Oh utter joy. Just about all my friends know that I knit and crochet. What they do not know is how truly unskilled I am at both of these. Or I should say they did not know how truly unskilled at both of these I was. Last night I graduated to my first decent piece of lace after twenty-two attempts and now I feel up there in the Olympus of all exquisite things, up there in the Olympus of Lace Knitting. Not many people know that lace can be tatted, knitted or crocheted. I love it all, especially so when it is done with a slightly hairy fibre that gives the item a hazy aura. I have seen fabulous pictures of lace items in One Skein Wonders and I now feel ready, willing and able to attempt something more complex once this scarf is done. I am knitting this for Ma'. I am using Addi Turbos in 4 mm, the pattern is from Debbie Bliss Pure Silk Collection but I am using Louisa Harding Mulberry silk (in rose) because I find it is a better silk than Debbie's. It is not as slippery and doesn't split as easily.
As I was working at it earlier today, scenes from Cast Away re-played in my mind. Chuck trying to make fire, Chuck pulling his tooth out, Chuck leaving the island trying to save himself, Chuck returning to the life he once knew, except life does not recognise him. And I thought about a deserted island and about what I would do, or whether I would even survive. People often say they would like to escape the everyday rut by migrating to a deserted island. Much as I detest most of my necessary routines, I would never want to spend time on a deserted island (unless I had a plane and a dashing pilot with me), not even if I could cast on and off at will in order to pass time. What would I knit anyway? For I start it would take me months to strip bark off trees and then I would need to knot it together and then I would need to make wooden knitting needles. You know what, that's too much trouble for anyone, alone or otherwise. It's funny that I say so, because when I think of the good times in my life, I was actually alone in all of them. I like to be alone very much. Being alone does not mean being lonely, I just happen to be a very independent person who likes her company very much, without being une misanthrope. In fact, I'll tell you more, if my friends knew half of what I have written on here they would be flabbergasted to the ninth. Every time I speak to Dean, he is surprised to acquire some new bit of information. The other day he told me that I lead three parallel lives and maybe he is right. He would love to read the My Dimension Jump post if only I revealed my blog's address to him. I challenged him to find out by himself which, really, is as easy as being a cast away for four years and then finding his way back to civilisation by drifting off for 500 miles on a raft he himself put together. But who knows, he may make it. This is for you Dean; tomorrow I'll bring you the scarf you heard so much about, so that you can see that it was worth all of the effort and all of the swearing.
