Hi Guys!
The girls are coming over!
Hi Guys!
(this isn’t really how your hands are when you knit.)
I finally “came out of the closet” to all of my girlfriends. They don’t knit. They know I’m a dork, but I think this may even surprise them.
The boys are next. I’m afraid their mocking won’t be as merciful as my girls.
Saturation
It’s easy to get saturated with talk about the election, our country, the “moral majority”, etc, etc, etc. That’s where I am, saturated. I keep going back for more. Why? Because I’m still trying to understand it. What makes people feel the way they do? I see a president who misleads me, judges me, and limits my choices as a person and as a woman. I see a president who picks his battles for personal gain, who refuses to protect the needs of his natural world, and who puts his people in harms way. I see a president who fails to admit his wrongs, does things because he “feels” they’re right, doesn’t know one geographic border from another.
This is what I see. I also see a country divided, as it was four years ago. The actions of the executive office did nothing to bridge that gap last term. I don’t see any way they’ll accomplish that this term. We can all argue until we’re blue in the face. It’s time to start to understand one another and learn, teach, and hear. I’ve been hard pressed to find measured opinions from those who voted for Bush. I’m working at finding partisan (from both sides) and non-partisan sources backing up my thoughts because I’m going to start speaking. Speaking out a lot…
Go team!
Besot
If something besots you, then it has either inspired you with overwhelming love or it has made you stupid and muddled, as if you are drunk. Example: “How could I have known, on that glorious morning, that the lovely Lorelei would so besot me?”
Someone who is besotted might be called “drunk with love,” but originally the sense was more of being just plain drunk. The word comes from the obsolete English sot (a habitual drunkard), from Old English sott (to stupefy; a fool or a drunkard). The earlier source was probably Old French sot (foolish).
The transitive prefix be- was added by the mid 1500s, by which time the word had acquired the sense of love-drunkenness and the phrase “besotted lovers” entered English literature.
I’m making a Besotted Scarf for my Daddy-o for Christmas (are you still out there reading Dad? If so, you’re going to ruin Christmas for everyone if you read the rest of this post. 
)
I’m not sure that this scarf has inspired me with overwhelming love, but it certainly is a fun knit. I’m guessing it’s called Besotted because of the X O pattern made by the cable combination. Kisses and Hugs. All good things for a Dad!
The yarn is super rough on my hands. I’m using Reynolds Turnberry Tweed that I got half price at a Snow Goose sale a few weeks ago. I am hoping that it will soften a bit with a washing. I have a feeling it will. Does anyone have any experience with this yarn? A rough scarf isn’t too good for the face. Dad does love wool so I’m not too worried about it. This is my progress as of Sunday (my camera can’t catch the cables):
I’ve since completed 3 or 4 more pattern repeats and discovered that I missed a cable in the beginning. The first “circle” is twice the size of the others. No worries…I’ll just make the last circle the same size and it will be a style element! Gotta love the style element.
I missed my train to work yesterday and had to sit and wait for another one (45 minutes! argh, grumble, bad Monday.) I was thankful to have my knitting with me, not too thankful for the large smelly homeless man next to me trying to guess what I was making. “A Sweater?”, “A Blanket?”, “Is it for a Baby?”, “Are you pregnant?” To add insult to injury I realized I had forgotten my cable needle. Bah. I tried to figure out how to do it without one…no luck. It did inspire me to look it up and learn. Wendy Knits comes to the rescue. I’m not sure if I’m a big fan of the no needle method. It seems to be a bit more difficult only because my stitches are so tight. I suppose I need to loosen up a bit eh? It wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve reached that conclusion.
Hot Whip
Circles Salon (one of my LYSs) celebrated its 1st Anniversary this weekend.
Check out the beautiful cake! How cool is that? I went and knit for a bit. Got a bit knit on Rob’s Christmas Stocking. My first sock! And it’s for a giant! Kris was right, turning the heel was pretty damn exciting. I did have to rip about 8,000 times. It’s hard to knit a bit when you’ve got such great company. I met my first blogging friend, Elisa. She’s a cute one and I’m so excited to have a new knit friend.
We spent some time at the beach on Saturday.
The weather was beautiful. It freaks me out that we live so close to this. Granted, the water is never warm enough to swim in. It’s still pretty damn cool. The dogs are only allowed there during the fall/winter. Rya absolutely loves the water. Can’t ja tell? We forgot to bring a ball for her so I kept throwing clam shells out into the water. She somehow has picked up this new habit of dunking her head to get them off the ocean floor. It was very cute.
I’ve discovered my new favorite thing…
I call it hot whip (hot chocolate and whip) just because it sounds a lot more risqué then my life really is. And really, who couldn’t do without a little hot whip in their life?
Reverse Flash made a rare appearance to sneak some whip…yes, the man fills his mouth directly from the canister. Let me count the ways I love him. (One would have to include the fact that we now have “Pear Green” walls in our office.)
DAMN THAT BLOGGER
DAMN THAT BLOGGER….
**incidently, blogger doesn’t have the word blogger in their spell check. more proof that it is STUPID AND ANNOYING**
The Bored March
Enter knitting…enter my couch…ahhh, production at its laziest.
Aren’t they beautiful? The pink one is neat because it’s garter stitch (or just the purl side of stockinette, I can’t tell.) I like how the thick rib pops out of this background. The brown one is cool just because it’s different. One day I will figure out how to reproduce things. FroggyKnits does a great review of the stuff coming out of Anthropologie, one of my favorite catalogs for knitted objects.
Until I learn how to challenge the knitting goddess I think I’ll continue on to the sweater with the sleeves that could take over the world (Banff!) and marvel at my ability to be lazy and productive at the same time.
Entertainment
I just received this via email and it made me smile. Yes, I know it’s a generalization, yes I know that NOT everyone in the Red States are part of the religious right, yes I know that not all those in the Blue States voted for Kerry, yes I know that believing in Jesus doesn’t make you a Bush supporter, yes I know, yes I know. I happen to like Jesus and I believe he was a democrat. But I digress, this is funny it made me giggle…it is a joke. For crying out loud don’t get all up in my shizznizz (like some commenters on Kerstin’s blog) for trying to find humor in what I find to be a very dismaying situation. I mean really – if you get too upset exercise your finger and click off the blog or comment, educate me, educate yourself. We’re all here to learn and discover new things…not legislate behaviors and/or force beliefs on others.
Weighing
Banff sleeves:
There was no weighing or calculating (yarn yardage) last night. All the analytical energy of the world was going into the election results. There wasn’t any left for me.
Today I hide…
Tomorrow I move to Mexico…
Ahh, lovely Culina
Meet Culina….
Isn’t she lovely? I found her at Home Goods for a mere $9.99. I snatched her up and planned on using her for my soap making adventures. Little did she know that she would be pressed into service for another worthy cause.
Like knitting. She is perfect for knitting. We have the following scenario:
1) The label listed yardage for the Araucania Nature Wool has been called into question.
2) I am a total moron and failed to buy enough yarn for Banff (this is I did without the help of the misleading label.)
3) The Banff pattern does not have the breakdown of yardage by piece. You never see the yardage by piece in a pattern, why is this?!
4) One sleeve is knit, another on the needles almost completed.
So, how does one figure out if she’s going to have enough yarn? Julia, Margene, and KLV offered great advice. Thank you ladies. I never even thought of looking at the comments in posts about Banff…genius. In the end I was still left with my question. I’m not exactly on pattern gauge and I substituted yarn, will I have enough?!
Aside from just knitting it up and holding my breath there aren’t many options. Culina to the rescue. I am a scientist. I love to weigh things, count things, and statitize things (is that a word?!). I’m not sure where this is going to lead, the suspense is killing me.
A finished Banff Sleeve
Time to Weigh it up (scale reads: 150 grams)
A skein of Araucania Nature Wool steps up to the plate (scale reads: 100 grams, hey! the label weight is correct….)
So, it takes a skein and a half to complete one sleeve of Ms. Banff. Unfortunately the needles are still in my other sleeve. Does anyone know the weight of Clover US Size 10 24″ Circular Needles? If you do, you are a big nerd like me and you must be my soul mate (sorry Robby). I should finish the sleeve tonight and will rush to weigh them and report tomorrow.
Back to the question at hand, does this help me figure out how much is needed for the back and front pieces?! Stay tuned for math, spreadsheets, and calculator fun. I know your boiling over with excitement. Humor me here….nerds need love too.
Support the Environment Plant Bush In Texas
BUSH In Texas
First things first, VOTE! You are an observer in most of this country’s affairs. You listen, read, and watch and 99% of the time you have little voice. Here is your opportunity. Use your voice dammit and VOTE! I don’t care if your State is already leaning one way or another. Use your voice. People have died for it. I don’t care if your undecided. Pick a topic that is important to you, say the environment, do a bit of googling, look at the records of the candidates and VOTE!
If you know you have registered and you’re not listed at your polling place you can still vote – it’s the law. First, make sure you are at the correct location. Call 1-800-OURVOTE to check. If you’re at the correct location you have a right to a provisional ballet. Check here for Individual State requirements.(information via Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire.)
In the midst of all of the Polling and Theorizing your bound to get overwhelmed. Decompress and spend some time on an issue that really matters. Presidential Hair.
Also, the History Channel shows a very funny side of the election process with HOW THEY WON: 7 Secrets to Winning the Presidency. The hour long documentary is hosted by Mo Rocca. Here are the secrets (taken from a History Channel Press Release.)
* Be the Common Man: How do you convince people you’re someone you’re not,
especially when you come from a privileged background? George H.W.
Bush munched on pork rinds. Bill Clinton jogged. To seem like the
common man, candidates try to eat, exercise and drink like common men,
despite their elite backgrounds. Mo shows Bush and Kerry how to
overcome their fatcat handicaps.
* Have a Ne’er Do Well Brother: Billy Carter. Roger Clinton. Donald
Nixon. Having an eccentric in the family makes candidates appear
smarter, more human, and able to weather a crisis. Are there black
sheep siblings in the Bush and Kerry clans who can inadvertently help
their more accomplished brothers out?
* Pick a Presidential Pooch: Only two (we have it that only ONE president
did not have a pet) presidents didn’t have pets. John Quincy Adams had
an alligator, and all but five presidents had man’s best friend. What
makes a pooch presidential? Mo heads to the American Kennel Club dog
show where he pits a Scottish Terrier (Bush’s breed of dog) against a
German Shepard (Kerry’s) in a “Canine Good Citizen Test” to determine
which breed is better suited for the White House and which one belongs
in the dog house.
* Better Hair Matters: Does it matter if a president has a full head of
hair? You bet. Only five elected (Ford was bald but not elected)
presidents have been bald-and only one in the last century (Eisenhower).
“Hair Part Theorists” John and Catherine Walter claim that the side on
which hair is parted emphasizes activity in the brain-presidents with
hair parted on the left (18 presidents) signify strength; while those
with hair parted on the right (6 presidents) may be too sensitive. Mo
meets with image consultant Beryl Wing for candidate hair care tips.
* Mudslinging 101: Think those swift boat commercials are too negative?
In 1828, John Quincy Adams called Andrew Jackson’s mother a whore.
Fear factor tactics have been used since the election of 1800, when
Thomas Jefferson was accused of being an atheist and John Adams a
monarchist. Television has made the effectiveness of negative ads all
the more persuasive. Aided by GOP pollster Frank Luntz, Mo puts
together a hilarious 1908 TV attack ad blasting William Howard Taft
using the techniques perfected in the trade today.
* Have a Great Theme Song: Today, candidates rely on pop songs as
campaign theme songs, but as recently as the 1980s, songs were written
specifically for candidates. Folksinger Oscar Brand performs excerpts
from songs like “I’m Just Wild about Harry” (Harry Truman), 1824′s
“Little Know Ye Who’s Coming” (a John Quincy Adams song foretelling an
ominous future if he wasn’t elected) and other presidential theme songs
that attempted to use music to reinforce positive images.
* Have a Lot of Money: The key word here is “money.”
One Last Thing – VOTE!