Due to creative doldrums, I have been off the blogging sphere for months. Additionally, the challenges we’re facing in the United States and the world have contributed to my malaise. Perhaps due to global chaos, I wanted to gain control of what I could. So, roughly two years ago, I took a look inside my bursting-at-the-seams walk-in closet and realized that amassing new garments was not bringing me joy, as per Marie Kondo. How much shit do I need to own?
Also, I didn’t feel compelled to write about the toxicity of the fashion industry. Besides, few novel concepts piqued my interest and fed my aesthetic appetite.
The more I observed Americans mindlessly purchasing fast fashion, the more empty I felt. Our used garments and waste are shipped to Africa, China and beyond. Actually, China doesn’t even want our excess anymore. Hopefully, Elon Musk will task himself with building a new business called “Space-Haul”, enabling space ships, launched from abandoned shopping malls’ parking lots, to haul our detritus to a nearby planet.
So instead of buying more clothing, I resolved to buy less in 2019. Thus far, the goal has been met. I have spent 40% less than I normally do on clothing, shoes and accessories. When I want to buy something, I think about it for days on end and contemplate ramifications of the purchase.
A couple of months ago, I donated a quarter of my goods, books and household appliances to Vietnam Veterans of American. A pickup can be scheduled online to conveniently haul away your excess. So watch out for some stylish female Vets strutting around in Prada eating off vintage china, Mrs. Maisel style.
Though I haven’t been writing consistently, I still engage in creative fashion pursuits by being involved in monthly meetups with a savvy and terrific group of knitters who share knitting techniques and projects all while drinking sangria. The repetitiveness and mindlessness/mindfulness of knitting are soothing. The rhythmic dance of the needles forming stitches immediately relaxes me, much like meditation, and produces something I can say is my own.
For months I have been saving knitting ideas to a shared Pinterest board with my knitting buddy, Jamie. She introduced me to Daniella Gregis, an Italian knitwear designer, whose unconventional proportions, raw seams, structures, and fiber texture combinations draw from a Japanese aesthetic.
While I am not one for shawls or wraps, which conjure up images of the geriatric set, Daniella’s designs have managed to update this category and make them edgy with asymmetric designs and color blocking. Holes, hanging threads, uneven blocking give the shawl a contemporary twist.
Using several of her designs as inspiration, I set out to create my own wrap design. It took me months to complete this damned thing. I still haven’t mastered how to unravel and correct incorrect stitches. So I put my knitting on hold until Jamie or my fellow knit buddies correct the damage I’ve done to my poor knits. Much doesn’t get accomplished during our monthly knit meetups since the sangria pitchers are overflowing and the stitches dropping. Usually, I can get through a row, though barely, as I sit gabbing with sangria dripping down my face. My knitting friends look at me intently and ask: “How many more times are you going to fuck this up? Maybe you need to stop multitasking-knitting under the influence leads to very twisted stitches.” Hum, good point, but I need to take advantage of my $10 all-you-can-drink sangria before the end of our session. Surely I can not be wrong about this, right? Purl me knot!
Tah-dah! No shawl is complete without a gargantuan button, platter size. Can eat off it if push comes to shove.
I bid you all farewell until the New Year. I am hopeful that I can get my creative, sangria induced mojo back. Stay creative, because look around you, most people simply aren’t. Keep calm and knit and don’t forget to follow @prettycripple on Instagram.