Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Homesick

As autumn rolls in on the cooler breezes my mind drifts back to my time spent at Binghamton University. I always become homesick for that wonderful place when the leaves start to change here on the Island. I miss all the beautiful colors that dappled the mountains and when the sun would set the entire place looked as if it was on fire. I really miss having a cider mill in the next town over that shipped directly to campus. If I did not feel like taking the short drive to Enidcott I could pick up some cider and candy (cinnamon of course!) apples from the dinning hall. Scott and I would always take the ride over because you could only get their cinnamon apple doughnuts straight from the mill. We would also pick up some apples; they had rows upon rows of different varieties, more than you would ever see in any ordinary super market. The pies baked with those apples were the best I have ever made. I really do miss being up there so to curb my homesickness a bit I wanted to make something that really made me feel like I was back in one of my most favorite places.

I have been sitting on a skein of Socks that Rock Tigers Eye for quite some time now with no real plans for this beauty. It was a left over skein from the sock that I made for Scott when I was new to sock knitting and wasn’t sure how much yarn his size 12 feet would need. I knew that this skein was destined for something other than socks so I search Ravelry for some ideas and I kept coming back to the Chevron Scarf that has bewitched so many knitters. I also had a skein on Monsoon that was half knit up as Inside Out Socks that never fit right with me. This was my first attempt at toe up socks and I made the foot too small for my comfort so a trip to the frog pond was in order. I washed the skein and dried it so I could get the kinks out and started knitting. At first I wasn’t sure if the colors really went together. I always loved the way that they were knitting up but in the back of my mind I was wondering if people would be revolted by the scarf when I walked down the street. I asked the lovely people on ravelry and flickr what they thought and the majority confirmed that the colors were working together. This was a quick knit when I actually sat down to knit. The pattern was easily memorized so it was a good project to keep in my purse or car.

Chevron Scarf

These two colors together remind me of Binghamton; of the deciduous trees all alight with color mixed with the firs, or the sun setting and illuminating the winter forest. Now I can wrap myself in these memories every fall and feel just a little closer to the place I miss so much.

1 comment:

Gabi said...

Dear Christine

I enjoyed your post as I can totaly relate to the feeling of homesickness! I really enjoyed the creative way in which you try to deal with this homesickness through knitting. It is definitely not something I would have thought of, but losing yourself in the colours is something that appeals to me. I am a first year student at Rhodes University in South Africa and have had a fair share of homesickness throughout the year. I have recently started blogging with a group of students and one of my posts was about the "homesickness beastie" and how it affected me. Feel free to check it out on our blog