What Could Be Better?

What could be better than knitting? Or knitting while listening to books on CD? How about knitting while listening to live music on a lovely Saturday afternoon at Headwaters Park and supporting a worthwhile cause, all at the same time?

The event was Roots and Rhythm, the worthwhile cause was Vincent Village, and the knitting was the Minimalist Cardigan. Being busy, we were not there for the earlier acts, and being old, we did not stay for the later ones. Our target artist was Arvel Bird, who composes and plays Native American music with a definite Celtic influence (his heritage is Southern Paiute and Scottish). Arvel Bird presented a polished performance, including informative patter about animal totems. And there was step dancing by a woman who popped up from the audience, although I don't think her performance was spontaneous. It was hard to knit while all that was going on. A woman sitting nearby was crocheting what looked like a baby blanket. My SO reported there were more knitters in the grass, but I was too lazy to wander over and investigate.

If you like to knit and watch movies, try "The Golden Compass," which I watched Friday night. The movie was not all that engrossing, although I like the idea of souls represented by animal daemons. Also, there were many issues raised but not really addressed, since this was basically a children's movie. But the knitted outfits! Run "golden compass" knitting through your favorite search engine to see what I mean. There is even a "Golden Compass" knitting group on Ravelry.

Or maybe you favor TV as your knitting companion. There are the Olympics right now, of course, but my favorite knitting venue on the boob toob is NFL football. It won't be long now. Go Colts!

Oh, and I have a completely finished object (as opposed to one that needs ends woven in and/or blocking and/or seaming): the Fallen Leaves Shawl.



I used Plymouth Encore, which is a perfectly serviceable yarn, BUT. It is an acrylic blend and I have never had much luck blocking acrylic. While the shawl looked hopeful on the blocking wires, the edging curls up, hiding the picot details.



Oh, well. In the future, if I feel so inclined, I may try starching it. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy it. Or I will, once the temperatures drop.