Earthiness

So Project Spectrum is all about Earth. I am visiting mis padres for the weekend in NJ and scoured the house for green, brown, and metallics.

Here are some that are green:

The top two are pretty self-explanatory. I loved them when I read them as a child and I will love them until I die. Henry Green is such an under-read writer and Loving is excellent at portraying the daily goings-on of a "family" of servants. The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is one of my all-time favorite books. Yukio Mishima was deeply disturbed (as evidenced by his rabid obsession with weightlifting and eventual death by ritual suicide), but his books are intense and moving and ask big questions about how violence intertwines with beauty and sexuality.

Here are some that are brown:

Again, several are self-explanatory. As much as I get annoyed sometimes at Sylvia Plath's "I have it so hard because no one understands what it is to be beautiful and talented" tone, I still think The Bell Jar and much of her poetry demonstrate that she was one of the strongest women's voices in literature, ever. The Talented Mr. Ripley was turned into a pretty good movie, but the book is far more intense. I heart Patricia Highsmith. The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction is a fascinating history book about what happened to a group of Irish Catholic orphans around the turn of the century. In New York, where the Irish were looked upon with disdain, no "white" families wanted Irish orphans so they were sent to Mexican Catholic families in Arizona. In Arizona, however, where Mexicans were looked upon with disdain, the white families took away the "white" children from the Mexicans and threatened to lynch the local priest. It's an incredibly crazy look at how relative our definitions of race really are.

Here are some other earthy things:

A tiny potted cactus.

Moss growing in a pot my mother left out on the deck all winter.

Eight silver pear-shaped salt and pepper shakers. Can't figure out why my mother has eight.

Our faithful upright piano. He's been with us since I was in middle school.

A whorled knot in our deck.

Earth-inspired knitting:

I bought some Great Adirondack Sirino the other day because I am in loooooove with this color. It's Irish Cream. I want to buy some Bailey's so I can engage in some tipsy knitting. I'm going to turn this into "Diamonds and Triangles" from Victorian Lace Today.

Also, here is an ancient FO:

This was basically my first serious knitting project. Clapotis. In 2006, I bought 7 balls of Rowan Tapestry from a yarn store that I have since stopped patronizing because of meanness. It cost about $60 and I had a minor heart attack because I was spending that much money on yarn. Ha. If only I had known it was the beginning of a downward spiral of yarn spending. I made this and gave it to my mother, but only used 5 of the 7 balls. It's not as wide or long as I had planned, but the yarn has worn surprisingly well. My mom loves it, but she deserves one that she can wear more comfortably without pulling. I'm going to buy some more Tapestry and make her another one.

In closing, I realized I have just been tagged by both KnitWit and Vorare for blog awards. I am really bad with computers and it took me this long to notice what was going on. Thank you both for the kudos!

Here's my list of blogs that make me happy/blogs that are excellent:

Ask a Korean! - This guy is hysterical. I'm Korean and it's always wonderful to have someone explain it all so that others can figure out the difference between what's culture and what's stereotype. I also love people who are unapologetic about referring to themselves in the third person.

Domesticrafts - Her cats are the cutest I have ever seen. The cutest. She provides drink recipes. Me like. I am jealous of her beautiful house.

Elliphantom - I love the photos and their captions on this site. It was one of the first ones I started reading and it makes me feel nostalgic for when I thought I could never knit the "hard" things.

Fluffbuff - Francesca's knitting is beautiful, but I also love that she's following her heart and starting up a whole 'nother blog about cooking and culinary school. I'll be reading and wishing I could be eating.

HeyOkay - This site is just funny. Weird, hysterical photos. There's also one in the archives of a rastafari crocheting something large on the subway while wearing an entire crocheted outfit. Crazy.

Knitting on Impulse - This site is pretty and I love her jewelry designs.

LollyKnitting Around - Lolly is also one of the first blogs I started reading. I love her photos, her nature walks, and Project Spectrum.

NiñaBomba - This is the cutest website and her knitting is fabulous. I also love that it's in both English and Spanish so I can practice reading Spanish and keep myself from getting too rusty.

Sixoneseven - Again, gorgeous photos. Before I knew that knitters and knitbloggers were mostly friendly people, I wrote her an email to ask her a question about a certain yarn. I was scared b/c I'm pretty shy and didn't think she'd respond to li'l ol' me. But she did and was so nice that I realized I was being a scaredy cat for no reason. Her knitting and recipes are wonderful.

Tiennie Knits - Tiennie is the sweetest. Her children are wonderful sock models. Her knitting is gorgeous. I love reading her blog.