justifications

Being raised in Eastern Oregon was a privelege. As a child, I didn't realize how blessed I actually was. Growing up under a large sky where you could spend the summers watching the thunder and lightning come and go, and the winters wearing snowsuits and black rubber overboots.  My mother and father were home every night,  and we ate every meal together after saying Grace.  Dad would head out every morning after breakfast to work the place with my  Uncle and Grandfather, and mom would clean, cook, milk cows, and sew for us kids and the home. We had a large garden and enjoyed 'organic' bounty from it, and ate Beef, Chicken and Pork, Elk and Venison- sometimes Rabbit as a bounty from the Ranch.  

4-H was something every kid who lived on a ranch participated.  I had an animal every year starting with a Lamb, and when I was big enough, a  Steer.

I learned how to knit, crochet, sew, do Leathercraft, identify meat cuts, bake, can and keep records of all of it from my leaders who were women that did the same things my mother did.

I learned from my dad and uncle how to ride a ranch horse, build fence, brand a calf, pull a calf, how to tell when a heifer or cow was going to calve, how to tame a weiner calf to be a good 4-H beef, how to rope, and a zillion other things I probably have forgotten.

The point is, where I live now, here in the dampness of Western Oregon, I feel much stronger than my neighbor because of how/where I was raised. I have learned resourcefulness, courage in hard times, responsibility, independence, and I can survive in a disaster, AND take care of those around me. 

        The other thing is, I feel rather alone at times, because there are few people I connect with in quite the same way, who have similar upbringings or backgrounds. My knitting group is great, and I like spending time with them, but I always feel like the misfit. I'm a cowboy living in the city. Like Crocodile Dundee in New York..

So am I whining? A little. Sometimes I feel cheated out of the life I was supposed to have, thanks to poor choices in careers and men.  I  want those lost years back. It's difficult to keep looking ahead, wondering how our country is going to fare in the next few years. I think about the  big picture and try to see how it will affect my world. 

In the meantime, I have kids to raise, living by example as best I can, hoping these children will make more intelligent decisions than I did when I was their age. Innocence is so precious, but they need to know. Be prepared.

What does all of this have to do with making stuff? Well think about it. Everything we are as artists manifest in the things we create. A co-worker, (who does Woodturning) was talking openly about his wife's cancer at our lunch table .  We, (those sitting around him) have been up to speed on the ongoing events, so I thing he felt comfortable with what he said. "During my wife's time of Chemo, she was violently ill. I found that the things I was turning at that time had become part of what she was experiencing" He also said he looks back on those creations, and nobody wanted them. Everything else sold, or was given away, those pieces sat on the shelf. Do you see? I see him turning, thinking about his wife, and Cancer, and being alone, death, anger, - all of it poured into those turnings. They are representations of what he was feeling. 

I make things because I can, and I make things because it's the best way I can express myself. 

In which we filled up Pam's House

Our first day of the Knitiots from the Heart 2009 met at Pam's house, as usual. Virginia and I arrived a little early to set out munchies and arrange chairs. What we didn't expect was that an idea we came up with over a year ago September has turned into almost 20 members!

What a great feeling, seeing people I work with, in regular clothes, relaxed, knitting, crocheting, laughing, and learning. Normally, (well, sort of) we're busy, working, in scrubs, a certain amount of stress on our shoulders, driven. Surgery is a tough place to work. Even the ones from payroll in our group accumulate some stress.  Having the satisfaction of knowing I did something to make our little world better is an indescribable feeling.  I have a 'bucket list', and  I can already check off one of my entries! :)

We have a pretty diverse bunch. Some of us are close to retirement, and enjoy the social aspect of our monthly meetings. I heard a LOT of senior citizen jokes today..

 One young lady sat on the sofa, looking so uncomfortable. She has only two weeks left before her baby girl is born. UGH. I know that feeling. No matter how you sit down, lay down, nothing is comfortable. You just want that  little thing OUT! 

then there's the newbies. Just learning. all that yarn, needles/hooks, and trying to coordinate the hands and eyes to make things we see in those magazines and books. Hell, I've been doing this for almost 30 years now, and nothing I make looks exactly like what the picture does. Virginia and I were talking about how we get 'bored' with patterns, and add our own modifications. Not even a pair of socks look the same. I like to call it 'artistic license' or 'freedom of interpretation' ..

I've never really have been a by-the-book person. 

I've tried to teach the new one a thing or two about knitting and crocheting.. someone else always takes over. Although, I can say I have a monopoly on teaching the crochet. Most of  us in the group are knitters. Since I do both, I have that 'renegade' influence.

We're called 'knitiots from the heart' because  our founding members are employees of Sacred Heart Medical Center (since Aug 2008, Sacred Heart Riverbend), and we consider ourselves 'knitting idiots', because we LOVE to knit! (compress the words, you get Knitiot!) Our meeting place is at Pam's house, she has the most room. There's two huge copper cauldrons full of yarn, mostly from my acrylic collecting at yard sales and goodwills.. when we're not working on personal projects, we knit for local shelters, and other places of need. Scarves, Blankets, hats, mittens, gloves, etc.. anything works! It's always a great device for practicing new stitches and techniques.

I'm excited about this year, with all our new members and new things to learn. I made a resolution to actually make something for myself! I have yarn and a pattern picked out, just need to work it up!

Look out, 2009, here we come!

Hello and Welcome

Howdy! 

Welcome to my blogspot! I decided to follow the pack and get my thoughts and ideas posted on the internet.

Why would I think that people would be interested in reading about me? Heck if I know, why are we human? Maybe I was suppposed to be famous. Maybe I have been famous- in a past life- and can't pass up the idea of someone I don't know paying attention to something I have to share with you! (HA)

I love to make things, come up with ideas on how to improve things, and help people find their own inner creative self. We all have a creative self,  it just manifests differently. That old 'unique' thing about us just cannot be ignored, no matter how you try to hide it.

Lately, I have been listening to my innerself, and boy does she want to write! (It's interesting how, when you hit 40 that things like this happen). I have years of experiences to share, and if it helps only one of you that read this to become a better person, or a more successful crafter, or discover something about yourself that you never knew could be, than my mission will be complete. 

The intention is to get this out daily, but let's just take things one step at a time. I'm still trying to decide wether to work forward or backward from where I am now. 

Have a great day