When whimsy goes bad

When we first moved to North Queen Anne we didn't realize how close we were to Fremont. The thrill of being between 2 nice neighborhood centers was invigerating. Plus we were very happy that we were so close to Lake Union. We even thought that it was nice to have a cute bridge to cross. And it adds to the beautiful urban landscape.

Well that whimsical highlight was short-lived, at least from David's perspective. An old friend used to have a saying of which I will paraphrase, 'Don't put things you don't want to happen into the Universe (either verbally or in thought)'.

The cute drawbridge that connects us to the Fremont neighborhood goes up very often, especially during the summer, to let tall ships pass. It was a novelty for us at first that David quickly grew tired. And I truly believe that because he dislikes having to wait for the bridge to return to its crossible and prone position, 99% of the time that he comes close to the bridge the familar boat horn blows, the bridge warning bells ring, the blockacade drops and up goes the drawbridge. The percentage for me happens a lot less. I understand that I have no control of the situation.

A few weeks ago I captured this lovely pic:



Maybe David could benefit from following my friend's saying, don't you think :-)?

There Are No New Ideas

So I'm taking my 2nd and 3rd knitting classes this weekend with Debbie Abrahams. She's in town from England promoting her latest book, Design Your Own Knits in 5 Easy Steps. The first class I took with her was a few years ago back in Oakland at Article Pract (I miss my old LKS) on finishing techniques that I absolutely loved. Debbie and her sister were fantastic.

I have had this idea for an Asymmetric Argyle Sweater Vest running through my head for probably about 3 years. I figured now's my chance to take a stab at designing my first knitted garment, and maybe something that no one else has ever done before.

Ummm, yeah right is all I can say.

I was perusing and reading a post on a co-workers blog about the latest Knitty issue so I figured I'd check it out. Lo and behold guess what I found in the issue? Yup, a men's sweater vest with an asymmetric argyle pattern. Sure it's not exactly what I was thinking of. But 'fuck' was the first thing out of my mouth. Admittedly I had this silly idea that maybe my first design would be sooooo coool and 'original' that I would submit it to Knitty, and it would be approved for an up and coming issue.

Arghhh! I'm reminded of what my art history professor said in one of her boring lecture halls, 'there are no new ideas'. That was hard to hear as an art major. Maybe that statement is true but it won't stop me from striving for originality.

BTW, I have been knitting but been too lazy to post my progress. I finished a lace/cable knit scarf and am getting close to finishing my first attempt at knitting a women's sweater for my sister-in-law Cheryl. I'll try and post pics in the next few days.