Tuesday 23 April 2013

4KCBWDAY 2: A Mascot Project

Shadowscapes Tarot







                              4KCBWDAY2


 Your task today is to either think of or research a project that embodies that house/animal. It could be a knitting or crochet pattern – either of the animal itself or something that makes you think of the qualities of that house. 

Alternatively it could be a type or colour of yarn, or a single button. Whatever you choose, decide upon a project and blog about how and why it relates to your house/creature.





  
Well, in a lot of the House of Bee posts yesterday, people were saying about bees having a short span of attention and flitting from one thing to another. Which is kinda true, I guess.

But to me bees are also highly organized and structured - there is a Plan, a bigger picture, behind everything they do; and everything they do has a purpose. Their society and hive living are examples of this: the mathematical perfection of the hexagonal honeycomb, for instance:




 And this is reflected in our crafting lives too - I have just recently bought this book:




For when I have got bored with Granny Squares, my next 'thing' will be hexagons. Which also exist in knitting - a couple of years ago there was a mad trend for the Beekeeper's Quilt, made from Idunnamany 'hexipuffs'. Great for using up leftover odds and ends of yarn (no waste, like bees) but that's what I use for crochet.

So let's talk Bee Queen activity: she's the boss, everyone else lives and dies according to her needs. Yep, I can see the similarity already, can't you ? And as a Boss, I plan. 

I have a queue, recently mostly re-organized, and I have allocated stash yarn to at least the first 6 items. I do trade up and down, and to a lesser degree, swap things out, but it's now largely in order of preference. I have committed to the 'Knit the Queue 2013' concept, meaning that I will try to make things from only my queue, as opposed to some random spontaneous way of selecting a project, but I don't beat myself up too much if I deviate down the scenic route occasionally, as bees do buzz from one flower to the next: not because they are bored, but because they have taken all the nectar that one flower had and need to find something new to satisfy their appetite.

I hope I have managed to convince you that bees really do have Order and Purpose and are no mere grasshoppers, but are closer to ants.


The Ant and the Grasshopper, Aesop's Fable

Enjoy yourself like the Grasshopper by putting 4KCBWDay2 into Google and reading what everybody else has to say.



15 comments:

  1. The Queen is actually the slave of the hive :-) She just has to keep doing what the workers need her to do - lay eggs. *folds hands into steeple and looks deeply into Viv's eyes, like a total guru* So the question is, grasshopper, are you the master or the servant of your crafting?

    I luff a bee.

    Ali x

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    1. Man, stop making me think with your hard questions ! LOL

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    2. *laughs like a maniac and hides behind the sofa*

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    3. No, no - keep asking the hard questions! We want to see Viv's brain s-t-r-e-t-c-h. :)

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  2. I have a fondness for hexagons - the seems somehow more robust and efficient... and tidier :)
    If you can do pentagons as well, I throw down the gauntlet and challenge you to make a Bucky ball :D

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  3. I like it. Next time someone asks why I haven't finished something I'll just tell them that I have derived all the nectar from it that I can.

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  4. I love your commitment. I just pick something out willy nilly when I have the urge. Then when I get stressed from too many projects I try very hard to finished a few.

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  5. Love the knit your queue idea but I'm so easily distracted I don't think I'd ever manage it.

    I bought that crochet book a couple of months ago. I've only made a couple of patterns from it so far. I'd love to have a go at a cushion using the brain-like #140 design

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  6. Oh bees are very organised. They all work together in the hive. I really like your take on it - good luck with the knit the queue 2013!

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  7. I do love the idea of moving on to the next flower as you have taken all the nectar you need - I'm a Monkey with a hint of bee and I can really relate to it. I'm also quite organised too so I am beginning to wonder if my bee is as hidden as it seems ????

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  8. You can't go wrong with an Edie Eckman crochet book - she's got several out there.

    I will need to check out this Ravelry queue-completing group. I need to also clean out/rearrange my queue. It is officially out of control. :)

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  9. You make a good point about bees. If I had thought about the organizational aspect of them, I might not have decided to join the House of Manatee!

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  10. Bees are highly organised and industrious :)

    I've had that crochet book on my Book Depository wish list for a while.

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  11. I hadn't thought about the organizational (ahem, ocd) side of the house of bee yet, either. jolly good call!

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  12. I know they emphasize the "flit" part of the bee, but really, consider the non-stop work ethic they have. And they don't really flit away from one flower to the next without finishing the task, as you pointed out. Now I will consider I am not all "that" flighty!! LOL.

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Thanks ! I love comments :-)