Luna and Soleil and all my Other Projects

Stitches West is opening today. On Saturday I will be sewing hearts to Bears at the Mother Bear Project Booth 709. Accompanying me to the Santa Clara Convention Center will be Luna and Soleil, Bears 299 and 300, and Silvester, my first Bear for 2014, who did not join the rest of his group "Singing in the Snow" in the box to Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago.






Besides knitting Luna and Soleil I have been busy knitting a spring scarf for my daughter, a Bear just for me, have finished Marley, made a soccer ball for Lorenzo and a little Bear as birthday present for a friend.



This was a two night project while I was watching the Olympics.




Here is Sochi, now a faithful companion during Olympics watching evenings.







Marley was a joy to finish. Her braids make everybody smile. And she watches her little brother Lorenzo when I am not there to protect him.



And, finally, I have finished the soccer ball for Lorenzo. The pattern was not difficult, but I ran out of light green yarn and had a hard time organizing hexagons and pentagons. Is my age catching up with me?











I call Daffodil, the little bear, a spirit guide. She is supposed to help a friend during a very difficult time.

A few days ago I made a picnic lunch and rode my tricycle through a close-by park. Joggers looked up briefly, walkers smiled, little kids giggled when they saw Lorenzo in a tree, trying to rescue his soccer ball. And when he finally rested on the lawn I realized how much fun it is to take one of my creations out into the world. Thank you Lorenzo.











As if the trees in the park weren't enough of a sign that spring is rushing to California (I am sorry for my friends who are caught in the polar vortex) I had fun with a bunch of pansies from the nursery.



See you at Stitches West 2014 in Santa Clara.

It will be a nice six years of knitting Bears anniversary for me. I saw my first Mother Bears in February of 2008 at Stitches West, bought the pattern, went home, started to knit, and on February 28 I finished my first Bear.



Here I am with my traveling companion Tyana J. LittleString at Stitches West in 2008.


And this is Gigi, Bear Number One for the Mother Bear Project.

Minimal Update

Since I am way behind in documenting my knitting, I have decided to just minimally update with a few photographs.

Bear 295 - Epiphany




Beat 296 - Spring



Bear 297 - Gregor



Bear 298 - Philomena



These are the Bears I have knitted in January, besides Silvester, who was finished on January 1, 2014. around four in the morning.
Mostly I was consumed with Marley and her little brother Lorenzo, two dolls I have developed as my "Jamaican children." Lorenzo's hero is Zinedine Zidane, a former soccer player, and he is still waiting for his own soccer ball.
Marley has just gotten her braids and I am in the process of dressing her. I am having a wonderful time imagining the two siblings' wardrobe and their lives.

Lorenzo and Marley























Because of the intensity of my doll knitting - yes I am still in the throngs of this obsession - my kitchen table was a mess for the last three weeks. And in the middle of it all I had to put potted daffodils. It seems to be spring; winter never really materialized in California, it seems. In the shopping center parking lot the trees are in bloom. I love it, but we need water, and lately I am using a stop watch to take a three minute shower.















That's it for now. More to come as soon as Marley is ready for her official portrait.

P.S. My brain hasn't been standing still while my hands manipulated knitting needles for many hours at a time; I have thought about some of the interesting options this decade provides. Eventually I will have to think more about a few concepts and their influence on our modern lives. For instance - how has "technical snow" changed skiing vacations? And - what will 3D printing add to our life styles, our handicrafts, our economy? Will it bring us more advantages or further do away with precious old skills?

Automated Reasoning

Scientists seem to find it more interesting to collect data about criminal potential than to use their brains for promoting a goodness gene. I imagine, of course, that a goodness gene has been discovered somewhere in this digital mass of probability.

Criminologists are using software to help them find hotspots of aberrant behavior which allows them to zoom in on particular areas. Tom Cruise and "Minority Report" are becoming less fictional as computing capacity increases and more sophisticated formulas are used for automated reasoning. The definitive catch phrase is "automated reasoning."

There is nothing wrong with reasoning I have always been pro reasoning. I don't mind the word "automated" either. Automation has freed mankind of many tedious tasks. But when has reasoning become so tedious that it needs to be automated? I always thought that there is a certain danger in automation because it deals with repetition. Well, I am sure scientists know this too, and have incorporated detective capacities in their algorithms. But what about reinforcing trends? It is all the rage nowadays to reinforce trends. On Twitter, by forcing a thought into its broadest accommodation within the narrowest letter capacity. At the online book or grocery store, by telling the customer what he or she wants to buy next. In television programming, by providing entertainment based on the lowest common denominator.

The digital age changes our culture - medicine, entertainment, shopping, communication, travel, education, every aspect of our lives is affected. Automated reasoning dictates that we must keep up or we will be left behind.

Will we have enough unique self left to step aside occasionally? To open that unfamiliar parcel in the corner of the mind? To search out an unaccounted for tidbit of information that got lost between zeroes and ones? Will I, already handicapped by my age, have enough energy - between computer pass codes and self-parking cars and shrinking income - to perform random acts of kindness?

This brings me to my New Year's resolution. I have to admit that I am addicted to a large daily dose of Internet. And so, one day a month, on the last Sunday of each month, I will do my best to devote my energy to "undo" my own automation of the mind. No iPad. No desktop. No tweeted or posted or emailed data. I hope this will leave me with a new sense of exploration.

And here, for those who want to know what I have knitted lately, here are the finished pieces of the last week.

Bear Number 293 - Silvester, begun December 31 and finished in the early morning hours of January 1, 2014.



Camisole, panties, and boots for Marley, the doll not yet begun.

Haschtag Strickrausch!

In my last post I talked about Ravelry, commenting on all the wonderful qualities a group like that has to offer. One thing I didn't mention, and it is, to me, the greatest joy - being able to act silly, act like a child, like a philosopher, like a psychologist, like the crazy with imagination woman I am. To be able to reveal my complete immersion into some of the characters I knit or crochet. It is like writing a story every day, without worrying that it sounds out of touch with the real world.









When I knit Bears I imagine them meeting their new friends in Africa. Crocheting little critters has given me an outlet for symbolic references. Looking at my newest doll - Rausch - I probe into a part of my childhood - the snow-filled joys in the Black Forest. She sits opposite me in the evening when I watch TV and I explain to her the difference between now and then. Maybe living alone has made me a bit odd, but I find this oddity rather entertaining. It keeps me from dwelling on cancer, on aches and pains, on aging, on ever shrinking mobility of body and brain.
It goes beyond knitting, because it frees me to create a world of beauty and possibilities. Ravelry friends are non-judgmental. Thank you!

The oddest thought of all, while I dream on, is the recurring sense of joy, the knowledge that my soul is not shrinking. My soul is expanding. Two days ago I threw myself into the laughter of the downtown holiday scene. While feasting on Black Forest cake at the Bijan Café I observed small children on a mini ferris wheel and a toddler who stared with grave interest at the electronic device in his little hand. And yes, he touched the screen like a pro. Yesterday, after I visited a friend at a Senior Care Facility, I walked through an adjacent park, elated by the sun that shone through the leaves of brightly colored trees, and, taking lots of pictures, I was fascinated by the trunks of others.



Last night, late in the evening, I discovered my next adventure. With water colors I created a "Summer Winds" child, a doll who will sing her heart out, wear bright clothes, speak with a Jamaican accent, and know all of Bob Marley's tunes. Appropriately I have named her Marley.




Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays to Ravelry and Friends

Seven of the eight Matata boys are in the air, on their way to Minneapolis. The eighth has fallen between the cracks and I will rescue him after the holidays. Matata himself sits quietly on the sofa in the sewing/guest room. I had told him my grand-daughter would be visiting for Christmas and he had promised to guard her presents. Yesterday she cancelled - too much work - and Matata's head slumped just a bit.







I smiled at him, pointing out that it would be less work for me - no big shopping trip today. No blueberries, no chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, no broccoli or pasta or frozen waffles or popcorn. No lentil soup from Trader Joe's. I wouldn't bake bread. I wouldn't get butter to recreate the noodle dish I fed her twenty-some years ago. And I definitely wouldn't buy mango smoothies.
"Are you sorry you put out all the decorations?"
"No," I said; "everybody enjoys the decorations. With the groceries it's different, most of those were her favorites when she was little, and some I only buy when she visits. Like ice cream. And frozen waffles."

Matata chuckles. "So you are spending the day knitting clothes for a doll. And you pretend you are not disappointed."

The conversation goes on and I measure my newest creation's feet. Again. I push and prod and twist. Her boots turned out lumpy. Rausch's boots don't fit. But, as was pointed out to me, on Ravelry, boots don't have to be perfect. They look well worn. They are hand-made. They are fine.







RAVELRY! What a formidable web presence! Over three million users strong. Worldwide. A gathering place for fiber artists. Sorted into groups with project specific names like Sock Knitters and Sockenstrickereien or pattern specifics like Granny Squares and Cable Lovers. Or fan groups like Yarn Harlot Fans. Yarn crazy people like Nuts for Noro. There are Caffeine Addicts and Sweet Tomato Heels and Ample Knitters and Saori Weavers. I've looked through Spindle Candy and Mason-Dixon Knitters and Amigurumi enthusiasts. There are thousands of groups with thousands of different names, but all have the same desire and the same effect. They are made up of creative people who support each other

I am active in The Mother Bear Project, knitting teddy bears for HIV/Aids affected children, mostly in Africa. And recently I discovered We Make Dolls, a doll making group started by Deena Thomson-Menard. In both groups I found friends. People who spend a great deal of time thinking the way I do. Wondering about color combinations. Digging through their stashes of yarn for just the right shade and feel for a new project. Clipping coupons for Michaels etc. Discussing patterns. Helping each other with difficult components and unfamiliar wording. And caring about each other.

Two years ago, when I had breast cancer, my Mother Bear group friends knitted over fifty pink teddy bears in my name. Their prayers and get well wishes surrounded me, even when I wasn't able to knit or participate on the discussion board. I will, forever, be grateful for their support.




I have just finished my first doll, the illustrious Spelladonna, designed by Deena Thomson-Menard. And now I am on a quest to create my personal alter ego, with the strange name of Rausch. Rausch is a German word. The verb is "rauschen."
Winter wind "rauscht" through bare-limbed trees.
The Christ child's golden wings "rauschen" when she mingles with the visitors at the Nürnberg Christmas Market.
The noun takes on a different personality. A "Rausch" is like an obsession. When I think of Rausch I imagine myself in the midst of a whirlwind of color. Or glitter. Looking up into the night sky and a million stars. Surrounded by the magic of a red poppy field. (though their is another Rausch that comes from ingesting too much white poppy product :) Listening to a chorus of angelic voices. A Rausch accompanies my wildest imagination. It makes me happy to be alive.

I would not have thought it possible to embark on this new adventure of doll making were it not for Ravelry. And so I wish Ravelry - its creators, participants, lurkers - most wonderful, creative holidays and a smooth entry into the next year.

As Matata would say: "Easy does it! There'll be 365 days to make whatever your heart desires!"




Happy Holidays to all my friends and families!