Looking at other people's lives........

I was doing a show on the weekend and at the next table to me was an older lady with a table full of her old Christmas figurines and porcelain Christmas trees.

My initial impression of her was that she had, had a hard life,  She was all of 4 feet 10 inches (she told me later how tall she was), had a huge hump on her back (due to various surgeries, again told me about that) and looked around 80 years old.

It turned out she was much younger; don't know the exact age, and had a son in his mid 30's that had tested her throughout his life, especially through those high school years.  What he got up too was lots of stories, and he was in and out of trouble throughout those years.  He'd turned his life around though and was a manager at a local business and she was very, very proud of him and rightly so.

She had gone through numerous life altering illnesses and as I told her, "I am quite sure you should have been a cat, having nine lives."

Despite lots of set backs she was a positive woman, who made a point of helping out others, and had an open door policy for some of the neighbourhood kids that she had unofficially adopted as her grandchildren.  She had two dogs, both rescues and one had numerous neurological problems due to abuse and a cat.  She loved them to the moon and back.

The more I talked to her the more I admired her.  She had made the best of what life had thrown at her and still had a smile on her face............we all should take a leaf from her book I think........

(image credit)

Slow Knitting.........

Slow Knitting: A Journey from Sheep to Skein to Stitch by Hannah Thiessen

"Like the “slow food” movement, Slow Knitting encourages knitters to step back, pare down, and celebrate the craftsmanship of their work. In five chapters centered around the tenets of slow knit­ting—sourcing carefully, making thoughtfully, thinking environmentally, experimenting fearlessly, and exploring openly—Hannah Thiessen challenges knitters of all skill levels to view their practice in a new way. Each chapter contains explorations of fiber types; profiles of well-known yarn types, makers, and yarn suppliers; and garment patterns inspired by the featured fibers. With contributions from knitting superstars Norah Gaughan, Bristol Ivy, and many others, Slow Knitting proposes an approach to knitting that is both minimalist and all-encompassing, and emphasizes what makes knitting a meditation, a passion, and a unique necessity."

(book blurb directly from here)

I got an email from Knitcrate advertising this book.  I am a slow knitter; not through choice, but because "I am a slow knitter."  When I was reading the "blurb" about the book, it actually makes sense.  When making things by hand it's not about how fast you can finish it but how much love and thought you put into each project.

We live in such a fast paced environment that I think you lose track of how to do things slow and simple.  As with everything in life I think it does help if you stop and think about where things come from; how it came to be and what processes it had to go through to be a product you would use.

I think the quote:

"Slow down and smell the roses,"

comes to mind.  Maybe we should all try to do this?

Will I buy the book, not sure, but it does sound interesting.