The Olden Days

Been thinking about the old postcards, and how perhaps sending a postcard was the 1910 equivalent of sending a text.

Postcards were a good way to communicate.  Postcards were plentiful - although it did cost a penny to mail them, and a penny was real money in 1910.  But mail was delievered twice a day, and if you wanted to get a quick message to your friend, postcards were the ticket.

They couldn't text because they didn't have cell phones.  They did have phones - or  perhaps it's more accurate to say there was telephone service available.  But a phone in every home was not a given in 1910.  I  dare say some people were waiting for phone service to become one of those fads that reach a certain point in popularity and then just fade from existance.  (Eight-track cassettes. Cassettes.  BetaMax VCRs.  VCRs.)

That's kind of the way a lot of people looked at the internet when it first cropped up out of the primal soup, born of those early computers that were the size of the average garage, and which slowly ground out long skinny cards with holes punched in them.  Printed on each card was the cheery message, "Do not bend, fold, spindle or mutilate."   (If you remember this personally, you are as old as a rock, but hey - rocks are good.  They had their day, too.)

And all this brings us to the really big question: How on earth did people get along back then, when were were no cell phones.  Or refrigerators.  Or microwaves. 

They got along just fine.  Here's why: all the stuff we take for granted today had not been invented.  It didn't exist.  They did not know it would exist.  They couldn't have it...sing with me now...because it did not exist.  Consequently, they got along swell.

People back then were amazed by the new inventions of their era.  They were happy with the new inventions of their era.  The new inventions of their era were bold and modern and much superior to the new inventions of earlier eras. 

Huh.  That sounds kind of familiar. 

I guess I'll go text somebody. 

Pinterst 1, Cozy 0

I have been attempting to dive into Pinterest, but apparently my ability to follow directions is nil.  So far, I have done...well, nothing at all.  My computer has told me a few rude things about my brain.  This has not helped. 

I have the page...I just can't seem to pin stuff to it. 

le sigh

I've gotten really intriqued by this form of architecture known as Earthship houses, which are both incredibly ecologically sound and insanely adorable.

I want to make me a page with info and sites about the outfit and the homes. I can't convince my laptop to let me pin stuff. 

I'd also like to make an Alan Rickman page, because I think the world would be improved if there were more Alan Rickman fan pages.

He seems to be extremely intellegent, very well spoken, very self-effacing and he keeps his personal life well away from the tabloids.   And he looks a bit like Mr. Cozy.  Really.  Would I joke about something like that?  Would I lie to you?  (Don't answer that.)

And I'd like to show off some of these uber cute antique postcards.  They knew how to do schmaltz in 1910.  Big time.

One of the thing that tickles me is reading the messages.  The front of the card is a gushy, flowery declaration of undying love and the message reads,  "Louisa's digestion is not improving."  I suppose they were the equivalent of text messages - just impart the news and get on with business.  Even if  the picture on the front of the card looks as if flipping it to the message space should reveal a proposal of marriage.

If text messages were something that could be preserved and saved for prosperity, DH and I would have zillions that read, "Where r u?"  We spend a lot of time texting in Walmart and Target.  Good deal we don't have to send postcards. 

Next-gen Crafty

Because I've been working with a collection of 1930s reproduction quilting fabrics, I've been thinking about the way quilters build history one tiny stitch at a time. The quilts my grandmother and great-grandmother made speak to the eras they lived through - times of prosperity and times when 'making do' became a national motto.  But whether the times were lean or filled with plenty, they quilted.

They were creative on so many levels.  They stitched together scraps into textile art.  Beauty was born of resourcefulness.  Utility quilts made simply for the luxury of warmth were embroidered with stitch-encyclopedia profusion.  The mother passed her craft and her scraps to her daughter...who did likewise, and now we are six generations, mother to daughter, where imagination is passed as an inheritance. 

And yet, for reasons I haven't really looked at all that closely, until just very recently, I hadn't connected myself with the senior ranks.  Possibly because they are all gone. Possibly because I haven't grown up yet and have no immediate plans to do that.
But.  It now occurs to me that I am the quilting grammie.  The one who makes the 'blankies' that get cuddled and snuggled and worn through until the batting shows. 

C'est moi.  Wow.

In some crazy miracle of genetics, the Crafty Gene continues to be not just passed along but expanded as it goes. The Girls of Clan Cozy work with fiber, but they don't just quilt. They sew, knit and crochet. They write, paint and work with photography. They dance.  They play music.  So to commemorate, today's gratuitous cute features next-gen Cozy, the Grandgirls. It's in-gene-uity in action. The Force is with us!

And they like hats.  Is there a Hat Gene?

New Breeds

We've had some chat on my Rav group about new blends of yarn.  This is all based on a strangely worded sign, but you know, that's often how ideas happen.  There is a sequence of events and when the sequencing ceases, things are different. Think about dog breeds for a moment.  Consider the Schnoodle.  There you have it. 

First on the agenda: a blend of Merino and Alpaca.  Say there had been Something Funny Going On out at the farm. Somewhere there are now some little Merpacas or Paca-rinos running around, bleating and spitting and generally looking absolutely adorable. 

(How do you know who should get top billing in breed crosses??? Naughty Aplaca + Fence-Jumping Merinos = ??? I like Merpacas, personally.) (Can these animals actually cross polinate? Not sure I want to know.)

If you combined cattle with Cashmere, you'd have a Cashcow.  The male offspring of a  llama and a sheep would be a Ramallama.  A Corridale sheep plus a llama would be a dale-llama  (Don't say 'dale,' as in Chip 'n Dale.  Say Dah-le.  Now say llama.  If you aren't getting it, you must go meditate.  Preferably in Tibet.  Get it now?) 

Como se llama is one of a handful of things I know how to say in Spanish.  Means, how is your llama?

Angorafobia is the fear of rabbit fur.

TWSS.





 

In Which Organized Knitting is Discussed

Completely gratuitous photo of adorable children with fake moustaches.

I have come to the conclusion that the personalized Sock of the Month kit thing is an excellent idea for others, but not for me.  Because clearly, I do not do Organization.

Early on, I removed three of the original 18 sock skeins to knit as scarves or shawls.  I took one to make fingerless gloves.  I actually did knit 3 complete pairs of socks from that selection.  However, I knit more from other random yarns I met during the course of the year.  Most of the original Kit yarns are still in the Space Bag. 

To review the Yarns of 2011, I can safely say that I used a great deal of yarn and had a huge amount of fun doing so.  Things were knitted.  In fact, some things were even crocheted.   However.  Virtually none of them came from the designated Sock Kit Thingie.

The conclusion?  My organizational skills are...different.

This year, the plan is to knit as the spirit moves me, but with an eye towards using stash.  This has a good chance for success, as Stash is There.  When inspriation hits at 11 p.m., Stash is available.  It's like a 24-hour Walmart, except the yarn is better and I don't have to get dressed and put on makeup to go to it.  This could be a plan that suceeds. 

I also have more requests for hats this year than I have requests for socks.  Hats are better for instant gratification. 

And now...to actually go knit something.

The Essence of Blogging

It has occured to me that if one has a blog, it might be...I dunno...bloggier, perhaps...if one actually blogged.  More frequently than sometime last August. 

However, whatever my thoughts on the matter, it's quite apparent that an abandonment of blog occured.  Why?  Not for lack of things to say.  I always have things to say.   More than are sensible to say.  Always.  (Not in a Snapesian way, though.)

(Oh, come on...'After all this time?' asks the Headmaster.  And the reply:  'Always.'  But you knew that.  It's Snape 101.)

So, after putting the trappings of Christmas away, I resolved to get after this bloggy business and go forth and blog stuff.   And the Christmas stuff IS put away. So that's a win.

In doing all this shifting about of things in the house, I discovered the Space Bag containing my own personalized Year of Sock Knitting.  Lovely.  I started with yarn for 18 pairs of socks...and as of today,  I have made a grand total of  3 completed pairs.  This is great, but they were not made from the yarn I selected for my sock club project.   Clearly I have had Sock Club Failure.

So now I have to decide if I want to have do-overs this year, or just admit that I don't enjoy structure quite that much and call it a day.  Whatcha think?  Keep truckin' or try something different?

And break time is over, and so concludes this entry!  Happy New Year, my little ones!  May all good things be yours!