My Ears ARE in fact burning

I have to say thank you.

Thank you for all the great comments on these mittens.

Thank you to everyone who has favourited it or commented on these mittens on Ravelry. Thank you to Pinneguri for nominating the mittens for the Bobbys 2007 in the category of Most Colorful Project, I don't think they'll win, but I'm extremely honoured that they're nominated to be among the technicolor rainbow.

Thank you to all the people that have looked, commented and favourited this photo on Flickr, it's now by far my most popular photo. I'm honoured that it's not only knitters, but regular photographical folk who have given this bunnie props. Thank you to all the Montreal knitters who have ooooed and aaawwed and helped with the colour changes on these mittens.

I feel humbled if they have in any way inspired other people's knitting. I am especially humbled by all the people from Nordic countries who have paid enough attention to them to favourite/comment. Not being a big researcher and not living with the traditions, I co-opted a traditional pattern, technique to use with my own possibly non-traditional aesthetic. So it's like my cavalier attitude to colour/pattern usage is somehow validated by being favourited by someone in Finland.

I suppose it doesn't make sense for me to feel like I've somehow bastardised a tradition just by changing colours & adding more, but I can be all crazy like that. The same kind of crazy that chooses to spend a day each mitten to weave in a bazillion ends instead of having non-precise, hand felted colour changes. But that's just how I roll.

And most of all, I'd like to thank Marcia for inspiring these mittens. Without that simple phrase 'autumnal colours' these mittens would never have been cast on.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Yay for your awesome mittens!! Although, I still love the squirrel ones the most.
Ali P said…
Wowsers. Should we call you the MittenArtist now? They truly are wonderful and a testament to diligence paying off. I so would not have done it lazy sod-ess that I am.
Missed ya last night. It was a fairly tame Wednesday but enjoyable all the same. Hope you are well.
Sarah A. said…
Yay! Sharon's back in town! I'm excited to hear all about your Christmas holidays.

Alip: I suppose if you like...be prepare for me making strange/silly/weird faces if you do though. I ditched knitting for homemade pizza chez mon frère so don't worry about me. But I think a new cold may be developing...or maybe I'm just allergic to the roommate's cat...
Pinneguri said…
Do you get the feeling you some how don't deserve it? I am very surprised you are surprised, your mittens are knitting art (as I have stated many times ...).
Sarah A. said…
Hrm. That's a hard thing for me to answer. It's not that I don't think the mittens don't deserve the attention they've been getting...or that I'm not a skilled enough knitter to have made them.

Maybe it's just that I've spent so much time knitting by myself, making things up, knitting for non-knitters, with no idea of what other knitters do/make that I'm constantly surprised about how people react to what I knit and my attitude towards knitting.

Especially as I've never knit a pair of socks for myself that have fit perfectly (always on the loose side) or a sweater that I've wanted to wear everyday (two of the in progress ones are now in a time out for misbehaviour).

And throwing the term Art around adds a whole other conversation. Yes, I agree that knitting can be an art more than *just* a craft, but I don't really consider myself a knitting artist. Mostly because I feel that Art requires some intent in the creation and my cavalier, grab some yarn & go attitude, doesn't (to me) fulfil that criteria.

But I'm honoured that you feel that the term applies. Not because it's not really deserved but more because it's not the attention I was aiming for, but just a great pair of mittens for a swap partner. Something to help comfort during the most depressing season.
MarciaViola said…
Here is the swap partner.

You very well deserve the Bobby and all kids of other trophies for this piece of art. I mean it!

And for the "most depressing season": I am wearing your mittens since yesterday ALTHOUGH it is very springlike here in Germany right now. I just felt the mittens and their maker deserve it.

One of Germanys greatest poet, J.W.Goethe, said when he was praised for his work and others in the group wanted to "protect" him from so much attention: "You have no idea, how much praise I can take!"

Go for it!

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