Saturday, October 03, 2015

No fame for the wicked

After I heard about the latest mass shooting, I felt a stab of paranoia, anger and incredulity. Is any place safe? I wonder if other folks are training their kids to look for exit strategies, places to hide and how to tell if someone is carrying a gun?
 
I've read countless articles on various ideas to stop the violence, from getting rid of guns completely to more education, to help lines for troubled people. 

None of these really seem to get to the bottom of this particular problem right now. I can't see any way to completely get rid of guns, without starting a war in this country. Most of the people I know have access to guns, but none of them would ever go on a killing spree. 

In my mind, these troubled people want the same thing: to be heard, seen, talked about and contemplated. They want millions of people to know their name. 

What would happen if our society decided to erase these people from existence? All pictures of these shooters replaced with pictures of their victims, with stories of the people that lost their lives. What if their names weren't released? Would these young men go down in a blaze of glory if they knew that no one would know their name or face and that they would be buried in an unmarked grave?

Something tells me they wouldn't, at least the ones wishing to be on the cover of Rolling Stone wouldn't. Changes need to take place in this country, real solutions to gun violence. Why not make owning guns like driving cars?  You need a license and pass tests to be able to drive. Or make certain types of guns illegal. Something. Or I guess we can all start learning how to disarm a gunman and wear bulletproof gear. 

Thursday, October 01, 2015

crochet


A few weeks ago, I came down with a horrible cold and all I felt like doing was cocooning myself on the couch with some yarn, my hooks and Netflix. I'm pretty much a beginner, so I followed some easy patterns to get the movement and rhythm of stitching down. Azalea is modeling my first hat, above. I like that she had been wearing it everyday at school. 
Here's another hat, but I modified the pattern to give it a mushroom shape. I think it looks better on me.
I used a really pretty yarn called Malabrigo for this hat. I also tried out a coral pattern called hyperbolic crochet for the flower. The bronze star button set in the middle is one I carved. The flower was a lot of fun and I could see how folks get addicted to making those big crocheted coral reef displays (seeing those really got me interested in the sculptural aspects of crochet).
My latest project is this lace shawl made with Malabrigo yarn in alpaca and mohair. It's super soft and warm even though it's made of a really open star design. 
I'm finally getting over this never ending cold, but I feel a bit rueful about it. I was so enjoying sitting for hours with a project and not feeling even remotely guilty about it!

End of summer



Summer is my favorite season. I love the dusky afternoon light that lasts for hours, the scent of tomatoe vines and Greg's fruity concoctions he makes in the evenings. I never want it to end, but the thing that softens the blow a bit, is that the fair comes to town. It's a chaotic event filled with the scent of cotton candy and sweet things frying, bright stuffed animals set against vivid tents and blinking lights. All this saturation overlaid by the sound of a calliope and screams and laughter. It's all very Something Wicked this way Comes. 
This year I found a beautiful marble made by a guy ( Curtis?) demonstrating glass animals.  It seemed like the marble perfectly captured the feeling of too much cotton candy and funnel cake and lights whirling over striped tents.