Around the World in 80,000,000 Stitches: Greetings from the Middle East

Shalom Y'all!

This week (and next) I’m knitting in Israel. Today we went to the open market, which features stalls filled with fruit and veggies and clothes and—pretty much you name it, they got it. There are also lots of little shops and we tracked down a store with yarn but not much. So I’m still on the hunt for Tel Aviv’s answer to HCW. Meanwhile, I have a couple of travel related thoughts, epiphanies, and other revelations.

First of all, right before I left, my latest issue of VOGUE Knitting arrived. Nice timing. I packed it for my trip, which included 17 hours in the air and about 8 hours of layovers (hey, at least 7 of those hours were in Paris where, yes, I did some shopping right in the airport). For as much as I enjoyed the latest VK, even I can’t make a single magazine last that long. So I also treated myself to a PEOPLE magazine. Sometimes I think that’s the real reason I fly places—the airport is about the one place I can give into my guilty-pleasure PEOPLE reading.

I believe it was with Suzanne, back when we were flying to Market in January, that I had a conversation about how these days we don’t even know anyone in PEOPLE anymore. I was thinking about that as I read my two in-flight magazine choices. And what really cracked me up was that I recognized a lot more names (of designers, companies, yarn, and related products) in VOGUE Knitting than I did names of today’s celebs in PEOPLE. And I also got a whole lot more excited looking at the patterns in VK than I did looking at half-naked starlets on the beach in PEOPLE.

So I think I’ve entered a new phase. I remember realizing I was middle-aged when, instead of reading magazines featuring cover images of women who apparently never ate, I started buying magazines that featured high fat food on the cover. Now, move over food pictures, I only want magazines with cover photos of things I can make myself with needles and yarn. I think I’ll stick with this phase for a very long time.

And speaking of knit magazines—I interviewed designer Cathy Payson awhile back for INTERWEAVE Knits. I’ve been thinking of Cathy for a couple of reasons lately. First, she’s one of the guest teachers for the knitting retreat I’m going on starting September 12^th. That’s the Knitting and Yoga Adventures trip, and this’ll be my third year. If you haven’t been, let me tell you, it’s out of this world, on a tiny island off the coast of Maine. I know it’s short notice but I think there are a few slots left so if you want to join us, check out the website and you can also read the blog I write for the group.

The other reason I’ve been thinking about Cathy is because she told me that when she travels she sees ideas for knitting everywhere she looks. Me, too. Come to think of it, Jared Flood (aka Brooklyn Tweed) showed us images of a hat and the Seattle library he designed the hat after, and also some Roman architecture that influenced his work. So in the past few days I’ve had a lot of inspiration—especially in the Paris airport and in the Tel Aviv open market. I’ll post some of those inspirational pictures soon.

Shalom!

Spike