"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"
I’m beginning to like my banner. It gives me, and I hope others, something to think about. Like going for a definition of capitalism; just a simple one: an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capitalism
Well, that definition is a little more extensive than simple but it’s right on the money (no pun intended.) I never seem to be able to find any reference to workers in capitalism except as it’s implied that they produce the goods so the rich can own them.
Knitting Friday (begun on Thursday this time)
Waiting for a program to load this Thursday afternoon, I think I’ll start my knitting blog for tomorrow.
This one is pretty pathetic. I have been working away at knitting this week but a lot of time was spent in helping kids with homework. Is schoolwork just getting more complex in NJ because the NJEA has seen the light? Or has our new governor lit a fire under them? (He campaigned on fighting the unions, especially NJEA.) I’m not wild about the education standards in the USA. I deplore the fact that we don’t challenge our children intellectually. (Go sports! Should be our national motto.) But when the battle goes into the trenches, while I want accountability in all organizations, including unions, I’ll stand with the unions in this fight. Develop better teaching standards, eliminate tenure plus union protection for teachers, curtail costs (consolidate administrative jobs to curtail costs; bring raises in line with living costs)
However, if your state is broke: go after the money where it really is - Saddle River, Princeton, Ridgewood, Basking Ridge, Deal , the list goes on – with a progressive state income tax. Now that would be ballsy thinking.
But I digress. This is Knitting Friday. I’ve been working on a common problem this week and I’m still looking for a solution. When I say “common problem” I guess I should also say “simple problem.” I remind myself of a woman who enters a bake-off with pancakes to compete against someone’s entry of a 7-tier wedding cake, but I will plow on.
The problem: Cast on 8 stitches and join.
These are common beginning instructions for so many shawls, especially on that fantastic Yahoo group, MMario Knits. I would like a dollar for every shawl he starts that way. I just look at them and move on. Regretting it. but knowing that this cast on makes me feel like I’m working with gorilla hands in boxing gloves (sorry for the slam, King Kong.)
So now, I’m working on a solution. Take a look at the pictures on the right. Take a look at the center of the squares. The right square in garter is taken from:
http://yarnomat.com.au/2010/02/square-in-the-round/ where the original directions are for CO 4 stitches and join. Now perhaps 4 stitches and not 8 would be easier to join but I don't think so. (The left-side square is similar to the right but done in stockinette so I had to work a garter border to prevent massive curling.)
Both were started with a Chain 5 and a join to make a ring. Then for the garter is was: Ch 3, 2 dc, in ring *ch 2, 3 dc*in ring 3xs, ch 2 and join with a sl st to the top of the first ch 3. (The stockinette square I did the same except I used half double crochet stitch instead of double crochet.) This will give you 4 stitches on each side which matches the number of stitches in the original pattern which you need to start the square.
Then I used US 8 DPNs and with the loop as stitch 1, I picked up 4 stitches for each side of the square on each needle. for 16 stitches. After that, I started in working the pattern.
It was so simple without the clumsy beginning you always get when joining a small number of stitches. I'm not happy with the beginning center yet and I'm going to experiment with using single crochet. However, I am planning to tackle a MMario shawl for next week.
I'll leave you with a pattern I cast on for last night. It's Mohair Minimalist and it's a free Ravelry download so I can't link but if you're a Ravelry member take a look. It a shell which starts with a cast on of 68 sts and a join. After that it's an increase across a row for beginning the body and binding off for the sleeves further on. What attracted me is that it is a straight knit in stockinette. Of course, I'm not using mohair, which has a lot of stretch, so I'm improvising already. But that makes knitting fun.
Happy Knitting.
Well, that definition is a little more extensive than simple but it’s right on the money (no pun intended.) I never seem to be able to find any reference to workers in capitalism except as it’s implied that they produce the goods so the rich can own them.
Knitting Friday (begun on Thursday this time)
Waiting for a program to load this Thursday afternoon, I think I’ll start my knitting blog for tomorrow.
This one is pretty pathetic. I have been working away at knitting this week but a lot of time was spent in helping kids with homework. Is schoolwork just getting more complex in NJ because the NJEA has seen the light? Or has our new governor lit a fire under them? (He campaigned on fighting the unions, especially NJEA.) I’m not wild about the education standards in the USA. I deplore the fact that we don’t challenge our children intellectually. (Go sports! Should be our national motto.) But when the battle goes into the trenches, while I want accountability in all organizations, including unions, I’ll stand with the unions in this fight. Develop better teaching standards, eliminate tenure plus union protection for teachers, curtail costs (consolidate administrative jobs to curtail costs; bring raises in line with living costs)
However, if your state is broke: go after the money where it really is - Saddle River, Princeton, Ridgewood, Basking Ridge, Deal , the list goes on – with a progressive state income tax. Now that would be ballsy thinking.
But I digress. This is Knitting Friday. I’ve been working on a common problem this week and I’m still looking for a solution. When I say “common problem” I guess I should also say “simple problem.” I remind myself of a woman who enters a bake-off with pancakes to compete against someone’s entry of a 7-tier wedding cake, but I will plow on.
The problem: Cast on 8 stitches and join.
These are common beginning instructions for so many shawls, especially on that fantastic Yahoo group, MMario Knits. I would like a dollar for every shawl he starts that way. I just look at them and move on. Regretting it. but knowing that this cast on makes me feel like I’m working with gorilla hands in boxing gloves (sorry for the slam, King Kong.)
So now, I’m working on a solution. Take a look at the pictures on the right. Take a look at the center of the squares. The right square in garter is taken from:
http://yarnomat.com.au/2010/02/square-in-the-round/ where the original directions are for CO 4 stitches and join. Now perhaps 4 stitches and not 8 would be easier to join but I don't think so. (The left-side square is similar to the right but done in stockinette so I had to work a garter border to prevent massive curling.)
Both were started with a Chain 5 and a join to make a ring. Then for the garter is was: Ch 3, 2 dc, in ring *ch 2, 3 dc*in ring 3xs, ch 2 and join with a sl st to the top of the first ch 3. (The stockinette square I did the same except I used half double crochet stitch instead of double crochet.) This will give you 4 stitches on each side which matches the number of stitches in the original pattern which you need to start the square.
Then I used US 8 DPNs and with the loop as stitch 1, I picked up 4 stitches for each side of the square on each needle. for 16 stitches. After that, I started in working the pattern.
It was so simple without the clumsy beginning you always get when joining a small number of stitches. I'm not happy with the beginning center yet and I'm going to experiment with using single crochet. However, I am planning to tackle a MMario shawl for next week.
I'll leave you with a pattern I cast on for last night. It's Mohair Minimalist and it's a free Ravelry download so I can't link but if you're a Ravelry member take a look. It a shell which starts with a cast on of 68 sts and a join. After that it's an increase across a row for beginning the body and binding off for the sleeves further on. What attracted me is that it is a straight knit in stockinette. Of course, I'm not using mohair, which has a lot of stretch, so I'm improvising already. But that makes knitting fun.
Happy Knitting.
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