Meanderings of a Mermaid

Did I mention this design is from Big Girl Knits. Here are a couple more shots. I wish there were more hours in a day so I could knit to my heart's content. I am working the short rows on the lower left side now. Once I work up to the armhole area I will switch to knitting all the way around, and the short row shaping will be on top to make a sleeve cap. After that shaping it is just the simple decreases of working down on a sleeve. In the end there will only really be the two arm seams to sew. Each piece is knit onto the previous. A very clever design I must say. It was designed by Emma Crew. The wool I am using is Vero, made in Italy for Naturally (variegated stuff) and the deeper green wool is Schachenmayr Nomotta Mega. I love the two together. Originally I planned to work it all in the variegated and thought it would be too much striping in every direction. Good call eh?

And the passion is knitting: that simple act of turning a piece of yarn into a fabric with two sticks. I just love it. I've been knitting steadily for 26 years and can't see ever stopping. In fact if there was some way to make a decent amount of money at it, I'd be doing it. Right now I am working on the Sandy Cardigan from the book Big Girl Knits. The wool is a lovely variegated Italian product. The cardigan features a very unique construction and there will be almost no seams to sew up at the end. It works up in rectangular panels and in segments making good use of short rows. I'm considerably more advanced on this cardigan than this photo shows and will try to post another shot soon. It's a fun project and not hard. And because the measurements are customized, it should fit great in the end. Wish me luck!

Somewhere in the world it is spring. Say "yes'. But not at my camp. A late season storm dumped 25 inches (you know it's bad when Canadians resort back to the Imperial system) just two days before I arrived. Thank goodness for great neighbours. To get away from it all is the best thing for me. I mean really away. Beyond cell phone range, off the power grid, no internet or TV. To a simple and quiet place. Myself. No planned activities. No schedule. ahhhhhhhh... I go to sleep when the cabin is too dark and am awoken by the rising sun. The fresh air pulls me outside and leads me to explore the roads and paths. Things that jammed up my mind in town drift away easily on the breeze, replaced by the awe and wonder I feel about nature. Everyone should have a place they can go (physically or mentally) to escape the stresses of modern life. Cherish those places. Protect them and they will protect you.

I gaze longingly at photos of my garden. Last summer I had a garden for the first time in eons. The arctic is not conducive to gardening. So I've moved to a place that came with a mature perennial garden. The garden is a few weeks off though. It's still the north after all. I am mesmerized. The garden is a place so full of insects, birds and other life. A daily joy is to make the rounds through the beds and see what new bud has opened. Some plants I can't identify until this happens. Marvellous flowers keep me enthralled all summer. The busy activity of bees and butterflies is fun to watch. This summer I will live outside again. The satellite radio moves out, the dogs stay out all the time and the roof on the gazebo has to go up. Meals are taken outside and friends sit on the gliding chair. Pass me a beer.

It would seem that all the cells in my body are regenerated on a twelve year cycle, and not the seven years I read about. I guess that's the difference in the mermaid physiology. Completing university and getting married; death of parent; end of marriage;death of second parent; death of second spouse. After each of these events came a major period of self-evaluation and the determination of a new path. Losses and additions mean a temporary imbalance wobbles us. It takes awhile to find the right footing. It takes a while to allow proper healing of self. And there's another cycle I've noticed that has to do with travel. I live under the influence of a twenty year cycle for revisiting places in Canada that I've lived in, worked in and visited. Twenty years is a long time, for sure. A lot changes happen in twenty years. Think about Yellowknife in 1981 and then picture it in 2001. Wow. It's not the same place. And I'm not the same person.

Shorelines. Where we cluster. Where animals and plants thrive. Tides carry the life in and out. In the arctic I had to see the ocean each day. It was like a vitamin that kept me boosted, psychologically. And each day that ocean looked different. In many years it never looked the same twice. It was incredible to realize this and study it. The colour of the sea captivated me first. Blue , green, grey, tan, white, silver, black, all the sunset colours: it was all presented to me. Even an intense red one night, during an incredible display of aurora borealis. It was like a gigantic vessel full of blood. The life in the ocean demanded attention. Whether flying overhead and spotting a pair of blue whales, or kneeling in the frigid shallows to scoop up shrimp, at every scale it teems with life. How could that rock float up and land on this shoreline? It was the way the kelp had attached itself to this chunk and then the kelp was swept up with the tide. Amazing. I realized a long time ago that...

Welcome to the first entry in my first blog ever. I'm not sure what brought me here today, but as a meandering mermaid, I often follow a distracting path. I admire some blogs that I have come across and see the value in communicating with the wider world. A mermaid if often alone and occasionally seeks companionship. This mermaid has many interests and a few passions. Water, the ocean, large lakes and rivers are obviously vital to the mermaid. Photography of these homes and vacation spots is fun. Travelling to see these places is interesting. Knitting a shawl that mimics the rolling waves is a divine pastime. Writing little sonnets to crabs is one of the most worthwhile things. Studying an aquamarine crystal is mesmerizing. By nature I am not one for straight and predictable paths. Unlike other blog writers, I can't guarantee what sort of topics will captivate me, at any given time. Chances are you will experience a little of what this mermaid's life is all about. Whatever ...