I’m about halfway
around the three-needle bind-off on the neck of my EPS sweater. I ribbed
on and on. Meg’s instruction, in Knitter’s Magazine, way back then, was to rib
until the neck was deep enough and then bind off loosely. That’s no use at
all to a Blind Follower like me. After 2” it was clear that I had gone too
far, if it wasn’t to be doubled. Fortunately Kate Davies’ new pattern was
specific: four inches. When I had done a generous three, I started the
bind-off. All is well.
Shandy, are you
among those – I know they are many – who believe that a sewn seam gives a
sweater necessary structure? Andrea is presumably one of them. (Will she be
back this week? I’ve lost count.) I don’t much mind doing it, especially once I
discovered that a tidy back stitch is acceptable. I used to think, in my very
early knitting years, that one was required to produce an invisible seam with
something like mattress stitch. For a folded neckline, of course, the story is
different. If this one works, I’ll have learned something.
However, today’s
big news is that I have voted. Monmouth County, NJ, was anxious that I should
not entrust the ballot to anyone else to take to the post office, and anyway I
wouldn’t have wanted to deprive myself of the pleasure. Helen came this morning
to take me for a walk, and we did that instead. The nice girl at the counter
surprised me by saying that she had already dispatched several American ballot papers. Then Helen and
I went to the famous Italian delicatessen next door, Valvona and Crolla, and
that was fun too. New Jersey isn’t a “swing state”. It won’t matter. But I did
it.
But how did they
know when they sent me the ballot – they
didn’t – that I wasn’t dead? Many people my age are. What would have happened
to the ballot paper then?
Reading
I think you are
giving too much weight to yesterday’s Mitford anecdote. (a) Laughter was a
Mitford trademark, and carried them through many a difficult moment. (b) Bob Treuhaft
, Jessica’s husband, was a middle-aged, shrewd, left-wing American lawyer. It’s
more than likely he was being funny on purpose – and perhaps making rather a
good point.
My husband had tea
with a noble friend once, in an Edinburgh hotel, and even he was impressed (and
reported to me) how his friend had signed the bill simply “Bute”.
They will check the signature on your ballot against their records to verify that you are you - and if they didn't match, they would not count the ballot.
ReplyDeleteI am usually an election judge, but I may not this year. 13 hours in a mask packed in a church basement sounds worrisome. I have my ballot and will drop at the county elections office, which is closer to me than the post office!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they would have dropped you from the registered voters rolls if you hadn’t voted this time....they do that now in a lot of places, I have no idea about New Jersey. I live in the only state where there is no voter registration so we have to request a mail in ballot every time, or show ID with a street address when we vote in person....they can get around the push back about voter ID because we don’t have to register.....and, believe me, it causes masses of problems on our Indian reservations because they have PO Boxes, not always street addresses......and, of course, since we are a truly red state I’ve lived here as a Democrat for over 40 years and never had my vote for president mean a thing.....damn electoral college!!
ReplyDeleteI'm in favour of knitting flat in pieces and sewing up because I am not a fan of circular needles and I don't like managing a whole jumper while knitting the sleeves. It constantly amazes me to see people asking how to convert Aran jumper patterns into in-the- round top-down, as though that was the only way to knit. Imagine the weight of that on the needles.
ReplyDeleteFor Aran I prefer knitting in smaller pieces (the weight issue), and am absolutely sure the seams provide some deterrent to the sweater stretching because of it's weight.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying again... May depend on the knitter/yarn combo . Jared Flood passed around his Cobblestone in a class I took once. Very firmly knit without seams. Not the one in Interweave Knits. Didn't look like it was going to sag, shift or fall apart. Ever. I do like Andrea's tutorial though and want to try it one day! Chloe
ReplyDeleteYay!
ReplyDeleteGood for you, voting already! I'm dithering about whether to vote mail in or in person. The question is so fraught this year. About seams: I hate seaming. If I knit a garment with seams it's a guarantee that the pieces will sit around a long time waiting to be finished. Perhaps I will try your backstitch idea.
ReplyDeleteI've only entered a polling place once in my life; I like sitting at home, quietly, thinking about the issues and candidates and making my decision. I voted absentee for a very long time, and then Washington (and Oregon) went to vote-by-mail entirely. Heaven!
ReplyDelete