There She Goes Again

Cassie had a post last week about the search for beauty,  which was inspired by a hand made card a friend had sent to her.  The post was, in turn, inspiration to me.  We all love to behold, create, and have beautiful things in our lives.  Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder but it can also be in every little part of our daily lives.  Every thing we do in the course of the day is a part of the process of our lives and it seems a shame to ‘hate’or dislike any part of the gift of life.

Admittedly cleaning the house isn't something most of us enjoy but, what if we looked at it with gratefulness, a joy at what we have that others may not.  Instead of complaining about the need too dust or vacuum, perhaps we could acknowledge each item we own as we dust…touch it; honor it as the gift that it is and the beauty it brings into our home.

As we clean the floor imagine what it would be like to have a floor of dirt or no floor at all, just a bit of sidewalk.  We should all be more aware of our surroundings and feel blessed to have what we do have.  All the things we dislike in our lives are still a part of the daily process.  Even the smallest pea adds flavor to a large pot of soup.

The same can be said of knitting. As we pull out and restart a project we can become upset, unhappy that we didn't do it right. Instead of angst, we can be thankful we have the ability to see the error and redo, that we have nice yarn and knitting needles with which to knit and in many cases we have a stash of yarn that will keep us knitting for years to come without purchasing another thing.  Part of the process of knitting and of life, is the ebb and flow, the ups and downs, the good and bad.  Nothing is perfect, nothing in life goes without a hitch, and without loss you can’t be grateful for what you have.

It looks like Stephanie’s  Knitting Olympics has hundreds of participants.  It will be quite a feat to knit a challenging project in 16 days.  There are already two challenging projects on my needles, but I want to do my best to meet a challenge of Olympic proportions.  There can be no project acquisition as I have the StashAlong goal to meet (that alone is a challenge!).  I am not a Type A personality and don't handle stress well and dislike deadlines, too. So, what can I do in 16 days that will keep me knitting with the hoards?

In the spirit of Eddie the Eagle  this is an alternate challenge.  Eddie gave the Olympics his best shot even though he could not win. He trained and played his best, while he had fun and enjoyed the process.  If ever any athlete was about the journey it was Eddie.  If you want to knit during the games and enjoy your knitting, without deadlines or duress, you can join me in an Eddie Along. It’s all about the process here.  Pick a project, knit for the love of it and soar like Eddie. If you finish…good for you, if not, you win anyway.

This button is for you any who would like to enjoy the process without pressure.  There are only two roolz:

1. Cast on (or knit a long neglected WIP if you choose) February 10th (any time you like) and end during the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games on February 26th, or not. 
2. Enjoy the process, each step, forward or back. It’s all good.

You could actually join both KALs but, that would mean little or no complaining (well, let's say no hissy fits) if you make an error or need to frog.  Everything in 'the process' is good.

Thank you for all your fun comments on my Jaywalker socks. To address the questions about the orange flags I'll give you a bit of background.  Downtown SLC has very wide streets for which we thank Brigham Young. He wanted a street in which he could turn around a wagon and four horses easily. Plus the blocks are very large as seven blocks are about 1 mile.  Anyway, there were too many auto pedestrian accidents a few of years ago and many people were not only hurt but killed. 

With a big campaign to make drivers and peds more aware of each other, changes were made to the crosswalks.  The main cross walks now have a big LOOK sign painted on the ground as you enter the street and there are also count down clocks so you know how much time is needed to get across the (very wide) street. Because the blocks are each so long there is a crosswalk at the mid-point of the downtown blocks. Each one, especially a crosswalk without lights, was set up with a bucket of orange flags (Martha, you had that vision right!) so any pedestrian can easily be seen if they carry a flag.  There have been very few auto/ped accidents since the changes were implemented. So now you know the rest of the story.

Liz of Pocket Farm has a new home! (Please change your feeds.) It's a great new place, Liz.  Does this mean we'll see more of you?

One more thing...did you know there are mittens in Utah's desert?

Comments

[Julia]

oh, I liked the Yarn Harlot's idea a lot, but I love yours. I have too much on the needles right now to start another challenging project. Especially in 16 days. I love watching winter olympics, mainly because I love watching snow and cold weather from the comfort of a warm living room, whoever wins is fine by me. I will come back to my Lopi (after vacation) and will join the process knitting and winter watching finishing it (or not).

[sandy]

Okay. I will TRY to enjoy the process of cleaning my home. But I have to admit to liking the end result better on that one. Tryings good, right?
:)
I need to refrain from ALL of your wonderful knitalongs. All of you deserve a medal as far as I am concerned because of your sheer hope and will. It's a wonder.
Mittens in the desert. Wow!
xo

[Vera]

I plan to join the Knitting Olympics, but It's not real important that I finish anything, but I'd just like to give myself a little tweaL.

I love your idea too,

[Joan]

I love the Eddie Along. I considered Harlot's but being in mostly sound mind and not so sound body, I don't theeenk so. However, I could do the other one. I think I will and I have just the project for the start of the Olympics. Love the mittens.

[Wendy]

In rearranging my furniture the other day, I was forced to clean as well. Since doing that, every day when I get home from work and open my front door and look in at my unusually clean living room, it makes me happy. When I sit on the sofa in my unusually clean living room, I revel in it! I'm surprised at how incredibly happy it makes me. Must remember this feeling so I'll clean more often.

I think if I ever cleaned and decluttered the master bedroom, I'd achieve Nirvana.

[Rachel]

Now that's an idea I can knit to! I'm quite sure that I would never finish anything in time to compete in the Knitting Olympics, so I planned to sit on the sidelines and watch others knit themselves silly. I'll join you with some process knitting, and just relax and enjoy!

[Susan]

I *love* the Eddie Along idea, and I think that I am going to go with that one because there's no stress about not finishing on time. The lack of stressing about a deadline may actually result in more knitting being accomplished, too.

Thanks for the explanation of the orange flags. I can't help but wonder what happens if all the flags end up on one side of the road, and whether anyone steals them. That's probably the Boston driver/pedestrian in me talking.

[Cara]

I'm with Sandy and Wendy. I hate the cleaning - but I love the clean. It's a sad circle.

I'm in with the Harlot because I'm actually looking forward to the challenge and would like to see if I can do it - but I didn't choose anything like a sweater in 16 days. My god! But if I don't finish it's all good - I mean, in the actual Olympics only one person gets gold.

Thanks for the links! Good stuff!

[Beth]

Margene, Margene, Margene....
There's no way cleaning can EVER be a process to be savored. In knitting, I'm always casting on something new - learn something new - then once it's mastered, set it aside and move to the next new skill. With cleaning, there's always more of the same. Maybe learning all the "new" stuff is a process of it's own.

[Chris]

Very very Zen. :)

You always get me thinking. Thanks!

[mamacate]

Great idea. Thanks for the reminder of Eddie the Eagle, and for translating it into a knitting alternative.

[Norma]

I, too, will try, in this new light, to savor the process of cleaning. Somehow I think I will fail. Except on those odd (twice a year, maybe?) days when I do actually enjoy it. What is up with that? However, it might just work to think of it in your wonderful new terms--to remind myself how lucky I am to have what I have. That has worked in all the other areas of my life; why not the cleaning?

Now, about the knitting thing: Yes. Good idea.

[Kitty]

I am so in the Eddie along - what a brilliant idea :) One of the things I like best about knitting is that it's not a race or a competition - it's the zen and meditation I get from knitting that I love most.
I think I'm one of the odd ducks who happens to love cleaning my apartment. NYC is so dirty, smoggy and dusty it's nice to have a little corner of clean.

[Amy Boogie]

I love the Eddie along. Count me in. I don't mind a frog here and there. Yay I get to knit again! See no complaining. It's all about the process.

[Kathleen]

You know, I was just thinking about beauty yesterday. I wanted to join the ABC along--but like Sockpalooza--I can't be trusted to follow through. But if I were to choose a picture for A--it would have been something in Alaska. As sad as it was to work in that domestic violence shelter, the beauty of my surroundings could clear my head and cleanse my soul. A walk through Totem Park--with the ravens and eagles and the ocean and the beach. Sigh.

Interestingly, Kevin's Dale turned up on Tuesday--it seems rather appropriate to give it a bit of a go during the Olympics. No pressure though.

[Kim]

Margene, you always make me smile! I love the idea of your KAL. No pressure always makes the process more enjoyable!

[Rachel H]

I like the Eddie along idea! I have an official medical exemption from the Harlot for the knitting Olympics themselves (not me, someone in my family that's going to need some extra help for the next while), but this sounds like something I could do!

[PumpkinMama]

Aha! That makes much more sense. I have never heard of such things. You Utah-ians (is that right?) have so many interesting ways about you. ;-)

Love the Eddie-Along, that is certainly something I can commit to easily. Great idea.

[Judy]

Now that's a kal that I can enjoy stress free.

[Cassie]

I really appreciate your relection on appreciating the things we have. I love the William Morris quote: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

[Sneaksleep]

I have a feeling that about halfway through the Knitting Olympics, I may be switching from Team Cable to Team Eddie. *sheepish grin* It's good to know I'll have somewhere to go when reason finally overcomes ambition. :)

[ann]

thank you for the flag explanation (of which I read every single word!). I have to say that it was puzzling to read that flags are required to cross the street and I was wondering if you were all parading around with your own personal flags ..... frankly it was freaking me out a bit.

[Lee Ann]

I'm finding it extraordinarly hard to savour the toilet brush. Just sayin'...

Savouring the Corriedale I'll have to spin to use for my Olympic project, on the other hand, is going to be loooovely....

[Jennifer]

I joined the knitting Olympics, but kind of regretted it afterwards. I'm a person who likes a little pressure, but this may be too much. Perhaps I should take a step back, eh?

[Peg]

Thanks for this, Margene. I am not a big fan of vacuuming (today is the day) but when I do it, I get to see all the photos of family and friends and give them a dust and a comment! The end result is so satisfying and I will remember how fortunate I am to have a safe home to clean. I had forgotten about Eddie the Eagle - I am going to knit a simple shawl that Susan recommended, so must dye my wool and be ready for Feb. 1-. If I crash land like Eddie, that will be okay, after all it is about the process! Eh?