Kill the Lemmings

Best Quote I Heard All Day

Why do you have to be a nonconformist like everybody else?—James Thurber

I gotta laugh when I hear the word “edgy” used to describe a knitting design.

Another term that I can do without is “cutting edge.” It’s all the “edge” crap that I find irritating, I guess. Edge = sharp?

Knitting is what it is. People who use the word "hip" in conjunction with knitting are quite self-deluded. And when it’s “edgy,” generally the design is something even the Punk Princess wouldn’t wear.

Just make a fucking garment as opposed to a clown suit. But wait—has someone knitted a clown suit? No doubt. I imagine it can be found on Ravelry, the new KnitDweeb heaven. Yeah, yeah, I know. There are worthwhile groups there.

But I haven’t bothered signing onto Ravelry in more than a year. FaceBook keeps me connected with family and friends. I don't need another social network. I'm even considering dumping Twitter. I don't have the time to do all these things. Better to knit and write than to spend hours online. In fact, I'm doing less on FaceBook lately, other than playing Bejeweled Blitz.

[Note to self: I could knit a Bozo nose. Perhaps I shall do, and wear it to Rhinebeck.]

Crayon Madness
I’m having a love-hate relationship with Crystal Palace’s Mini Mochi. At this point, I’ve used four of the colorways, with Intense Rainbow the shade used in the Crayon Madness set for the book. All beautiful. Mochi Plus, the Aran weight, has 16 colorways, with the original Mini Mochi colors and eight new ones.

MM, due to its soft twist, can be troublesome at times, along with the sporadic lump of roving that appears when you least expect it. This isn’t an instance of thick ‘n’ thin yarn, it’s an instance of yarn blobbery. However, the results are well worth the occasional annoyance.

I've just finished the scarf to the set. First came the mitts, then the scarf, now the hat. Finally, the socks, if I'm not sick of it all.

It's damned tough to take a picture of yourself wearing a mitt, lemme tell ya.

I'm going to ask dear bro Richard, who has a degree in photography and knows what he's doing, to take some shots. This picture is the best of the lot--it's the scarf draped over my porch railing. At least you can see the lace rib pattern.

Ex Libris, Extrapolate
I just bought Marianne Isager’s Japanese Inspired Knits. A beautiful book, with excellent photography, worth every penny. Although I wasn’t that big on her African design book, I appreciate her artistry.

These days, I buy books that inspire me to do better with my own design work, rather than entice me to knit their patterns. I find that looking at designs pushes me to view my own work from different perspectives, rather than take the expected way out. When it came time to think about the hat construction for Crayon Madness, I began thinking about a basic cap. Well, zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. There was no thrill there. Plus, decreasing the lace pattern didn’t make esthetic sense, so I cranked up the brain cells and came up with a possibility. A bonnet shape. I’ll be working out the details and troubleshooting this one—it should work.

Rowan magazines always inspire. The simplest garment often has surprising élan gained through unexpected detail—a frill here, an atypical hem there. Of course, the spectacular photography helps too, a message that hasn’t penetrated the American knitting magazines.

I picked up the latest issue of IK and once again, the photos did little justice to the designs. Same with Vague, although I’ll give it credit for the better photography. I grant you, photographing knitted garments can be a bitch. I’ve done it, as an editor, and it’s not the easiest task. Egregious namedropping: The first photographer I ever worked with was Ian O’Leary, who did Sasha Kagan’s first book and had done a lot of work for Dorling Kindersley. Great guy, and I learned a lot from about shooting garments and styling a shot. Photo shoots are not at all glamorous, trust me. They’re excruciatingly tedious.

Mac Attack on Knitting Apps
Working in IT means that I despise all things Microsoft. It’s ironic, since most of us in IT are forced to use their crap. I do hear that Windows 7 is very good, though. I’ve transferred most of my work to my MacBook, using Scrivener for the book, and the other iWork apps in place of Office junk. Once Windows 7 is available, I’ll partition the Mac to run my Windows knitting applications.

Fortunately, Knit Visualizer is available for the Mac. I’m looking into buying Garment Styler, although I don’t mind doing my own calculations. It’s a time factor, really. I own the Sweater Wizard but it’s limited.

Onceupona, when these applications didn’t exist, I used Excel as a charting tool. Once you set it up, it’s OK—and readily available. In my “spare” time, I’ve been doing a video on using Excel for charting. Watch this space. I’ll have it done in a week or so. You’ll need Flash 9 to view it. Yeah, I do this stuff for a living, so WTF. I’ve got Captivate 4 and RoboHelp 8 on my work laptop. Might as well use Captivate for my own purposes.

Special Beanie
In the spirit of nonconformity, I must say that I love kids who are born nonconformists, like both my grandchildren. And recently, I had the pleasure of meeting the son of one of Jerry’s friends, who is what Jerry calls “a lost soul”. In fact, J, as I shall call him here to protect his privacy, is not as lost as it would appear. He’s had his problems, overcame them, and is now looking to go to college to study forestry, getting his shit together finally at 23. His older brother, the “star” of the family, has seemingly overshadowed him. Not in my book. J is a smart, sweet, gentle soul, not a lost one. But he dances to his own beat.

We met up in Maine, when Jerry and I were staying at his parents’ house. I was sitting on the deck knitting when J sat down next to me and asked me to explain what I was doing. My usual explanation is: “You make interconnected loops using these sticks called needles.”

J then said, “I gotta show you something.” He bounced into the house and returned in a shot with a handful of commercially knit caps. “I wear these all the time and I love them.” I looked them over, told him they were very nice (they were), and then said the words I sensed he was waiting to hear. “Would you like me to knit you one?”

His face lit up. “Yes! Oh please, would you?”

So on the way home, I stopped at WEBS and bought some Louet GEMS merino, in steel gray and burgundy. Last week, I designed the Fair Isle motif for the hat. Now, I’m swatching. J will have his hat shortly. And he asked me to teach him to knit. I will, when we meet again.

Cutting edge? No. Edgy? No. Rare and handy? I hope so. Happy Labor Day. Jerry and I are off for a ride, meandering aimlessly. He drives, I knit. The way I like it.

Palin Drone

Best Quote I Heard All Day
"We have the Bill of Rights. What we need is a Bill of Responsibilities."--Bill Maher

I'll leave my thoughts about this week's economic morass to Super Jeenyus, if he gets off his ass and writes something for our blog. Otherwise, I may be forced to spew.

Palinesque Open Mic Thursday
I must admit, I was amused at Joe's post comparing me and Carol to Caribou Barbie:

I know it's odd, but I've always liked strong, opinionated women who are well-spoken and a bit sarcastic. I mean really, aren't Carol and Marilyn a little like Sarah? "

Sure. Very little. I do seek out the facts before I open my mouth and proclaim my words the Gospel truth. And I would argue that Sarah ain't quite as well spoken as we two are. After all, I've had plenty of experience with public speaking. When you are a technical trainer, you're on stage in front of strangers. You'd fucking better have the answers to their questions as well. God knows Carol can hold her own, too. You don't want to get into a pissing contest with her, either. After all, she does hold a law degree from the University of Michigan, right C?

The sarcasm of this half-baked Alaskan soccer mom is grist for my mill.

I see Caribou Barbie as the worst sort of KnitDweeb ever. I really hope to God she doesn't knit. If she does, I'd sure love to see some of her stuff.

So, my skanks, use your imagination.

What would Sarah Palin knit?

It's almost as good as WWJK, dontcha think? I'm sure there are plenty of KnitDweeb-worthy projects out there that you can find or conjure up. I see her using LB Homespun, that fine, folksy ackrilic crap. You know, faux wool. Just as she's faux almost everything.

By the way, I simply can't vote for someone who consistently ends her sentences with prepositions. As in her unintelligible interview tonight with Katie Couric, where she babbled:

I see our country being able to represent those things that can be looked to … as that leadership, that light needed across the world.

Huh?


Obligatory Knitting Shit
This week, it's been work as usual--manuals, manuals, manuals. And a reasonable amount of knitting done. Three pieces to the Princess jacket finished, on the right front, with a sleeve to go. And some minor spinning activity. That's about it.

When I have a chance, possibly this weekend, I'll take some pictures of the Loden Mist Jacket, which is finished. I'm happy with the fit, although I'm a bit concerned about wearing it here and there, since it's a mite fragile.

Still biting away at Rock Sox, plus the autobiography. It seems that the ratio of writing to knitting is 10:1, or so. In many ways, it's easier to sit at the computer and write, especially if I've been doing it most of the day, anyway.

But the books are moving along. Maybe they'll be done in time for my 60th birthday, which Ellie takes great delight in reminding me that it's only a year and a half away. Fortunately, at the doctor's yesterday, he made the wonderful mistake of asking me if I had any premenapausal problems. This dialogue followed:

Me: Um, no, Dr. B.
Dr. B.: Why not?
Me: Because I'm five years into menopause.
Dr. B: Oh, I thought you were 46. Let me check your chart. Ah, 1950. My, you don't look your age at all.
Me: Thanks! It's always good to fool your doctor.

It's one thing when your friends tell you that you look great. But a doctor? That's creditable.

Close Encounters of the Weird Kind
I was down in Lambertville/New Hope last Sunday on a lunch date with a very lovely man. We had a fabulous time. As he walked me to my car later in the afternoon, someone called out my name and I turned around. There were two women and two men standing to my right. One of the women said, "Hi Marilyn! I read your blog all the time. I didn't want to bother you in the restaurant but I really wanted to say hi." Well, I was quite taken aback but truly thrilled. Hey, Susan from Roxbury, it was so nice to meet you! I always enjoy meeting readers and I can't wait for Rhinebeck. Please, hit me on the head and say hello.

I only bite assholes. Really.

Weaving?
I've been pining for my loom, which remains folded up in my bedroom. There's no likelihood that I can unfold it to warp it, either. So my fix is this: I'm going to buy a rigid heddle loom, hopefully at Rhinebeck. Any recommendations? I'm looking closely at the Kromski Harp, but would like the weavers among you to give me your opinions.

I need to do some weaving and it's driving me nuts that I can't. Super Jeenyus suggested that I put the Mighty Wolf out on the back porch, where I'd have more room. Sure, that's bright. Let the elements have their way with it. He can be rare and handy, when his mind doesn't trip over his shoelaces. Christ.

Ob-la-di Ob-la-da life goes on bra

Best Quote I Heard All Day
When you're drowning, you don't say "I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me," you just scream.--John Lennon

Drowning in work and yet I seem to be able to find the time to do my shit. How is that?

I guess it's all "time management." Feh. I hate that corporate jargon crap, though. If anyone at work ever uses "impact" as a verb again, I'm gonna fucking strangle them. And "utilize" is better than "use"? Bite me.

Knitting Buckets
That's another stupid corporate term, as in "let's put that task in the Operations bucket." Shut the fuck up. Shove THIS up your bucket.

Anyway, I've actually accomplished some knitting and some spinning. Here's the lineup:

These are the Kureyon socks. Believe it or not, I didn't even try to match the color changes. Somehow, it just happened. I will say that although I like the colors, the socks are felting already, as one of my readers noted in earlier Comments. I don't really give a rat's ass about that, since most socks felt to a degree anyway after repeated wearing. I might use it again. Maybe.

Remember the Las Vegas Brights silk? Here it is, getting plyed. As you can see, I spun it quite fine and gave it plenty of twist, as silk needs. The colors won't be evident until I skein it but I suppose it will make a nice lace scarf.

Loopy and I both have a pile of yarn that we've spun and never used. Loop sez: "Oh hell, I have stuff that I spun years (and I mean *years*) ago that I've never yet done anything with. The worst part is that they were spun for specific projects and I still haven't found the motivation
to start them."

Remember Starry Night? I have a shitload of that and never decided upon a suitable project. And then, there certainly is the motivation factor to be considered.


Finally, I've been diddling around with IK's freebie, the Icelandic Lace Shawl, done in some of the piles of Morehouse laceweight I own. The original is done in natural shades. I thought the design would do well for this kind of "hand-dyed" yarn.

What a peculiar little pattern it is, though. In the band of reverse stockinette, which is right above the feather-and-fan-ish bottom pattern, there are no central decreases, despite the fact that the stitch patterns before and after do have decs in the center. WTF? This causes a bubble on that band, one that can be blocked out.

I understand that putting decreases in this reverse st st band would somewhat upset the visual line. But still. I think I would have opted to put the decreases in.

The Fiber Nest
I had forgotten that I took this picture back in early January, right after we moved all my furniture up. The boxes are gone from the kitchen, the curio cabinet is filled, and the bookcases are jammed with all of my books. (Please, someone stop me from buying books.)

My loom is crammed into my bedroom, my winding station is next to my bedroom closet, and my swift is in the living room closet. But hey, it works for me. The stash is located in two other closets. This place does have good closet space, as small as it is.

And of course, I do have run of the next-door neighbor's place. With me, it's yarn, books, two wheels, and a loom. With him, it's cables, receivers, speakers, woofers, tweeters, mixing boards, tools up the wazoo, and a CD/DVD collection that begs description. Yikes.

He's the nerd, I'm the geek, as he says. True. However, both of us are packrats. Because you never know when you might need some stuff.

Rock Sox
Thank God for the Punk Princess. She has been very helpful in suggesting New Millenium artists and songs. She approved of my choices. And I love her for saying that the book idea is "kewl!" Liz suggested that I fit Bob Marley in, with "No Woman No Cry" as her choice, in Rasta colors. Of course, she wanted to know if she could have all the socks after they are photographed and the book is done. Well, maybe. I think I'll go with the Bob Marley concept, though. But that would go into the '70s section.

I liked the idea of using the Dixie Chicks instead of Green Day, Good Charlotte, or Blink 182. When I get to that point, I'll decide. I love the Dixie Chicks--perhaps I'll use "The Long Way Around" as a song. It's one of my favorites and certainly hits home with me. I always take the long way around, dontcha know?

The Chantilly Lace prototype is on the needles, after much swatching and fucking around. Those of you who design know this truism: If ya think it's gonna fly by what you see in your head, fuggedaboudit when it's on the needles.

Ruminations
Lately, I've been feeling that the knitting craze is coming to a screeching halt. I don't know why I have that sense of the end, but I do. After all, the real estate market has had el crasho grande. What goes up, must come down. We'll still see a plethora of knitting books for the next year or so, due to the length of time it takes to get a book out.

Nonetheless, I think the weekend knitting warriors have been weeded out and are on to another hobby, perhaps beermaking or macrame. Or golf.

That's not to say that the KnitDweebs are gone. They're alive and well on the lists and on Ravelry too. Ravelry being the perfect place for them to run amok. No matter. I do the la-la-la thing if I come across them. Loop found a real gem who is infesting the Heirloom Knitting list and the SnitU list. I won't out this woman here. The only hint I can give you is this: Let it snow. If you read these lists, you'll know who I mean.

Well, gang, it's off to Montclair for lunch with Mammy, brother Rich, and the ubiquitous Queen of Chaos, Scrappy aka Sissyboo aka Karen. Rich turned 54 yesterday. Happy birthday, bro. You are the rarest and handiest brother anyone could have. Just be glad I don't kick your ass anymore.

KTHXBYE.