The Arrow of Time

From darling wikipedia:

"Entropy is the only quantity in the physical sciences that seems to imply a particular direction of progress, sometimes called an arrow of time. As time progresses, the second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of an isolated system never decreases. Hence, from this perspective, entropy measurement is thought of as a kind of clock."

(Image borrowed from baban cat on Flickr)

Think of entropy as knitting. The total sum of knitting done never decreases. You might rip what you have knitted, but you've still knitted it. Therefore the total amount of knitting only ever increases. You can't unknit because to do so you would have to be able to go back in time. Therefore time only ever moves forward or, very possibly, occasionally stands still. But this would only happen if you ran out of yarn and that is why we have such large stashes - for the sake of universal continuity.

I've been thinking about time and life recently. There has been a bereavement. I won't say more than that but it has strongly affected me. At such times you remember past events and share those memories with others who are also affected. I was thinking about this when I saw a Barn Raising Quilt on Ravelry. It is one that uses up leftover sock yarn and it reminded me of my own sock yarn cardigan.

When I first started wearing it friends would point out sections knitted in yarn leftover from socks I had made them as presents. It also reminded me of socks I made for the one who has passed away many years ago when I had only recently started knitting them at all - back in the days of two needle socks with a short row heel and a seam up the side.

Recently I have been completing the front of a quilt I started way back in the summer of 2009.

Hundreds of tiny pieces of fabric, acquired over years and in some cases decades, stitched together and gradually built up into larger blocks. This week the larger blocks were finally joined into one big quilt front.

It's now had the strips added to top and bottom and awaits some wadding, backing and binding which I hope to get hold of this morning.

The arrow of time demands that, unless we have no stash, an end is followed by a beginning so I have been thinking about my next quilt and what might take place in the world and particularly in my own life while it is assembled. I will undoubtedly continue to acquire cloud photos - looking for the perfect inspiration for my cloud jumper.

I will also inevitably take more pictures of my Mum's cat.

And I will undoubtedly continue to acquire stash - if only for the reason that to run out risks violating entropy and then the Universe would surely cease to be.