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January 20, 2003
"I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.
I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interpostion and nullification; that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be engulfed, every hill shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope.
This is the faith that I will go back to the South with.
With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.
With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to climb up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvacious slopes of California.
But not only that, let freedom, ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi and every mountainside.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, 'Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.'"
--Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
August 28, 1963
Washington, DC
(full text)
Posted by shannon at 11:11 PM | For related posts:
January 19, 2003
Categories
You might notice that there's something new at the bottom of each post -- the "For related posts:" link. I've decided to start using my categories as a way to organize posts about the same project. For example, if you want to see all of the posts about the Baby Blocks, you can.
The system is imperfect for two reasons. First, some projects are small and only have one post, so creating a category just for that one post seems a little silly. For the time being, I'm dealing with that by making some general categories like Baby Hats and Christmas Scarves.
The second problem is that my "Knit Gringa, Knit!" category is a sort of catch-all category (like this post), so using the "For related posts:" link would give you a collection of posts that are, well, unrelated
Ideas?
Posted by shannon at 11:09 PM | For related posts: Knit Gringa, Knit!
January 18, 2003
Vintage Patterns
On New Year's Eve, Jason and I were making some last minute purchases at the grocery store when I spotted Knit It! magazine on the check-out rack. Jason bought it for me, and I've gotten a lot of use out of it. In fact, it taught me how to cable! Anyway, on the last page there is a great historical tibit: it's a reproduction of a WWI poster imploring women to knit for the troops overseas.
The caption ends by saying that you should visit this Red Cross Museum page for vintage knitting patterns. Even if you're not interested in making a Navy Watch Cap or military-standards socks, it's interesting reading!
Posted by shannon at 6:12 PM | For related posts: Knit Gringa, Knit!
January 15, 2003
Blocks
Despite some frustrations, it was all worth it. :)
(Click for larger versions!)
Posted by shannon at 4:16 PM | Comments (3) | For related posts: Juli's Baby Blocks
January 9, 2003
Hats, Revisited
I posted about both of these hats when I finished them, but for obvious reasons I just had to post these pictures as well.
The hat on the left didn't stay around long -- not 2 hours after this picture was taken, the hat was misplaced during the shuffling that went along with a picture-taking extravaganza at the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center. There was no harm done, though... I still had more of the yarn, the pattern is super easy and I was able to quickly churn out a new one
I am told the the Christmas Tree Hat (on the right) was a big hit for the holidays. I credit the model.
Posted by shannon at 12:33 AM | For related posts: Baby Hats
January 8, 2003
Satisfying
I went to Jason's sister's new apartment last weekend to help them move in. I was coming directly from the bus station (just back from a quick out-of-town trip), so I asked R. (Jason's sister) where I should throw my stuff so that it would be out of the way. She directed me to the guest room, and as I entered I noticed that both Jason's mom and brother had worn the scarves I made them for Christmas (picture on the left). That made me smile.
I dropped my stuff on the bed, and as I turned to leave I saw that Jason's brother-in-law has his Gringa-knit Redskins* hat on the dresser (picture on the right). If you look closely, you can see that the baby-sized companion hat underneath.
Anyway, it made my day to see that everybody likes their presents!
*Because I'm a big believer in being nice during the holidays, I resisted the temptation to make a baby Eagles hat instead. But rest assured, it's coming.
Posted by shannon at 11:44 PM | For related posts: Christmas Scarves, For Henry, For John, For Noah, For Shirley
January 6, 2003
All Done!
OK, so I decided I would finished them tonight after all. Despite all of my swearing and protestations, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't really, really happy with them. And just in time for my visit to Bulis tomorrow!
Having said that, I don't know if I'll do them again any time soon.
P.S. -- The colors aren't perfectly accurate in this picture. I took another with the flash, but the colors in that one are a little washed out and too-bright. It's somewhere between the two.)
P.P.S. -- Boogie helped.
Posted by shannon at 2:33 AM | Comments (3) | For related posts: For Juli, Juli's Baby Blocks
January 5, 2003
1 Down, 5 To Go
One block down, five to go. It's a little lumpy (suggestions on how to fix that?) but I'm pretty happy with it.
Posted by shannon at 10:27 PM | For related posts: Juli's Baby Blocks
January 4, 2003
Blocking the Blocks
A picture of the panels of the knitted baby blocks I'm working on, snapped just before I began blocking them. This is my first project that requires precision blocking, and boy do I ever hate it. But the blocks will be cute, and Bulis will be happy. I hope.
Posted by shannon at 2:54 AM | Comments (1) | For related posts: Juli's Baby Blocks