Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Tax the Rich

Knitting Friday - KAL armhole bind off and cast on
OK, it looks as though while I was sleeping someone snuck in and removed my March pictures from the browser. Oh well, pictures will come later today; first I want to discuss the armhole bind off and the next row armhole cast on

Knitty has a very "hot" bind off called Jeny's surprisingly stretchy bind off:

http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall09/FEATjssbo.php

You'll find written instructions and pictures here. The only thing to remember about the YO they discuss: a backward K YO is the same as a usual P YO. So don't sweat it when they say do the K YO in the opposite direction. This looks like a very easy bind off and probably it's a variation of the K2tog bind off.

But on to our KAL bind off. By now, you should have completed the neckband, increased to double the stitches in the neckband and on larger needles ( US 10/10.5) worked at least 5" in the pattern of your choice. You're ready to bind off the top shoulder stitches and then cast on the underarm stitches. You should know the number of stitches you need for the body of your pattern. Divide that number by two to get your front and back stitches but remember that you will be adding stitches under the arm and they will be added to your total body stitches.

One thing to remember, you probably will not be adding more than 15 stitches under each armhole. Why? Because it get "gappy" with too many stitches. Here's an example on how I get the number of stitches I need:

1. I CO 80 for the neckband.
2. I double my stitches to 160 for the yoke.
2. At the top shoulder bind off, I knit 50 stitches for the front, I bind off 30 stitches for one arm, I knit 50 stitches for the back and bind off another 30 stitches for the other arm.
3. On the next row, I knit across 50 stitches, I cast on 10 stitches, I knit across 50 stitches and cast on another 10 so I have 120 stitches to work the body of the top.

As I've said before, I like to have the last row before the BO as the second *YO, K2tog* (pattern is: K 2 rows and *YO, K2tog* 2 rows.) That way, the YO will give you some stretchiness as you BO with the first straight K row of the pattern.

I'm going to assume that every one knows the standard BO of K 2 stitches and pass the 2nd stitch on the RN over the first stitch and off the needle. That's the standard bind off and it's usually done in your pattern stitch. So, if you are binding off in the seed stitch (K1, P1) the BO will be looser because the seed stitch itself is looser. (Never a good idea to incorporate rows of seed in your pattern unless you drop your needle size.)

Then there is the K2tog across BO which gives you a slightly looser bind off. But I find if I use the same tension in this BO as the standard one, I don't get a much looser BO. And then there is my "Hail Mary pass" BO. Born of the days when I never had enough yarn to finish the pattern unless I was working with large needles and a very open pattern stitch.

There have been times when I could only bind off 20 stitches for the sleeve (I would be casting on 10 for the underarm so I would have a total of 30 stitches.) because if I bound off more, I wouldn't have enough stitches for the body.

That's how I invented the extended K2tog BO which works because the the armhole is going to be doing a lot of stretching.

Extended K2tog BO:
1. K2. Bring the 2 stitches back to the LN and K them together.
2. Bring the stitch on the RN (which is the K2tog stitch) back to the LN.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 across the row.
4. End with K2tog the last two stitches.

What's happening is you are knitting the K2tog stitch a second time so in a normal world you would get a ripply BO but you are "buying" inches here so any ripple will just fit snugly (I hope not tightly) around your arm.

If you're interested in more bind off techniques, just google.

Finally, the casting on of stitches under the arm which will become body stitches. I read everywhere that holes are a real problem in this area; and they are. A couple of tips:
1. I find a knitted cast on tighter than a cable cast on.
2. I always tighten the first two and last two cast on stitches.
3. On the next row, I always pull tightly on the first two and last two stitches of this section.

But, that dreaded hole usually appears. So I experiment with pulling stitches from the inside tightly and securing them with like colored thread. (Be sure to check the right side as you do this because that side shouldn't show any of the repairs.)

It's not Master Knitting perfect but it'll do.

(Note: If you are going to make sleeves:
1. Be sure to leave a very, very long tail of yarn when you pick up stitches in the underarm. You can use that tail to "make" stitches to fill in gaps. And since you may have gaps on both sides of the underarm, you'll need a good amount of yarn to work from one side to the other.
2. Don't be afraid to pick up more stitches than you need to fill in gaps. You can always decrease them on the next row.)

OK, I just took a picture of the finished top. Well, truth be told, the top is not finished because I also just had one last try-on (always try on your garment so you see both front and back) before cutting the yarn and....... about 4" back I have two mistakes in one row!!!

Next week: Some tips on fixing mistakes but know I think I will just scream loudly.

Happy knitting.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Tax the Rich

Website Wednesday (and book recommendation)

First, a book recommendation: White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement by Allan J. Lichtman which I picked up at the Dollar Tree. (For $1, since the Dollar Tree prides itself on "Everything for $1" and I pride myself at being cheap.)

A lot of times, older people will say: Times were never like this in this country when I was younger. And I will say: Yes, they were. Except in your day the 1% capitalists didn't have to screw the middle class to make their fortune.

Lichtman documents the rise of the white, Protestant conservative movement starting at almost 100 years ago (1920) but while the emphasis is on conservative, he's really mapping out how capitalism has used this "moral" conservative movement for its own ends. (It's darkly amusing to read that in the 1920s, Congress was thought of as only working for monied interests.)

Some reviewers have criticized that Lichtman has a line of demarcation between Catholics, Jews and other minorities and his bogeyman, the white Protestant. For, as we know today, many in those minorities are the loudest proponents of the conservative movement. (Can you say Clarence Thomas, Norman Podhoretz or Pat Buchanan?)

I do think if he were going to narrow his sights on just white Protestants it would have served him better to begin at the Mayflower crossing and not 300 years later; for, like it our not, conservative ideas are bred in the American bone.

Having said that, I still recommend Lichtman's book as a massive summary of how conservatism in the US has operated for the last 100 years. It's important for all of us to realize that neither Barry Goldwater or Ronald Reagan were its founding fathers.

I haven't read enough to know if Lichtman touches on my belief that to be a capitalist is to be a conservative since the founding principle of capitalism is to produce and conserve wealth. But there are hundreds of pages for me to read and anything could lie ahead.
For my website pick I have:

http://seeqe.com/

Which consists of one of my favorites: lists, lists and more lists. The site owner is a blogger. No, he says he is a young passionate blogger and entrepreneur. He also blogs at:

http://jijosunny.com/

where you get videos, short reviews and writings on random topics.

Jijo Sunny says of himself:I am Jijo Sunny (G), 17 year old passionate blogger and 11th grade student from India. JijoSunny.com is where I pen down my random thoughts.

Professionally, I’m a search engine consultant, affiliate marketer and the happy webmaster of numerous blogs and websites. The worst (or maybe the best) part of me is that I just love to try everything that comes to my mind. Even if it is too bad, too hard or even too risky. Innovation is my keyword – and Forbes list of billionaires is my inspiration. :)

Both sites haven't been updated in over a month but he's only 17 and there's a lot of archival info to amuse you. I like Top 10 Ways to Clean Your Room. Clever, though probably not "mom recommended."

So give both sites a look. Even though, as a mom, all I can approve of his doing in his statement: I just love to try everything that comes to my mind. Even if it is too bad, too hard or even too risky. is the "too hard" part.

Enjoy.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Tax the Rich

Movie Monday - Shadow of a Doubt

As the US Supreme Court hears arguments to decide if Obamacare (and he is beginning to "own" that appellation, though it started as a right-wing slam, and wear it with pride.) is constitutional or not, let's go back almost 70 years and look at a classic movie which looks at evil in our backyard.

In fact, Alfred Hitchcock spent his film career presenting evil in mundane situations. Most of the time, his protagonists are plodding along with average lives (whether it's the Robert Cummings character in Saboteur, the Margaret Lockwood character is The Lady Vanishes or the Teresa Wright character in Shadow of a Doubt) when fate intervenes to spiral them on a different, deadly path.

It's Shadow of a Doubt which I want to recommend viewing today. It's been on my movie package recently and although it's almost a septuagenarian it's even fresher and edgier than it must have appeared when it was first released in 1943 during the dark days of the Hays' Office Movie Code. (Was the revelation that Uncle Charlie was OK until his childhood bike accident [therefore he was somatically not genetically "warped"] a sop to that office?)

Hitchcock has said that this movie was a favorite of his and given his penchant for showing the underbelly of respectability that makes sense.

For those of you who don't know this movie, a very short summary: Niece Charlie living with a charming family in a prosaic middle America town is delighted when her Uncle Charlie (for whom she is named) comes for an extended visit. Soon she and we learn Uncle Charlie may be hiding a dark, murderous side and Charlie must "save" her family.

As summarized, it could be a CGI action thriller from today but SoaD relies only on nuance and mind games and as we watch Uncle Charlie rapidly becomes a pillar of the community, Charlie begins to unravel his layers of evil and we watch both of them engaged in a battle for survival.

Though stylized camera shots and evocative music, Hitchcock quietly says: This is real evil right in your backyard. You really don't have to go out into the world to find it.

Watch Charlie emerge from her cocoon of family protection into an avenging angel and don't miss the shot of her black suit with its replica of Zeus' thunderbolt worn as a very large suit pin (talk about symbolism!) just before she enters the train on which Uncle Charlie is leaving town.

Hitchcock ties up the pieces at the end and you get your happy ending. Uncle Charlie is dispatched, Charlie gets her man but then.......

As you look at that train scene, we, the audience, know that Charlie has positive proof of her uncle's guilt but she is still allowing him to leave town even though she has been told by the detectives they could lose his trail if this happens. However, knowing her mother would be devastated with a scandal involving her brother, Charlie is willing to move Uncle Charlie along to other venue where Hitchcock leave no doubt that he will continue his murderous ways. (The coquettish wave he gets from a middle-aged woman passenger says all.)

Of course, in proper Hollywood style, Uncle Charlie gets his "just desserts"; assisted by his niece but only because she is fighting for her life. We can assume that if Uncle Charlie had left quietly, Charlie would have allowed this. And that's what makes Hitchcock so fascinating after all these years. He is probably the most equivocal director using that most unequivocal props. Here they are a young virginal girl, a happy family, and a perfect home town. First you watch Hitchcock for the story; then you watch him for what's really happening.

I could write a book about Hitchcock. In fact, as I type I have before me The Art of Alfred Hitchcock by Donald Spoto which will take you further into the world of this film genius. Take a look at this book but then don't forget to watch the films. They are the gift that keeps on giving.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Tax the Rich

Knitting Friday

Crazy mid-week! I had my usual tri-monthly (Does that mean 3xs a month? Hope so.) dental visit. I apparently missed the memo because he was not putting in my crown; he was to take impressions for my crown. A lengthier-type visit but not terribly onerous. But........wait for it........he must have used a new composite material to take the impression because within seconds my mouth is filled with gooey, sticky, runny Silly Putty. It gets even better. As he is frantically trying to remove this goo from my teeth, I'll choking on big gobs which are trickling down my throat. Excuse me, Miss, How did you die in the dental chair? Anyway, I missed Website Wednesday. Sorry. Of course, if I had choked to death, I would have missed the rest of my life. Always look on the bright side.

And now for something completely different. I just came across a knitting article/plagiarism issue at Samurai Knitter and I'd like you to look at:

http://samuraiknitter.blogspot.com/

Read the entry for Wednesday, 3/21 and you'll get all the info and links you need to follow the situation.

A little background on SK. I've been following her blog for quite a while. She has a unique style, diverse interests, does a top-notch reviewing job on knitting related (and non-knitting related) matters and has a delightful daughter of whom she blogs often.

Now from reading the 3/21 entry, you'll see that this is a clear case of plagiarism and of the pretty blatant sort since SK wrote the original article for Knitty and Knitty is a well-read knitting website. Plus, the offending woman admitted the fact and sort of did/maybe didn't apologize.

I have a lot of problems with our copyright laws in the US because as they are written now was never the original intent of our founders:

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries. (Article 1, Sect. 8, Clause 8; Wikipedia)

However, plagiarism is another story. That I disapprove of whether the original material was copyrighted or not. Plagiarism combines sneakiness with laziness and also probably the lack of knowledge on how to cite sources.

So take a look at SK and comment there if you wish (it looks like a simple commenting procedure.) This is a recurring "hot" issue with Ravelry.

Next week: I promise we'll work the armholes and then it will be smooth sailing to the bottom hem.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Tax the Rich

Thoughts on Tuesday

1. With the conviction of Dharum Ravi of webcam spying, intimidation, etc. of Tyler Clementi, I'm sure the state of NJ feels it has laid to rest any doubts that "We love our gays." (Clementi was gay.) and that we will not (edit) condone bullying.

Sad, and perhaps fitting of the classical meaning of tragic, that two teenagers' lives have been destroyed. They were both 18 at the time of the incident, which is still within the psychological time frame when kids' brains are not mature enough to think out the consequences of their actions.

This case has been rehashed too many times and that road is too tiring for me to trudge again. But sleep well NJ. Hell of a job.

2. Reading Joseph Ellis, Washington. I do abhor chatty secondary source history and I mistakenly put Ellis in that group of popular history writers. I was wrong. If Ellis tells you that Washington is looking out at a dismal, gray day, he'll quote from Washington's diary as his source. I'm early in the book, just past the part where Washington as a surveyor of the Ohio lands meets a tribal chief and both men know he (Washington) is there as the first step of the English take-over of tribal lands.

3. Saw most of, excepting the first 5 minutes, Twin Sisters. It's a foreign movie about separated twin girls before, during and after WWII in Europe. It touches on the Nazi final solution of the Jews but that is more of a catalyst for the turn of events between the sisters. It's basically about the travails of life: familial love, separations, misunderstandings, hatreds, wasted time and finally reconciliation. All of which can happen in lifetimes whether or not the world is engulfed in war. As it is often with foreign films, this is a "small" movie with horrors happening offstage but it's a movie for thinking about human existence where the 2 hour length goes rapidly by.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Tax the Rich

Knitting Friday - KAL for sleeveless top continued

Last Friday, I left you with instructions to make the neckband in seed stitch and then double your number of cast on stitches so you could start knitting for the yoke. I left you with the pattern for the yoke but anyone who visited the site on Saturday saw that I had edited the yoke pattern because I had posted the wrong one on Friday. That is, instead of my typical two rounds of K and two rounds of *YO, K2tog* (which I posted by mistake), the KAL is worked in two rounds of K and one round of *YO, K2tog.* This makes a subtle difference in the look though the "wrong" pattern gives more elasticity.

Knowing from my own participation in KALs that life intervenes with knitting, I'm going to make this Friday a breather; that is, you'll have another week to cast on, work the neckband and then work the yoke pattern for the inches needed from the base of your neck to the top of your shoulder. (Check the last two Fridays for more instructions.)

What I'd like to talk about briefly today is different stitch patterns. So, if you haven't started your yoke you may want to choose one from the list below. (Just a word of caution: I chose the KAL pattern(s) listed above because of their give. If you have already swatched for these patterns don't use your results for any other pattern you may choose from the lists below. Unless you are an experienced knitter, you have got to swatch for every pattern since some stitches have very little give and I don't think any knitter knits with the same tension all the time.)

And, another word of caution: There are many simple stitch patterns listed below which you can use with no problem. However, changing a pattern knitted flat (as those listed below are) can be tricky. Don't get discouraged. Save this conversion for another day if you run into trouble and use the pattern I gave you.

Here's a list of websites with stitch patterns:

http://www.craftcookie.com/
written and charted with pictures

http://www.free-knit-stitch.com/
charts and pictures only

http://www.knittingonthenet.com/stitches.htm
written instructions only with pictures

http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/stitches.php
sends you to other websites so this is a real grab bag

A couple of things to remember when you look at these stitch patterns:
1. Always make a swatch, both for gauge and so you will able to "read" the pattern.
2. You are working from the top down so the pattern you are looking at will be upside down. So, for example, if you choose an owl motif, the owls will be hanging from their feet. (Note: You can work stitch patterns backwards, say from Row 8 down to Row 1 but you have to be careful since decreases slant the opposite way, etc. Not a good variation for beginner knitters.)
3. You are working in the round so if you're looking at a stockinette-based pattern, the "wrong" side rows will be K and not P in the round.
4. You must "understand" your pattern repeats before you double your stitches at the base of the neckband or else you'll increase to the wrong number for the pattern.
5. There is no rule that you can't add or subtract a few stitches to get the multiple you need for your stitch pattern. Example: if your swatch says you need 160 stitches when you start the yoke and your pattern repeat calls for x7 (161 stitches, 23 x 7), just K front-back-front in one stitch to increase your 80 neckband stitches to 161.

Let me expand on # 3and #4 with a trinity stitch pattern:
Multiple of 4 Row 1 (RS): p
Row 2: *k1, p1, k1 in next stitch, p3tog*
Row 3: p
Row 4: *p3tog, k1, p1, k1 in next stitch*

Here's how I would then use this pattern, after swatching:
1. I would look at the multiple. It's x4 so 160 (40 x 4) stitches are fine.
2. I would look at the RS rows and see they want a purl look but I would also look at the P3togs on the WS rows. Since the P3tog will give the texture, I'd change the RS rows to K. And that's it.

Here's a slightly more complicated stitch:
Multiple of 4 + 2 Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Knit
Row 3: p2, *k2, p2*
Row 4: k2, *p2, k2*

1. I would eliminate the +2 because if I start my round with the P2, at the end of the round I'm working another P2 (*K2, P2*) so that section would have 4 purls (end the round with P2 and start round with P2.)
2. I would just work the stitches within the asterisks which is a multiple of 4 so, again, 160 stitches work.
3. I would see that the first two rows are K so they want a garter look. For in the round knitting, I would change Row 2 to P to get the garter look.
4. Finally, looking at the swatch I made, I would see that in Rows 3 and 4, it's 2 P over 2 K across. That would give me a nice texture and I would be good to go.

These are just two simple pattern alternations to get you started. It can get tricky fast but that can be fun if you want a challenge.

Next week: The neckband and yoke sections should be done. We make armholes and I show you how to add sleeves if you want.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Tax the Rich

Website Wednesday

An interview today which comes from the website Alter.net (definitely worth a bookmark and regular checking.) AlterNet is a liberal/progressive news website which discusses current issues of importance, some of which never make the MSS.

http://www.alternet.org/world/154453/why_the_american_empire_was_destined_to_collapse/

You can read this url and see exactly what you will be reading: The American Empire was destined to collapse. Pretty straightforward. But the author being interviewed, Morris Berman (who also discusses his book, Why America Failed) takes us back to 1584 to find the seeds of our downfall.

Let me use the hackneyed phrase "this is must reading" to say Americans and all the rest of the world should read this article. Most Americans won't get it and Berman explains why as you read along but I think the rest of the world might. For they have seen us as the "bully on the block" for centuries. (Can you think of more chutzpah than the Monroe Doctrine?)

I've always felt that no one people is different than another but different groups of people value different standards. For example, if you find a group of people with a lot of scholars, you'll find education was an important value and that value received the encouragement to continue. (And perhaps, in more primitive times, better food and comforts because what they did was valued.)

I witnessed an anecdotal incident the other night as the boy had basketball try-outs for 3rd to 5th graders. I watched small third graders aggressively chase the ball and then make extremely good baskets. Does that mean 8 year old kids naturally understand and master the game? No, that means somewhere within their families and society sport's aggression and skills are valued. (Side note: At 10, the boy was the tallest one there [he's taller than I and I'm not short] but he doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body. Why? Because you don't teach or value aggression in big boys unless you are looking for trouble.)

Berman addresses the qualities valued by the American society (don't miss the story re: the Indian scouts coming across the Donner party) and traces our long march from the phase of exploration to today's phase of decline.

It's very worth a read, and a discussion.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Movie Monday

OK, I know that the NJ Gov Christie is the "gift that keeps on giving" but I would be remiss not to include Democratic stupidity along side his perennial bullying.

No US Prez should even say (especially when he is officially speaking as the US Prez): 'the United States will always have Israel's back.' WTF? What gall to speak for the US in perpetuity in regard to foreign policy! What gall to use a colloquial "having one's back" in reference to policies which could ultimately lead to death and destruction! Has the US completely looped away from reality into a violent, jargon-filled video game? I shudder for the world.

On to some quick movie reviews because this was a wacky weekend during which I got to see movies I never expected to see:

First the newest Jane Eyre. And first, the truth: there is only one movie of the three I'm reviewing which I saw from top to bottom. No, I didn't fall asleep. I did say it was a wacky weekend so I didn't get to pick up Jane Eyre until the scene where she meets Rochester for the first time. Therefore, I may have missed a fascinating good early movie with the interaction of Jane at her aunt's home and then the orphanage. But I didn't get to see that so I'm just going to review Jane and Rochester. (Note: I think there may have been flashbacks - or the whole movie was a flashback.)

Jane Eyre is really the first book of the Twilight saga except written centuries ago and written so, so much better. Read any of the Bronte sisters, even after you move beyond the need for Gothic love, and you'll be reading superb literary craftsmanship. Having said that, no young girl is reading the Brontes for their writing skill. They are reading them (Charlotte and Emily; Anne is lesser known) for the dark passions. Passions which are developed to an insane fullness in Wuthering Heights but passion which is also ever lurking just below the surface in Jane Eyre.

So, if you are going to film JE, you must capture this passion. You must make the viewer believe that Rochester sees in Jane a vivacity of intelligence he hungers for as much as he hungers for her body. You must portray Jane as reciprocating this love/lust but also due to her class and upbringing understanding ruin may lie ahead for her. (I still remember the book Jane's rejection of Rochester's final proposal to her to be his mistress [when hope of marriage was lost]; societal rules won the day but very reluctantly.)

None of the above occurs in this movie. There is no chemistry between Jane and Rochester. They are just two actors reading lines from a well-loved source. In fact I would not have been surprised if Jane had turned to Rochester and rejected him with: Sir, I am a lesbian. Never, did I "feel" their connection. (Watch Firelight, 1997 if you want to see chemistry with a similar plot.) Terribly disappointing. Even Welles and Fontaine in the 1943 Jane Eyre, made during the wicked Production Code time period, nailed the passion.

The Eagle: what is it with directors and their desire to make historical dramas? Clive Owens in King Arthur; Colin Firth in The Last Legion and now Channing Tatum in The Eagle. It really does have a stupid premise: Tatum goes to Britian to retrieve the Roman eagle standard his father lost in battle there and find out what happened to the ninth legion he commanded. It's your typical Roman meets barbarian movie in the vein of the old cowboys and Indians US movies where the Indians were always very, very bad. Example here is the barbarian warlord murdering his very young son; thankfully off camera. So just like our present day foreign invasions, the Romans are the noble ones; everyone else is a barbarian. A nice touch, perhaps the only one, is when the slave becomes the master. Oh, the slave is of the barbarian race but he has lived with the Romans so we know he's a good guy. A typically bad historical drama with interesting racist undertones.

And finally, Pirates Of The Caribbean, On Stranger Tides........ Oh, it's just awful. Watch it if, to you, Johnny Depp can't make a bad movie. Talk about beating a dead horse!

See you next week.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Knitting Friday (edited 3/10 - see #5 in KAL instructions**)

Another item I should have listed under Equipment for the KAL sleeveless top is a very small-sized circular needle.

Why is this so important? When I mentioned two safety pins under materials last week, I didn't think I would have a practical example of their use so soon but there I was finishing up my orange sleeveless top yesterday and there were two places about 4 rows back where I hadn't caught the K2tog and stitches were unraveling in two places.

Now, I'm a great believer in having a good marker for the beginning of a row (the first safety pin.) The second safety pin I use at the error(s), So, I marked the error and then I just pulled out the working needles and tinked back to the mistake. It's a leap of faith.

At this point, unless you are working with slippery yarn, all the stitches should be staring up at you, naked without their needle. That's when you pick up each stitch using the much smaller circular. Don't try this pick-up with your working needle; it will not work. But a smaller needle slips into each stitch very easily. Mistake fixed. On to the KAL:

You should be ready to start the top. You should have all your equipment and know how many stitches you need for the cast on.

Cast on number of stitches you discovered with your gauge swatch. (See last Friday for the math if you forgot.) Now, the simplest neckband is: join your stitches and knit 6+ rows in your smaller sized needles. (You can work the neckband with 16" needles - really short - or DPNs. Or, you can use longer circulars and work in the magic loop or travelling loop if you wish. Google for the "how tos".) This will be a stockinette fold over neckband; which folds over or curls because that's what stockinette does.
The picture on the left shows this simple stockinette neckband but you can see that I added some rows of *K1, P1* ribbing after the neckband and before I increased any stitches. This was done to to stop the rolling in the neckband. (Note: You waste some yardage with this type of neckband because you don't get the inches due to the rollover.)

So, for the simplest neckband: CO x number of stitches and work 6+ rows of knit. Then work *K1, P1*ribbing for at least 4 rows. Neckband done and you're ready for the yoke.

However from the picture on the left, you can see that I didn't use this type of neckband for the KAL. What you see in the left picture is a seed stitch neckband followed by the beginning of the yoke. I'm going to give you directions for this pattern for the KAL but you can use any neckband style and body pattern guide you wish. As long as you know how many stitches you need to get your measurements; the sky's the limit.

KAL instructions:
1. CO x number stitches on the smaller sized circular needles. You stitch count should be an uneven number.
2. Join your stitches and work in the round.
3. Work in the seed stitch: Row 1: *K1, P1* end K1 Row 2: *P1, K1* end P1 for about one and a half inches.
4. Still with your smaller circulars, work one row of K in the front and back of every stitch to get double the number of stitches in the neckband. (Don't forget your swatch. You know the number of stitches you need for your yoke so you can fudge the increases to get that number - ex., K in the front, back and front again of a stitch to add 2 stitches instead of 1.)
5. Change to your larger circulars and begin the yoke pattern:
(**You can use the lace pattern below but this is the lace pattern in the right picture: Row 1 & 2: K and Row 3: *YO, K2tog*. Sorry.)
Row 1 and 2: K
Row 3 and 4: *YO, K2tog* around. This pattern will give you a very elastic top. Shall we say very figure forgiving.
6. Work your yoke pattern for 5 inches.

Next week: We discuss stitch patterns for the body of the top.

Happy knitting.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Website Wednesday

OK, I have decided to only discuss politics on Monday not so much because I don't want your head to explode; I don't want mine too. Now, I can expand on this but I think I would very soon begin typing political thoughts - it's such a slippery slope. So, wait till Monday. Oh, the suspense!

So instead of politics, here's a left-field topic for me:

http://goodmenproject.com/ - The Good Men Project

I hope I know something about good men but men, in their souls, may be as mysterious to women as women are to them. But I do like their About:

“The Good Men Project is a glimpse of what enlightened masculinity might look like in the 21st century,” the press raved when we launched. Finally, “a cerebral, new media alternative” to glossy men’s magazines. In fact, The Good Men Project is not so much a magazine as a social movement. We are fostering a national discussion centered around modern manhood and the question, “What does it mean to be a good man”?

We are a community of 21st Century thought leaders around the issue of men’s roles in modern life. We explore the world of men and manhood in a way that no media company ever has, tackling the issues and questions that are most relevant to men’s lives. We write about fatherhood, family, sex, ethics, war, gender, politics, sports, pornography, and aging. We shy away from nothing. Our content reflects the multidimensionality of men — we are alternatively funny and serious, provocative and thoughtful, earnest and light-hearted. We search far and wide for new stories and new voices from “the front lines of modern manhood.” And we do it without moralizing and without caricaturizing our audience; we let guys be guys, but we do it while challenging confining cultural notions of what a “real man” must be.

They tackle important and interesting topics: The Shifting Definition of Adulthood and wacky ones: Whatever Happened to Pro Wrestling? (though my husband would like the answer to that one.) And some articles: Coca-Cola Killa: Cancer Link? have a very strong POV.

I did like the Flesch-Kincaid grade level of 12.8 because I felt they were trying to talk to adults, and not dumbing down.

So take a look at The Good Men Project because unless you've been living under a rock or in the middle of a fanatically conservative community, the relationship of men to women and men to men and the role of men in the business, social and family world has surely changed. This looks like a good place to find some answers and perhaps start some discussions.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Movie Monday: Breaking Dawn, Part 1

I think that it's heartbreakingly sad and hypocritical that an 18 year old gay student (Tyler Clementi) committed suicide because his 18 year old roommate (Dharun Rai) videoed then streamed the video of the student's homosexual encounter with another student. So sad because two young men have had their lives shattered; so hypocritical because our Gov in NJ just vetoed the bill allowing gays to marry in the state. I won't go into the insanity of his suggestion that gay marriage be put to a referendum so the voters could decide, as, he also suggested, civil rights should have been in the 1960s. (Sure, let the South decide if blacks should be kept as second-class citizens. That's a no-brainer.)

However, once again we have elected officials displaying knee-jerk deep prejudices with their craven "Pontius Pilate"decisions while expecting 18 year old kids to make the correct ethical and moral decisions.

What a crock! The Gov just told the state that he's not going to lift a finger to even the playing field for gays. It's a message he has no problem sending but takes no blame for the tragic drama which played out between Clementi and Ravi because of the poisoned atmosphere decisions and thinking like this create.

And then there's Breaking Dawn Part 1. In a moment of guilt?, madness?, sheer exhaustion?, I bought the DVD for the girl and she insisted we sit down immediately and watch it. (She already had the privilege of a movie house viewing of BD; I didn't.)

I sat expecting the worst. Awful, awful, awful; I was ready. But then, about 15 minutes into the movie when I realized Jacob was not appearing, (except for the obviously campy seconds-long-in-duration opening shot of him tearing off his shirt and morphing), I relaxed and mentally said: Without Jacob's bad acting, it's not bad.

Even knowing that Jacob would appear eventually, I did enjoy the Condon touches. I thought he worked in some sweet and not-so-sweet touches (Bella's vision) into the whole wedding prep and ceremony. Once you realize this is not epic film making (except perhaps in the minds of pre-teens) it was pretty easy to "go with the flow."

But then, of course, Jacob must appear. And...... wait for it........ he wasn't that bad. Acting lessons or better direction may have helped but there was a maturity in him which came through even with some awful dialogue.

Of course, there were howlingly silly parts like the wolves speaking among themselves. If this final shot was the best they could do, this scene had to be a mess to film and edit. However, the honeymoon scene was nicely played. I liked the part in the book where Bella does everything to postpone meeting Edward on the beach and I'm happy they kept in that including her decision to shave her legs.

What has been lacking through all the movies is a community of characters. That is, everyone hits their mark and says their lines but you don't feel they're communicating with much more than the camera. That's why I liked the very brief scene when during the travails of Bella's pregnancy Jacob walks in and discovers her and Edward laughing together. It was a nice "human" touch.

While Condon missed with the wolve's talk, he nailed the imprinting. Imprinting is a yucky subject since it smacks of pedophilia and I never thought he could pull it off. However, as Jacob imprints with the CGI baby (who looked awful in this scene but I know they are very, very strict with how you handle infants in movies so perhaps that was the best they could go with the state of CGI today) the use of a montage of photos showing Nessie at all ages even into adulthood, lessened the impact of this controversial subject.

Of course the movie was flawed but now that I've seen it I am surprised by the almost universal negative howl that greeted it upon its release. This may be faint praise but it is the only Twilight movie since the first which I could see again.

Next week: Perhaps Dogville and Manderly. No, I haven't forgotten them; it's just that I'd like to sit through both together and, time-wise, that's not working.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Knitting Friday: KAL for a sleeveless top

Just when my teeth are finally resting from pain (for a while at least), DH has come down with a wicked cold and since my camera is tricky when it comes to uploading pictures (read: he's the only one who does it well), I have no pictures loaded today.

However, I want to start this KAL today so we'll go without pictures and if you want to join in, here are the supplies you should have.

Supplies:
Needles: US 8 in 16" circular or DPN, US 8 in 24" to 32" (for the bottom hem) and US 10 or US 10.5 in at least 24"
2 skeins of DK wool (DK is one step above sport and one step below "light" bulky) for a total of 460+ yards. (This amount is my size, you may need more, see below.)
stitch markers (I use knotted strands of yarn)
2 safety pins: 1 to mark the first stitch in the row and 2 as a spare to mark a mistake, etc.
row counter: based on the difficulty of your pattern choice

Your Pattern Choice: speak of the devil!
Here is the simple lace pattern I'm using:
Row 1 and 2: K around
Row 3 and 4: *YO, K2tog* around
(You will be working in the round so you'll get a stockinette stitch "base")
However, you can use any pattern you wish by keeping these facts in mind: 1. Your stitch count with double at the end of your neckband and the number of stitches you increase to here will be amount you work for the entire yoke. 2. At the armhole, you will bind off the same amount of stitches for each armhole and then cast on the same amount of stitches for each underarm. 3. This final amount is the number of stitches you will work until you bind off.

Example: For my size top, I cast on 80 stitches with US 8, work the neckband, doubled my 80 stitches to 160, changed to US 10.5 and worked on these 160 stitches for 5". Then I bound off 30 stitches at the arm and, on the next row, I cast on 10 stitches at each underarm so I worked 120 stitches for the body.

So, if you decide to pick another pattern, make sure the stitch multiple for that pattern matches
the number of stitches you're working with on the top. (Of course, you can fudge things a bit; work with 164 stitches on the yoke or cast on 12 stitches each underarm instead of 10.)

Making a swatch: I hate swatching and by now I know the number of stitches I need with the needles and yarn I use but you should swatch. But first you have to take your measurements.

Taking your measurements or customizing your pattern using the lace pattern above: (Numbers in parentheses are used just for examples.)
1. Take your chest measurement and make a swatch using the larger needles and the lace pattern above (on yarn which you are going to use or yarn of an equal weight) to see how many stitches you will need to get the chest measurement. (130 stitches)
1a. The lace pattern above is very stretchy and also clingy like ribbing so I don't block my swatch nor the final garment. It's your call based on your pattern whether you block the swatch or not.
3. Take the number from #1 and add 20% to it. (130 + 20% = 156 sts)
4. Round that number up or down to the nearest 10s number (130 + 20% = 156 sts., rounded to 160.)
5. Take the rounded number and halve it. (160/2 = 80 sts)
6. Cast on the number in #5 as your neckband stitches. (More on the neckband next week.)
7. Although we only need the number in #5 right now, we'll be using the number in #4 later.

How Much Yarn Do I Need:
OK, I'll be honest. Except for when I made my Mario blanket which was a series of knitted squares and when it was easy to know the number of squares I needed so measuring yardage was easy: I DON'T HAVE A CLUE.
My advice is: Buy the yarn where you can return unused skeins (most places allow this.) And, buy a skein more than you think you need. It will make life easier.

OK, that's it for today. It's time to get your supplies together and work out a swatch.

Next week: The neckband - different styles you can use.

P.S. Here's a picture of a top similar to the one we are making but also so very different:

http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/tina/tina.html