Weak at the knees
Swoon-verb; faint from extreme emotion; be emotionally affected by someone or something that one admires; become ecstatic.
People don’t often swoon anymore. It seems that in, say, Jane Austen’s time, swooning was a regular feature which came in quite handy, but now….it’s not often done. Or at least I haven’t heard of it happening, until recently…
My sister-in-law, visiting us in Dublin, loves literature. During their tour of the Book of Kells at Trinity College she approached the Long Room, which stores volumes of ancient books. Upon seeing these texts, she….yep, swooned. Became overwrought. Highly emotional. Teary. Had to sit down lest she fall. At the sight of those things that she admires, she was overwhelmed by it all.
And so I wonder if there are fibre enthusiasts who would do likewise? You know, swoon at the sight of particularly pleasing yarn or yummy roving or fluffy sheep walking by. I wonder if they’d faint from the overwhelming emotion caused by such ecstasy?
Well, I don’t know….but you know what makes me weak at the knees by just looking at it?
The amount of yarn sitting in the cupboard waiting to be knit up. Swooning, not from I’m-so-overwhelmed-from-the-ecstasy-of-it but rather, how-could-I-have-collected-all-this-in-such-a-short-time? It’s a bit obscene, really. And it doesn’t include the 2 huge cones of Kilcarra yarn intended for the cable jumper, or the aubergine Kilcarra slated to become a cabled vest, OR the myriad of weaving fibre cones. Eee gads!
And so, like the many other knitters who are in the midst of new-year-stock-taking-and-resolutions-to-knit-from-the-stash, I’m with ya! If perchance you see me entering a yarn shop, please yank me out bodily…..and I mean that…..I guess….uh oh…..the room’s starting to spin……my vision is blurry….I think I’m going to fain…….
I *love* the colour co-ordinated stash boxes. Definitely swoon-worthy.
The library had the same effect on me too - it’s what makes the book of kells exhibition worth paying for (I felt the book stuff was covered better at the Chester Beatty library for free)
22 Jan 2007 at 4:06 pm
very well said…swooning over fibre, absolutely!!!!
22 Jan 2007 at 7:25 pm
Just looking at the wee picture on the Trinity College website is almost swoon-worthy. Fabulous. There’s nothing like it in the U.S., so far as I’m aware, at least not on the West coast. And it’s truly a sad thing, not to have such beauty in a library. “Function” has neglected to consider that Beauty is a function in and of itself.
You could … donate some of the yarn. There. I’ve said it. Won’t happen, will it? Heh heh.
22 Jan 2007 at 7:55 pm
Sometimes I need an excess of yarn to be properly inspired. If I were to see you walking into a yarn shop, I would probably just cheer you on. I am an enabler!
I’m also totally with your sister-in-law about swooning over books. Many years ago a college friend and I sat on a bench at Trinity College and read passages from The Dubliners..and we didn’t even like James Joyce! There was just something about being there that made us WANT to
like him.
23 Jan 2007 at 1:57 am
whew! the picture of the long room took my breath away! i am sure being there, amongst all of those books would be amazing!
i admire the color coordinated stash. truly inspirational. you could always use your stash to knit something to donate to your favorite cause or charity. then you would always have a reason to walk into a yarn shop and get more!
23 Jan 2007 at 6:11 am
That room in the library is really awe-inspiring. We enjoyed our visit to Trinity this summer…. and I could be convinced to swoon over yarn…. or fiber in general.
24 Jan 2007 at 11:49 pm