Flint Knits

Inspired by the totally. precious. creations. that Blossom has been showing off, I got me down to Crafty Planet in NE Minneapolis to check out the latest Amy Butler fabrics.

24 hours later, I found myself sitting on 8 yards of fabric, 5 patterns, and a new Viking sewing machine. I blame this fiscal recklessness on the influence of my crazy British grandmother, who believed that one should never fuck around when it came to crafts — you go big or you stay home. (Unfortunately, “going big” for her meant that when she died, we were left with 200 of the most beautiful handcrafted porcelain dolls you ever saw, which also made the creepiest army you ever saw, all lined up in one room of the house [shudder].)

Anyway, during breaks from working on my current dissertation chapter — a draft of which I have to have for (gah!) Wednesday — I began to sew.

pattern: Simplicity 4077
fabric: Alexander Henry, “Rain Drop Stripes”

I don’t talk about the non-crafty life very often here, but it’s no coincidence that I found satisfaction in sewing during this week of all weeks. Making things with little loops of yarn takes time, patience, and long-term commitment — that’s actually something I love about knitting.

But at a moment when this dissertation is kicking my ass with its never-going-to-be-done hugeness, and my knitting projects are all stuck in that long middle stage, it felt really, really good to have a short-term project that I could actually finish.

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