelated: if you want to chill out with a little flash game this weekend, may I suggest Small Worlds? It's short and you have no enemies to kill - but it is extremely atmospheric and, dare I say it, haunting.
Have a lovely Saturday, everyone.
(Title taken from my favourite Frida Kahlo quote)
I Am An Immigrant
Last night the leader of the British National Party was part of the panel on a BBC politics programme. I was glad he got the chance to be on the panel. Last time I checked Britain was a democracy with free speech and I thought it just that the leader of the BNP got a chance to speak his mind.
I am an immigrant. I have been thinking of getting a t-shirt going "This Is What an Immigrant Looks Like". Maybe if I start wearing it, people will tell me why I’m wrong to be in the UK, why my presence is destroying Britain, just how I'm shattering social cohesion and in what way I'm inciting hatred. Also, I'd like to know why people want me to leave the man I love and thus ruin the life we have built together. If I wear my t-shirt, maybe the leader of the British National Party could tell me how my genetic make-up differs from his and why this alleged genetic difference makes me unwelcome in Britain in his eyes.
Earlier this month I was speaking with Anna about immigration and British politics. Our conversation made me wonder about the people who choose to become immigrants - that is, people like me - and whether we share a certain mentality or set of characteristics?
It takes a lot to uproot yourself from where you grew up and go live another country. It is not easy; it is not something you 'just do'. Once you are in that other country, you have to learn everything a-new. When do the banks open? Where do you go to buy electric bulbs? How do you get a library card? What is the difference between the various supermarkets? What's my clothes size? All this assumes that you are already fluent in the local language - if not, then you have to start learning that language or, in my case, get to grips with a particular local dialect.
I love living in Britain but it has been a long, labourious process getting to this stage. I love the beautiful landscapes with mountains and glens. I love being able to buy the books and records I want straight off the shelves rather than having to order them from abroad. I love tiny, unexpected things like bunting, rich tea biscuits, finding Roman coins, and Christmas stockings. But I still miss aspects of Denmark and I suspect I always will.
Ah, that reminds me of something which caused a kerfluffle among Danes yesterday (most people did not know whether to laugh or cry): Oprah Tours a Typical Danish Home. Because ALL Danes live like that. Uh huh. Absolutely. Yup.
Now I'm off to make myself some milky tea and some toast (how utterly radical of me!). I hope you have a lovely day no matter who you are and where you live. And be nice to your fellow human beings.
Cause/Effect
A view from my daily walk..
..can be very inspirational..
.. don't you think?
(don't judge 'em - the gloves are unblocked and one needs ends woven in)
Two Steps Ahead
The Guardian is running a series of semi-humourous columns called This Column Will Change Your Life and I hit upon It's Not Easy Always Being Right the other night. I don't think I'm always right - I live in shades of grey - but I know that I often feel like I'm outsmarting people (mostly myself) which is a bastardised form of Always Being Right, of course.
Unfortunately this "outsmarting people" is not particularly useful. I am not outsmarting bankers in order to make hefty profits, for instance. My brain is far more useless than that: I'm always two steps ahead of whatever I am supposed to be doing. A typical example of a telephone conversation would be: "Yes, you have misspelled my name, but I would like to address the legal issues surrounding .. okay, it's K. A. .. can we just look at section 7 befo .. yes, K.A. R..." and when I type I miss out words because my brain is always three or four sentences ahead of whatever I'm typing.
Now imagine how I read. I read very fast and can wolf down a book in a couple of hours. About ten years ago I decided that I needed to start poetry because you cannot wolf down poetry. You have to work at making meaning. You have to be patient with a quiet mind or the poem will not open up. I spent years working with poetry before I felt ready to go back to reading prose. And I still wolf down prose instead of savouring every little punctuation mark. I cannot remember characters' names nor minor details, but I can tell you if I enjoyed the read or not in very fancy terms.
I am not a New Agey person but I do wish I could live more in the present and focus on what is Right Now. Instead I'm always two steps ahead and outsmarting myself while I'm at it.
A few links that have grabbed me over the last few days:
+ Madeleine Albright: Read My Pins. When costume jewellery went political.
+ The $3,000 Scarf - or why crafting isn't necessarily a cheap hobby.
+ Cross-dressing in the 20th Century - a series of photos. Thanks, Alex.
+ The Ultimate Bauhaus Dog House - or how to produce a quintessential Ms Bookish link.
+ Take A Weird Break - some very odd headlines from a British women's magazine. "Spirit Mum Sends Me Elastic Bands" sums it all up.
+ Lady Gaga - Bad Romance (youtube). I love her forthcoming single - it's exquisitely poptastic in a super-cheesy Eurovision-goes-gay-bar-circa-1986 way. I could see Sweden offering this in a perfect Eurovision world. Other Half hates the song. Pffft.
FO: My Grandmother’s Shawl
Yes, I do knit a lot at the moment, don't I?
My grandmother's shawl is finished after just a few weeks (during which I also knit three tops - I feel slightly faint just by writing that) and I think the shawl is a bonafide success.
I knit an upsized version of the ever-popular Swallowtail shawl and I used approximately half a hank of Old Maiden aunt merino/silk.
(Full disclosure: I'm very, very good friends with Lilith of Old Maiden Aunt - but this is possibly the best laceweight yarn I have worked with. It blocks out beautifully and the handdyed colours blend together in a really stunning way. I'm so pleased)
Instead of nupps, I used two tubes of amethyst beads from Glasgow's The Bead Company. It was my first time combining beads and knitting and it was an enjoyable learning process. Admittedly I think beads veer too close to "bling" for my taste, but I think they work in this context. I also rediscovered my love of lace knitting which had been cast in doubt by my botched Percy shawl. I have actually signed up to "going cold sheep" on buying more laceweight until I have knitted up at least 5,000 yrds (so that leaves another nine shawls, yikes), so it is very good to have my lace mojo back.
And now I have nothing on my needles! Okay, I have Pine and I think I've uncovered my problems with this project. Quite apart from vague, vague instructions and possibly being short on yarn, I am knitting with oiled yarn from a cone and I just don't like the feel or smell. In the future, I'll take Laila's comments onboard (link in Danish) and wash the yarn pre-knitting. I have one sleeve, the yoke and the buttonband to go. Not long, not long.
Tonight I'm going to cast on for Topstykke which is apparently a mindless knit once you get past row four. I'm also going to uncover yarn for my Other Half's sweater (which is going to be an own design). And maybe find another lace pattern for the cold sheep thing. I'm always slightly neurotic when I have nothing on my needles..
.. and sorry about the photo. It is a dreich day here in Western Scotland and I am coming down with a cold.