Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Random items

Greetings and Dear Cynthia,

Well, I didn't get very much sewing done yesterday, Tuesday, "sewing day". I did get a tiered skirt started, and it is all cut out now and partially sewn together, but to get a truer picture of the final product in all of its gathered glory, we'll have to wait until after sewing day next week. I'm not sure I like the fabrics I chose, but then again, I think I was analyzing it too much yesterday. Next time, I'm going to just pull random fabrics out of the stash and see what I end up with.....well, maybe that's a little bit too willy-nilly for me, so maybe not.....

I continue to work on the hood for my nephew's sweater. The hood is probably about 2/3 of its finished length, but I don't mind too much that it is so mindless.

I've been thinking a little bit about the shootings at Virginia Tech. While I was working out this morning at the gym, I watched the profile of the young gentleman who was shot in the dorm, Ryan Clark. He had a grade point average of 4.0, and was majoring in English, Psychology, and Biology of some sort (though some of the reports about this varied -- regardless, he was a remarkable student). He also spent two weeks each summer for the past eight years working with mentally challenged kids. Even with all of these accomplishments, what really struck me were the great things everybody who knew him were saying about him, and especially that he had a great big smile. I decided that I would try to improve my own world as a result of the publicity this man received under such excruciating circumstances.....and so, I'm going to try to smile more. It probably sounds ridiculous, but if it helps me to be more patient with my kids and friends, or if there is the potential for me to help a store clerk feel her day is a little bit better because somebody smiled at her, then that's what I'll think about when the reports about Virginia Tech continue in the coming days.... I'll let you know if I have any earth-shaking results.....but I don't think I have anything to lose by trying to smile more.....

Anyway, it's a bit gloomy outside today, and colder than it was yesterday, and I think my mood is reflecting that. Fortunately, I think a little bit of knitting now and perhaps a good night sleep tonight will make a difference. I hope this finds you well and, of course, knitting!

Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

the hoodie is just looking better and better every time! :o)
just love the color combo.

Yarngineer said...

I know what you mean about smiling more. I try to smile alot to clerks and strangers. Life is too short to be miserable, and I figure I can just make that day a tad more bearable for someone else. Don't get me wrong...I catch myself in foul moods too. But I try my best not to treat people poorly because of it. I guess it was because I have had people in my life who took out their bad feelings on everyone else, and it just plain sucks! :P

Jenn said...

I like the combination of fabrics for the skirt. I'm not sure what it will look like when you're through (I don't really sew - though I can use a sewing machine and have sewn things when I had to).

I smile a lot of the time at random people. Sometimes this inspires strange responses. Once, a man on the street (after I smiled at him in passing) said, "I love your socks." His eyes were bulging out of his head in a rather crazy fashion when he said this - and I was wearing regular white athletic socks from Lady Footlocker... This ability to smile and converse fairly easily with strangers has led to a number of stalking problems. My current stalker has been around for about 5 years now. This year, he gave me a KitchenAid Professional mixer and an electronic picture frame for Christmas and my birthday. He won't take them back (I give back stuff usually about 2-5 times before I give up). So smiling at people has both advantages and disadvantages.

Anonymous said...

I think that is one of the best things to do right now. We have had some tragedy in our town lately, so the mood of everyone is kind of gloomy, but I will try to smile more and think of what we still have, as opposed to what we have lost.
Thanks.

Molly Bee said...

Great post! Especially about smiling more! Still love that stripey hood!
Smiles!
Molly