Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Dreams...

In the heaven in my dreams,
there is a mansion surrounded by lawns, vast, wide and lush with green
and sing-song chirping notes falling with the breeze.
In this mansion, there is a sun absorbing balcony
reserved for laughter, peace, wine and decedent delicacies
that dance on the palette
and flavor the soul.
In the heaven in my dreams,
there are dances on beaches loose, wild and free.
Sore muscles in the stomach and the cheeks
from the overflow of giddiness in play.
In the heaven in my dreams,
there is love and love and love without fear and caution.
Love only with pure unhinged abandon,
deep fulfilling solace
and over-pouring vein filling warmth.

In the hell in my dreams, there is no rest.
Only searching searching unfulfilled and unending exhaustion.
There are streets of dark emptiness that never supply what is required.
There is sun, burning deep orange with a halo of red.
A dark sun that never sets and offers no relief in the night.
There are beaches, not beautiful,
with dark, wet, clumped sand and trash thrown astray.
Crowded beaches radiating with longing and agony
from no alleviation from the burning sea.
There are masses and masses of people.
But no dancing, no laughter and no peace.
Only fear and unrest.
Tears and sorrow.
Loneliness and yearning.
Even though it is crowded, there is no one who can take the suffering away.

_________

Sometimes in my dreams, I end up in the same place. Sometimes it’s the opposite end of a block I am familiar with, and although it looks different each time, I know it is the same.

In the dreams that inspired the above, I step out of the airport with plans to go to the beach, but I am greeted with chaos. The beach is packed and uninviting and the sun looks all wrong. It’s scary and much too close to the earth.

In another dream I end up near the same beach, (I can see the beach, but I’m a few blocks away). Instead of walking towards the beach, I end up walking on a store front lined street looking for… something. I keep entering stores and leaving and going into another store and while I’m walking it gets dark, but I never turn around to go back to the beach which was where I intended to go in the first place.

In those dreams, the plan is always to go on vacation. I always make it to the destination, but I never make it to relaxation.

My subconscious is definitely tormented.

~Louise C.
Follow me on Twitter @LouiseCazley

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

WeezyCaze Knits - Baby Blanket

A friend of mine had a baby boy five months ago and was way overdue for a present from me (bad Louise). Last week a suggested field trip to Michael’s with a friend was the perfect opportunity to pick up some supplies and finally make that gift.

I’ve always shied away from making blankets due to the enormous amount of work it seemed to entail, but this blanket took less than a week to make and was not at all tedious because I was able to knit while watching television.

I absolutely love the finished product so much that I almost want one for myself. It’s so plush, warm and cozy! Another reason why I love this blanket is because it is big enough to grow with the baby. He can use it as he grows into a toddler and his parents can also borrow it from him if, and only if, he allows them to.



The name label adds a nice, personal touch. 

I’m lazy with patterns so I didn’t follow one. I just looked at pictures of blankets and made a pattern up in my head. I’ll share my pattern with those of you who knit. This is a super easy project for beginners.

And as the hustler that I am, I am selling ‘made to order’ baby blankets on Etsy.

Now that I know I can make blankets, I plan on making many more. I have at least two other friends whom I owe blankets for their babies and I’m looking forward to the projects.

MATERIALS:
5 balls of super chunky yarn (I used Loops & Threads Cozy Wool)
US #13 needles (14 inch long or circular)

THE PATTERN:
Cast on 60 stitches.
Knit seven rows to create garter stitch border.
Knit 4, purl 52, knit 4 until you reach the desired length that you would like the blanket to be.
To close off the border knit in the garter stitch for 7 rows and bind off on the 8th row.

For tips on how to add color and weave in the ends, check out the links below:

Adding color:

Weaving in ends:

Happy knitting!
~Louise C.