There are no photos for this post. Remarkably, it turns out that when I drive to Indianapolis for a photoshoot (4 hours of driving each way in about 28 hours), I don't have time to take a single photo! My conclusions:
1) It was awesome to listen to the inauguration events on the radio during the drive. Better than being out in the cold in DC, and for me, better than watching TV. I like imagining it all, although I did look to see the inaugural outfits online later. (fashion junkie, can't help myself!) Also, I tend to cry over these huge events, so it was good I was driving. I kept myself pulled together...no sniffling and tearing up! It's unsafe! I am so excited by all the potential for change with our historic, intelligent, new president!
2) I got to see two sunrises--one in Kentucky on my way to Indiana, and I saw the tail end of a sunrise while leaving Indiana. The big expanse of the midwestern sky in winter is a beautiful thing.
3) It turns out that the only differences between doing a photoshoot with the professor and with the lovely professionals at my publisher's are small ones...
a) the professionals all have a good style sense, so I am not stuck styling each shot on my own
b) the publisher employs a lot of gorgeous and smart people to use as models
c) it's a social event, with food, hot drinks, and even jokes
d) there wasn't one argument, which I thought came along with the photoshoots?! (only with one's life partner, apparently...)
e)The best part was how reassuring it all was. Complete strangers complimented me on these projects I've been designing in isolation for months. That was a surprise. I didn't expect that, but it was worth the drive to hear. Folks in Indianapolis are just nice. Thanks for saying nice things about the knitting!
While in the car, I realized I hadn't answered several questions that commenters have asked on the blog.
Mary G, my professor bought me the silk birthday yarn as a gift, but after doing a bit of research, I understand that it comes from "rustyseller1" on ebay. His ebay shop is
Silk Yarn Collection.In the darning post I did, I had a lot of comments. Who knew folks felt so strongly about darning? I don't own a darning "egg" or "mushroom". I've never needed one, although I think they're very cool! If you use a darning egg, do you darn with one hand? Please explain?
Deb mentioned that she wears out the heels of her socks. The best solution for this is to rip out the old heel (carefully) and reknit the heel. This is called a peasant or after-thought heel. I learned about this from Anna Zilboorg's fabulous paperback book,
Simply Socks, which I think is a reprint of the hard cover
Fancy Feet. Since both of these books are out of print, I'd recommend checking out online sources for "peasant heel" or "afterthought heel." It's a bit tricky the first time, but after you've mastered it, you can make yourself brand new heels in no time!
On my drive, I saw a lot of trucks. Our country is so dependent on fossil fuels to supply us with everything in our stores...from caskets (I saw a coffin truck!) to milk. It seems to me that one (very small) step towards sustainability, responsibility, and even, well, sacrifice...might be darning socks instead of buying new? What else is a step in the right direction, in your opinion?
Psst: Jodi, if you're reading this, leave a comment! It turns out I have a lot of secret readers out there. Say hey, ok?Labels: darning, inauguration, long drives, photo shoots
Gigadistal is now live! A new pattern! Hurray!
(Everyone is ok now. We're good...just medically active. I promise. It's a story for another time.)
