About playing the cello and knitting argyles...

I had mentioned before that my grandmother was a cellist. She played in the local women's orchestra in Stassfurt, Germany. Through an odd turn of events, my grandmother volunteered my mother (who played the piano) to play a solo on the cello at a social function she was attending. To prepare, my grandmother gave my mother crash lessons on the simple piece she was expected to play. A task daunting to any adult, no less a child! When the day arrived for the cello debut, the family readied and departed for the hall. Upon arrival, my mother announced that she had forgotten her music at home. By then, it was too late to return to the house to retrieve the forgotten score. "You'll just have to play from memory," my grandmother told her, "you've practiced it enough." A hard directive. But what choice did she have? At the appointed time, my mother sat with the cello and played her solo -- flawlessly and from memory. I've heard this story told time and again,usually when I was facing a difficult task, or something I really didn't want to do but need to. I had often asked how it was that my mom could have done it, taken an instrument that wasn't hers, an instrument that requires particular nuance and skill to produce any pleasing sounds at all, and perform a solo in public. Her answer was the same each time: "Sometimes you just have to do things. Just put your mind to it." We've all been in similar situations, faced with tasks that we would rather leave to others, because we simply can't. Have you ever seen a fantastic and fabulous knit or crochet design that you absolutely loved, but that you subconsciously removed from your options list by thinking, "I could never do that. It's far too difficult!"? The song from the Broadway show "Avenue Q" reminds us, "There's a whole world outside your apartment!" My adivce is this: if you like it, make it. Turn the can't into can, and just start in! Make the project an adventure, a learning experience. In the class list on page 3 of the newsletter, I have purposely selected a few knitting topics that are designed to break down the barriers we set up for ourselves when it comes to what projects we select. We've admired colorwork in books and on other folks' needles, and now it's time to admire your own colorwork. How to shape garment pieces? After you've made the little baby shrug and learned the tricks to keeping track of several counts at once, you'll be ready to knit anything! This year, explore outside your comfort zone. You can do it! New challenges and discoveries for the new year! Happy New Year, everyone!