Short and mostly knitting, with an occasional detour
As usual, the shameless self-promotion comes first. I wrote about Isabella Bird for Modern Daily Knitting as part of a new Knitters of Note1 series. If you know of any historic knitters of note, holler. The piece is illustrated with one of my favorite pictures of Bird:
She’s on the right. I love it because she just looks so comfortable withe who and where she is. Just like “Yeah. I’m a roundish woman of a certain age wearing my animal skin schmatta. What of it?”
For the record: I STILL WANT TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT BIRD. I have a whole proposal ready to go and I think it’s pretty dang good2. But every editor at big publishers essentially says that no one would find her interesting. I’m letting them just be wrong in their wrongness3 because there’s no way to argue it but am not sure what my next step is. I’m pondering maybe installments for $$$ via this here substack?4
Anyway. It’s work in progress.
Speaking of:
I’m still collecting mittens to send to folks with cold hands in Ukraine.5 I’m going to get them in the mail to join the rest of them going abroad by August 28. If you need my address, it’s in the footer of this email.6 Please only send mittens to this address. Do not send kittens.7
And just so that I can send this away before it gets too long, a couple of random links:
Even if you don’t run, following ultra runner John Kelly8 (randomforestrunner) on Instagram is just a good idea in terms of life advice. Like this:
He then goes on to explain what each of those things mean and how to emotionally deal with all of the uncontrollable. Highly recommend.
I am not even sure what to do with this information: cities with their own psychological disorders.
And, finally, you can read a selection9 of Queen Victoria’s correspondence for free.
Yes, we did put “Knitters of Knote” on the virtual whiteboard. We then erased it.
and, like, I know how to write a book. I might not be a bestseller but have a certain amount of confidence in my abilities.
This is also a useful skill in local government.
I welcome your thoughts.
Short version, if you didn’t catch it earlier or are new (welcome!): I’m collecting mittens that will be added to a larger batch and sent to Ukraine in time for winter. Requirements: Wool. Sized to fit human hands. Any pattern or style is great.
note to self: make sure this is true.
Inside joke involving a text typo.
He’s a two-time Barkley Marathons finisher and seems like an all-around sane dude. If you are truly a running/life-advice nerd, his race report is a good read.
It’s large selection that spans three volumes. I’m sure some letters were omitted but it can’t have been many of them.
It is annoying as fuck to me that stupid editors think people will not be interested in a book in Isabella Bird.
I would most definitely read your book about Isabella Bird. She seems like a fascinating woman, just following your posts about her.