>After a storm front or cold front has pushed through this area, blasting away some of the mid-August heat and humidity, there’s a refreshing chill in the nighttime air that hints at delights to come. Autumn is my best season. That’s when I am the most energized and productive. Designing with wool, cashmere and alpaca becomes doable after a long hot summer of abstinence. Buried under piles of garment samples deep within the recesses of a storage closet, my favorite crocheted jackets and sweaters are once again speaking to me.
There is one event left in this detestable month that I really anticipate. Despite the fact that I know it is a non-event staged by retailers, totally commercial and crass, I truly enjoy the “Back-to-School” thing. Let me be clear. I detest school, always have. The mere thought of entering a school building gives me the willies. And I’m not talking about the migraine-inducing shopping one is compelled to do when there are kids at home. Now that my nest is empty and those headaches are a vague memory, I find I just love shopping for school supplies.
Is it heaven wandering up and down the aisles, eyeing the reams of loose-leaf and printing paper, stacks of pristine composition books, tabbed dividers and report covers, orderly racks of Sharpies (hey, you know they got Sharpie pens now that don’t bleed through???) and ink refills, boxes of fresh pencils. Doesn’t the smell of cedar pencil shavings make you drool? My favorite pencils are Ticonderoga, for no other reason than I have positive associations with the name. One of the loveliest rock ballads from my days as a disc jockey is the little known album track “Ticonderoga Moon” by Orleans.
One can easily rationalize excessive back-to-school buying. Prices are better. Many supplies being offered are useful and necessary for my work. At least that’s what I tell myself as I am loading up the cart (s). Aren’t pencil boxes amazing? Perfect for storing crochet hooks and double-point knitting needles and stitch markers as well as the odd pencil. Toward my goal of being less wasteful, I endeavor to work electronically whenever possible using as little paper as possible. But there are crochet design tasks that require pen or pencil and hard copies. I still scrawl patterning notes, diagrams and schematics in notebooks, filling them with abandon. If you have paper, you need paper clips, right? Wow, those clear plastic rulers are indispensable for measuring gauge.
And just like the yarn and crochet tool acquisition syndrome, it doesn’t matter how many packages of stuff you already have squirrelled away; impulse purchases made the same time a year (several years) ago. One can never be too rich or own too many spiral-bound notebooks.
But if I were going back to school (shudder), this is what I’d wear: jeans and T-shirt (why are you not surprised?) topped with the
Caron Lacy Jacket. Because I can’t wear wool and other animal fibers, I often work in non-allergenic Simply Soft. So here’s mine in the shade Denim Heather. Cropped does not work for me, so I added three rows to the body length to get the peplum trim to hit at top-of-hip. And as I suggested at the end of the pattern, I steamed the lace trim to get it to lie smoothly.
What you don’t see is my most recent and prized back-to-school purchase. On my feet are my newest high-top Converse All-Star Chuck Taylors. One green and one blue.
Well, yes. Zoe Saldana’ Uhura is much younger, curvier and hotter than me. And her uniform dress is scandalously short and fitted. But you get the idea. Even we geeky fan girls can play dress up once in a while.
One to beam up!
