A curly haired knitter speaks from NYC
"I'll light the fire, you place the flowers in the vase that you bought today...Come to me now and rest your head for just five minutes, everything is good.
Such a cozy room, the windows are illuminated by the
sunshine through them, fiery gems for you, only for you.
Our house is a very, very fine house with two cats in the yard, life used to be so hard, now everything is easy cause of you and our la, la, la…"
[Our House, as sung by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young]
Ahh, here I am waxing poetic [AGAIN!!] about motherhood and NYC. Our house in NYC is not this house, although this house is in our neighborhood, so some days I pretend it is our house!! In fact, our house is not a house at all, but an apartment. Nonetheless, it is OUR house. And we are happy there. We aspire to have a REAL house with two DOGS in the yard. [Or maybe just a BIGGER apartment, with room for two dogs!!] But right now, we are enjoying what we have and happy that we have each other.
Right now, amidst all this dreaming, we are also enjoying summer and hoping for the best. For now and forever.
In M*A*S*H, the television show, Hotlips Houlihan made her army issue officer's tent have a sexy glow by draping a red scarf over a light. Our apartment got that same sexy glow when I draped my Rowan Edgy Exchange gift over a lamp to get a better picture of it!!
Say "HELLO" and "YOWZA" to one of the presents that Jamie and I received when my Rowan Edgy Exchange gift arrived on our doorstep!! Jacinta, my Exchange Knitter, really outdid herself with her contribution to this project!! This shawl, knit in Knit One Crochet Too Douceur et Soie, is from Martha Waterman's Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls. I LOVE this shawl, with my favorite part being the peplum edging that drapes so beautifully at the bottom. I plan on getting a lot of use out of this shawl and feeling v. much like a character from Henry James, The Portait of a Lady when I do. [thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou Jacinta. And, now that I have this shawl, I can continue to procrastinate about knitting Birch!!] The lace knitting on this shawl is flawless! Flawless!!
BUT WAIT!! There's more!! Jacinta sent a little knitted something for Jamie too:
Why, it's a Baby Bolero, designed by Debbie Bliss, knit in her new Cathay yarn, pattern from the book of the same name. Jamie LOVES her bolero and knew that it was for her the minute I opened the package. Despite the soaring temperatures we are experiencing here in NYC, Jamie felt the need to wear it while engaging in her afternoon arts and crafts session.
This bolero appears to be knitted in one piece, save for the edging that my guess shows up after the garment as a whole is knit up. Again, more flawless knitting!!
Jamie and I felt were beside ourselves as we plucked out the other gifties and pressies that Jacinta sent us. For Jamie, a little sheep that BAAAAAAA's when you squeeze his belly. [Jamie to Jacinta: LOVE. IT.] For me, some fancy schmancy soap and hand cream from L'Occitaine! [Momma to Jacinta:. LOVE. THEM.]
Thank you soooooo much Jacinta. We love everything. And thank you Polly, Emma, and Stephanie H. for organizing this event. I LOVE being a Rowanette.
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When I emailed Jacinta to thank her for the lovely and thoughtful gifts, she wrote the following in response:
"I think [the Exchange Project] is such a lovely idea spreading a little love around the world with our knitting especially in such sad times that we live in. "
To Jacinta, all we/I can say is that with the arrival of your parcel you spread A LOT of love to our corner of the world, a corner that shuddered once again after it heard the news of the latest bombings in London and in Egypt.
Here in NYC, riders of subways, trains, and buses are now subject to random searches in the hopes of weeding out the tools of terrorism. On this beautiful Sunday, Pennsylvania Station, a major transportation hub, was shut down temporarily.
What next?
I was all set to post about the latest package to arrive at Little Apartment in the Big City -- my Rowanette Edgy Exchange Presents(s) -- but I ran into some unexpected technical difficulties. The gifts I/we received are just beautiful and I have been unable to photograph them in the manner in which they deserve. So, that post will have to wait until another day later this week or next week. [My contribution is finished and just needs to be wrapped and put in the post!]
Instead, I thought I would wax poetic about my latest project --for Jamie -- the Windmill Cardigan from Miss Bea's Colours, by Louisa Harding. This is a sweet little cardigan with heart embellishments in moss stitch, as well as a moss stitch border on the sleeves and body of the garment. The pattern calls for Rowan All Seasons Cotton, but I have substituted that yarn with the faithful [and fabulous] Lion Brand Cotton-Ease that I had in my stash.
I am knitting this sweater to replace one that Jamie and I lost on the way home from gym class about two months ago. The lost sweater was a lovely pink cotton ribbed zippered sweater that I got for a song at Century 21. [Frequent fliers like myself just call it "Century."][I have said it before and I will say it again --- I. Love. This. Store. LOVE!!][It is not the PERFECT store because it does not sell yarn. It's close to perfect though.] It was a great sweater. It has now gone to that big Lost and Found in the sky. As soon as I discovered the sweater was missing, I hightailed it down to Century to see if I could find another. No. Such. Luck. If I wanted a replacement sweater for Jamie, it was clear that I was going to have to knit it myself.
No. Problem. I had the yarn. [I love my stash, I love my stash, I love my stash!!] I had a pattern. I had finished my Edgy Exchange project, SO, I had the time.
I love the colour of this Cotton-Ease -- Strawberry Cream. It is close to the colour of the sweater that was lost. Now, I have heard the reports that Cotton Ease has been discontinued, but I have yet to see that information posted on the Lion Brand website. While the colour I am using for this sweater has been discontinued, I haven't found any official word that the whole line is about to become extinct. So, while I am hopeful that maybe the word on the street is wrong, I know that the things I love and frequently purchase (such as lipstick, fragrance, and assorted other things that I use alot.) I am prepared for the worst. No more Cotton-Ease. Sigh.
~~~
Since I became Jamie's mom, I have thought long and hard about raising my daughter in NYC. While the conveniences of city life are appealing, so are the visions I have of a bigger place, with plenty of space for both of us, as well as plot of land for Jamie [and maybe a dog] to play on. I am an Urban Woman, a woman who misses the rumble of the subway underneath my feet when I leave NYC for too long...but I am now also a Mother who needs to recognize what is best for her daughter. I am torn.
We had the nicest weekend this weekend, despite the unpleasant weather that refuses to go away. It was weekend that we could not have had if we lived outside of NYC. We went to not one, but TWO museums! On saturday we went to the Children's Museum and on Sunday we went to the American Museum of Natural History. Jamie had a ball! She was oooohing and aaahhing throughout all of the great halls, running from here to there, all wide eyed and awestruck. It was the best time I ever had in a museum. EVER. Chalk up one for the CurlsandPurlsNYC family STAYING in NYC.
Got Cotton-Ease? Need to make a gift for the Girlie Girl in Your Life?
Then Check This Out!! I love it!!
[Cue to Music- Talking Heads]
"This ain't no party. This ain't no disco. This ain't no foolin' around"
CBGB's , the home of underground rock here in NYC, and best known for showcasing a little band know as the Talking Heads, [And, Blondie!! CALL ME!!] [And, the Sex Pistols!! GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!!!] is scheduled to close. OUCH!! Now, while I was not lucky enough to see the Talking Heads there, I did see the Tom Tom Club, the Talking Heads little sister band. In fact, I saw LOTS of shows at this groovy club in the 80's. Yes, indeed, if I wasn't clubbin' at the likes of Danceteria, the Tunnel, or Save the Robots, I might have been shakin' my thang at CBGB's. [Yep. Shakin'. My. Thang. With big hair, big shoulder pads, rubber O ring bracelets, and maybe some acid wash denim!! And hot pink shoes!!][Yes, yes, I know that my age is showing!! Deal with it!!] I must say that my heart sank when I heard this news. With the coming loss of this music club, I lost a bit of my past. A bit of the thing that made me cool. Or so I thought. While I can live with change, the passing of time and the transition from one stage in life to the next, I just don't know how I will feel if the owners of the space that is now home to CBGB's let it become another CVS [Such was the fate of the Village Gate] or 24 hour deli [The fate of the Lone Star]. Such a fate would just be Wrong.
As a Rowanette, I consider myself to be in good knitting company. [What? You don't know what a Rowanette is? We are members of Rowan International!! We get the seasonal Rowan magazines delivered to our homes! We get the free gift every time we renew our subscription! We chat in the members area!] Membership does have its privileges!!] I am am humbled most times when I hear about the projects my fellow Rowanettes are knitting. They are an amazing and spirited group of knitters. More importantly, they are a v. kind and generous group. Take for example, my friend, Sissel, from Norway, one of the many wonderful knitters I have come to *know* after becoming a Rowanette. She is an amazing knitter!!! [Her most recent knitting accomplishment was Chicago, from Rowan 37!! This sweater is a tricky little majorly embellished number, that I am sure will take me a lifetime to knit. My guess is that it took Sissl about a week! She is THAT GOOD!!]
Sissel has been an especially busy knitter lately, for she put together a wonderful package for Jamie and I!! The package contained yummy chocolate covered bears and a sinfully delicious dark chocolate bar for both me and Jamie. [I ate most of the chocolate treats, thank you v. much. They went directly to my buttocks! Jamie ate some, which for the most part wound up on her face, her clothes, and our couch!] The package also had some fab orange alpaca for me!! [Love. It.] Wrapped in beautiful orange paper was a special package just for Jamie. The package for Jamie contained this:
A traditional Fana sweater!! Woo hoo!! [ I so admired this sweater when Sissel made it for Emma's Oliver! Who knew that someday she would make one for my daughter!!] This sweater is ABSOLUTLEY AMAZING. Really. [Jamie knew that the sweater was for her and snatched it out of my hands within moments of my taking it out of the wrapping. She carried it around our apartment all day and had her afternoon mini snack of chips while sitting with it in her lap.] [No worries of grease, for they were baked!!] Sissel's knitting is flawless and the colourwork left me gobsmack! [And to leave ME gobsmacked is really something!]
When I asked Sissel to tell me about the Fana sweater, she went to the library and did some research!! [I love that she did that!! How scholarly!!] This is what Sissel has to say about the Fana sweater:
"The pattern originated in the Fana area of Bergen on the coast of Western Norway. The first striped Fana sweaters were made during the mid 19th century, and worn as everyday clothing by male farmers. There is documentation that they have also been used for special occasions, as a new garment would not be used for everyday right away.
The most common colours were natural, black, brown or grey (sheep colours), but also natural dyed blue.
At the lower edge of the sweater there is often a squared-off pattern, above that another pattern (often 8-pointed star) and then light and dark stripes with a dot (lice) in them.
(Lice=lus in Norwegian, hence the word "lusekofte" which means "sweater with lice". There are no knowledge on how the stripes came to be. Bergen was for centuries the most important port in Norway for international trading, and one theory is that the inspiration for stripes came from the striped ganseys the French sailors wore. The lice are probably added to make a thicker and warmer fabric.
A decorative border of cotton bands was used. The buttons were usually pewter, although silver and wood were also used.
The city people became interested in this sweater at the turn of the century. The city man`s interest was a new source of income for the local people. Wives and daughters began to knit for sale.
During the 1930's, the world of commerce became interested in the coloured Fana sweater. A pattern was developed by a knitting shop in Bergen, and courses in knitting the Fana sweater was held.
At the end of the 1930's young girls began to use the striped Fana sweater. It was now used as an outer garment, when going for walks or hiking, or when participating in sport activities.
At the end of the Second World War, when there were no more rationing, there was renewed interest in the Fana sweater. It was now mass-produced in several Norwegian factories.
The Fana sweater has been in continues use from the 1850's right up to the present, and is one of the most popular traditional Norwegian patterns. The traditional national patterns are considered a national heritage, and are free for anybody to use. There are hundreds of variations on the Fana sweater."
Thank you so much, Sissel, for the beautiful sweater for Jamie, as well as for your v. interesting account of the history of the sweater itself. I am now looking forward to the fall more so than I usually do so that I can see Jamie romping around the NYC in her red Fana sweater. My beautiful girl in a beautiful, handknit traditional Norwegian sweater. How fabulous is that? [Very!!]
Wow!! Two years ago this month I took up blogging!! Two years of me blabbing about knitting, my family, my life here in NYC, and everthing else in between!! The casting on and off!! The dropped stitches!! The frogging!! The many trips to Sleeve Island!! The Finishing Parties!! Here's to all that I have knitted with and knitted without, all the yarn that I have stashed, my growing library of knitting books, all that I have blabbed about, whined about, and all that I have learned about knitting in the past two years. And more importantly, here's to my readers and the many wonderful knitters I have either met, come to know, admire, and/or worship, thanks to the pages of this blog....all of you have made my blogging experience so positive and fun. Count me in for another year, Becky!!
~~
Actual knitting content to come v. soon. In fact, I may have a Finishing Party in the next few days!! Better still, I can't wait to tell all about The Package from Norway. So stay tuned!!
Take a quick glimpse of the NYC July 4th fireworks that could be seen from our terrace here! It was bright, it was beautiful, and it was LOUD!!
Although most New Yorkers like to think that they are the least patriotic of all US citizens (ok, well maybe just my friends think that) when it comes to the July 4th holiday, we know how to do it up right! And doing it up right for July 4th means FIREWORKS!! I love fireworks!! Throngs of people clammer on the shores of the East River, rooftops, tall buildings, any and all high places, as well as on the East River itself to get a prime spot to view the evening fireworks. They are a glorious sight! A few years ago I had a prime seat in an office at the UN!! The colours!! The bright lights!! The explosions! The zooming and booming of it all!! Glory days. Or should I just say, glorious evening!
Happy July 4th, from my city to yours!