No pictures because I am at the library. Out of the house! no more ice! woot!
After two days of school closures, today is a late start day --- allowing time for all the ice to turn to slush before getting the kiddies to school. This plays havoc with Zach's school schedule. Instead of having his three classes back to back from 8:15 to 10:55, he has two classes in the AM, 10:00 to 10:55 and his third class meets 12:30 to 1:00. So I walked with him to school and am hanging out at the library nearby. He'll meet me here and we will go have lunch somewhere. I was thinking Subway but just discovered that Top Pot sells sandwiches.
the eyes have it.
Time for new glasses. Two years ago I got my first pair of progressives. Ouch, expensive without insurance, but there you go. Gotta see. I chose a stylish pair also, something bold and unusual that shook up the husband and child. Nowadays I see similar glasses all over the place. Well that's not a reason for new specs, but my inability to see close-up was. Plus we now have vision insurance, double woot. Sure enough, my prescription changed and newer, more styling frames ordered. Unsettling though, the doctor noticed a spot on my right retina. Looks like an inflammation. He spent a long time examining it with the strong lights and magnifiers, double checked my health report, and concluded that I had no known reason to have a spot on my retina. Two weeks of telephone tag between opthamologist and retinologist, I was told that the spot is very likely nothing, I don't need to see the retinologist right away. I did schedule a follow-up with the opthamologist in a couple weeks to see if there's any change.
a costly mistake.
but not mine! While waiting for the news about the retina, I got the call my new glasses were ready. yay. So I went in to pick them up, a little nervous about having buyer's remorse on the newer styling frames. After all, I couldn't see very well when I tried them on. Imagine my surprise then when they pulled out a pair almost identical to my old glasses. Uh oh, did I do that? Good golly, if I wanted the same frames, why not put new lenses in my current frames? Turned out I did not mistakenly choose those frames. Their bad. So sorry. Will make new pair. In the meantime I get to wear the new wrong ones. They'll get to return the frames for credit, but I suppose they'll have to eat the cost of making the lenses.
geeky homeschooling excitement.
I was thinking about one of my favorite TV shows from the '80s --- hadn't thought about it in years, but being in the library made me think about trying to find it. The library does have one copy on VHS of some (but not all) of the episodes, but the creators have the videos available free over the internet. Woot! Zach and I will now be watching The Mechanical Universe from the Annenberg Foundation. (no link because I can't figure out how to do that on this machine, but is easy to google.) And there's more. I'll probably check out their series on Economics, Statistics and other topics too. would be nicer if we could lounge in the family room and view on the TV, but free and convenient watching over the computer doesn't sound that bad.
Thursday, November 30
Wednesday, November 29
Why I am knot participating
Seriously, does anyone really think this is going to give anyone any valid information? Enough to warrant a paper? A peer-reviewed paper? With like meaningful statistics and everything?
"Most memes, I'd wager, are only superficially organic: beginning small, they acquire minor prominence among low-traffic blogs before being picked up by a high-traffic one, from which many more low-traffic blogs snatch them. Contra blog-triumphal models of memetic bootstrapping, I believe most memes are—to borrow a term from Daniel Dennett's rebuttal of punctuated equilibrium—"skyhooked" into prominence by high-traffic blogs. "
Don't you just love the social science jargon?
he wants us to disseminate this totally artificial "meme" so he can say something about organic ones? As I just said a couple days ago. Memes are not equivalent to blogging writing prompts that the blogger chooses to use or ignore. The concept of meme comes from the notion of ideas as entities that spread like viruses. Who really has the ability to choose whether or not to become infected with a virus? What makes the whole notion of meme interesting is the lack of meta-knowledge of its spreading. Blog prompts that someone chooses to participate in or are not really memes, but more like fashion trends.
Also, the researcher wistfully regrets not tracking two "memes" in which he participated (or started? not sure.) Why didn't he? Because the very nature of the viral spreading of ideas is that you do not know in advance which ones will spread and which won't.
I read a lot of blogs, too many perhaps. Mostly knitting blogs but not exclusively. And get this, I never heard of those two memes. That supports my position that the spread of this artificial one has no useful information to say about real viral spread of ideas.
Ironically enough, the path upon which I heard of this artificial meme was through someone who profuses a strong dislike to the canned writing prompts that the knit blogging community calls memes. While not immune to actual memes (imo) she has been mostly immune to these artificial ones. And yet she is participating in this one. But get this: she did not follow the rules and actually talk about the project on her blog, she just links to it vaguely. An actual carrier? (But a carrier who chooses to be one, so that's a limitation in the analogy.) That's sorta interesting. But this just proves the artificiality of this "meme" since in real life she would have been the last person to have participated in any such blog writing prompt. So in real life, I possibly never would have heard about this "meme." So for the sake of science, I choose to not participate. No technorati pinging from me.
so... am I participating or not?
Where is Eugene Miya when you need him?
"Most memes, I'd wager, are only superficially organic: beginning small, they acquire minor prominence among low-traffic blogs before being picked up by a high-traffic one, from which many more low-traffic blogs snatch them. Contra blog-triumphal models of memetic bootstrapping, I believe most memes are—to borrow a term from Daniel Dennett's rebuttal of punctuated equilibrium—"skyhooked" into prominence by high-traffic blogs. "
Don't you just love the social science jargon?
he wants us to disseminate this totally artificial "meme" so he can say something about organic ones? As I just said a couple days ago. Memes are not equivalent to blogging writing prompts that the blogger chooses to use or ignore. The concept of meme comes from the notion of ideas as entities that spread like viruses. Who really has the ability to choose whether or not to become infected with a virus? What makes the whole notion of meme interesting is the lack of meta-knowledge of its spreading. Blog prompts that someone chooses to participate in or are not really memes, but more like fashion trends.
Also, the researcher wistfully regrets not tracking two "memes" in which he participated (or started? not sure.) Why didn't he? Because the very nature of the viral spreading of ideas is that you do not know in advance which ones will spread and which won't.
I read a lot of blogs, too many perhaps. Mostly knitting blogs but not exclusively. And get this, I never heard of those two memes. That supports my position that the spread of this artificial one has no useful information to say about real viral spread of ideas.
Ironically enough, the path upon which I heard of this artificial meme was through someone who profuses a strong dislike to the canned writing prompts that the knit blogging community calls memes. While not immune to actual memes (imo) she has been mostly immune to these artificial ones. And yet she is participating in this one. But get this: she did not follow the rules and actually talk about the project on her blog, she just links to it vaguely. An actual carrier? (But a carrier who chooses to be one, so that's a limitation in the analogy.) That's sorta interesting. But this just proves the artificiality of this "meme" since in real life she would have been the last person to have participated in any such blog writing prompt. So in real life, I possibly never would have heard about this "meme." So for the sake of science, I choose to not participate. No technorati pinging from me.
so... am I participating or not?
Where is Eugene Miya when you need him?
Tuesday, November 28
Saturday, November 25
how 'bout that. A memish* thing
You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
One.
Word.
No.
Explanations.
1. Yourself: complicated
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): geeky
3. Your hair: damp
4. Your mother: absent
5. Your father: absenter
6. Your favorite item: internet
7. Your dream last night: interrupted
8. Your favorite drink: Latte
9. Your dream car: petroleum-free
10. The room you are in: kitchen
11. Your ex: none
12. Your fear: lahars
13. What you want to be in 10 years? healthy
14. Who you hung out with last night? family
15. What you're not? diplomatic
16. Muffins: occasionally
17. One of Your Wish List Items: Singer
18. Time: afternoon
19. The last thing you did: surf
20. What you are wearing: cashmere
21. Your favorite weather: nippy
22. Your favorite book: thought-provoking
23. The last thing you ate: wing
24. Your life: content
25. Your mood: mellow
26. Your best friend: who?
27. What are you thinking about right now? parenting
28. Your car: one
29. What are you doing at the moment? thinking
30. Your summer: dry
31. Your relationship status: married
32. What is on your TV? Chibi-Robo
33. What is the weather like? Grey
34. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
Friday, November 24
the rain that raineth every day
PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
PARTLY CLOUDY WITH SHOWERS LIKELY.
CLOUDY WITH SHOWERS LIKELY.
RAIN BECOMING LIKELY.
RAIN LIKELY.
RAIN.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
RAIN LIKELY.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS
RAIN AT TIMES.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
RAIN LIKELY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS
CLOUDY WITH RAIN AT TIMES IN THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON.
RAIN TURNING TO SHOWERS EARLY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN LATE IN THE AFTERNOON.
RAIN LIKELY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
RAIN LIKELY.
SHOWERS LIKELY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE MORNING... THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS THIS MORNING...THEN RAIN AT TIMES THIS AFTERNOON
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN THIS MORNING...THEN RAIN LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON
RAIN DEVELOPING
RAIN...BREEZY
SHOWERS LIKELY
SHOWERS AND SUNBREAKS.
SHOWERS LIKELY.
SCATTERED SHOWERS EARLY OTHERWISE PARTLY SUNNY.
CLOUDY WITH AN INCREASING CHANCE OF RAIN.
RAIN LIKELY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SHOWERS LIKELY
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS.
PARTLY CLOUDY. CHANCE OF A SHOWER.
RAIN.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
PARTLY CLOUDY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
RAIN.
OCCASIONAL SHOWERS.
BECOMING CLOUDY WITH A LITTLE RAIN DEVELOPING EARLY THIS AFTERNOON.
SHOWERS DEVELOPING THIS EVENING.
SHOWERS LIKELY.
RAIN.
CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS.
SHOWERS LIKELY.
RAIN.
MORNING RAIN...THEN MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
RAIN DEVELOPING.
RAIN.
SHOWERS LIKELY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
RAIN LIKELY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS
SHOWERS LIKELY AND OCCASIONAL AFTERNOON SUN BREAKS
real Seattle weather forecasts accumulated last winter. Then of course there was the record breaking lack of rain over the summer. This past month it's been nothing but rain and more damned rain. We finally have something new in the forecasts. Here's the current week ahead...
PARTLY CLOUDY WITH SHOWERS LIKELY.
CLOUDY WITH SHOWERS LIKELY.
RAIN BECOMING LIKELY.
RAIN LIKELY.
RAIN.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
RAIN LIKELY.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS
RAIN AT TIMES.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
RAIN LIKELY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS
CLOUDY WITH RAIN AT TIMES IN THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON.
RAIN TURNING TO SHOWERS EARLY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN LATE IN THE AFTERNOON.
RAIN LIKELY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
RAIN LIKELY.
SHOWERS LIKELY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE MORNING... THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS THIS MORNING...THEN RAIN AT TIMES THIS AFTERNOON
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN THIS MORNING...THEN RAIN LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON
RAIN DEVELOPING
RAIN...BREEZY
SHOWERS LIKELY
SHOWERS AND SUNBREAKS.
SHOWERS LIKELY.
SCATTERED SHOWERS EARLY OTHERWISE PARTLY SUNNY.
CLOUDY WITH AN INCREASING CHANCE OF RAIN.
RAIN LIKELY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SHOWERS LIKELY
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS.
PARTLY CLOUDY. CHANCE OF A SHOWER.
RAIN.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
PARTLY CLOUDY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
RAIN.
OCCASIONAL SHOWERS.
BECOMING CLOUDY WITH A LITTLE RAIN DEVELOPING EARLY THIS AFTERNOON.
SHOWERS DEVELOPING THIS EVENING.
SHOWERS LIKELY.
RAIN.
CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS.
SHOWERS LIKELY.
RAIN.
MORNING RAIN...THEN MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
RAIN DEVELOPING.
RAIN.
SHOWERS LIKELY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
RAIN LIKELY.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS
SHOWERS LIKELY AND OCCASIONAL AFTERNOON SUN BREAKS
real Seattle weather forecasts accumulated last winter. Then of course there was the record breaking lack of rain over the summer. This past month it's been nothing but rain and more damned rain. We finally have something new in the forecasts. Here's the current week ahead...
TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS...POSSIBLE MIXED WITH SNOW ON THE HIGHER HILLS.
SATURDAY...RAIN OR SNOW LIKELY...MAINLY IN THE AFTERNOON. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 1 INCH POSSIBLE ON THE HIGHER HILLS.
SATURDAY NIGHT...RAIN OR SNOW. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 1 INCH.
SUNDAY...RAIN AND SNOW.
SUNDAY NIGHT...RAIN AND SNOW LIKELY.
MONDAY...SHOWERS LIKELY.
MONDAY NIGHT...SNOW SHOWERS LIKELY.
TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS.
WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN OR SNOW SHOWERS.
THURSDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 40S.
THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.
snow? bah... if any accumulates in the city the rain will turn it to slush and puddles soon enough.
Wednesday, November 22
Gravy stock is simmering
One of the great things about a butterflied turkey is that I can use the backbone as well as the neck and giblets to make gravy ahead of time. I toss the above mentioned turkey parts with garlic, onions, carrots, celery in some olive oil and roast til well-browned. Move it all to a large pot with water, chicken stock, white wine --- making sure to get all the juices and browned bits from the roasting pan. Simmer til reduced, strain, cool. Tomorrow I skim the fat, make the roux, finish the gravy. And, this recipe ensures lots of gravy, plenty for mashed potatoes.
The cranberry sauce is done and tonight I'll finish making the dressing. Want lots of dressing? Way more than will fit in the bird? Well I make enough to fill a large roasting pan. The flattened turkey sits on a rack on top, so the juices drip into the dressing as it cooks.
Before starting today's cooking I went in search of a zipper for Franz's Cambridge Jacket. No luck.
While driving from one fabric store that had gone out of business to another (which had also gone out of business) I passed Value Village and figured I would take a look around. Was looking for a crockpot to use for dyeing, but didn't find one. Lots of rice cookers, would they work or get too hot? I found a bread machine for $15 but I don't know anything about those machines so I couldn't tell if it was in good condition. There were several bags of yarn, but all acrylic. Off to the sweaters. A Nordstrom 100% Cashmere Sweater Set in my size for $5. A beautiful dark red (which did not photograph well) and it looks like new. I also got an angora sweater in bright fuchsia which may be a bit much, but what the heck. When else am I going to get an angora sweater? I think it's kinda cute, but that opinion was not shared by my son. The husband hasn't seen it yet.
Seven slightly felted wool sweaters that can be further felted and turned into a patchwork throw. One of the Arans was handknit. The others are all name brand. I was surprised at how many handknit sweaters I did find. Well, actually, since I didn't like any of the others enough to purchase, perhaps I am not that surprised.
And the best part: Jeans that fit! Last week I had an errand downtown and tried to buy some jeans. I tried on at least 15 different styles from 3 different stores. Sixty and Seventy Dollar Jeans. I got sticker shock but still, if anything fit I would have paid it. Why do jeans nowadays all barely cover your ass? Or if they do go up a little higher, they have no waist shaping, so you sit down and there's a gap large enough for a grapefruit or two. But today at the thrift store! Three pairs that fit perfectly! Two Eddie Bauer (shown below) and one Calvin Klein (which I am already wearing).
The cashmere, the angora, the wool sweaters, three pairs of jeans all for what I had been foolishly willing to pay last week if I could have found one pair of jeans to fit.
The cranberry sauce is done and tonight I'll finish making the dressing. Want lots of dressing? Way more than will fit in the bird? Well I make enough to fill a large roasting pan. The flattened turkey sits on a rack on top, so the juices drip into the dressing as it cooks.
Before starting today's cooking I went in search of a zipper for Franz's Cambridge Jacket. No luck.
While driving from one fabric store that had gone out of business to another (which had also gone out of business) I passed Value Village and figured I would take a look around. Was looking for a crockpot to use for dyeing, but didn't find one. Lots of rice cookers, would they work or get too hot? I found a bread machine for $15 but I don't know anything about those machines so I couldn't tell if it was in good condition. There were several bags of yarn, but all acrylic. Off to the sweaters. A Nordstrom 100% Cashmere Sweater Set in my size for $5. A beautiful dark red (which did not photograph well) and it looks like new. I also got an angora sweater in bright fuchsia which may be a bit much, but what the heck. When else am I going to get an angora sweater? I think it's kinda cute, but that opinion was not shared by my son. The husband hasn't seen it yet.
Seven slightly felted wool sweaters that can be further felted and turned into a patchwork throw. One of the Arans was handknit. The others are all name brand. I was surprised at how many handknit sweaters I did find. Well, actually, since I didn't like any of the others enough to purchase, perhaps I am not that surprised.
And the best part: Jeans that fit! Last week I had an errand downtown and tried to buy some jeans. I tried on at least 15 different styles from 3 different stores. Sixty and Seventy Dollar Jeans. I got sticker shock but still, if anything fit I would have paid it. Why do jeans nowadays all barely cover your ass? Or if they do go up a little higher, they have no waist shaping, so you sit down and there's a gap large enough for a grapefruit or two. But today at the thrift store! Three pairs that fit perfectly! Two Eddie Bauer (shown below) and one Calvin Klein (which I am already wearing).
The cashmere, the angora, the wool sweaters, three pairs of jeans all for what I had been foolishly willing to pay last week if I could have found one pair of jeans to fit.
Tuesday, November 21
The turkey is in the brine.
Thanksgiving! Woo Hoo!
A smallish Thanksgiving here, Mitch & Jamie will be joining us . They'd ordinarily be celebrating with Mitch's mom Nancy who is still gallivanting around Europe. Nancy and Dan are in Prague at the moment, I believe. Hi Guys! Looking forward to seeing all the photos and hearing all the stories when you get home!
I follow the Cook's Illustrated butterflied roasted turkey recipe and for the first time I butterflied it myself. In the past I've gotten the butcher to do it but figured I'd give it a go. I waited til after dinner, all food was away, the sink and counter completely clean and clear. Anything that couldn't move was covered with a dishtowel, just in case I made a raw turkey mess. Sure enough, pulling out that plastic doo-hickey holding the legs together made juices fly. What is that thing for anyway? I cut it off the legs, but it still had enough mesh in the cavity to cause a mess. Hacking out the backbone was also challenge, but I did it inside the freshly scrubbed sink and all was well. Was glad I prepared and could clean it all up without worrying about the raw meat splashing on the satsumas or anything.
The Cambridge Jacket is knit! I had finished the shoulders with short rows leaving live stitches for a three needle bind off and it pretty much worked out. I wasn't really sure precisely how to do the short rows, so I just did a wrap & turn. What to do with the wraps during the bind
off? I winged it and it looks OK, especially since there is ribbing on the shoulders which would camoflauge small bits of wonkyness. If anyone can tell me how I am supposed to do short row shoulder shaping, I'd appreciate it.
The Steek. I still don't have a sewing machine but the newest IK has an article about steeking which explains how to make a crochet reinforcement. It's taken me a couple days, but I did manage to finish crocheting the first side. Why a couple days? Well, the sweater is dark charcoal grey, the weather has been dark charcoal grey and my eyes ain't what they used to be. Now I have to find a zipper, figure out how to sew it in, then decide what to do about the collar. I like the photo in the IK (Summer 2006) with the stand up collar and the zipper going all the way up, but I know Franz would never want to wear it that way. So I plan to have the zipper only on the body and have the collar fold down.
I also did some Tartanning. The white looking contrast stripe didn't photograph well, it is actually sunshine yellow, much creamier than it looks.
A smallish Thanksgiving here, Mitch & Jamie will be joining us . They'd ordinarily be celebrating with Mitch's mom Nancy who is still gallivanting around Europe. Nancy and Dan are in Prague at the moment, I believe. Hi Guys! Looking forward to seeing all the photos and hearing all the stories when you get home!
I follow the Cook's Illustrated butterflied roasted turkey recipe and for the first time I butterflied it myself. In the past I've gotten the butcher to do it but figured I'd give it a go. I waited til after dinner, all food was away, the sink and counter completely clean and clear. Anything that couldn't move was covered with a dishtowel, just in case I made a raw turkey mess. Sure enough, pulling out that plastic doo-hickey holding the legs together made juices fly. What is that thing for anyway? I cut it off the legs, but it still had enough mesh in the cavity to cause a mess. Hacking out the backbone was also challenge, but I did it inside the freshly scrubbed sink and all was well. Was glad I prepared and could clean it all up without worrying about the raw meat splashing on the satsumas or anything.
The Cambridge Jacket is knit! I had finished the shoulders with short rows leaving live stitches for a three needle bind off and it pretty much worked out. I wasn't really sure precisely how to do the short rows, so I just did a wrap & turn. What to do with the wraps during the bind
off? I winged it and it looks OK, especially since there is ribbing on the shoulders which would camoflauge small bits of wonkyness. If anyone can tell me how I am supposed to do short row shoulder shaping, I'd appreciate it.The Steek. I still don't have a sewing machine but the newest IK has an article about steeking which explains how to make a crochet reinforcement. It's taken me a couple days, but I did manage to finish crocheting the first side. Why a couple days? Well, the sweater is dark charcoal grey, the weather has been dark charcoal grey and my eyes ain't what they used to be. Now I have to find a zipper, figure out how to sew it in, then decide what to do about the collar. I like the photo in the IK (Summer 2006) with the stand up collar and the zipper going all the way up, but I know Franz would never want to wear it that way. So I plan to have the zipper only on the body and have the collar fold down.
I also did some Tartanning. The white looking contrast stripe didn't photograph well, it is actually sunshine yellow, much creamier than it looks.
Sunday, November 12
How not to entice me to Tacoma
Recently I got a couple nice finds, yarn purchases, from craigslist. I expect to blog about them eventually. So I search it for yarn every few days and there was a recent entry of someone selling off the stash of a former yarn store employee. Lots of things including cashmere, the ad declares. Only problem is it's in Tacoma which is a schlepp. I called the number anyway and the guy just called me back.
guy: There's lots of yarn. probably about 8 big boxes worth, all sorts of things.
me: how about brands, can you give me an idea what brands?
guy: I don't know the brands, I'm selling this for a friend. but there's wool, cotton, acrylic, and lots of fancy stuff with metallic threads and other sort of things.
me: How about the wool, can you tell me about that?
guy: I don't know much about it. There is a large variety though, including lots of specialty yarns. Like yarn that has threads hanging off it, so when you knit it the threads would hang out. And lots of colors. Vibrant colors. I think you could make some really great wall hangings out of this.
(seriously though, if Tacoma weren't such a drive? I'd probably check it out. You never know what kind of gems might be hidden in that lot.)
guy: There's lots of yarn. probably about 8 big boxes worth, all sorts of things.
me: how about brands, can you give me an idea what brands?
guy: I don't know the brands, I'm selling this for a friend. but there's wool, cotton, acrylic, and lots of fancy stuff with metallic threads and other sort of things.
me: How about the wool, can you tell me about that?
guy: I don't know much about it. There is a large variety though, including lots of specialty yarns. Like yarn that has threads hanging off it, so when you knit it the threads would hang out. And lots of colors. Vibrant colors. I think you could make some really great wall hangings out of this.
(seriously though, if Tacoma weren't such a drive? I'd probably check it out. You never know what kind of gems might be hidden in that lot.)
Wednesday, November 8
gods, demigods and goddesses
I was hanging around the library yesterday, knitting and browsing through a Time Magazine article about how some evangelicals believe god wants them to be rich and prosperous in this life, eye of the needle be d*mned. 
No knitting magazines in the selection, but then I got the bright idea to check good old 746.4 to see what books might be available. The branch, Douglass-Truth, had recently reopened after a remodel and expansion. I was very surprised to see that the Dewey Numbers were not on the signs. Nope, the permanent-looking signs on the end of the rows said Fiction or Non-Fiction. What's with that?
I persevered and found the section nonetheless. There were about a dozen contenders, including these two gems. I've only heard of these knitting-with-color demigods through reading knitting blogs --- one more way my life has been enriched due to the internet. Flipping through the pages is a bit overwhelming, but oh so fun.
I browsed a couple more that I didn't bring home, books of sweater patterns. Both books I flipped through going eh...eh..eh... omg, this one's great! In each case where the pattern jumped out as so much more well designed than the rest the designer turned out to be either Norah Gaughan or Teva Durham the demi-goddesses of knitwear design.
While I have been narrowing down my color choices for the Tartan Jacket, I have been examining the pattern, color selection, color placement, and shaping to see if I can fully understand what all the design elements are and how they interact. Not just the color selection, but also the width of the vertical stripes, the width of the horizontal stripes, the exact placement of the horizontal stripes, the ordering of the colors (with the boldest contrast up high on the shoulders), the length of the body and the sleeves. How all elements combine to draw the eye upward, away from imperfect hips in a flattering way towards the face.
I have found a few brave souls who have finished this jacket and shown the world via the internet. Several who used the almost the same palette as Teva, but with slightly different colors because of different yarn and some with very different color choices.
here are some of them to browse yourself.
and my latest in colorway selection...
No knitting magazines in the selection, but then I got the bright idea to check good old 746.4 to see what books might be available. The branch, Douglass-Truth, had recently reopened after a remodel and expansion. I was very surprised to see that the Dewey Numbers were not on the signs. Nope, the permanent-looking signs on the end of the rows said Fiction or Non-Fiction. What's with that?I persevered and found the section nonetheless. There were about a dozen contenders, including these two gems. I've only heard of these knitting-with-color demigods through reading knitting blogs --- one more way my life has been enriched due to the internet. Flipping through the pages is a bit overwhelming, but oh so fun.
I browsed a couple more that I didn't bring home, books of sweater patterns. Both books I flipped through going eh...eh..eh... omg, this one's great! In each case where the pattern jumped out as so much more well designed than the rest the designer turned out to be either Norah Gaughan or Teva Durham the demi-goddesses of knitwear design.
While I have been narrowing down my color choices for the Tartan Jacket, I have been examining the pattern, color selection, color placement, and shaping to see if I can fully understand what all the design elements are and how they interact. Not just the color selection, but also the width of the vertical stripes, the width of the horizontal stripes, the exact placement of the horizontal stripes, the ordering of the colors (with the boldest contrast up high on the shoulders), the length of the body and the sleeves. How all elements combine to draw the eye upward, away from imperfect hips in a flattering way towards the face.
I have found a few brave souls who have finished this jacket and shown the world via the internet. Several who used the almost the same palette as Teva, but with slightly different colors because of different yarn and some with very different color choices.
here are some of them to browse yourself.
and my latest in colorway selection...
Tuesday, November 7
Friday, November 3
A nice dilemma we have here
that calls for all our wit.
Oh Teva, you genius, how I long for this tartan.
IK Fall 2004. Thanks, Nancy, for lending my your magazine collection while you have your adventure.Do I copy your colors? I do like them, but... All the work to make my very own jacket, I want it to be all mine, uniquely mine. Choosing my own palette is fun, frustrating, slow, exasperating, relaxing, challenging, exhilarating
replicating all the colors accurately in one shot is a challenge. The washed out white is really a creamy yellow (Sun Yellow) and the red (Spice --- the main color of pictured Jacket) is not so vibrant. most of the rest are mostly accurate. Counting from the top left, across then down the 5x3 grid, Teva's colors are 1, 5, 6, 8 and 13.hmm... what if I looked at the whole Brown Sheep catalogue and simply ordered colors by their number? 5, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42? I get lost just thinking about it.
Thursday, November 2
First you knit a square...
.... then you knit a more different square.
I drank the kool-aid and developed Log-Cabin mania last spring, but I made a tactical error and abandoned it for a while.
I first made a swatch to see how it was going to work in my yarn/needle size. Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece on US 6 addis. I liked it.
Unfortunately I liked it too much. This was supposed to be just a swatch, but I got lazy and figured why not just keep going and make this the start of the blanket.
I don't mind the wonkiness, log-cabins are supposed to be wonky
. But the proportions are all wrong for a full sized blanket. This is only about 11 inches square. Making new logs much wider would look weird. I decided that I liked my logs to all have the same width. I had tried to make these all the same width, but mistakes were made. I now know how to count properly, taking the bind-off correctly into consideration.
Even if I liked the proportions of the skinny logs, as it gets bigger, the ratio of how many stitches to pick up to how much knitting can be done is discouragingly large. So, the weather got warmer, I no longer felt an urge to knit a blanket and this languished along with an embarrassingly large number of Cotton Fleece skeins (purchased all at once to make sure dye lots matched).
Forgive the increasingly bad color-balancing, but revel in the new log cabin. These square are more portable, more regular, more better.
I drank the kool-aid and developed Log-Cabin mania last spring, but I made a tactical error and abandoned it for a while.
I first made a swatch to see how it was going to work in my yarn/needle size. Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece on US 6 addis. I liked it.
Unfortunately I liked it too much. This was supposed to be just a swatch, but I got lazy and figured why not just keep going and make this the start of the blanket.
I don't mind the wonkiness, log-cabins are supposed to be wonky
. But the proportions are all wrong for a full sized blanket. This is only about 11 inches square. Making new logs much wider would look weird. I decided that I liked my logs to all have the same width. I had tried to make these all the same width, but mistakes were made. I now know how to count properly, taking the bind-off correctly into consideration.Even if I liked the proportions of the skinny logs, as it gets bigger, the ratio of how many stitches to pick up to how much knitting can be done is discouragingly large. So, the weather got warmer, I no longer felt an urge to knit a blanket and this languished along with an embarrassingly large number of Cotton Fleece skeins (purchased all at once to make sure dye lots matched).
Forgive the increasingly bad color-balancing, but revel in the new log cabin. These square are more portable, more regular, more better.
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