This week, I chat with Jaya Srikrishnan (who goes by Ermabom on Ravelry) and share chart 18 of Gina's Afghan.
Maya Angelou and Writer's Block
I'm listening to Dr. Maya Angelou's Hallelujah! The Welcome Table, on CD, in delightful little bites.
I have always been a fan of hers, but it seems that, whenever I encounter her work, she has written it just for me, right at this moment. I guess that's my way of saying that it speaks to me.
The book is broken into fairly short chapters of memories, spread over a lifetime, of the intersection of food, love, and life. I heard one this morning that was about facing writer's block, a sleepless night, and baking eclairs.
It made me think about the question I seem to ask most creative people. How do you keep your creativity flowing? Which really means, I guess, "Where do you get your ideas?"
I suppose I have always had a theory that most creative people live in two states. I know that I do. I am either afraid of being blocked, or I am blocked. To be fair, I haven't suffered from writer's or knitter's or any other block for a while (knock on wood). But, part of me sits in the very back of my mind, worrying and whispering that it could happen at any time. I could go to the well for an idea and find nothing.
On an entirely different plane, I'm also a fan of a show called Nurse Jackie. During a show last season, Jackie tells another character that she is at the end of her rope. The character replies, "Make more rope." Maybe that's advice I can remember to try if and when I do get blocked again.
Right now, I'm squirreling away anything I find that resembles a good idea, and hoping that my knitting and writing will keep up, too.
Gina's Afghan, Chart 18
This is a simple, easy-to-memorize chart. If you're like me, toward the end of a large project you want two things. You want it to be over and you don't want it to be too daunting. This fit the bill for me.
We are still almost at the end of this series and I still want to hear your opinion about what's next. I'm leaning toward using the calendar as a random number generator. Come visit the Math4Knitters group page on Ravelry and let me know what you think.
Links
Jaya's Blog
Jaya's Diamondback Sweater was published in Interweave Knits in the Winter of 2002/2003. If you've made it, hop onto Ravelry and tell her.
You can learn intarsia from sweaterscapes.com, with a free pattern.
Illusion knitting, also known as shadow knitting, is very well-described at woolythoughts.com.
