Helen and I had a good time yesterday; K1 yarns was busy – but I’m too miserable for much blogging.
The skies are leaden, yet again. Our new student neighbours downstairs kept us awake with their noise, yet again. And this could be the day when we see the beginnings of a run on the Bank of Scotland – an unimaginable thing, once. We have savings there.
Funny thing, isn’t it: last week we were all enjoying an imaginary frisson at the idea of being sucked into a man-made Black Hole in Geneva. This week we are all in fact being sucked into a (metaphorical) financial Black Hole, and it’s no fun at all. Make no mistake: the crisis isn’t just for America. We’re all in this one together.
I sort of wonder sometimes how mortgages could get us into such a mess – they’re not like black tulip bulbs or dot.com start-up companies, valuable only in the eye of the beholder. People need houses to live in, and houses are built on land. They’ll always have some value.
But the answer, I am sure, is leverage. I used to wonder in the late depression (it seems rather precocious of me) where all the money had gone, since nobody seemed to have any, any more. The answer to that one is crystal clear now – there never was any. It was all done (in the ‘20’s, as more recently) with mirrors, with credit, with increasingly absurd optimism.
I’d still like to see something better in the way of leadership from Obama on this one.
We’ll turn to knitting…
…but that’s not much better.
I bought a ball of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino at K1 yarns for the barrister’s wig, and tackled it last night. Failure. It’s supposed to be done on a circular needle; I was using dp’s due to the smallness of a bear’s head. Making the roll of barrister’s hair brought more needles into play, and proved too much for me.
I think I’ll try today knitting back and forth – the trouble with that idea is that there will be a conspicuous seam which won’t be straddled by rolls of hair. Still maybe better than nothing.
Last night I began to panic at the waste of time, and returned to the Princess
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Jean, if you knit the wig back and forth on two needles, and then sew it up, could you knit some rolls separately and applique them across the seam? This could hide the vertical line quite neatly.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, would the Magic Loop technique work in this instance?
Good luck; I'll certainly enjoy hearing about you figuring it out.
Jean, I certainly understand what you're feeling. I'd feel better if both Presidential candidates get on the stick and develop "economic recovery" teams, because whatever the outcome, we'll have to dig out of this fiasco! I'm knitting away on socks- we will always need new comfy socks!
ReplyDeleteJean I work in housing and could ramble on about what's going on now for ages -- I won't of course, but this is another situation of the pubic paying for private greed. Higher ups keep saying they could not have foreseen this. I am not terribly knowledgeable about the world of finance, but those of us in affordable housing were saying 5 years ago that things were going to explode. It was certainly a great deal of smoke and mirrors. Turn on the agricultural news, quick.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand mortgages. I could try, but then I'd have to, well......understand mortgages. Even here in Canada we are life-insured by A.I.G. so I'm terribly relieved that the gov't bailed them out, but it's only a bandaid solution. You're right - we're all in this together.
ReplyDeleteBarrister's wig: I think every so often you could, at the end of a row, cast on half of a curl's worth, knit it, cast it off, leave it hanging, attach it to the other side post-seaming. You'd only have to do it a few times, probably, on such a small scale.
Just to say I've nominated you for an "I love your blog" award!
ReplyDelete