Just letting folks know that a typo was found in that pattern and I have corrected it, thanks to a Ravelry member who was trying it out. Apologies to anyone who may have struggled with it and gave up.
For the record, I screw up all the time, so please feel free to correct me.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Normal People
Not a knitting post, but certainly an aesthetics post. I was paying bills, updating the check book (debit cards can mess you up if you don't keep track of what you spend!) during the McLaughlin Group (PBS) this morning, after which comes Now, after which comes reruns of the Lawrence Welk show. I started watching the McLaughlin Group years ago mainly to watch someone else yell at Tony Blankly besides me (he's not even a smart Republican hack - barely smarter than Limbaugh - and don't get me started on the Moonie-owned Washington Times), and so I generally turn it on Sundays. Well, McLaughlin finished up, Now finished up, and I'm almost done when I realize there's the Lawrence Welk holiday special. Not my thing musically, mind you - not bizarre enough to be interesting, not bad enough to be funny. But the show looked to be from the 1970's, early 1970's. All the main players were introducing their families. And I was totally blown away by how normal all these people looked. There were big noses, prominent teeth, close-set eyes, and the wives and children weren't the least bit interchangeable - they all looked like individuals. Not in any radical way (mohawks, etc.), but if they stood next to each others you could tell them apart by something besides hair color. It was very trippy and depressing to realize how we seem to be losing more and more visual diversity in the population. Even if there are regional differences in how people dress, or class differences, populations within those groups are very conformist. Even the rebels have uniforms (e.g.tattoos, piercings) which eventually get coopted by other groups. Prominent noses are corrected by surgery; everyone gets braces at some point. Yes, straight teeth are nicer that seriously crooked teeth, but there was a time when only folks with seriously messed up teeth endured orthodontia. I don't mind people making the effort to improve their looks, but it seems that our culture has adopted some pretty narrow standards of what actually looks good, so it's not enough to simply take what you've got and find a way to make it attractive or interesting; now you've got to make it conform to the standard.
In spite of the ugly '70's clothes and hairstyles, these were some of the most individual-looking and interesting-looking folks I've seen in ages. They looked like real humans. What a Stepford country we've become.
In spite of the ugly '70's clothes and hairstyles, these were some of the most individual-looking and interesting-looking folks I've seen in ages. They looked like real humans. What a Stepford country we've become.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Lusting After Lace
One of several pieces on the "Lacy Little Nanopants" page; I've written the author to see if she can share some of the details.
 clipped from www.johnnysstew.com
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It's snowing, so it must be Swatch Day!
It's probably just as well that I don't have any regular readers. I've actually got two or three vintage patterns I mean to post, but haven't; I suck, but even that knowledge doesn't add hours to my day or days to my week so that I can do both everything I want to do and everything I need to do (both categories get slighted, in case you are wondering). And I do hope to get real knitting done tonight. But this afternoon will be swatch knitting.
First, I'm going to make a chenille hot water bottle cozy as an xmas gift for someone, so I had to swatch that. Since it's chenille, I'll have to decide what kind of closure I want for it; the ribbing won't be stretchy enough for it to be a 'pullover'. Once I get my stitch count figured out, I'll choose some nifty cable pattern (or other textured pattern) to grace a panel on the front. When I get something I like, I'll post the details.
Next, I'm swatching for the Charlotte Bronte shawl (a pattern that's a reproduction of sorts of a shawl that allegedly belonged to the famed authoress); I'm using a larger yarn than the original pattern calls for, but then I want a larger shawl...however, I want to make sure that the yarn I use will work for the pattern. It's a space dyed yarn, and I don't think the contrast in colors will distract from the design, but there's only one way for me to find out (I don't have enough experience to assess the affect of color on various lace patterns or what guage might work best unless I actually knit it up).
Third swatch will be for BadCatDesign's Saigon Scarf, another lovely lace project; it has assymetrical ends, but not of the radical nature of Pink Lemon Twist's Swan Lake (which I love, but Americans don't do well with that sort of thing, I think). Anyway, I got some laceweight yarn from handpaintedyarn.com, color Bloody Mary. Andrea of BadCat doesn't give a specific needle size, so I really do need to swatch to see if it will give me an effect that I like.
The fourth swatch is for GoddessKnits xmas mystery shawl KAL. It's an easier KAL than the lovely but seriously challenging Halloween Shawl, and uses a heavier yarn. I'm going to try some shetland yarns with the swatch to see how they look. I'm fine if I get a larger shawl than advertised - I'm plump with a huge rack, so there's plenty of real estate for a nice lace design to cover ("huge tracts of land" indeed!). I'm going to try different colors than she recommends - I want to catch the twilight colors of snow and winter sky, the blues, greys and lavenders that get quite intense shortly before the sun sets; I'll see how successful I am.
I went out earlier for coffee; I will probably go out again around sunset to catch those gorgeous colors.
Oh, and I really do hope to post some charting challenges this weekend for the Lace Charting group to play with over the holidays; I totally missed November. (See above for details on my suckiness.)
I forgot to say that one of the reasons I've been slacking on other online duties is because I'm busy shaming myself by documenting my stash on ravelry. It's humiliating in so many ways...didn't realize I had that many novelty yarns, didn't realize I had that much yarn, and more. Hell, I stick it in a box and promptly forget I own it. Not the best way to manage my collection.
First, I'm going to make a chenille hot water bottle cozy as an xmas gift for someone, so I had to swatch that. Since it's chenille, I'll have to decide what kind of closure I want for it; the ribbing won't be stretchy enough for it to be a 'pullover'. Once I get my stitch count figured out, I'll choose some nifty cable pattern (or other textured pattern) to grace a panel on the front. When I get something I like, I'll post the details.
Next, I'm swatching for the Charlotte Bronte shawl (a pattern that's a reproduction of sorts of a shawl that allegedly belonged to the famed authoress); I'm using a larger yarn than the original pattern calls for, but then I want a larger shawl...however, I want to make sure that the yarn I use will work for the pattern. It's a space dyed yarn, and I don't think the contrast in colors will distract from the design, but there's only one way for me to find out (I don't have enough experience to assess the affect of color on various lace patterns or what guage might work best unless I actually knit it up).
Third swatch will be for BadCatDesign's Saigon Scarf, another lovely lace project; it has assymetrical ends, but not of the radical nature of Pink Lemon Twist's Swan Lake (which I love, but Americans don't do well with that sort of thing, I think). Anyway, I got some laceweight yarn from handpaintedyarn.com, color Bloody Mary. Andrea of BadCat doesn't give a specific needle size, so I really do need to swatch to see if it will give me an effect that I like.
The fourth swatch is for GoddessKnits xmas mystery shawl KAL. It's an easier KAL than the lovely but seriously challenging Halloween Shawl, and uses a heavier yarn. I'm going to try some shetland yarns with the swatch to see how they look. I'm fine if I get a larger shawl than advertised - I'm plump with a huge rack, so there's plenty of real estate for a nice lace design to cover ("huge tracts of land" indeed!). I'm going to try different colors than she recommends - I want to catch the twilight colors of snow and winter sky, the blues, greys and lavenders that get quite intense shortly before the sun sets; I'll see how successful I am.
I went out earlier for coffee; I will probably go out again around sunset to catch those gorgeous colors.
Oh, and I really do hope to post some charting challenges this weekend for the Lace Charting group to play with over the holidays; I totally missed November. (See above for details on my suckiness.)
I forgot to say that one of the reasons I've been slacking on other online duties is because I'm busy shaming myself by documenting my stash on ravelry. It's humiliating in so many ways...didn't realize I had that many novelty yarns, didn't realize I had that much yarn, and more. Hell, I stick it in a box and promptly forget I own it. Not the best way to manage my collection.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Second Time Around
I recently added ScribeFire to Firefox; nice tool, it really is, but it ate the post I wrote for today. So here's a warning to anyone using ScribeFire with Blogger - manually configure the account access. Otherwise, it won't talk to Blogger and you'll lose what you've typed! You'll get an error message telling you to go to the performancing page or some such thing, but what you'll want to do is delete your blog and add it again. The first menu you get after selecting "Configure Manually" doesn't list Blogger - select "Custom" or "Other" or whatever is at the bottom. The second menu will list Blogger; select that one and you'll get a link with a bunch of stuff in it - just replace your blog name where it should be in the link, do not replace the entire link. You need that other stuff to make the tool work.
Yes, I'm not much of a geek; notice I don't know any of the proper jargon.
I've been knitting - Dracula's Bride aka The Halloween Mystery shawl, Swan Lake aka Mystery Stole 3, and the Lace Party Scarf, my boss's xmas gift from last year.
Lots of drama on Ravelry around Dracula's Bride. Yes, the designer (Renee of Goddessknits) did overreact a bit, but I can understand why she felt attacked. I thought some of the remarks were, well, a personal attack. I don't know Renee, nor do I know the folks making the remarks; I can only say how the remarks seemed to me. The ones I found particularly appalling were the accusations that she was using the KAL members as test knitters (the KAL cost $5) because there was an error on the first chart and some confusion about interpreting the first clue. I'd say 70% of the KALs I've joined have had at least one chart error in the process of the KAL. (I also know someone whose mother is a professional test knitter, and the crap she gets is nothing like getting a chart with an error on one or two rows.) This is an extremely challenging project (even for experienced lace knitters); I think many were frustrated at the difficulty of the first clue (which was the hardest) and took it out on the designer. Having gotten past the worst of it, the biggest problem now is that there's lots and lots of knitting. I look forward to finishing this someday and having my own beautiful shawl to wear; I'm not posting photos until I'm through with clue 2 (it will be awhile, folks).
I'm working on Swan Lake, too. Same goes for photos; when I'm finished with clue 2 (that's how far behind I am).
I've been chatting with a few groups on Ravelry, too. I found groups with some funny, smart, witty but not unnecessarily mean folks. I try to stay away from the snarky groups; cranky snark people make me someone I don't really care to be. I do think that everyone should have standards; I don't think that everything is good, that it's impossible for a project to be bad or ugly (go to Ravelry, look at my unblocked half-finished projects - ugly). I've spent much of my adult life thinking about why I like the things I like - books, music, movies, etc. We live in a world where cultural product is shovelled out like fries at a McDonalds. Critical thinking of all kinds is a good thing. Having said that...Yes, there are ugly patterns out there. I ask myself why someone would knit that; but someone did, and my making fun of them and being cruel on a blog or online chat will not improve the quality of knitting in the world. Yes, I have seen products (patterns, accessories, yarns) I consider waaaay overpriced (in fact, I've commented on that sort of thing below); but what I consider too dear to purchase may be the treasure someone considers priceless. Yes, even if it's only the creator's mother. It's only my opinion and my budget that says, "Whoa, that's not worth it!" It's fine for me to say that, but I let everyone know I consider it an opinion, not a diktat. And yes, I've seen questions from knitters who have me thinking, "That person shouldn't be on a lace KAL if they can barely knit and purl." But instead of substituting cruelty for wit, someone will usually send them a link with the information/instruction they need. Yes, that knitter might actually be a dumber than a box of hair, but they don't stand a chance of learning if someone doesn't help them out. And generally, once shown where to learn what they need to know, they rarely continue to write the group for basic instruction. Oh sure, I can be as mean as any bitchy man or woman; but I save that for private conversations with friends. If given the chance to provide feedback, I make it constructive (that doesn't mean I only say good things, mind you), telling someone what works for me and why, and what doesn't work and why.
Different topic - I ordered some Bloody Mary lace weight yarn from handpaintedyarn.com. My cunning plan is to use it for the 'Saigon' scarf from Andrea J/BadCatDesigns. She is posting the pattern information on her blog for free. And if you are knitting any of her designs consider joining her Yahoo! group. She's very responsive to questions and requests. I figure if the yarn isn't what I want for that project, I'll find another use for it. I'm too poor to buy expensive yarns all the time, and Knitpicks or Elann or Malabrigo doesn't always have the color I want (if anyone is inclined to buy me some expensive hand-dyed lace yarn from Etsy or some other site, let me know - I'll put it to good use, guaranteed!).
Okay, here's my test post part 2 from ScribeFire. I'm going to update my Ravelry projects and stash now (I'm feraljane there, just as I am here, if any members care to check me out there). I lost a fight with my stove today and so no knitting tonight.
Yes, I'm not much of a geek; notice I don't know any of the proper jargon.
I've been knitting - Dracula's Bride aka The Halloween Mystery shawl, Swan Lake aka Mystery Stole 3, and the Lace Party Scarf, my boss's xmas gift from last year.
Lots of drama on Ravelry around Dracula's Bride. Yes, the designer (Renee of Goddessknits) did overreact a bit, but I can understand why she felt attacked. I thought some of the remarks were, well, a personal attack. I don't know Renee, nor do I know the folks making the remarks; I can only say how the remarks seemed to me. The ones I found particularly appalling were the accusations that she was using the KAL members as test knitters (the KAL cost $5) because there was an error on the first chart and some confusion about interpreting the first clue. I'd say 70% of the KALs I've joined have had at least one chart error in the process of the KAL. (I also know someone whose mother is a professional test knitter, and the crap she gets is nothing like getting a chart with an error on one or two rows.) This is an extremely challenging project (even for experienced lace knitters); I think many were frustrated at the difficulty of the first clue (which was the hardest) and took it out on the designer. Having gotten past the worst of it, the biggest problem now is that there's lots and lots of knitting. I look forward to finishing this someday and having my own beautiful shawl to wear; I'm not posting photos until I'm through with clue 2 (it will be awhile, folks).
I'm working on Swan Lake, too. Same goes for photos; when I'm finished with clue 2 (that's how far behind I am).
I've been chatting with a few groups on Ravelry, too. I found groups with some funny, smart, witty but not unnecessarily mean folks. I try to stay away from the snarky groups; cranky snark people make me someone I don't really care to be. I do think that everyone should have standards; I don't think that everything is good, that it's impossible for a project to be bad or ugly (go to Ravelry, look at my unblocked half-finished projects - ugly). I've spent much of my adult life thinking about why I like the things I like - books, music, movies, etc. We live in a world where cultural product is shovelled out like fries at a McDonalds. Critical thinking of all kinds is a good thing. Having said that...Yes, there are ugly patterns out there. I ask myself why someone would knit that; but someone did, and my making fun of them and being cruel on a blog or online chat will not improve the quality of knitting in the world. Yes, I have seen products (patterns, accessories, yarns) I consider waaaay overpriced (in fact, I've commented on that sort of thing below); but what I consider too dear to purchase may be the treasure someone considers priceless. Yes, even if it's only the creator's mother. It's only my opinion and my budget that says, "Whoa, that's not worth it!" It's fine for me to say that, but I let everyone know I consider it an opinion, not a diktat. And yes, I've seen questions from knitters who have me thinking, "That person shouldn't be on a lace KAL if they can barely knit and purl." But instead of substituting cruelty for wit, someone will usually send them a link with the information/instruction they need. Yes, that knitter might actually be a dumber than a box of hair, but they don't stand a chance of learning if someone doesn't help them out. And generally, once shown where to learn what they need to know, they rarely continue to write the group for basic instruction. Oh sure, I can be as mean as any bitchy man or woman; but I save that for private conversations with friends. If given the chance to provide feedback, I make it constructive (that doesn't mean I only say good things, mind you), telling someone what works for me and why, and what doesn't work and why.
Different topic - I ordered some Bloody Mary lace weight yarn from handpaintedyarn.com. My cunning plan is to use it for the 'Saigon' scarf from Andrea J/BadCatDesigns. She is posting the pattern information on her blog for free. And if you are knitting any of her designs consider joining her Yahoo! group. She's very responsive to questions and requests. I figure if the yarn isn't what I want for that project, I'll find another use for it. I'm too poor to buy expensive yarns all the time, and Knitpicks or Elann or Malabrigo doesn't always have the color I want (if anyone is inclined to buy me some expensive hand-dyed lace yarn from Etsy or some other site, let me know - I'll put it to good use, guaranteed!).
Okay, here's my test post part 2 from ScribeFire. I'm going to update my Ravelry projects and stash now (I'm feraljane there, just as I am here, if any members care to check me out there). I lost a fight with my stove today and so no knitting tonight.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Yammering ninny
I keep saying I’m going to post photos, patterns, something, anything, and I don’t. I’ve been either knitting/frogging, reading, or engaged in mundane housework (exception was a hippie day off with one my coworkers – I’m not really a hippie, but she’s been under a lot of stress and needed to reclaim her hippie roots). Next week I’ll be co-presenting a couple of concerts…but I’m not going to write about that here. Just an indication that I’ll likely be no more attentive next week than I am this week.
I’m still working on MS3 – it’s getting easier as I get used to it (if I actually pin it out, it’s large enough to be worthy of a photo or two). Those #2 US needles are a little hard to use for those of us in the presbyopia age group. I need a Klieg light for my knitting at this point (where to put it in my postage stamp-sized apartment is another question). I’m pleased, though, with the yarn, the needle size, and the pattern.
I’m also working on the Halloween Mystery Shawl. That one is totally kicking my ass – much harder to get started than MS3 was (and I thought that one was difficult). The nice thing about KALs is that at least other people are struggling and offering tips. The mailings on the Yahoo! Group end of that have gotten quiet, as people are knitting instead of crying in anguish; I haven’t checked on the Ravelry end to see what the discussions are like there. I really need to get better organized so that I can keep on top of these things…or at least stay acquainted with them.
I’ll be spending some of the weekend with the Mater, so I don’t know how much knitting I’ll get done. I’m going to bring MS3 with me – since I’m having a somewhat easier time with it now, I feel a little more confident about traveling with it. If I decide to wimp out, I’ll bring my lace party scarf (or whatever the actual name is) from MagKnits. I’m almost done with it, so I could finish it up….heh, I’m already trying to talk myself out of traveling with MS3. Coward.
I’ve some vintage patterns and groovy photos from an old Spinnerin book that I want to post; I keep saying soon, but that may mean in terms of geologic time spans rather than the human lifetime. Note that, by groovy photos, I mean something similar to my “Groovy” and “Extra Groovy” – the sweaters aren’t quite as stylish (few designs could really compete with these), but the Spinnerin photos have a spirit that will complement the Groovy series well enough.
Until my next disorganized rambling that is totally lacking in useful information or entertaining images,
Best wishes,
Jane
I’m still working on MS3 – it’s getting easier as I get used to it (if I actually pin it out, it’s large enough to be worthy of a photo or two). Those #2 US needles are a little hard to use for those of us in the presbyopia age group. I need a Klieg light for my knitting at this point (where to put it in my postage stamp-sized apartment is another question). I’m pleased, though, with the yarn, the needle size, and the pattern.
I’m also working on the Halloween Mystery Shawl. That one is totally kicking my ass – much harder to get started than MS3 was (and I thought that one was difficult). The nice thing about KALs is that at least other people are struggling and offering tips. The mailings on the Yahoo! Group end of that have gotten quiet, as people are knitting instead of crying in anguish; I haven’t checked on the Ravelry end to see what the discussions are like there. I really need to get better organized so that I can keep on top of these things…or at least stay acquainted with them.
I’ll be spending some of the weekend with the Mater, so I don’t know how much knitting I’ll get done. I’m going to bring MS3 with me – since I’m having a somewhat easier time with it now, I feel a little more confident about traveling with it. If I decide to wimp out, I’ll bring my lace party scarf (or whatever the actual name is) from MagKnits. I’m almost done with it, so I could finish it up….heh, I’m already trying to talk myself out of traveling with MS3. Coward.
I’ve some vintage patterns and groovy photos from an old Spinnerin book that I want to post; I keep saying soon, but that may mean in terms of geologic time spans rather than the human lifetime. Note that, by groovy photos, I mean something similar to my “Groovy” and “Extra Groovy” – the sweaters aren’t quite as stylish (few designs could really compete with these), but the Spinnerin photos have a spirit that will complement the Groovy series well enough.
Until my next disorganized rambling that is totally lacking in useful information or entertaining images,
Best wishes,
Jane
Friday, October 05, 2007
Ravelry Rave
I got myself on the list to join Ravelry back in July, and I finally got my invite last week. I wasn't sure whether I'd actually like it; people have a tendency to think the most mediocre things are wonderful, so I had my doubts. But I love it! It's not a hassle to use, and real thought was put into making this thing useful to knitters. The tools for organizing projects aren't difficult to use or figure out, in fact everything on there is extremely user-friendly, so you don't have to spend 45 minutes trying to get something posted on there. I'm not the most tech-loving person in the world (for example, Library Thing is okay, but I'm not overwhelmed with its wonderfulness), but this is one of those tools that is really awesome and useful to someone who would rather knit than futz with a computer all evening. Ravelry - highly recommended!
Overpriced Swans
I rarely snark publicly (my closest friends hear my rants, but they recognize the difference between my venting versus my deeply-held beliefs); and I want to say that this is a very nice design, it really is. I would purchase it for $4 or $5 (comparable in price to Pink Lemon Twist, Bad Cat, or Goddess Knits, all of whom I've purchased from). But the designer is charging $25 for this design. I'm sure she was inspired by the fact that some folks were willing to spend $25-$35 for Triinu Andreasen's design (I admit I purchased early and bought it myself, I couldn't help myself), but Triinu's shawl really puts this one in the shade. I'm pretty sure I won't be spending that much on a single design in the next few years, but even if I did experience that lapse again, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't spend it on this.
I'm curious to know how many will purchase the design at this price; could be I'm just cheap (and poor), and it doesn't tickle my fancy enough to make me ignore my budget. For her sake, I hope most knitters aren't the cranky pinch-pennies that I am.
I'm curious to know how many will purchase the design at this price; could be I'm just cheap (and poor), and it doesn't tickle my fancy enough to make me ignore my budget. For her sake, I hope most knitters aren't the cranky pinch-pennies that I am.
 clipped from www.susanreishusdesigns.com
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