Some interesting knitting links

Parking metre cozy by Janna Maria Vallee

Yarnbombing:

• Yarn bombing: improving the urban landscape one stitch at a time
• Ladies fancywork society
• Yarn bombing UK DIY
• urban knitting: the world’s most inoffensive graffiti

Artyarn.org: “a collaborative fibre arts project”

Victoria and Albert: great page of knitting links, including these marvelous pictures of items in the collection, and a very good links page (knitted Elvis wig, anyone? Historical patterns?)

Casglu’r Tlysau/Gathering the Jewels: decorative knitting sheaths

Open Directory: page of links

Knitting bloggers ring

World wide knitting in public day

I can’t believe

I missed Geek Pride Day!

Have become a knitting geek these past few months. No doubt it is avoidance of various sorts, as well as the most recent manifestation of what is clearly an obsessive streak, but at least it is productive. Even calming.

They don’t sell “I knit so I don’t kill people” tee-shirts for nothing.

Two great loves, together at last

Outlander.

Ahoy.

Beam me up.

Book arts and words, locally

Three bookish events of note happening in the vicinity:

Exhibition: “The Art of the Book” at the Harriet Irving Library, UNB, Fredericton campus, courtesy of the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild. ‘Til May 31/09.

Call for proposals: As Beyond Words was such a success, the Saint John Arts Centre invites proposals for Beyond Words: Volume Two. Deadline June 1/09.

Writing workshop: 2009 Great Blue Heron Writing Workshop, St. Francis Xavier University, June 30th–July 5th, 2009. Deadline June 1/09.

Those of you who,

like me, go on a reading binge once marking is finished: you may want to give Amazon a pass. It turns out they have a shockingly, if inconsistently, homophobic glitch in their rankings software. (Reminds me of the scandal almost five years ago when progressives were put off to discover that Amazon gives significant contributions to the American Republican party.) So please consider giving your cyber-dollars to Canadian Indigo.com instead, or ordering from the publisher. Or better yet, get out in this lovely spring weather and patronize your local independent bookstore.

[cross-posted]

Note to self:

Find Sean Shesgreen’s article on the NAEL, in Critical Inquiry (via). His stuff on street literature is really good; be interesting to read his take on how the other half lives.

New blogging project:

Stories my father told me.

Yes, Jinker Boy, there is a Santa Claus

So the Jinker Boy wants a Wii for Xmas. He wrote a letter to that effect at school, but in French, which worried him.

JB: Does Santa Claus read French?
Me: Santa Clause is multilingual. And when he comes across something he doesn’t understand, he asks an elf.

So about the Wii. I can’t find one. I spent one day driving hither and yon following rumours from various store clerks, only to be finally told that they could not be had for love nor money east of Montréal. So I went home and tried to prepare JB.

Me: JB, there was an article in the paper about toy shortages.
JB: Toy shortages?
Me: Yes. Santa was interviewed and he said that he has not been able to get hold of all the toys that he needs. There was a list of shortages, and I’m afraid the Wii was on it.
JB: The Wii?
Me: Yes, there won’t be enough for everyone. So I don’t want you to be disappointed if you don’t get one. None of the other things on your list were in the article.
JB: But no Wii?
Me: Maybe not. But if you don’t get one, we will find one ourselves after Christmas, okay? When we are down visiting Nonna.
JB: Can I see it?
Me: Hmm?
JB: Where it says in the paper.
Me: Oh. Um, I didn’t save it.
JB: What paper?
Me: Pardon?
JB: What paper was the story in?
Me: Er. The Toronto Star [to which we have no subscription].
JB: Not the Globe [to which we do subscribe]?
Me: No.
JB: [after a moment] Wouldn’t it be in the other papers too?
Me: Look over there!

John White’s

16thc watercolours of the “new world” at the Smithsonian.