Capitalism - Feudalism without the King

 Tax the Rich

Knitting Friday

#1 Chiaogoo Interchangeables

I don't prowl the Amazon site (I'm looking at you, DH) but once and a while I go on to find low-priced knitting accessories in case we need a "filler" to reach the new $35 free shipping threshold. That's how I happened to find the complete set of Chiaogoo Interchangeables (US 2 through US 15) for $120. Which is a very good price since they usually sell for the small (up to US 8) or large (above US 8) for $85 each or the complete set for around $160. Luckily, I hadn't bought them (not enough reviews out there) and I gave myself an early holiday present and quickly ordered them. (5 available when I first saw them; only 3 available when I placed the order a little later.)

#2 The works

Since I love to make up theories, my theory about Amazon is that they place these teaser prices all the time to get to you to continually watch their site so that a once-in-a-lifetime bargain won't slip by.

Here's what you get inside the CI case, #2:

CIs are different from other interchangeables (at least the ones I have) in that you get small and large cable joins. So you wouldn't put a cable from the small container on a US 10 nor one from the large container on a US 7. That's a little cumbersome because you must keep the cables separated but this might be why the joins are so smooth. And smooth they are. There is no snagging. But the joins do untwist, even when you use the locking key.

#3 I have locking keys!

And talking about the locking keys: I didn't get them. I didn't get the cable ends (which creates straight needles). I didn't get the connectors to make the cables longer. Well, I thought, It was only $120. I should have thought: What a dummy you are! Because if I had looked carefully above the case's red ribbon, I would have seen the zippered compartment. In #3, you'll see the treasure trove in there.


Bottom line review: Great price, very smooth joins, unscrewing even after using the locking key on patterns with a lot of movement (k2tog, ssk, sk2p, etc.), excellent sharp points, OK flexible on their cables, not great flexible. If this were my only interchangeable set, I might pay the full price. (At $120, it's $9+ a needle tip as compared to Knit Picks at $6+ (All KP interchangeable sets have come down in price due to moving the factory to China.)

#4 Harmony wood hooks

On another foray into the Amazon, I got a mother lode of wood crochet hooks because I have no wood hooks and I thought: Why not? The answer should have been: Not. The wood hooks are OK. I like that sizes include up to N but the tips are cut differently from metal hooks and I find it needs more concentration so I'm sure not to drop the yarn. Bottom line: OK, but sometimes inexpensive means just cheap.

#5 I'm whole, before frogging

In the two weeks since my last KF, I forayed into the wonderful world of frogging. In #5 you see a thin, lace scarf I made from ends of fingering wool about 6 months ago. It was an OK scarf, but way too long and way too narrow. So I frogged the baby and here are some pictures of the kinky yarn before washing it:

#7 Curlier than a pig's tail

#6 Oh, what a tangled mess!

You can see from #6 and #7 that I have some serious washing and weighting work ahead if I want to make this skein usable in anything but the trinity stitch, which is my go-to stitch for kinky yarn.

So I soaked the skein in conditioner and cold water for a very, very long time. Then I hung it over a plastic hanger in the basement with a whole bunch of more plastic hangers hanging from the bottom of the loop, really weighing this baby down. Here's what I got:

#8 Compare me to #7

#9 I'm so pretty

As you can see, the kinks are almost gone and I was able to start a new lace scarf. But this time, I cast on 40 stitches and all the lace patterns are reversible.

Below is the start of the new scarf:

#10 New scarf, old lace

There is no pattern for #10 since I'm just collecting reversible lace patterns and working them so they all blend in (no garter/seed rows between the patterns.) I cast on 40 stitches and have two K edge stitches each side. That count is not changing. If I have to fudge the stitch count, like one pattern calls for 15x stitches, I work it this way: From the 40 stitches, I need 30 stitches for the pattern and 4 stitches for the edges so I have 6 unneeded stitches or 3 stitches each side. So, for each row: K2, K1 back loop, K 2nd stitch on the LN in the back loop then K the first stitch on the LN in the front loop for two twisted stitches, work 30 stitches of pattern, work a twisted stitch as before, K1 in the back loop as before, K2. I just have to remember that on every row the stitches bolded above must be worked as K in order to make them reversible. Easy peasy.

#12 Also frogged.

That's it for today. Next week: How Red Heart yarn with 25% wool finally found a project and it's not these two knit patterns, (#11) and (#12):

#11 So promising, so frogged

 See you next week. Happy knitting.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the King

 Tax the Rich

 

Website Wednesday

 

If you read me last Friday for Knitting Friday, you know I was a complete failure. First, DH (very busy) didn't upload the pictures. No problem, I would talk about a shawl I was making, except for some mysterious reason the Ravelry site was suddenly devoid of the usual link to the pattern. So I waited and thought and the more I waited the further I got from even wanting to post. So I didn't.

 

Only two picks today; I'm tired, probably depressed, the hospice nurse could be here within the hour.......

 

http://annyas.com/screenshots/

 

Unusual site but very interesting and it's a two-fer: a Wednesday pick which is of Movie Monday interest. You click on a decade and get scores of screen shots of movie titles from that time. But if you love movies, click on (buy) and get sent to an Amazon site with a lot of good review stuff. So, if you love movies, this is a site for return visits.

 

I'm thinking Politico is a right-wing mag and I'm going to burn in hell for posting it (it's touts Politico is brought to you by the Bank of America for crying out loud) but these are great pictures.

 

http://www.politico.com/magazine/gallery/2013/11/photo-oops-historys-worst-political-photo-ops/001446-020429.html 

 

That's it. Short and, I hope, sweet. Profound thought for the day: I noticed that only thin, attractive, tight-fitingly-dressed women are news/business talking shows co-hosts, while the men on these shows, whether co-hosts or guests, come in all sizes and happily show off what our society considers physical ugliness, like weight or "plain looks." So I listen to the "wisdom" from these men and think of the women: whom did they sleep with to get here. What an insult that the physical spectrum for women is so narrow on TV. How demeaning to all women!

 

See you next week. Hopefully after I get a good nap. 

Capitalism - Feudalism without the King
Tax the Rich

 

Website Wednesday

 

It's Wednesday again and the hospice nurse comes. DM is watching Time of Death on Showtime. The hospice nurse, when she heard, asked: Why? But apparently she's finding some comfort from it. She's getting some solace, some answers, and has said she was surprised to hear a patient on the show say that there was so much pain in dying. DM, as a heart failure patient, didn't think there would be pain but is experiencing it.

 

Is there any such book as a Diary from the Dying? People leave uplifting thoughts, histories of their lives, but what about chronicles from them to others documenting living during this final time? Probably that's asking too much.

 

Oh, and if this Affordable Care website is really more complicated than the Minotaur's labyrinth to navigate, as people are saying, then it's just another example of Obama's "I really don't care" style of governance. Because good, uncomplicated websites are not rocket science and, hey guys, the internet has been around for a long enough time that you could have found a highly competent web page designer in a heartbeat. No way should this administration have created such confusion with its website.

 

And now, with Affordable Care sign-up a mess, with my own life as watching sands spill from the hourglass, I present jokes, because you gotta laugh:

 

http://thoughtcatalog.com/mandy-zucker/2013/10/60-people-on-the-best-lame-joke-they-know/ 

 

I don't know why these jokes are labeled lame; some are quite good like, a rope walked into a bar........ in a puny way or A housewife takes a lover....which works in your "I didn't expect that" way.

I'm sure that I used the following site before but a quick search didn't bring up this page from May:

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/05/21/fiction-for-men-as-suggested-by-art-of-manliness-readers/

 

(I used the word "man" to search and I did learn that I use the word "human" way too often.)

This page gives you books men should read because, as the author says, men don't read that much. Is this true? Two things about this list: 1: I've read a lot of these books and 2: I do like the link to Amazon for each selection because, reading carefully, you can get some great reviews on Amazon. Take a look.

Pictures!:

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/11/national-geographic-photo-contest-2013/100629/

 

Ok, here's how this goes: National Geographic's 2013 Photo Contest deadline is November 30th but they allowed this blogger for The Atlantic to see the entries and he has chosen 39 of them to display on his blog. So while you will be looking at NG entries, the real winner may not be among the pictures you see here. But I'm never disappointed looking at entries in this contest. Hope you won't be either.

 

And now for some serious stuff:

 

http://lifehacker.com/5982339/diy-data-recovery-tricks-for-when-your-hard-drive-goes-belly-up

 

We all know even good computers give up the ghost one day, hopefully after we have backed up all the data on the hard drive. Here are tips for recovering this data if, by the slimmest chance you forgot to back-up. Though I'm a novice in this field, even I get a confident feeling reading this walk-through. Take a look. But, more important: back up your data.

 

I can't believe I'm posting this next site:

 

http://www.utah3d.net/

 

I'm giving Utah a plug! Utah, home of some very scarey right-wing thinking. But also home of some of the most amazing natural wonders, probably in the world. And, you get to pan the scenes! Watch out for dizziness but take a look. This stuff is amazing. 

 

That's it. It's getting late. See you next week.

 

 

Capitalism - Feudalism without the King
Tax the Rich

 

Knitting Friday

 

Wednesday was the first time the hospice nurse said DM had taken a definite decline. Not going to tell her; though obviously I'm not keeping my mouth totally shut as I'm saying this on my blog. But what's the use of telling her? It's a yin and yang dilemma as to whether it would bring her comfort. Yes, because she understands and welcomes this ending for her life but No, because I see a glimmer of hope for that miracle she even knows isn't coming.

#1 Frogged, not the lace scarf

 

I discovered yesterday that a wool blazer with a lace wool vest and a fingering weight wool lace scarf is not warm enough for sitting in a car in 50 degree weather while waiting for Kumon boy. He really wasn't long in there but I was sure cold. So I decided to frog that lace scarf (which I had originally made as a swatch scarf in my search for one good lace pattern for a special gift scarf) and make it shorter and wider and reversible. Talk about thrift! Talk about nuts!

 

And talking about frogging. I got absolutely no where with the small afghan in #1 because I realized that as an afghan it was too flimsy. So I went back to an old stand-by, Shimmer Mesh, by Lion Brand:

 

#2 Shimmer Mesh

http://vannaschoice.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10288.html 

 

and am making another one of these, #2:

 

I don't use DK yarn nor do I double my yarn but in fingering or even lace held single, it makes for a light, delicate shawl or scarf. (Note: You must work into chain stitches throughout this project so unless you are able to work well-defined chains in novelty yarn, I would stick with traditional yarns.)

#3 Wheel chair blanket

I finished DM's wheel chair blanket and it's very, very warm. These are great on-going projects and great busters of yarn stashes. Here's the pattern for the original mitered square (and the first one in this project) again:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/decrease-crochet-miter-square

 

I just went back to Knitting Friday on 11/1/13 where I give directions for making a mitered square blanket and I think they should be cleaned up and presented in a more traditional pattern format....one of these days........

#4 Foundation Chain Row

I just happened upon these two swatches (#4) and they show why I like to make my foundation chain and sometimes first row with a larger hook. In #4 at the bottom of the picture, you have the foundation chain rows for two swatches. The one on the left is "even" from top to bottom because I started with a larger hook then switched to the one called for in the pattern. The one on the right puckers in at the bottom (tough to see, but it does.) because I used the same sized hook throughout

 

Cripes! This hasn't been Knitting Friday. It's been Crochet Friday. Sorry, knitters. I just seem not to have the time for serious knitting right now (two KALs are hanging fire) and this may be the first year in 4 when I didn't start the Advent Calendar Scarf on time. Oh, well.

 

Let me just keep chugging along in crochet then and end with something I just learned; the faux double crochet. It's what you use when the directions say: Chain 3, to be considered the first double crochet throughout.

 

Instead of making a limp chain 3, you work a faux double crochet, shown here, which is much sturdier:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhbRoNX2nQw 

She gives a good explanation though I had to make some notes to really "get it." Here they are:

1. At the beginning of the row, pull up a loop to mimic the size of a double crochet (DC). Your hook is inside this loop and your working yarn is behind and to the left.

2. Put your index finger on the top of the loop to stabilize the size.

3. Take the hook under this loop to the back (working yarn still out of the way and to the left)

4. Now, it looks like you have two loops on the hook.

5. YO by taking your yarn from L to R under your hook and then over your hook and back to the left.

6. Bring this YO through the loop so you have 2 loops on the hook again.

7. YO and bring your yarn through these final 2 loops as you would do in a regular DC.

8. After you make your next regular DC, compare it to the faux DC and you will see they both have horizontal bars on the top.

 

OK, it's getting late. Got to run. See you next week. Hopefully with pictures of my reversible, knit, lace scarf and my new Chiaogoo needle set. Happy Knitting - and Crocheting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capitalism - Feudalism without the King
Tax the Rich

 

Website Wednesday

 

Things may have taken a turn for the worse last evening (as opposed to being just an isolated incident) and DM said during the worst of the pain (she's still amazed by the pain with heart problems) that while she has always wanted to die, all she wanted last night was for the pain to end and to feel better. Once again, she understands what's going on, embraces what's going on, on an intellectual level, but striped down I guess all mammals live on a visceral level and maybe that level never gets convinced that it's time to let go.

 

Hospice nurse comes today so we may know more.

 

In the last 24 hours, I broke the microwave (2 years old) and tore down my closet clothes rack system (not intentionally.) So once again, I'm living amid a mess; though a new microwave has been installed. (GE would not sell us the cheap plastic/metal part which broke - the door opener - but will give us $25 towards a new GE. Yeah right, I'm just aching to run out and buy another crappy GE product - 2 years and the microwave door latch breaks!)

 

Let's start with pictures I found interesting this week.

http://photo-kingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ice-and-boat.jpg

 

This is another "Wow" picture for me. Then be sure to go to the Home page:

http://photo-kingdom.com/

 

and just click around.

 

I didn't start with the Home page of Where Cool Things Happen, which is here:

 

http://www.wherecoolthingshappen.com/ 

 

I started here:

 

http://www.wherecoolthingshappen.com/1-perfectly-timed-photos/

which has pithy, funny, perfectly timed photos. Good for chuckles and "Wows".

Once again, just don't stop at this page, look around.

OK, enough with the pictures, let's get cleaning!

http://www.funcheaporfree.com/2011/12/youre-welcome-wednesday-tip-keep-your.html

 

Yes, your mom was right, you have to clean up after messes or else your only future will be on these re-decorating shows where your messy house/room/apartment rivals the town's busiest junk yard and, on national TV, the world gets to see some re-do-it professionals gingerly pick through all your crap and, by the end of the show, leave you with house/room/apartment ready for a photo-shot from House Beautiful. (Yeah right! I want these people surprise revisited in 6 months!)

The Fun Cheap or Free Queen has a lot of good tips for fast cleaning on this page. She provides you with a printable weekly cleaning chores chart (Monday looks like a bear) and really has a good idea: tackle just 1 or 2 major cleaning chores a day.

TFCOFQ's site is being re-done (last entry 11/4/13) but click the links for past ideas in, among other things, fashion and food. Yes, she has recipes!

 

And finally, this:

http://mashable.com/2013/11/12/opt-out-data-tracking/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-main-link 

which supposedly will get you out of data-tracking. (You know, like when I visit a site on knitting and then every damn site I visit after has a knitting ad.) I have no idea if the suggestions presented here will work but they look OK to me and if you have more computer/web knowledge than I, take a look. It may be very helpful.

That's it for today. See you next week. And yes, there will be Knitting Friday this week.

    

 

 

 

  

Capitalism - Feudalism without the King
Tax the Rich

 

Website Wednesday and no Knitting Friday this week 

 

A quick explanation re no Knitting Friday this week: Starting tomorrow, I'm getting 24 hours of aide help for DM and there are major, major chores I must do. So, once I post today, I'm just clearing my mind, getting all the needed supplies together (cleaning stuff, boxes, strong muscles), readying my body for some major grunt work and shutting down my brain for a bit.

Living in NJ, I guess I should mention yesterday's Gov election. Our current one, Chris Christie, was reelected. His campaign promise of finishing the job he started must mean, (since his 4-year ago promise to lower property taxes is no longer even on the radar), that he will continue to bully his perceived "enemies" and use NJ as his jumping board to a Republican presidential nomination.

 

His re-election is no surprise since shamefully our state Democrats only gave lukewarm support to their candidate, Barbara Buono ("The Obama administration declined to deploy its best political weapons against Christie, while Buono struggled to earn the support of her party's most devoted supporters. The Democratic Governors Association spent less than $5,000 on the contest while pouring more than $6 million into the Virginia election." HP, 11/6/13) who came across as a bright, articulate, progressive woman. Wait a minute. This is Jersey. A bright, articulate, progressive woman as governor? No way!

OK, so I'm still obsessed with my diet and at:

http://www.ohsoprettythediaries.com/search/label/food

 

I really like the way they present recipes. Great pictures and great walk-throughs. Oh So Pretty looks like a fun site. Be sure to click around. 

 

I still seem to gravitate to graffiti as you can see with this pick:

http://graffart.eu/blog/2010/02/harvest-by-haroshi-%E2%80%9Cskate-destroy%E2%80%9D-exhibition/ 

Graffart presents graffiti from around the world. Be sure to click on the right column of Archives for some great examples. As an American, we're told "Get the mop and wash away that graffiti." Apparently, not all the world has this narrow view.

Here's an example of the very short graphic novel:

http://dalesdesigns.net/JD-fishing.htm

Start with this fishing story and then click here:

http://dalesdesigns.net/stories2.html

Most of the written stories are hokey with uplifting messages but a lot of the picture tales are worthwhile. Two things I realized from a fast skim: 1. In spite of the montage of a deer eating a biscuit from a humans' mouths, this is a very bad idea.  2. Baby polar bears are adorable.

And finally:

http://sobadsogood.com/2013/11/05/outlandish-vintage-anti-communist-ads-by-us-government/

This page from So Bad So Good shows you vintage anti-Communist propaganda posters which we probably should never forget since today, long after the Soviet Union re-became Russia, commenters on political blogs will accuse one another of being a Commie as if appellation still makes sense. Beyond the wacky propaganda, I'm amused that way back then (the movie shown is from 1949) they were using sexy women to make their point.

At: http://sobadsogood.com/ , they say you will get the best and worst of the web. I haven't discovered the bad yet but I have to admit that the pictured friendship between the joey and the baby wombat even melted my cold, cold heart.

That's it for this week. Now it's time to start the workout to get ready for the grunt work I will be doing in the next two days....... Nah! I think I'll just eat bon-bons all day.

See you next Wednesday.