Fitting for the season I seem to be very in-between. In-between projects, in-between decisions to make and a bit in-between waiting for the storm to pass the East Coast ... simply in-between.
The weekend was slow, thankfully so. I watched a lot of movies with DH (it is always a treat when he is not on stand-by on weekends or has to work) and was able to finish almost 2 stockings (I knit the rest last evening). They are knee-length, so I think stocking is more fitting than sock.
You can see, we watched a LOT of movies over the weekend (Snow White and the Huntsman, MIB3, the new Conan with Jason Momoa, Avengers Assemble and some TV series episodes, we don't have much time to go to the cinemas).
The socks feels good but I don't like the colour very much. It was a dye experiment with natural colour extracts which ended up looking like cat breakfast. You know, the kind of yarn that looks at least good in skein but ends up nondescript in knitting? But I needed some medium thick stockings for my boots come winter, they will be mostly unseen for the rest of their natural life, and I can always throw them in the indigo vat ;o)
Then I began some more tablet weaving. This time, I wanted to try pattern weaving on a longer band. It's all very nice on a foot long band or so but I want to practice some consistency and therefore warped a 3m warp. And since I didn't want to be bound at the warp the whole time (the last band I wove like a backstrap loom attached to a belt around my hips), I warped it around my inkle loom. This seems to work great so far. The yarn is just some sock yarn left overs. And I have to work on my selvedges.
Here you can see the whole contraption.
The armchair is something else I brought back from France. It's from a dumpster site and was in really good condition. Only the cushion looked bad. But when I removed the cover I found that the cushion itself was clean and good looking, so I removed the cover completely and sewed on some molton. I think, this fabric it's called hush cloth in English. It's rather thick, very soft cotton used in baby nappies and in theatres to control accoustics. It feels a bit like felt and sews like it because the cotton plain weave is roughened. Anyways, it is now the dust cover for the cushion. The blue velveteen is planned for the decorative cover but I didn't get to cutting it yet. (Another in-between project)
I know, it might sound strange to get an armchair from a dumpster site but it is really clean and there is nothing wrong with it. And it is just the kind of armchair I was looking for. Over the last few years I scoured a lot of antique shops, ebay and, yes, dumpster sites for an armchair like this. My other armchair is an English second hand leather club chair. And they are both very comfortable.
The blue cloth on the dressmaker's dummy is another in-between project. It will be a shirt as soon as I close the side seams. And then I will sew in some folds (that's why it is on the dummy, I wanted to see where to put the folds) to give it some kind of shape.
And according to the season, I wanted to say a thing or two about Halloween
I am slowly getting used to it.
Halloween is not a traditional holiday in Germany. Yes, people begin having Haloween parties now but it's just because we are bombarded with it in US TV shows and movies. Traditionally we had All Hallow's Day and All Soul's Day. Both were religious holidays, the former for protestants and the latter for catholics. Both are to remember your late ancestors, family and friends. People still visit the graves on these days and have masses and light candles. Not much fun and since I'm an unbeliever, I didn't celebrate it.
And the imported fun is getting stronger every year. Only 10 or 15 years ago, no one celebrated any kind of Halloween in Germany.
The holiday which it could be compared to much better was Walpurgis Night (the night between April 30th and May 1st). Where I come from it is called Witch Night (Hexennacht) and the children go out "witching" i.e. doing all kinds of mischief like painting doors, closing windows shut, name it you get it. And believe me, there was no alternative like trick OR treat and no treat either ;o) And no pumkins. Walpurgis Night is a rather pagan and very mischievious spring celebration. No wonder Goether packed it into his Faust.
And in the region of Hessia where I was born and raised, we had special winter cast out celebration. It was called Hutzelfeuer and was hold on the first sunday of Lent. Hutzelsonntag would mark the beginning of Lent and the end of winter.
Weeks before it, we would collect the christmas trees from the houses and built a huge bonfire. On top of it was an wooden effigy representing winter. And on Hutzelsonntag eve, the bonfire would burn. The children would go from house to house, chanting a song about how winter was to be cast out and they got some treats. And the villages would compete with one another who'd have the largest bonfire.
Where I come from is a hill region called The Rhön. Geologically, it's volcanic in origin. Rather old and the hill tops were somewhat grinded down by glaciers. The tallest hill is The Wasserkuppe with nearly (almost) 1000m. But most hill tops are around 450 - 550m. Naturally, we would built the bonfire on the highest point of the village. And you could see across the hills all the bonfires of the other villages. A bit like the signal beacons in the Lord of the Rings. Just not that alpine ;o)
But that was when I was a child, I don't think it is still done.
I have nothing against Halloween. On the contrary, I like most Halloween episodes in TV shows, and I can see the appeal it has. But it's a bit saddening to see that native traditions are being pushed aside. They are a bit like neophytes, always a bit stronger with more allure to them.
On that note a somewhat early Happy Halloween. And may the storm be merciful to all our friends on the East Coast.