Tricotomania and more

I just went a checked the mail. I’ve got YARN. From Shelridge Farms. To make these for my brother (the big Leafs fan). Although my brother and I are not that close my partner kindly pointed out that it wouldn’t be a big burden to me to knit them and he would really appreciate them. I plan to add the wider stripe (see Alison’s link to the vintage jersey).

The way the colour looked on Alison’s blog, we also thought it might work for my partner’s brother who is a big Leicester City Football Club fan. But now that the wool’s here, it won’t. I might have to send in an order for LCFC coloured wool. My monitor is crappy at representing the colours though (they looked completely different on the Shelridge farm site) and the shade card I asked for wasn’t in the package with the wool. I guess my nephew might get a little Leaf’s toque for Xmas, too.

Not much other knitting going on but I have had a few bus journeys with no socks in my bag so now I can remedy that.

As regular readers know, I am crap with the digital photo technology. So what I have for you today is a photo taken ages ago on the regular camera and recently processed. Those nice folks will provide a CD with digital photos though, to my lack of a scanner (luddite, I tell you) does not impede me from sharing this with you.

This is being blocked, obviously, on my queen sized bed. The top corners had to be steam blocked later since my bed isn’t big enough. You can probably imagine how big it is. I wore it to a family party in the summer and eveyrone liked it (though there was a high proportion of grannies at the party).

Photos of me wearing it, taken in the sun, along with some other recently knitted items (including the DFS) are on the next roll of film.

I wasn’t going to blog about this but then Stephannie reminded me of the pun potential. All of the pun potential got used up in the title though, so now we are down to a rant. Sorry. I’ll try to do better.

The kid has head lice (well, had, due to diligent nit-picking on my part). I found out because the school apparently inspects everyone’s head at this time of year. Then phone. And send a letter. The letter has information about head lice attached though in my opinion it is crap information which makes it sound like there is no alternative to pouring organo-phosphate insecticides on your kid’s head twice in a 10 day period.

Crucially, in the attached information (from the City of Ottawa Health Department) it plainly states that head lice DO NOT spread disease. As I read that very plain statement I conclude that they are, therefore, NOT a public health hazhard. I am grateful to have it pointed out. And I follow my friend’s tried and tested procedures (her kid gets these frequently; some kids do) which do not involve insecticides to get rid of them. These procedures require patience on my part and on the kid’s part. Luckily she can read while I do it.

But the letter has a tear off slip which I am told to complete and send in with my kid indicating which treatment (brand name, not really choice of insecticide or nit-picking) I gave my kid on which date.

Given it is NOT a public health hazard, why does the school need to know this? What will they do with the information? And what are the consequences of not sending it back? I guess we will find out the answer to the last question.

For those of you without kids who are wondering what the hell I am talking about, nits are louse eggs (louse being the singular of lice, and the root of the word ‘lousy’). Nit-picking, although it now has a more general usage, is just what it sounds like. Going through someone’s head systematically (1″ sections of hair are recommended) and picking nits off the strands of hair. They are TINY. They stick. You can buy a special comb (called, unsurprisingly, a nit comb) which makes it easier (and takes off nits you can’t even see until they are drowning in the bowl of hot water beside you). My friend’s tried and tested method involves large quantities of conditioner which are not rinsed out to make those little bastards slide off easier. We follow with rinse and blow-dry (on the assumption that hot blow dryers aren’t any good for nits either).

The first night there were a lot of actual lice. Icky. Creepy crawly. But they DO NOT spread disease. The second night was just nits. Hopefully there is not a third night. But if there is it is NOT MY TURN. The procedure (not including the hair washing before, nor the rinsing and blow drying after) takes about 45 minutes. That means there are 2 hours of my life I am not getting back and I don’t need extra UNNECESSARY hassle from the school on top of it.

Tonight is meet the teacher night. No-one better ask where that form is.

I saw this today in the Chronicle of Higher Education. It is in the free bit, so I provide a link. There was another excellent historical analysis of Katrina in the Chronicle recently but it was in the subscription only bit. If you work in higher education or know someone who does and has access to a copy, it is worth finding.

Anyway, for those who wondered what I meant by the Katrina debacle being an unsurprising consequence of American political values, read this. Better put than I would, with a bit of balance.

I don’t usually watch TV news and I certainly try to avoid CTV but watched the beginning last night after ER. I am horrified that my fellow Canadians seem to be more worried about the likely impact of Rita on the price of gas than anything else (this was actually reported BEFORE the bit about what was happening with Rita and how people were getting out of town or not in Texas). Given that the price of gas in North America is CHEAP (that’s right; get realistic folks, you have been getting a great big subsidized break on your environmentally destructive practices), folks should stop whining.

If you don’t like the price of gas: Cycle more. Take the bus. Walk. Think about how to combine errands in one journey. We use our car maybe once or twice a week. My partner does a big shop at the grocery store once a month and then cycles to local shops once or twice a week for milk, fruit and whatnot.

And I know that you didn’t all pick the location of your house to make this possible but don’t think that the current organization of North American cities can be sustained forever and start working towards more sustainable models of development. And get out of that big gas-guzzling SUV. On top of everything else accidents involving SUVs are more likely to result in fatalities (no, not you in the SUV, the person in the other car; are you really interested in killing people?)

Sorry, that’s more than 2 cents. Rant over. Regular knitting content will resume shortly. I may even have some photos (though mostly of the garden).

I’ve just posted this to a list I’m on, so apologies to anyone from there who is reading this, too. But I know that many of the regular readers of this blog (not that there are that many) aren’t on that list and might have really useful advice for me.

I need your help. I’m about to start on the Classic Slant Cardigan from the Fall 2004 IK. I’ve done a swatch (2 actually, to get the right needle size). And I’m trying to choose the right size to make.

This is a ribbed cardigan, so I’m assuming it shouldn’t have much ease. So I’ve measured myself. And I’ve been checking out the relationship between the stated Finished Size measurements and the pattern.

I’m not one of those math-phobes and I’ve calculated several times. The number of stitches multiplied by the gauge DOES NOT give the finished size measurements stated. This is driving me crazy.

One problem is I’m not sure how to measure gauge on a ribbed swatch (stretched, squooshed, what? Ribbing is stretchy and the design accounts for this so that it is more stretched over hips and bust and comes in at the waist ‘naturally’) I did my swatch, washed it and laid it flat to dry in the normal way. It didn’t scrunch up as much after washing as before but then I am assuming to wash my sweater.

One possibility is that what are given as Finished Size measurements are actually To Fit measurements. In which case I’ll err on the small side (I have been much happier with garments I’ve knit with less ease) and knit the 43″ bust (even though mine measures a bit more than that).

But I’m really worried about the between the shoulders measurement. by my calculations at that size, it will measure over 18″ and I’ve measure a few garments in my closet (knitted and other) and even my suit jacket only measures 17″. I think I want something more like 16″.

Thanks.

Norma’s bootees gave me ideas. My daughter is learning to knit but has a short attention span. Very good friends of ours are expecting a baby. I showed the kid the bootees. She thought they were a great idea so we went of to the LYS in search of the book from whence they came.

The book Norma used wasn’t there so I skimmed through the baby knits books. Most have some incredibly complicated stuff. Not suitable for 8 year olds and I’m not interested in knitting baby things at the moment. One stood out, though.

Debbie Bliss baby knits for beginners: This book starts with learn to knit instructions that are clear and very well illustrated. I’ve been referring to the section on seaming for my current grown-up project and it has improved my seaming immeasurably. This is followed by a series of projects with ever increasing level of difficulty. Each one adds new techniques so you start with a garter stitch scarf (this might actually be a reasonable first project in baby size; generally I agree with Stephanie that in adult size it goes on too long for what you learn). But there are a range of projects including cardigans with knit-as-you go bands and ones with picked up bands, different sleeve styles, etc. There is even a cute little pair of shoes.

If you had a small person to knit for (or wanted to knit baby clothes for charity), this would be a GREAT learning book. I plan to consult the beginning as a reference in any case.

The kid is going to make the shoes with the Kiogu she has been using for a headband for her friend (recently finished). It’s very bright multi-coloured, our preferred baby style (not being big on pastels; thankfully our friends have similar taste in colour). And she picked up 4 balls of Mission Falls wool in the new red they introduced before announcing they were going out of business to knit a little sweater.

BTW, it is unfortunate that Mission Falls has had such serious production problems. Their yarn was very nice. And some of those new colours are pretty cool. I might have to go buy some. Unfortunately, it is popular enough that my LYS probably won’t feel the need to discount it to get rid of it (they didn’t with the cotton).

My friend Emily was asking about rectangular stoles the other day and then Norma mentioned she’d rather rectangles than triangles and someone commented that they didn’t know of many patterns. So here are my recommendations from what I’ve found in my recent hunt for interesting lace patterns.

The current issue of Vogue Knitting has a section with a few shawls in it. Some of these are rectangular stoles.

The Summer 2004 issue of Interweave Knits has Madli’s Shawl designed by Nancy Bush based on Estonian lace traditions. Stephannie is knitting it and so is Cassie. I know I have seen another rectangular one in a different issue of IK with a leaf pattern done in linen (and described as ideal for after yoga) but the pixies seem to have hidden it somewhere.

I have recently purchased a Fiber Trends pattern from Elann for an Estonian Garden Wrap and Scarf. They also have another one called the Baltic Sea Stole. Scroll down that side bar. There may be something else you like.

Fiddlesticks also has a couple of rectangular stoles.

Of the books I’ve got lying around, Best of Knitters Shawls and Scarves has a section on rectangular stoles. Sometimes you have to imagine how they would look without the bad ’80s hair and makeup but definitely worth a look.

Folk Shawls also has several rectangular ones.

I recently bought A Gathering of Lace (gathered by Meg Swanson; published by XRX books) and I’ve had a look through. There are a few nice rectangular shawls in there and lots of other ideas for knitting lace (so it it were lace you wanted to knit there are several options other than shawls of any shape in here).

Edited 12 Sept to add: The Knitting Curmudgeon reliably informs that early editions of A Gathering of Lace had lots of errors. Corrections on the publisher’s website where you can also find corrections for Best of Knitters Shawls and Scarves.

Adapting triangular shawl patterns for a rectangular stole would depend on the nature of the lace pattern. You can just do the central repeat section in a fixed number of repeats across with a border (either knit as you go in say garter stitch or seed stitch; or a fancy lace one added afterwards). This is fine except that many triangular shawls (FBS included) have offset patterns These work well with a triangle because the edge increases to incorporate whole repeats. In a rectangle you’d either have half motifs running down the edges or have to come up with a stitch pattern to fill in the space where the half motif would be. It might work though. Again, I’d work from the central repeat section of the chart ignoring the side bit where all the triangle shaping is happening.

Another option, if you are adapting things, is to expand a scarf pattern into something big enough for a stole. Heartstrings has a bunch of nice patterns for this purpose.

Depending on the pattern, I’d probably use a combination of extra repeats across to make it wider (and obviously go on for longer) and a heavier weight yarn on larger needles. To get the right needle size swatch the main pattern until you are happy with the way the solid bits look. You should probably wash and block your swatch just to be sure, but if you are trying a few, you can get a good sense of it by stretching it out a bit on your lap.

Hope that gives folks lots of ideas. There do seem to be quite a few options out there if you look.

My own thoughts on the Katrina thing are likely to upset folks so I’ll keep it brief. Suffice it to say that I have not been surprised at much of what has gone on. Much confirms my cynical views of the dominant political ideology of the USA and my views on the likely consequences of a politics based on individualism. Fortunately, my view that many individual Americans are compassionate people who are equally uncomfortable with that individualistic politics and the wealth disparities it has created has also been confirmed.

For some interesting analyses I direct you to the comment and analysis in The Guardian.

against charity

Gary Younge who’s analysis of racial politics is always very good

Both of these links will lead you to further links to all of their coverage. It’s a good paper. Particularly if you are left leaning and therefore want people to analyse the political economy of the thing.

The people, as always, are suffering for which I feel badly. But this is a very rich country which could do better at helping them if its government made that decision.

That’s it.

Well, not quite. updated 8 Sept 9 am EDT to add this link about who George Bush is helping. Again, no real surprises.

Although everyone asks him how he copes with the cold, my English partner is actually fine with winter here. He has discovered the value of caulking (and counts scarves as a form of caulking) in keeping the cold outside where it belongs. He also likes to ski.

But he is, fundamentally, a cyclist. So he now owns winter tires for the bike (not studded, but made of kevlar; they’re green). And a selection of wind-proof outwear mostly made of nifty synthetics. Wool, of course, makes very good caulking for sealing up the gaps (or potential gaps) between various pieces of clothing.

Here is a project for those who live in similarly cold or windy climes and know (or are) winter cyclists. It doesn’t take much wool. I used some handspun I purchased at Rose Haven Farm so have no real idea of weight or whatever but it took less than one skein to do this.

cyclist’s neck warmer

Measure: neck circumference (A), approximate distance from tucked into jacket to covering nose when looking up (get your suspect to pretend they are actually cycling to get the right number) (B)

Mine was for a 16.5″ neck (kind of thick) and was 4″ at the back and 9″ at the front.

make a little swatch in k3, p2 ribbing so you can calculate how many stitches to cast on. Measure with the ribbing compressed so it looks almost like stockingnette. This will allow for plenty of stretch to get over the head and plenty of air pockets to hold warm air. Err a bit on the small side.

Cast on A x stitches per inch (round to nearest multiple of 5) on a circular needle (a 12″ or 16″ should be fine), work one row back in K3, p2, then join (this makes it much easier not to get it twisted), mark beginning of round.

K3, p2 in the round until 2″ worked. Place 2 stitch markers so that half the stitches are between the markers and the beginning of round is somewhere near the centre back. Continue to work to the 1st marker after the beginning of round. Start short rows (here is a good explanation of short rows).

SR1: work in ribbing to marker, wrap yarn, turn (RS)
SR2: work in ribbing to marker, wrap, turn (WS)
SR3: work in ribbing to stitch before wrapped stitch, wrap, turn (RS)
SR4: work in ribbing to stitch before wrapped stitch, wrap, turn (WS)

Repeat SR3 and SR4 until total length at front is B-2″ ending with a WS row

Next row/round: work in K3, p2 ribbing across, picking up all wraps, continue around the back and then pick up wraps on other side.

continue in k3, p2 ribbing in the round for 1/2″. Determine where the centre front is. if it is between 2 purl stitches, mark off 8 stitches, if in the middle of a k3, mark off 7 (basically, you want a symmetrical bit about 7 or 8 stitches long).

Work to beginning of this little marked section, bind off between markers (7 or 8 stitches), work around and cast on 7 or 8 stitches (making a sort of buttonhole). Continue until the back measures 4″ (front should now measure B). Bind off (not too tight or it won’t go over that head). Darn in ends (you may want to use the starting end to ‘repair’ the bit where you did one row back and forth before joining).

You now have a neckwarmer that comes up over the nose without too much bulk at the back of the neck. The ‘buttonhole’ means that moist breath goes out and doesn’t fog up goggles or glasses or whatever (at -27C people wear goggles; and once fogged up, visibility is nil for the rest of the trip).

Some of you probably live in places where you find it hard to imagine -27C (or what the wind makes it feel like…) but this would be very useful even at warmer (but still cold) temperatures. Remember, caulking is the key — keep the wind out and you feel much better. Cyclists generate their own wind.

And it’s a great project for small amounts of wool. If it is -27C is probably doesn’t matter if it’s scratchy because there will be a lycra balaclava underneath (yes, really). At warmer temps, you might want to make sure it is soft on the sensitive skin of the face. The mouth hole will still be important to keep it from getting all wet (and possibly frosty) and from fogging up eyewear.