Monday, January 19, 2009

If tomorrow is – undoubtedly – the First Day of the Rest of Our Lives, what does that make today? It is meant to be uniquely depressing, according to this morning’s radio – Monday morning, Christmas bills coming in, weather awful, January paycheck still not here, New Year’s resolutions broken. I, au contraire, love January – that convalescent feeling that the worst is behind us, but it’s too soon to start the hard work.

It must be almost as dark as November, but it feels entirely different.

Miscellany

There was a picture in the Telegraph last Friday of a knitted brain. Did anyone see it? It’s on show in the Boston Science Museum and looks rather nice.

There was a little piece in the Sunday Times yesterday about an old woman who knits breasts. She turns out one a day and her daughter uses them, somehow or other, to teach mothers about breast feeding. My husband took this to mean that the poor little tykes had to suck wool, but I doubt if that be the case.

I cut out both these items and put them in my Knitting file.

Back to vegetables: Fishwife, salicornia/salsola is said to be able to get along without salt, but I will take on board what you say. Is concentrated seaweed the sort of thing you can buy at B&Q? (The link, this time, is to the Fishwife's gardening blog, a Garden-of-Eden scene of abundance compared to my pitiful efforts.)


One of the Sunday papers said yesterday that seed suppliers are struggling to supply all the new, keen vegetable growers this year. I would assume that that is Sunday-newspaper-hype, but I had better get started actually ordering all these wonderful things I have decided on.

As for actual knitting, today’s first task is to wind another skein, surely the last. I continue pleased with my stately progress. I continue to love the striated effect of an Araucania "solid".

9 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:34 AM

    Regarding the knitted brain, I saw one in New Scientist recently - probably the same one you mention. If you are interested, use google images and type Knitted brain in the search box - there are several different brains to be seen.

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  2. Anonymous2:06 PM

    How clever you are. The sweater looks beautiful. I love the borders.
    Ron in Mexico

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  3. It certainly looks different. There is a small light down there at the end of the long dark tunnel.

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  4. My brother emailed me a link to the knitted brain article. It was fun to look at but will not make it to my queue in Ravelry.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4245919/Psychiatrist-knits-anatomically-correct-woolly-brain.html

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  5. the knitted breast are for midwifes to help show new mothers how the baby needs to latch on for feeding.

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  6. Anonymous5:00 PM

    Speaking of knitted breasts, women who have had mastectomies can knit their own breast prostheses. See www.titbits.ca for all the info.
    --Gretchen

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  7. Anonymous7:15 PM

    I had a mastectomy in 1997. Over the years I have found that professionally made silicone prostheses are very hot and uncomfortable in the summer months. I found the pattern for the breast form used by those who are teaching new moms to breastfeed. It is an easy, free pattern that is just as useful for mastectomy patients and much more comfortable for them in warm weather.
    When stuffing the form, the knitter may wish to add smooth stones or gravel to give the form some weight. It is much easier to construct than the one found at the titbits site (which can also be found on Knitty).

    The free pattern is provided in PDF format by the Lactation Consultants of Great Britain. Here is the url: http://www.lcgb.org/index.htm.
    Scroll down to the bottom of their home page for the pdf link to the pattern.

    Sheila in Michigan

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  8. I don't know if you can find seaweed extract at B&Q, sorry. But you can definately get it from The Organic Gardening Catalogue. Also the folk that make it are called Chase Organics and their website is a fund of interesting facts about the benefits of seaweed as fertilizer.

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  9. It may have been a depressing January day but here in the States we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, even more significant in that it precedes Barack Obama's inauguration. I spent the day saying thanks to all of those who made this day possible.

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