Knitted Neurons

I saw a knitted brain the other day in the newspaper - this is not a joke. It's from the Museum of Scientifically Accurate Fabric Brain Art - I don't think that this title is a joke either - it was in the newspaper - now some people will say that this particular newpaper is a joke - I guess you just can't win.

Anyway here is the website.
http://harbaugh.uoregon.edu/Brain/
It resides in the Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon. Now if I remember correctly that is where the person who knit the entire digestive system came from. I don't remember the mountains being particularily high in Oregon - maybe other things are high in that state, anyway there are a lot of very unusual things going on there - hmmmm.

The idea of a brain that was made completely of knitting stitches intrigued me. I know of a number of people that could lay claim to the fact that their brains were actually knitted - boggles, or should I say bobbles the mind. Maybe someone has actually accused you of having a knitted brain - or at least - knitting on the brain.

If we knitters actually had knitted brains, what mental activity could we ascribe to various stitches. Would cable stitches, for example, be part of our strength of character - those strong sturdy rows with the regular twists for everytime we had to grit our teeth or clench our fists to just keep going.

Would the beautiful open lace stitches be the area of our dreams. I know that ssk and psso always remind me of dance steps, and garter stitch has to be those really boring repetitive activities - rote things that require no thought but have to be done to keep our worlds from falling apart - like taking out the garbage or cleaning the bathroom.

Which stitches would govern our sense of smell and\or taste? Is slip stitching like the little tricks we play on ourselves when we try to justify eating something with a few extra calories or skipping a must do in favour of a want to do - like paying a bill vs buying yarn.

And then there is I-cord - for when our mind gets twisted in knots of ideas and complex interactions - observe - "Chain d'amore" from Lucy Neatby - wherever did it get the name "idiot-cord" anyway. I know it is attributed to Elizabeth Zimmerman and yes it may appear to be simple; but it has the ability to be amazingly complex or as Lucy says - for the lunatic fringe - unsuitable for serious in-battle wear. And battled I have to turn I-cord into frog closures or handbag draw cords or brooches or...... the list goes on.

Would our sense of music come from the lovely rhythms of the feather and fan stitches? Certainly our appreciation of all things graphic would be in the fair isle lobe. And since this weblog is a search for that creative inspiration which raises knitting to the sublime as an art form. In what area of the knitted brain lives the "divine".

Please add to the list by posting your comments. Right now I must knit up some ideas for dinner tonight. Spaghetti comes immediately to mind with maybe an entrelac sauce - could be tasty.

Enjoy Carol

Back from the beach and other realities....

It must have seemed like a long swim – about 3 weeks or so. Actually it was a short holiday that was over too soon. By the time I arrived, decompressed, took up the leisurely pace of “holiday mode” – the vacation was over.

It drove me crazy that my husband rushed us around doing this and doing that in an “I’m going to enjoy this holiday” frenzy, when all I really wanted to do was sit and knit or crochet and write – but no… we had to bike 3.5ks for breakfast almost every morning – and then bike back or else, how would we have lunch after a swim in the pool, while the kids fished off the dock and we waited for dolphin to come into our little saltwater creek. In the afternoon we had to do a some shopping to buy fresh tuna or shrimp or clams (farmed – it was a month without an “r”) for dinner. Later, depending on the tides it was down to the beach for a little light surfing or out in the kayaks – to explore the salt water marshes. Finally, after dinner it was a quick walk up to the bar-café to hear the singer – I still can’t get “Goin’ to Carolina in my mind” out of my head. On the walk back, it was “name that constellation” – I forget how well you can see stars out of the city - and lastly to bed – because 7-8am comes early and we repeat the same list of activities. Actually I left out Tennis- that was for my husband and the kids – I don’t play tennis – that was my time to crochet.

Who said holidays are restful? I might have actually completed my Savannah Shawl had I not had to do all these holiday things, but now that it’s all over – I’m glad I did. I’ll finish Savannah – maybe after Christmas, when we start dreaming of better weather. I am still not happy with the results. Maybe it has to "sit" for a while.

Actually don’t mention my complaints about an over-active holiday to Lucy Neatby. And the next time you take a class from her, ask her what she did for a holiday in the summer of 2006. I am in awe!

The reality is that work is busier than ever. The garden is full of weeds. The temperature now struggles to reach 20°C. I have just spent most of my “free” time booking after school activities - break-dancing and remedial math – do you think there may be a connection? – for the youngest and an Art program for the oldest which is actually my 91 year-old father. My answer to the sandwich generation, this year, is to get involved. I’m taking my father, who is much better – walking now without a cane – even danced with the physiotherapist – to a painting class one day a week.

On my free time, I plan to sleep! Enjoy

Carol