Thursday, February 28, 2013

become


Surely a man needs a closed place
wherein he may strike root and,
like the seed, become. But also
he needs the great Milky Way
above him and the vast sea spaces,
though neither stars nor ocean
serve his daily needs. 

~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,
The Wisdom of the Sands

 


 After all the rain we have
had it was nice to see clear
skies so I declared a field
trip day and we headed to
my favorite place,
the beach.

I saw my first ever live
spider crab,
 
and collected lots
of shells, although
no whole sand dollars
on this trip.
 I brought my pi shawl
so you could see it. 
 
Truthfully, after blocking
it really is more the size of a
throw than a shawl.
 
Now that reminds me
of a whole sand dollar!

I used two skeins of
in Oatmeal and two skeins
Denim, all on size 9 needles.
I realized last week while still
knitting on the shawl that I didn't
own a shawl pin. I walked around the
yard until I discovered a stick
from the apple tree. A sharp knife,
a lot of whittling, a Dremmel tool
for sanding and several coats of
Tung Oil later I now have a shawl
pin.
While walking on the beach collecting
shells I had another idea,
how about a shawl pin made
from shells?
 
I collected dozens of sea worn
oyster shells made smooth
over time and brought them
home.

I think it works perfect.
 
Have a fun weekend.
Love,
Tracey 
 




35 comments:

  1. Beautiful Tracey, just beautiful!!!

    I can't wait to get to the beach.

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  2. The shell shawl pin is beautiful. I'm so jealous that I don't have any beaches near me.

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  3. that shawl turned out so lovely. and the shawl pins you made, wonderful! love that picture of the crab. was it big? it looks big in the photo.

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  4. Your shawl is beautiful...I love oatmeal and blue together. You have a real talent in knitting and in finding and making beautiful shawl pins...so creative!! You make me want to go to the beach..right now:) :) We have had such dreary days rain and snow mix...no sun until maybe Sunday or Monday?

    Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures too:)

    Lots of Love....

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  5. Tracey! It's so beautiful!

    When my mother was alive we used to go to the beach and hunt for sand dollars. It was always magical to find a whole one and I remember the way her eyes would crinkle at the corners and her whole face would light up. Thank you for bringing that memory back to me today. (:

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  6. Tracey ~ what a perfect place for photos of your sand dollar pi shawl with the shell pin

    fantastic idea!! it turned out lovely...enjoy the waves ;)
    Melissa

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  7. Could that be a new business? Making pins for knitters out of natural, fun objects?

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  8. yes, indeed, the sanddollar shawl is awesome.
    oh my, seriously, it's just lovely.

    and i do so enjoy your beachy views. so different from what is here.

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  9. Your shawl has turned out fabulous and love the shell clasps.

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  10. wow gorgeous. I love that you made your own shawl pin too...how perfect. I can't believe I'm actually knitting again too it was a bout of sickness that actually made me stop and have the time to finish off Hannah's very long socks and start some others for one of my sisters.

    How is the Paton's Denim to work with? I have a pattern for a lovely cardigan in itI'm thinking of having a go at making in the creamy aran colour.

    Have a good Friday hope it starts of nice and easy like last week.
    Debx

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  11. your shawl and pins are amazing. i love the beach. i think it is my favorite place too.
    have a wonderful weekend.x

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  12. It came out beautifully! I love it!

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  13. ...the shawl is beautiful!...and I love BOTH your shawl pins...

    ~Have a lovely day!

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  14. the shawl is GORGEOUS. I love it! (And I'm so glad you put pictures of you modeling it. I have to admit when I saw the first picture I wondered how it was worn. Your shawl pins are gorgeous! I wouldn't have thought to go out in the yard & find a stick to make one. Awesome!!

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  15. Beautiful!!!! Love the photos by the sea and you look breathtakingly lovely :) I can't wait to finish my pi shawl now!!!

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  16. Oh you wonderfully clever girl! The shell shawl pin is just brilliant!

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  17. Your shawl is so beautiful! I really love both your pins too - so creative!

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  18. That is so gorgeous!! And look at you making those shawl pins - so impressive!

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  19. I love the shawl pins, what a fabulous idea.

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  20. Oh Tracey, it's looooooovely! You must be so satisfied and pleased with the final product. And your seashell shawl pin -- gasp! AMAZING!

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  21. Such beauty, Tracey, all of it. You are amazing. :)

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  22. Oh my goodness. You are sooooo clever. The shawl is divine and the wooden pin skilled, but the shell pin simply creative . You are such an inspiration.

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  23. you are the MOST creative person I know---is there anything you can't do????? Those shawl pins are absolutely awesome!!! (and the shawl....oh, my-----SWOON!!!!!!!!) love it!

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  24. Wow Tracey! That shawl is gorgeous! And I love, love, love the idea of the seashell shawl pin!!!

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  25. beautiful tracey! i love your shawl pins, what a wonderful idea, the shells make me think of native americans and how they used shells to adorn their clothing.

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  26. I miss the beach. I miss collecting shells by the beach. You just made me want to do it again. :) P.S. I like your shawl! It looks great ;)

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  27. It's gorgeous!!! just like you Tracey!!!
    xoxo

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  28. BEAUTIFUL tracey! What a lot of work. You sure get projects finished fast!
    XO

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  29. Wow, you first had none and now you've got the coolest two shawl pins ever ;) The shawl is beautiful, it goes along so well with the scenery of the beach on a cold day.

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  30. Your shawl is beautiful, and it does look like a sand dollar. I really like those shawl pins. It's very ingenious of you to use found objects to make them. The shell pin is fabulous!

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  31. How beautiful! It looks like Edisto Beach? We lived in Charleston for three years.

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  32. Beautiful! Now you have two shawl pins, without spending a dime! Each one has a different texture and mood. I remember going to the beach in S Fl and hunting for sand dollars and sharks teeth. Beautiful memories. We now Live in NW Fl and the beaches here are white with squeaky sand. So beautiful.

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  33. THat's some mighty fine whittling skills you have darlin'. The shawl is extraordinary! Love it. Very creative to use those shells as a shawl pin too. I couldn't view a few of your pics.

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