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NOSHI NOSHI NOSHI!!

Monographs ONE and TWO of the NOSHI Knitting Monograph Series are available!

Update! 4:00 p.m.
Nanette's new book Christmas Knitting in Color is also available! Not only are there four original new stranded color knitting patterns, but also a recipe for painted sugar cookies. AND, all profits go to nonprofit rabbit rescue through the Colorado House Rabbit Society! Win, win, win, win, win!

A Biking Knitter and Some Incredibly Violent Knitting!

Many of you may remember Geane Helfrich from her knitting blog Knitpix and the handy but gone Knit-A-Norgi tip sheet. She's still knitting gorgeous colorful knits AND has been doing a lot of bicycling the past few years. Her mileage for '06 is well over 2,500 miles!

This past weekend, along with several other thousand cyclists from all over the country, she rode 90 miles in North Carolina with Team MS to help raise funds for a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. If you'd like to support her, select this link and put Geane Helfrich in the boxes where prompted. Then follow directions to make an epledge. Donations will be accepted until mid-October, so there's plenty of time.

Warning! Graphic Knitted Violence Ahead!

If it's been a while since breakfast, you might want to take a look at the craftsmanship in the knitting here.The creative force behind Beutiful art made with kintting is obviously not one of the knitters who finds Knitting the New Yoga. Gruesome but technically masterful pieces include a Road-Kill Kitty, Knitted Baby Being Eaten by a Knitted Alligator, and my favorite, the Man-Eating Tiger. Wow.

Woofs! and Snaps!

We are thrilled to support a knitter who is a professional musician, a mom, and a biker! Way to find balance, Geane! Della expresses it best for us by woofing and snapping:

Happy Thursday! Everybody ride on!

buh-Balance

Thanks for the insights offered in the comments lately; sometimes the most obvious things sit in front of me, flashing like tetras, but I miss them until someone points them out.

Balancing Acts

“In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.” — Patti Smith

Primarily, removing shoulds from life seems to be the fastest route to restoring balance, because certainly there is always more than enough time to do what we really want.

Isn't there?

The day-job, whether in or outside of the home, seems to be the biggest time-thief, but the most lucrative balance-dilemma. And that reminds me of something about balance that Susan Sontag wrote: “The truth is balance. However the opposite of truth, which is unbalance, may not be a lie.” Yes. Precisely where I find myself at this moment, so I need to continue to think about this topic. More on this later. But I would love hearing more about your strategies for keeping all the balls in motion.

Haunting Crochet

I saw a profile of Felieke van der Leest's work on my favorite zine whipup back in May, featuring photos of some of her mixed-media jewelry. Yesterday, tidying up my hard-drive, I ran across one of the images I had saved to my desktop, the Flamenco Deer Señor Señorita del Sol brooch:

I think this brooch completely defines what I'm reaching for in achieving balance, if you know what I mean, and I'm not sure that I do myself. But I love this woman's work! Plastic animals, metal, textiles, imagination! See more in her online gallery (your choice of Nederlands-ish or English). There is a monograph available now, Jewelry Fables, that details van der Leest's work in the last 10 years, written by Ward Schrijver, published by the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, and available here, among other places.

And speaking of monographs, the first in the wonderful NOSHI Knitting Monograph Series is available. I love my extraordinary copy, and hope all thoughtful knitters will support this project. It's very easy to support, as it's simply excellent, and you'll enjoy it.

Why's Mikey in Such a Rush?

He craves balance, because the new issue of Wool Gathering arrived in our mailbox yesterday! Featuring a very nice Norwegian-style sweater to knit. Very happy here. But off to work we go.
Cheers as always, and more later!