Freddies handmade jewellery

Monday 25 January 2016

Really quite out of sight - knitting to remember David Bowie

Well the passing of David Bowie hit me incredibly hard - I wasn't anticipating the reaction that I had.

In my lifetime it is probably the biggest musical influence of my life that I've ever known to lose. Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston were all very well-known but they weren't as big a part of my musical life as Bowie was.



I came to know and love him when I was about 14 - I bought a best-of from Virgin Music to play on my Discman [that is, before my brother trashed the thing], which was my lifeline on the cycle to school [although probably super-dangerous, you ought to listen to the traffic, really!].

It only took a couple of months for me to become desperately hungry for more which led me to purchasing The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, which, I can honestly say changed my life completely, and for the better.

A photo posted by Crossroads (@crossroads_jp) on
This happenned over the summer holidays. A very awkward me shut myself away in a caravan bunk on a family holiday for weeks with my art gear and I was completely absorbed. I'm pretty sure my 'boyfriend' at the time had some something or other to offend my fragile teenage sensibilities too.

For years I'd roamed and roamed, and gazed a gazeless stare; it was time for a change.
For years and years I roamed, I gazed a gazeless stare.

Read More: Top 10 David Bowie Lyrics | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/david-bowie-lyrics/?trackback=tsmclip

Bowie's emergence as Ziggy inspired me to be the person I wanted to be. He told me It was Alright to be whatever and whoever I wanted to be. I admit, I took it a bit far, cutting off a good foot-and-a-half of unwanted curly hair, flushing it down the loo and dyeing a huge chunk of it blue. My mother was not pleased.

I kept the blue for 10+ years


For me though, the right thing to do. I am a deeply creative person and desperately needed to express myself.

I'd never been happier and although the following two years were a total whirlwind, hold some very fond memories for me. I'd give anything to do those two years all over again.

At age 15 I swapped my Spanish guitar for bass


...so I think that's why it hurt all the more when we lost him. Bowie's been on my shoulder ever since that fateful summer that changed my life, and it felt comarable to losing a very close family member.



I was inconsolable for a good 2 days at least, and am still mourning.
 



I haven't really known what to do with myself - Ben sat me down and made me finally listen to Heroes [at great reluctance - it broke my heart to hear it] as well as other greats I'd been avoiding. This inevitably led to a very cleansing bawling session.

I felt so much better afterwards. It did dawn on me though, that something more productive would probably be better still. I couldn't place quite what. Crafters all over the web have posted their tributes, and I couldn't hone in on what I wanted to do. At first I thought perhaps drawing, but it wasn't jumping at me.



Lo and behold, a knitting project fell in my lap - and I took it as a sign.

Currently my hands are free agents [a very, very rare thing] so have planned to make myself some garments, an indulgence I haven't had for a couple of years.

This gif which was shared by NME the day after he passed, really spoke to me for two reasons.

Firstly; the perfect example of Bowie's quick wit and fabulous sense of humour.  If you don't know what I'm talking about here, Bowie's answers to the Proust questionnaire will give you a heart-warming insight.

Secondly; the knit! In what colours? BLUE AND BLACK!!! My favouritest and ex-hair colour combo as inspired by Ziggy. The connection meant something but the coincidences just kept building...

Amazingly, the Bobs knew all of the above and THE VERY SAME DAY on my RECCOMENDED Ravelry feed, I ran into this:


By a designer I've been following for yonks no less - the very lovely Anna Richardson! Needless to say I was so excited that I cast on that very same evening with some King Cole DK I had knocking around in black and blue. All pieces had fallen into place, in the eeriest of ways.


Unsurprisingly, and at the great annoyance of my fiance, I've been knitting constantly ever since last Tuesday. Note the posh needles n the picture - they're my personal set of Dyakcrafts [an 'engagment present' from my Mum] which I'm usually too terrified to use in case I lose them.

(c) Crucci Yarns Ltd. A brighter colourway of this pattern.

My special needles only come out for the most precious of projects and this is no exception. Proof of just how much this knit means to me at this tough time.

We all ought to be proud of just how we have come together in marking the sad passing of our idol. Individually and together, united globally. It's mind-blowing.

On talking about the upcoming sing-along at Glasto with the rest of the office on Friday, I was moved by the thought that although Bowie was aware of his influence, did he truly understand the impact he had on quite this number of lives?

Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know...

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