Monday, March 12, 2012


Non-knit

I begin my day with my iPad – email, Flipboard, Zite. Flipboard has a “News” section – its own idea, and I rarely look at it, but I did this morning. The first page is Gaza, Syria, and something about losing weight; the second page is British news. There is nothing about Afghanistan anywhere. Of course at the moment it is the middle of the night in the USofA where the mighty Flipboard computers are. But we in Britain had the news by the early evening yesterday – afternoon on the Eastern seaboard. Plenty of time. Does that represent the news reports America will wake up to this morning? Surely not.

Knitting

I hope to finish Ketki’s first sock today. I don’t know what we’re going to do about Strathardle – my husband has been having a series of highish blood sugar levels, and wants to consult the hospital. Also, his right hand, which had been slowly improving, seized up entirely yesterday. Walking is more difficult even than usual because he can’t hold his walking stick in his right hand. I had to help with dressing for the first time. Slouchy-sized socks – my recent knitting – make things easier.

Anonymous, you asked for my “little [sock] list”. Here it is, as it appears in my electronic Filofax. Notice the reference at the end to comments here – I appreciate you people:

Nancy Bush, "Folk Socks"
June socks pattern (downloaded & printed)
Lucy Neatby's garter stitch heel -- in pattern "Timberland Toes" downloaded and printed
"Afterthought heel" -- this is probably EZ
Yarnissima's "brainless" -- free Ravelry pattern -- downloaded & printed

Advice on stretchy cast-offs: comments Sunday 5/2/12 and Monday
Tips on interesting yarn for gents, 8-9/2

I agree with you utterly, Catdownunder, about being unenthusiastic about toe-up socks. That fiddly cast-on! The tedious ribbing last! And, worst of all, no way to correct the foot length if I get it slightly wrong. All the pattern-writers seem to think we knit socks for no one but ourselves, and can be constantly trying them on.

But this is my year for challenges, so I’ll have a go at it.

Twisted-front sweater

Mary Lou, I’m completely sure that the pattern coincidence I talked about yesterday, was no more than that – a coincidence, as you say. Both magazines and both designers were probably upset by it. Judith (comment, Saturday), I so agree that Ravelry is simply invaluable for letting us see how a contemplated pattern actually looks on actual people. The En Pointe looks better than I would have expected. There aren’t enough real-world examples of the VK version to judge.

4 comments:

  1. Check out Joyce Williams toe-up heel cast on. It is easy and NEVER needs adjusting. It is in her book Latvian Dreams - or Latvian Knits. Can't remember. She taught me to do it through email in response to a note many years ago on the KL. She was brillaint!
    Leslie

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  2. My husband saw the horrible news about Afghanistan last evening (Sun. evening).

    According to the story on CNN website, "This was not just a rogue soldier," said Jorge Gonzalez, executive director of G.I. Voice, a veteran-run nonprofit organization that operates a soldiers' resource center near the base called Coffee Strong. The base is "a rogue base, with a severe leadership problem," he said.

    "If Fort Lewis was a college campus, it would have been closed down years ago," Gonzalez said.

    And back to knitting - Joyce's book is Latvian Dreams

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  3. Because of my work I have access to a more professional "news feed" than most people. It is clear from that the main news services in the US (from their ABC, CNN etc) tend to be pretty much "sanitised" and even more local than ours in Australia. The UK tends to have (and give)a much better coverage of world affairs. There are some things which are only reported if they cannot cover them up.
    The other problem with toe-up for me is the heel. The plaintive, "Can't you just make them the way you have always made them because they fit that way" is enough to keep experiments off the radar.

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  4. Catdownunder - I agree with you. I tend to go to the BBC website first because they cover US news better than the US media sites. As for international news - it is rarely covered (and never in any depth) by US news.

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