Anna Dalvi on Craftsy

On November 18, 2014, in class, Craftsy, lace, Waterspout Shawl, by Anna

Dear knitters!

Something very exciting is happening.  I’ve been dying to share with you for the past few months, and finally I’m able to reveal……

I went to Denver in the beginning of October to record my very first Craftsy class!  That’s right – you’ll be able to learn all about lace from me on Craftsy.  I’ll be at your fingertips, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, etc.  And we’ll be knitting lace, lace, and lace!

The class is called My First Lace Shawl, and we’ll be working through a brand new design called the Waterspout Shawl.  Waterspouts are generally formed by a tornado over water. They are funnel shaped clouds rotating over water, and can sometimes be seen in the Great Lakes.  …and along the edge of this beautiful lace shawl.  You can knit the shawl in fingering weight yarn, or worsted weight.  We’ll talk all about the yarn choices in the class.

The class will be available soon.  I really look forward to seeing you there.  If you would like a chance to win a free copy of this class, simply follow the link to be entered into the draw.  I’ll announce the winner on Nov 25.

 

Osiris

On November 13, 2014, in Ancient Egypt in Lace and Color, lace, shawl, stole, by Anna

When Osiris was killed by his brother, his body was broken into 14 pieces – one for each full moon in a year – and spread over Egypt. When Isis tried to collect all the pieces of her dead husband to reassemble him, she found that one piece (the phallus) had been consumed by a fish. She reassembled him anyway and fashioned a new phallus of gold (as you do), and they spent a passionate night together before Osiris had to return to the valley of death.

Let me present Osiris – a stole with 13 full moons and …. a fish. A fun knit, as well as a great conversation piece.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/osiris

Osiris is also available in Ancient Egypt in Lace and Color.  The book is full of stories from Egyptian mythology, and designs inspired by them.  This particular story was one of my favourites.  It just makes me giggle.  Here’s the complete story, if you want more details to add to the conversation.  :-)  In addition to the full moons and the fish, I also added the cedar tree to the other half of the stole.  And of course it’s green because green was the colour of death in ancient Egypt, and actually Osiris’ skin was often depicted as green after he became the king of the dead.  I chose to use a cedar green for obvious reasons.

Osiris was the king of Egypt and Isis his queen. His brother Seth jealously plotted to overthrow him.

Osiris was generous in spirit and enjoyed hosting parties for the entire court. To one such soirée, Seth brought an exquisite wooden chest with gold decor. As the guests admired it, he promised to give it to the man who fit in it exactly. The guests were eager to try, but when they laid down in the chest, some were too short and others too tall. Seth knew that there was only one man who would be the right size for the chest, as he had already secretly acquired Osiris’ measurements from his servant.

When all the guests had tried and failed, Osiris climbed in and was exactly the right size. As the guests laughed at Seth for losing such a valuable piece to his brother, Seth and his supporters suddenly slammed the lid on the chest, nailed it shut, and sealed it with molten lead so that Osiris died. The chest had been transformed into a coffin and Seth’s supporters threw it in the Nile. Seth announced his brother’s untimely death and declared himself King of Egypt.

Osiris’ coffin drifted down the Nile and hit the shore close to a cedar tree. After searching for the coffin for days and nights, Isis found it and brought it home. When Seth saw the coffin, he became very afraid. So one night he opened it, lifted out his brother’s body and ripped it into 14 pieces – one for each full moon during the year. He spread the pieces over Egypt, certain Isis would never be able to find them.

Isis set out again to find Osiris, and wandered Egypt for many years. Finally she had gathered 13 of the 14 pieces, but the last piece – the phallus – had been consumed by a fish. So she fashioned a phallus out of gold, and brought Osiris back to life using all the magic she knew. They spent one passionate night together, so that she could carry his child. After that, Osiris’ body died, but his spirit lived on. Ra-Atum made Osiris the king of the dead.

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