Forming Beautiful Things and Arranging Them Well

It's the time of year when I am reminded how this part of the world stays so green. It is raining, raining, raining, and it means that I take to the indoors to get some exercise while I wait for breaks in the rain to bring Mr. Seymour out for whatever brief walk we can give him. You can see how he feels about that situation:

The reality of returning to work after the holidays hit me harder than I anticipated last week. It wasn't so terrible... I have come to accept that there is always a pile of things to sort through and a few weird things to figure out, but I think the combination of the dark, rainy days and the added mental work was enough to make me extra lazy last week. It wasn't until later in the week that I returned to my normal crafting activities (because friends don't let tired friends knit, remember).

I am trying to stay consistent with practicing with my dip pens. Whenever I go into a calligraphy kick, I notice how much it forces me to slow down and concentrate. There is nothing quick about calligraphy. I remember one of my instructors sharing this definition:

Calligraphy is the art of forming beautiful symbols by hand and arranging them well. it’s a set of skills and techniques for positioning and inscribing words so they show integrity, harmony, some sort of ancestry, rhythm and creative fire.

When I use calligraphy, I don't really think of it as writing. I think of it as a sort of line drawing that happens to resemble letters. When I shift my brain in this way, then I don't worry about speed or fluidity... I just draw. And with everything that I make with my hands, I notice that  I like it a lot more after I've put it down and walked away for a while. Perspective is a magical thing:

I also think my handwriting has different personalities depending on what I am using it for:

Anyway, apart from playing with my dip pens, I have been trying and trying and trying to keep moving on my current knitting project. I decided to change my original design from a crossover wrap top to a v-neck, but it took me several tries to figure out how to create that neckline working from corner to corner on the bias. After three (or maybe four) cycles of counting, knitting, ripping out and counting again, I finally got something resembling the effect I was going for:

The only thing that is bugging me is how much the fabric is biasing... unless I really stretch it, the pieces are more diamond-shaped instead of square in the corners. I am hoping that a good blocking and a few creative additions will help to balance it out, but we'll see. It's these little details that slow me down. I can't help to look at them and wonder how if this will all go upside down in the end, but maybe once I get things seamed together and start the sleeves, I will feel a little better. Like my calligraphy, I just want to form beautiful things and arrange them well.

I am still totally in love with the fabric, so there is at least that going for me:

Anyway, I think I'll go and get myself a cup of coffee and start on that soon. I hope your new year has been treating you well so far. Have a great week!