Modern-day Pilgrimage

Prologue

My new studio

So we've moved yet again, digging up the roots we'd firmly established in England so that we could start a new chapter in America.  In August we touched down in Boston, a city heaped in history; having soaked up so much of it while we were there, I feel more like I'm about to write the story of our journey long-hand in some pilgrim's annal rather than typing on a laptop.  While our journey can in no way compare with the challenges faced by early-day pilgrims, it feels like a minor epic.  An epic-ette. 

When we got to Boston we stayed for about a week in a studio hotel suite then moved into a furnished apartment in a high rise downtown.  It felt like an out-of-body experience for a family of outdoor lovers to be right in the heart of a city, which is relatively small when compared with the likes of London or New York City but still big enough to warrant an incessant cacophony of honking horns, sirens and shouting humans.  We lived there for six weeks.  It was novel at first, with the amazing view of the Charles River in the background; waking up to see the bright sun shining on that beautiful river and the golden dome of the State House in the foreground was stunning.  But no matter how novel or nice a place is, when you're living in a place with very few of your belongings and generic "artwork" adorning the walls, it just feels like a shell.  A nice shell, but a shell none-the-less.  So it was nice when we managed to find a place well outside of the city that we could call home.  We moved to Marblehead about a month ago and I think we're now feeling settled in enough to relax and I'm ecstatic because I once again have a studio, which is my creativity haven.  It's still a shared space like I had in England; I share it with the little whirl-wind of energy who is my daughter - and I love it!

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In the Studio...

Not only did we move to a new house.  Across a pond.  In a different country.  We've also done a bit of travelling to see family and have had family come to visit us.  So while we've been in our house for a month, we've not really had much time to relax.  Still, I've managed to get a little bit of creativity time in; that's the nice thing about working in crochet - you can do a little bit, put it away, pull it out, work a bit and put it back again...  A necessity when you've got a new toddler on the run (or stumble!).  And as per usual, my creative endeavors were inspired by this little ball of delight - and balls of yarn - and from my visit with my mom.  During that trip to visit family I saw my mom, who lovingly shared some cool patterns with me for these vintage-inspired doilies; I suck at following patterns but I'm really good at free-form crocheting so I used that experience as my inspiration to create some doilies to decorate Maisie's room.  It's a work in process - I envision lots more of these little doilies and eventually some other funky bits of vintage styled art.  Stay tuned to see how it develops! 

They say necessity is the mother of invention; the change of seasons drove me to my next creative project: a beanie for my little bean.  I've been making these since I was pregnant, so the concept is nothing new, but the designs always are.  I just love this little hat!!

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From the Library...

I read once that a book finds you when you're ready for it.  I was so excited when I read about this book being released and my mother-in-law, who is so amazing at remembering such things, kindly gave it to me for Christmas last year.  I've stared at it on my shelf over the last year, longing to read it but somehow not feeling quite ready.  I can't really explain why.  I just finished reading a great book and was ready for a new read, but hadn't really settled on what that might be.  Then it was Halloween and my husband gave me the great idea that I should dress up as Rosie the Riveter.  This inspired me to do a bit of research into Rosie which I'm glad that I did; I learned that the much-loved image that we associate with this propagandist icon turned symbol of feminism was based on a painting by Norman Rockwell; Rockwell based his depiction of Rosie on Michelangelo's painting of the prophet Isaiah, which adorns the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  Not long after the release of the Saturday Evening Post which used Rockwell's illustration for its cover, a marketing company was hired to create an image which could be used as a recruitment tool to encourage women to do their part to support the country during WWII.  Because of copyright issues, the company came up with the image that is now popularly associated with Rosie the Riveter.  All of this made me reflect on the women of the 40s who were called to duty and how this shaped the workforce of the 50s.  Naturally, I had no choice by to grab this book from the shelf.  It's riveting, to say the least.  Pardon the pun.