There will be thirteen Bears in this group. Knitted in three colors, the primaries - red, blue, yellow.
The Bears will eventually be placed into a scene that resembles a knitting group. Each Bear is knitted in honor of one "Unimportant Woman" whom I have never met, in a country I have visited. Bear thirteen will be knitted in honor of a woman in a country I want to visit. The first letters of their names, sorted into the right order, will spell out my hopes for the future, and they will be my message to Mr. Mandela for his 93. birthday on July 18, 2011.
Wow! I see that there is a long dry spell in Bear knitting. In my defense I have to say that travel and other knitting projects had pushed themselves to the forefront in recent months. But I did knit and finish Bears 219 and 220 a couple of days ago. I guess socks, scarves, and caps took priority due to the fact that I spent a lot of time in the snow and my California wardrobe lacked all those. Here then are the last Bears and some of the other things I knitted.
I think I have fitted more than enough B-Words into these two Bears (see below). It is one of my favorite Bear photographs in quite a while; the black and white squares of the material kind of swirl around this little brother and sister pair. I can't wait for them to begin their journey to Africa. They've been loaded with love and good wishes, having witnessed the Rescue of the Chilean Miners on television while they were sitting on my coffee table. Bonne Chance! Barefoot, Bonbon,Beanie,Boy, Black, Breeches, Blossom, Band,Boogie Bag,Boots, Babe.
I really don't very often listen to my own advice - my table top is in constant flux and rarely ever neat and orderly. Some days the colors match, more often they clash. My color choices depend on my mood or they are influenced by the kind of Bear I have in mind. Since my ideas overlap my Bears aren't finished in the order I want them to be finished, but in the order of interest to me at any particular time. I was fully invested in lime green and hot pink when suddenly I saw an image on TV and couldn't wait to get the right colors to make it come to life. The image was of a woman in red high heels and black and white striped stockings. I had to come up with a color for the dress and picked teal for the contrast. Bear 211 is the result.
Teal, black, rouge, and white Red Heart Super Saver yarn made the Beanie Boy possible. He's only a few days old, but has been a favorite of mine since I began working on him. Another B-Word incorporated with the Beanie. I am tempted to rename the PomPom a BonBon and call the cap a Bonbon-topped Beanie
Here she is, the young lady in red Boots and Black and white stockings. She carries a Boogie Bag and wears a Blossom Band on her head.
And this is the first Bikini Bottom Bathing Beauty
A Blossom over her ear, hot pink Boogie Bag strapped to her shoulder, wearing lace-edged white Bloomers, this is Bear Number 209.
Something that always motivates me to knit more Bears is a trip to Michaels. Whenever a friend sends me a 40% off coupon for yarn I take it as an omen: You must shop NOW.
I love to crochet little flowers and the Boogie Bag is perfect for "hosting" one of them
Of course Boogie Bags have to have different shapes and sizes.
I love the little Black Boots; the color of the laces is important in the overall picture.
Another Boogie Bag, this one with drawstring.
I know from my own childhood how important little bags or pockets are to little girls. I used to beg for buttons from my grandmother's button box and kept them in my apron pocket. Sometimes I carried flowers or pebbles around or I folded a very important piece of paper and hid it in my pocket.
I always try to come up with different angles to keep up my interest in knitting Bears . Of course there is the real chance to give something tangible to a child, which, in itself, is a wonderful motivator, but enthusiasm tires occasionally after more than 200 repetitions of the same pattern. That is why, this time, I have given myself the task of collecting fashion-B-words and expressing them on Bears. The name of my Fall Collection is:
It's Fun to be on the B-List and my first four bears show off the new accessories by wearing one or two of the following:
Boleros, Bibs, Belts, Bandanas. and, after a suggestion by "Mother- Bear-in-Charge" Berets
Ideas fly past me like fluffy, winged color patches in the path of a summer wind.
“Hurry! Hurry!” they say. “Catch me before I’m blown back into your subconscious.”
The wind seems to change those little clouds, stretching them, balling them up, tearing them into frilly remnants. When the temperature rises they flicker in hot pinks and reds, when it falls they undulate in deep-sea blues. Sometimes they seem saturated with the sun-laced greens of ancient forests.
“They usually form into organic shapes,” I would say if questioned. “Sometimes, though, they look like man-made constructions.” Then I wonder how best to describe the considerations that go into the project of knitting the same teddy bear pattern close to 200 times. I think I might have tried to explain this before, but sitting here this morning, looking at an unfinished group of Melonberry-colored Bears on my table, and holding a differently hued, finished Bear in my hand, I feel as if there is a pause in the storm and I can collect my impressions. If I am quick about it.
A few days ago I started a group of seven Bears. The idea behind this group was two-fold. First, I would use seven shades of brown for the heads. A tribute to Mr. Mandela’s Rainbow Nation. Secondly, they all would have identical Red Heart Melonberry bodies and legs in seed stitch. Then I would pick one shade of the Melonberry yarn for each bear and knit arms and skirt and scarf in lavenders, melons, pale yellows, muted rose. Finally I would knit a pocket for each skirt. I haven’t yet decided what color the pockets will be. (This reminds me of the group of Bears I called “Mangosalad.” Same organic idea and similar shades of yarn.)
After knitting four and a half Bears I ran out of Melonberry. Trips to three craft stores were in vain. I could buy the yarn online. One skein $2.99. Shipping $5.99. . . . . . NO WAY! I got a rain check at Beverly’s Fabrics where I had bought the first skein. “Don’t know when it will come in. We’ll give you a call.”
Yesterday I took the label off a one-gallon water bottle and stuffed my collected loose ends into it in one of those useless side-tracked-in-between actions that allowed me the time to rest my eyes. Interpreting those winged color patch ideas for hours on end can give you a headache. As I was loading the bottle, watching little snips of yarn swirl like psychedelic spaghetti, I thought of stained glass. I pulled a Marc Chagall book from a shelf and when I opened it I found four postcards I had carried around for over twenty years. “Glasfenster von Marc Chagall.” (Stained glass church windows by Marc Chagall)
Well, hello Mr. Chagall! A new vision for me. My color patches in the wind became squares separated by black lines. I rushed into my yarn room, dug up some black and a few variegated yarns. Settled on “Watercolor” and knitted for seven hours until my first Chagall Bear was finished. This morning I gave her a face. The mouth is a bit crooked; I love her mouth. I named her Chloe after the ancient Greek love story of Daphnis and Chloe, which Chagall interpreted in a serious of beautiful paintings. I know he would have liked my Chloe.
The book is: Marc Chagall “Daphnis and Chloe” Pegasus Library
Today is Global Mandela Day. I’ve pledged 24,455 minutes of Bear knitting on the “handwall” of the Mandeladay website for the next year. That is 67 minutes a day for a year. I might not be able to knit every single day, but there are days when I knit two, three, or four hours. It's just a matter of writing it down. I’ve already done 120 minutes today, finishing two Bears.
Why 67 minutes per day? Nelson Mandela dedicated 67 years to fighting social injustice.
Why the "handwall?"The Mandela Foundation's Ruth Rensburg explains, "Mandela Day stems from Mr Mandela's call for new hands to lift the burden."
