Friday, March 07, 2008

Phoenix-like

There's the Mary Ellen Carter ("those who loved her best and were with her to the end will see the Mary Ellen Carter rise again"*).

The University of Chicago seal (I vaguely remember it has something to do with the university arising out of the ashes of a struggling Baptist college, with the help of John D. Rockefeller and Marshall Field).

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ("from the ashes of disaster grow the roses of success"**).

John's Shirt-Yoke Hybrid Sweater.

It's astonishing how much faster it goes when I'm not wringing my hands. Not poring endlessly over Knitting Without Tears and Knitting Workshop (Elizabeth has a much higher opinion of my knitting ability than I do). Not frantically leafing through every other Elizabeth Zimmermann book I own. Not running and re-running the DVDs. Not surfing the Zimmermaniacs and the rest of the Internet for reassurance.

We have a dictum in here Chez WoolGathering (It's right up there with "Never say 'goodbye' without saying 'I love you'" in the Rule Book): mistakes are only bad if you didn't learn anything. I'm keeping careful count, one might even say scrupulous count. Eschewing exciting and absorbing movies. Trying not to succumb to the "been there, done that" mindset (hubris, hubris). Checking and double checking the decrease points. Doing the decreases correctly (I think) this time.

I think I'll name the sweater. It's Fawkes.

*"The Mary Ellen Carter," Between the Breaks, 1979, Stan Rogers .
**"The Roses of Success," Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Soundtrack, 1968, Robert B. And Richard M. Sherman.

1 comment:

Diane H said...

You did it! Fawkes - love it. And the comments at the end of your post.