Don't Forget the Contest and Um...Yes, I Cast On

Tonight at midnight is the deadline for leaving a comment on my Fouth Blogiversary Contest post. In the morning, I'll draw four names from everyone who has posted. (I do think you'll like the prizes!)

To catch you up, otherwise, I phoned the dealership where I had my repairs done to ask if they still had the three tires that were replaced. They did! I'll be putting them on Craigslist, as they still have good tread (I hadn't had them all that long, and I drive very little, actually - in the month I had the rental car, I only put a little over 400 miles on it). I can't claim credit for the idea, as I didn't think of it myself, my co-worker, Mary, did and she went with me to pick them up. I'm pleased that perhaps there's a chance that I can earn back a little of the expense of the new tires, and maybe help someone in need, too, with good tires at a reduced cost. We'll see...

The economic news was dismal today, and with all the stress and frustration over the car this week? I had do something to combat it.

Ok. I'm a knitter, so what do you think I did?
If you said, wound up stash yarn and cast on a new project - ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!!

You're correct! That's BMFA Socks that Rock in Valkyrie (my favorite of the Raven Series - and that's saying something because I LOVE the Raven series, and have 3 other colorways, with more on my wishlist).

What did I cast on, you ask?

Seraphim! (I apologize for the photo, I really do knit better than that shot indicates, but it's hard to hold such a small piece spread out and press the shutter button at the same time! *wink*)

From the moment I read the description of Valkyrie (Midwife of change. She will walk with you up to that door and be your witness as you walk through it), I knew I wanted to knit an enveloping comfort shawl, a shawl of warmth and strength, one that would herald a sort of "woman of a certain age" recognition of croneship. A few years ago, as I entered into my own midlife years, I discovered the work of Susun Weed, and read her Wise Woman Ways. I'd already spent many years studying feminist spirituality, being a gardener of the useful weeds and vegetables, and connecting with my own family's matrifocal lineage. Then I lost my mom, and the entire cycle of a woman's life and the family line through it's women somehow garnered a lot more meaning than it ever had before.

If you've done any reading in the "change" literature, you'll know that there's a lot of thought that the huge numbers of women in the Baby Boom generation approaching the age of change at about the same time (and at the time of the turn of the century and it's early years) signals a time of upheaval in the earth's development, as well as human development. Short of trying to teach the subject here (and I know I'd not begin to do it justice - I'm such a novice), I refer you to a wealth of information in the feminist spirituality and ecological movement. And a good place to start, especially for a knitter? Right here with none other than our "mother of the comprehensive knitting stitch dictionaries," Barbara G Walker. (She's written more, too...)

Nonetheless, because of all this prior study, this yarn spoke to me. And Mim's pattern did the same. Warm, yet with a touch of lace, the deep black/brown-purple-reds of the yarn are a trifle difficult to see on the Harmony's. I needed a short circular to start the shawl, as my Addi Lace needles are all 32 inches. I'll swap out to them soon, tho' as I'm now close to overwhelming the little 16-inch Harmony's. This project so far is scrumptious (I know, I say that a lot), but this is not a joke:

Seraphim will be a joyful, celebratory shawl.

And with all the negativity lately? It's exactly what I need!