Socks, Socks, Socks
I learned a valuable lesson yesterday.....if I carpool with my hubby it gives me extra time to knit and obsess over my newest sock pattern. I'm normally a bit of a time freak, I like to arrive on time, and I absolutely hate being late. My conscious is still struggling with my overwhelming desire for lots of traffic yesterday so I could have more time for sock knitting yesterday but unfortunately there wasn't a lot of traffic....oh well maybe next time.
Origins
So the obvious question "clods and pebbles?" what is that all about.....
I'm impulsive, my mind wanders, and random things tend to grab my attention. I switch subjects mid-conversation, start multiple craft projects at once, and am constantly inspired by the ordinary almost as much as the extraordinary.
Yesterday for some reason I could remember a poem I read in high school and I couldn't get it out of my head. I scoured the Internet, flipped through various poetry books on my bookshelf and I finally found it.....
The Clod and the Pebble
"Love seeketh not Itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care;
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair.
So sang a little Clod of Clay,
Trodden with the cattle's feet:
But a pebble of the brook,
Warbled out these metres meet.
Love seeketh only Self to please,
To bind another to Its delight:
Joys in another's loss of ease,
And builds a Hell in Heaven's despite."
-- William Blake
So how does this relate to crafts?? Well, bear with me....
I surprised myself by remembering many interpretations of this paradoxical poem about Love's true intention but yesterday as I re-read the poem I remembered my initial interpretation almost over 10 years ago and compared it to my current interpretation. I'm still not caught up in analyzing the true "intention" of love or its relationship between "heaven" and "hell". More specifically I remember thinking focusing on the paradox of the differences in material discussing love: clay vs. stone, soft and pliable vs. hard and unyielding.
Now that I'm older and into various different crafts I thought it appropriate that yesterday I was reminded of this poem ... I decided that would change only one thing about it, instead of the word "love" I would insert a variety of words depending on the craft project I am currently working on (I would leave out the various expletives I have used during certain projects, because I have to draw the line somewhere).
I have yet to meet a project that didn't surprise me with its paradox, whether it be the changes in gauge or lost stitches while knitting. Heck, take out the word "love" and insert "yarn" and a whole host of knitters and crocheters could simply compare stories on how soft and pliable yarn can be until you try a new pattern or technique only to find it to be hard an unyielding. I swear there are times when I know that "yarn seeketh only itself to please." I've worked with a pattern to knit a heavenly 1st sock just to turn around and have it turn in to a hellish experience for the 2nd sock (at that point I was distracted by some mohair in my stash and promptly liberated myself from the fiery hell of bobbles and beads).
Clods and Pebbles, yarn and needles, crafts and life....lots of paradox, lots of projects, and not enough time!!!
I'm impulsive, my mind wanders, and random things tend to grab my attention. I switch subjects mid-conversation, start multiple craft projects at once, and am constantly inspired by the ordinary almost as much as the extraordinary.
Yesterday for some reason I could remember a poem I read in high school and I couldn't get it out of my head. I scoured the Internet, flipped through various poetry books on my bookshelf and I finally found it.....
The Clod and the Pebble
"Love seeketh not Itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care;
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair.
So sang a little Clod of Clay,
Trodden with the cattle's feet:
But a pebble of the brook,
Warbled out these metres meet.
Love seeketh only Self to please,
To bind another to Its delight:
Joys in another's loss of ease,
And builds a Hell in Heaven's despite."
-- William Blake
So how does this relate to crafts?? Well, bear with me....
I surprised myself by remembering many interpretations of this paradoxical poem about Love's true intention but yesterday as I re-read the poem I remembered my initial interpretation almost over 10 years ago and compared it to my current interpretation. I'm still not caught up in analyzing the true "intention" of love or its relationship between "heaven" and "hell". More specifically I remember thinking focusing on the paradox of the differences in material discussing love: clay vs. stone, soft and pliable vs. hard and unyielding.
Now that I'm older and into various different crafts I thought it appropriate that yesterday I was reminded of this poem ... I decided that would change only one thing about it, instead of the word "love" I would insert a variety of words depending on the craft project I am currently working on (I would leave out the various expletives I have used during certain projects, because I have to draw the line somewhere).
I have yet to meet a project that didn't surprise me with its paradox, whether it be the changes in gauge or lost stitches while knitting. Heck, take out the word "love" and insert "yarn" and a whole host of knitters and crocheters could simply compare stories on how soft and pliable yarn can be until you try a new pattern or technique only to find it to be hard an unyielding. I swear there are times when I know that "yarn seeketh only itself to please." I've worked with a pattern to knit a heavenly 1st sock just to turn around and have it turn in to a hellish experience for the 2nd sock (at that point I was distracted by some mohair in my stash and promptly liberated myself from the fiery hell of bobbles and beads).
Clods and Pebbles, yarn and needles, crafts and life....lots of paradox, lots of projects, and not enough time!!!
It's all in the details....
