tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183141802024-03-23T14:02:29.058-04:00Lost Arts studioA lot of the fiber arts I enjoy are things like tatting, netmaking, chair caning, and even weaving, where people will come up to me when I demonstrate and solemnly tell me, "That's a lost art."Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.comBlogger937125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-71578900031499816272022-10-31T19:56:00.000-04:002022-10-31T19:56:44.010-04:00I may have to figure out how to blog again<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RwV4EajaVg6nODa7w2YJqjg-JH4kEyCz5Tl8sNRG8JDmQQ46_eGS9uPjLhAM8qI2d8t0sNuF5bvua7Co_BC0ZLAj6rx6eFhKnPOOPyJ45RtOAD3Cc2D8ppoISGihSzAvPhZ2WjvgBjhiBSDUHw7xZDy1rHeO72EjqVSehboOF2smvaiFLw/s800/HALLOWEEN-DSCF9795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="800" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RwV4EajaVg6nODa7w2YJqjg-JH4kEyCz5Tl8sNRG8JDmQQ46_eGS9uPjLhAM8qI2d8t0sNuF5bvua7Co_BC0ZLAj6rx6eFhKnPOOPyJ45RtOAD3Cc2D8ppoISGihSzAvPhZ2WjvgBjhiBSDUHw7xZDy1rHeO72EjqVSehboOF2smvaiFLw/s320/HALLOWEEN-DSCF9795.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-11729566332076241742014-04-20T17:05:00.000-04:002014-04-20T17:05:56.025-04:0070 Degrees in Michiganaka Easter on the beach. (Yes, that is ice off to the right.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LYUFpgnwXR3gDlUKLqRGy5A8tH1IENgtwt7T1-xoKOaJRB9-0mIiUajurjRp6FM817UtbBp4HAKv301mWejZ8jnz7U1I66uGrxBX59cwkl4MnSb4aQH6hS79Cnq1LQKtQzSt/s1600/EasterOnTheBeach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LYUFpgnwXR3gDlUKLqRGy5A8tH1IENgtwt7T1-xoKOaJRB9-0mIiUajurjRp6FM817UtbBp4HAKv301mWejZ8jnz7U1I66uGrxBX59cwkl4MnSb4aQH6hS79Cnq1LQKtQzSt/s400/EasterOnTheBeach.jpg" /></a></div>Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-1436460350057997652014-04-15T16:26:00.001-04:002014-04-15T16:26:39.498-04:00Spring in MichiganSunday the very last of the snow pile on the north side of the house <i>finally</i> melted.<br />
<br />
And the weather went, "What's that, you're out of snow? No problem!"<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfqiBYa4pvFCo42hQ2YREqz0zr3KeX2QkpWUUdEcRJKnTXMh28jLsheWJ-DGzebkZEs5QPNaRT59Ajb6HM3qB7ss4iQbDQWDuUx-yDQKsPwVnhMFOO4IdBcIqg9mevxNUt-BW/s1600/AprilSnow.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfqiBYa4pvFCo42hQ2YREqz0zr3KeX2QkpWUUdEcRJKnTXMh28jLsheWJ-DGzebkZEs5QPNaRT59Ajb6HM3qB7ss4iQbDQWDuUx-yDQKsPwVnhMFOO4IdBcIqg9mevxNUt-BW/s320/AprilSnow.jpg" /></a>Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-21304358283464528292014-02-10T15:52:00.000-05:002014-02-10T15:52:44.720-05:00Not the Bread Knife!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8bUIJQr198kfuDppmbFeJwSduTPnpRNKVtEAzaXccWF4jUu3oWcZuDKMrHlmjhut3KHDmUesrtaipNQnhrfiolBsPM-1yjkGUbQJi2dg4r2tHGPTNJ8QK2LhXKeK6b2jLMUP/s1600/NotTheBreadKnife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8bUIJQr198kfuDppmbFeJwSduTPnpRNKVtEAzaXccWF4jUu3oWcZuDKMrHlmjhut3KHDmUesrtaipNQnhrfiolBsPM-1yjkGUbQJi2dg4r2tHGPTNJ8QK2LhXKeK6b2jLMUP/s400/NotTheBreadKnife.jpg" /></a></div>Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-6059100354101193042014-02-09T18:08:00.000-05:002014-02-09T18:08:36.941-05:00Foothills of Mount Roofmore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC6Ke0zzgH4hH0c4RxOvUM4Jz2FL7g9-mLoS80RvrZTE1zypV7d4j77axUW500_TtGiTRy3bdGsZVaUCdmpfpaMrdcyvabbnm2lEoPBcPtiGeRTRJN4zN-yJzNg8J6bxyK-HKO/s1600/SnowDoor2-9sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC6Ke0zzgH4hH0c4RxOvUM4Jz2FL7g9-mLoS80RvrZTE1zypV7d4j77axUW500_TtGiTRy3bdGsZVaUCdmpfpaMrdcyvabbnm2lEoPBcPtiGeRTRJN4zN-yJzNg8J6bxyK-HKO/s1600/SnowDoor2-9sm.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-1585186614314815952013-06-03T19:36:00.000-04:002013-06-03T19:36:20.259-04:00Ten Years AgoTen years ago, our son was three-just-turning-four, and we needed to replace our ten-year-old car. <br />
<br />
My husband was in a bit of a hurry to replace the car, as he was getting ready to leave for two weeks of annual training. He was hoping to pick out the new one before he left. He had this idea that he'd buy it, but not take it home until he got back.<br />
<br />
He brought me with him, because I'm a lot more resistant to sales tactics than he is. And we brought our son to reinforce the "just looking" vibe.<br />
<br />
The salesman ran through the litany of every high-pressure sales tactic in the book, from "I'll go talk to my manager" (leaving us sitting in a tiny office with an active, bored older toddler) to "Someone else is looking at that gray one, so if you don't sign today, it probably won't be there when you come back." And I could see my husband getting ready to sign on the dotted line.<br />
<br />
And then the salesman said they had to have the license plate off the car my husband was planning to drive to annual training. Actually, he said he HAD to have it, and again made the pressuring threat about the new car not being there.<br />
<br />
Anyone who knows me would have known this would not work. Being pushed does not make me cave in, it just awakens a veritable Vesuvius of stubborn.<br />
<br />
I was already getting ticked off over the hours of trying to keep our son from running wild all over the showroom, and being told what I <b>HAD TO</b> do was that one step too far.<br />
<br />
I blew up, told them where they could stick their car, and walked off with the kid. I even started to drive off without my husband, but the kid cried and made me stop.<br />
<br />
With all that in mind:<br />
<br />
Today someone made a comment on Ravelry about going to a car dealership with their mister. Someone else asked why they took a spray bottle to test-drive cars. And suddenly I had this <b>wonderful idea</b>:<br />
<br />
If I had thought to bring a spray bottle when we went to go car shopping, every time the salesman tried another tactic, <i>SQUIRT!</i><br />
<br />
Cats. Car salespeople. Maybe they can be taught!Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-9765916829656907012012-10-11T08:38:00.001-04:002012-10-11T08:38:20.136-04:00It's National Coming Out day. I basically came out as weird the moment I left the birth canal. I was a weird child and I'm a weird adult. I was told at my wedding by a relative that I was not just weird but "SO WEIRD".<br />
<br />
The weird child faces teasing and bullying by other children and by children in grown-up bodies. There are no campaigns or ribbons for weirdness. The weird adult faces obstacles in finding friends, dates, and jobs.<br />
<br />
These days many of the weird are diagnosed with something, but when I was growing up, I was just weird and had to figure out how to cope with a world that couldn't figure me out. I was chased and teased and beaten up in hallways. Sometimes I think it was a minor miracle I survived.<br />
<br />
But I did. And I'd like to thank my husband and my many friends who accept my weirdness, and the colonies of fellow weird people I've found via the internet.<br />
<br />
It's so nice not to be alone any more.Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-90009505751815995172012-07-16T10:12:00.002-04:002012-07-16T10:12:52.684-04:00An Open Letter to Michigan State UniversityTo Whom It May Concern:<br />
<br />
As a graduate of Michigan State University, I urge the design team for the new Facility for Rare Isotope Beams facility to SAVE THE TREES!<br />
<br />
Dr. Don Dickman, Professor Emeritus of the MSU Department of Forestry, writes:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>YOUR VOICE ON A SERIOUS MATTER IS NEEDED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. As you may know, MSU and the Cyclotron have been awarded a contract by US/DOE to built the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). Within the least few days we have learned some of the details. To make room for the large industrial/warehouse style buildings that are needed for FRIB, the beautiful Bogue Street boulevard that runs north-south in front of the Wharton Center for Performing Arts will be bulldozed and the venerable oak trees (~150 years old) that grace it will be felled. These trees have stood there since the very beginning of the campus. Ironically, Bogue Street is named for the first Chair of the Department of Forestry at MSU when the department was created in 1902. Its destruction would be a slap in the face for MSU Forestry! Plans also in the works show that the attractive traffic circle at Shaw and Bogue Streets will be eliminated, along with the ancient oak and walnut trees that occupy it. In its place will be more asphalt. Apparently no creative thought given to how the natural beauty of this area of campus could be preserved while still allowing the necessary construction. <br />
<br />
In the last few days a group has been formed of concerned faculty and staff to head off this travesty. The current plans could be altered to save the trees and maybe even Bogue Street. YOU CAN HELP! The concerns of alumni must be heard. Please write an email message to Jeff Kacos, Head of Campus Planning & Administration (kacos@cpa.msu.edu) and Konrad Gelbke, Director of the Cyclotron (gelbke@nscl.msu.edu) and express your opposition to the destruction of the trees.<br />
<br />
MSU is renowned for the beauty of its campus. It's also renowned for its scientific work. But the two NEED NOT BE AT ODDS! This could be a win-win situation if the FRIB plans were altered to save the trees. Please help us out.<br />
<br />
</blockquote><br />
MSU graduates, knitters, and Twitter-friends, help me get the word out! <br />
<br />
I have already emailed Jeff Kacos, Head of Campus Planning & Administration (kacos@cpa.msu.edu) and Konrad Gelbke, Director of the Cyclotron (gelbke@nscl.msu.edu). Please add your voices to mine!<br />
<br />
Show the world that MSU can be a model for tree-friendly construction. Cutting-edge research does not have to mean cutting down the trees!Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-73895164692159671642012-05-01T12:19:00.000-04:002012-05-01T12:19:07.770-04:00annoyedDeath, loss, and change, that's what this year is about.<br />
<br />
Crap. I hate change.<br />
<br />
This is turning into one of <i>those</i> years.<br />
<br />
First it was a big loss, and then a more minor loss, and now it's riffing on annoying little changes.<br />
<br />
The more minor loss was my part-time job. I kept quiet about that because I was embarrassed. But this year has become annoying enough that I don't feel like keeping quiet about it any more.<br />
<br />
For over three years I had this great little part-time job cleaning a couple of local banks in the evenings. It was a great job for an introvert, all by myself (usually) in the empty building, with a set amount of time to do a set list of tasks. It was physically demanding, a three-hour workout twice a week that I got paid for.<br />
<br />
And then, I got fired. For the stupidest reason on the planet:<br />
<br />
Every so often, about a four-pack worth of the cheesy institutional toilet paper would disappear out of the case in the furnace room at one of my locations. It was annoying - I knew someone at the bank was taking it, but I had no way to lock it up.<br />
<br />
I tried keeping a running tally on the side of the box, hoping the thief would get the clue that I knew how much they used per week, and would lay off and shell out for their own toilet paper. But no.<br />
<br />
Then I tried another tactic: I wrote "Honesty is the best policy," which I thought was a pretty innocuous statement to make <b>in a bank</b>, on a piece of paper, and left that in the toilet paper box.<br />
<br />
And I got fired. First I got a call from my manager, asking if I "left them a note", and I explained. I was reprimanded.<br />
<br />
A couple weeks later, the manager asked to meet me, and told me I was fired. Someone at the bank had called the cleaning service and said I had left them a "nasty note".<br />
<br />
So yeah: I was fired for trying to get someone else to quit stealing. Go me!Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-82944696592833247952012-03-09T10:53:00.006-05:002012-03-09T12:32:53.793-05:00Wilhelmine<span style="font-size:130%;"><b>A Little Knitting Mystery</b></span><br /><br />I've probably mentioned before that one of my favorite knitting books is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486228185/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=lostartsstud-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0486228185"><i>Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting Patterns</i></a>. Between that and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486228177/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=lostartsstud-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0486228177"><i>Mary Thomas's Knitting Book</i></a>, there are very few aspects of the knitting universe left uncovered. A technique might be called by an obscure name, but it's probably in there, however briefly. This pair of books has history, lace, garment design - even how to graft ribbing.<br /><br />They are full of little historical snippets that make me want to know more: what happened to Mrs. Hermann Tragy's knitting collection? (WWII, I'm afraid.)<br /><br />Does the amazing piece of knitted lace shown in the Pattern Book on page 190, Fig. 194, still exist?<br /><br />But today's little mystery is this: on page 241 of her Pattern book, Fig. 235 (on the left in the photo), Mary Thomas has what the caption calls "Knitted Doyley. Modern Danish."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAf3LibNSXWsBUOpu0pJcqK2zLV3_l7A2fBO6P40FM3661-xJP5T8QiS82ayEWQDI-v_9FGFt-nLGDFG7P_C_vGDh7CBA8cSgD8chyphenhyphenRr5KqtVQ0lJx6snatwIzIlr7ndHB3Jgi/s1600/Wilhelmine1sm.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAf3LibNSXWsBUOpu0pJcqK2zLV3_l7A2fBO6P40FM3661-xJP5T8QiS82ayEWQDI-v_9FGFt-nLGDFG7P_C_vGDh7CBA8cSgD8chyphenhyphenRr5KqtVQ0lJx6snatwIzIlr7ndHB3Jgi/s320/Wilhelmine1sm.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717926571485978194" /></a><br />I've always liked this little doily, and guess what was in one of the recent Niebling reprints, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3897983354/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=lostartsstud-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=3897983354"><i>Schöne Spitzen</i></a>?<br /><br />That would be the charted pattern on the right, Wilhelmine.<br /><br />Now I know a lot of stuff is getting tagged "Herbert Niebling" that probably isn't. Knitters these days have a lot more name recognition than they ever did in the past, so putting Herbert Niebling in as the designer is more likely to sell patterns than admitting that the designer's name is lost.<br /><br />But Mary Thomas labels this as "modern". To me that means it was published in her lifetime, and her book was printed in 1938. I have a hard time believing she would have mixed Denmark up with any part of Germany, especially since seven pages later she calls another doily Bavarian.<br /><br />Soooo...<br /><br />Probably not Niebling. Who was this Danish knitting pattern designer?<br /><br />I'll probably never know, but it's a charming little pattern.Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-71512179201942531302012-02-29T09:40:00.002-05:002012-02-29T11:29:01.212-05:00Teapot MysteryRemember these teapots?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFPh3nKHWU0SYdHQfA2SSPioZvs3pMsOpa8FdwSMa5b6DRp9vLQbtDGNP33SijD6fTFT66Uv0vpYxgLnaQDffaBeYMU3vS0p-lufsVHjUjgF7MXvtVT-su4KWNxOzoRgYOAbob/s1600/teapotsSmall.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFPh3nKHWU0SYdHQfA2SSPioZvs3pMsOpa8FdwSMa5b6DRp9vLQbtDGNP33SijD6fTFT66Uv0vpYxgLnaQDffaBeYMU3vS0p-lufsVHjUjgF7MXvtVT-su4KWNxOzoRgYOAbob/s320/teapotsSmall.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714588576034564162" /></a>I <a href="http://lost-arts.blogspot.com/2010/10/day-off.html">bought the little one</a> a couple of Octobers ago, the same day I found my Egeblad mirror tray.<br /><br />At the time, because I live near an area heavily settled by the Dutch, I assumed they were Delft-style tin-glazed pottery.<br /><br />But lately I started trying to find out more about them, and couldn't find anything Delft-style that really resembled them.<br /><br />Pages of porcelain marks were no help, as they are both blank and smooth on the base.<br /><br />I browsed through pages and pages of Chinese export porcelain, and posted a photo on a Chinese antique porcelain webpage. The owner said they could be Japanese.<br /><br />So then I looked at more pages of blue and white teapots, and eBay guesses they might be Japanese Arita ware, like <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/130656029316">this teapot</a> or <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/130653629497">this one</a>.<br /><br />Any porcelain experts out there who know for sure?<br /><br />They are nice little pots and I use them both regularly now.Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-23290303342823247952012-02-22T09:36:00.008-05:002012-02-22T11:09:49.092-05:00Fixing Stuff, EcoFan EditionFollowed by my handful of Netherlands pics.<br /><br />We've had an <a href="http://www.caframo.com/hearth/hearth_products_woodstove_ecofanoriginal800.php">EcoFan, the original two-blade model</a>, on the top of our soapstone woodstove for a long time, I think maybe 8 or 9 years.<br /><br />The EcoFan is a really cool woodstove fan that works by magic! Well, close enough. It has no cord. You just put it on the top of the hot stove, towards the back, and it uses the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect">Seebeck effect</a> to run a little motor that spins the fan blades.<br /><br />The hotter the stove gets, the faster the blades spin. Magic!<br /><br />It worked GREAT until last winter, when I began to notice it slowing down, and sometimes it wouldn't start unless I gave the blades a little tap. I had gotten used to being able to judge the temperature of the stove by how fast the fan was going, and I really missed being able to glance up and do that.<br /><br />So I got on the internet and went hunting. I found <a href="http://www.fixya.com/support/t274784-ecofan_only_turns_slowly">Nathan's post at Fixya.com</a> and tried his solution. I bought heat sink compound (silicone heat sink grease) from Radio Shack for $4.<br /><br />I really should have taken pictures as I did this, but I was nervous of destroying it, and I didn't.<br /><br />First I took the blades off the motor using a small hex key, just to get them out of the way and keep them from being damaged.<br /><br />My fan has two hex-head screws that hold the top part to the base. When I unscrewed those and took the fan apart, I could faintly see where this grease had been. <br /><br />I gently scrubbed it off with a green nylon kitchen scrubby, and as long as I had the whole thing apart, I cleaned all the metal parts except the motor and the Peltier junction.<br /><br />My fan had the following layers:<br /><br />A: top with the blades and motor<br />B: Peltier junction - this is the bit attached by 2 wires to the motor<br />C: two layers (squares) of white ?insulating material<br />D: base<br /><br />I put the heat sink grease on the top and bottom of the Peltier junction. This sticks the top of the junction to the top of the fan. Then I stuck the first square of white insulation to the bottom of the junction and gently squished it around.<br /><br />(I tried to reposition one of the white squares after it was greased and stuck on, and chipped the very corner off with my fingernail, so if you're doing this to your fan, be careful repositioning them. It works better to slide them to the edge than try to pry them up by one edge.)<br /><br />Then I greased the bottom square and stuck it back to the bottom of the fan, then fitted the whole thing back together, screwed the screws back in, and put the blades back on.<br /><br />And she works! Ha!<br /><br /><hr><br /><b>Netherlands pictures</b><br /><br />(I've put them up small, but you can click to embiggen.)<br /><br />We went to the Artis (zoo, botanical garden, aquarium) on our first full day in Amsterdam. This was the coldest wettest day of our trip. The rest was warm for late October, and we even had sun!<br /><br />Sign on a cage in the Artis in Amsterdam:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJjFEIHz39fr1M8aFS0JUrCUD4pIcu7Arkjo5ZShF9BoJ_Vb08T8yD2xYAzi0TOyMqntZ3wZUBEKnkuMpmzHkCbYG4RbKLyiIQh_xVhgTjU2oG695sX_a4N4bg-hb-z-JH7E0/s1600/BiteySign.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJjFEIHz39fr1M8aFS0JUrCUD4pIcu7Arkjo5ZShF9BoJ_Vb08T8yD2xYAzi0TOyMqntZ3wZUBEKnkuMpmzHkCbYG4RbKLyiIQh_xVhgTjU2oG695sX_a4N4bg-hb-z-JH7E0/s200/BiteySign.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711976650337529666" /></a><br /><br />Penguin-feeding (and herons stealing their food) at the Artis:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkwLolqWaM713cXK518m2ROF6tszMGAZEAh78vHQvRIUyK7OD5dTWxIVwstw0Kne8R11HSxwz6q7Asa3YXJU_WZm6W1IRVfIeCtrQvM7kloKJ5sTapl43YnHj15A5HtPFJcru8/s1600/ArtisPenguins.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkwLolqWaM713cXK518m2ROF6tszMGAZEAh78vHQvRIUyK7OD5dTWxIVwstw0Kne8R11HSxwz6q7Asa3YXJU_WZm6W1IRVfIeCtrQvM7kloKJ5sTapl43YnHj15A5HtPFJcru8/s200/ArtisPenguins.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711981628847339330" /></a><br /><br />From Amsterdam, we went to Rijnsburg and did a little sightseeing in Katwijk:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8CxpXkymI8iTZI4e21gvFBNMhDHMe26lpIvlYl_mxw7op5Hh8r4HxutX0qFRvpB1EYbX9R5kq_tseMJRSETifl2dPoWxbKIhRfBmO8F6unaoG2bSTVAyndhT9PQcRP9zVz0y/s1600/NorthSeafromKatwijk.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8CxpXkymI8iTZI4e21gvFBNMhDHMe26lpIvlYl_mxw7op5Hh8r4HxutX0qFRvpB1EYbX9R5kq_tseMJRSETifl2dPoWxbKIhRfBmO8F6unaoG2bSTVAyndhT9PQcRP9zVz0y/s200/NorthSeafromKatwijk.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711983139789043426" /></a><br /><br />And we took a daytrip into Leiden:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISH1KCcUQrR-01CUPeWGXYel-B2Quy83Qtgf3i81LokEpPLeRUe_O67SS4fEIDBR_ZW0f26kgOex57xj5U-QnHG0nmpWEvHQlTb_2Mw5HFSIsCYLC-pZG_5kH2umL2zo8pnsu/s1600/DeValkLeiden.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISH1KCcUQrR-01CUPeWGXYel-B2Quy83Qtgf3i81LokEpPLeRUe_O67SS4fEIDBR_ZW0f26kgOex57xj5U-QnHG0nmpWEvHQlTb_2Mw5HFSIsCYLC-pZG_5kH2umL2zo8pnsu/s200/DeValkLeiden.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711983132004124674" /></a><br /><br />From Rijnsburg we travelled to Dalfsen. Most of the Dutch windmills look like this:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpU8hVys61-SQowgBwbrLH92xgvw6-mwisuRT017aRhZZvWY-ndDLIj4MHnZJyncDFyzdftZO6Ji1mCjabr0ZHwt3f3eyPggpC635bOQsNJdrTlNyhc6LodVi0XKrWrNkV77NQ/s1600/WindmillsToDalfsen.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpU8hVys61-SQowgBwbrLH92xgvw6-mwisuRT017aRhZZvWY-ndDLIj4MHnZJyncDFyzdftZO6Ji1mCjabr0ZHwt3f3eyPggpC635bOQsNJdrTlNyhc6LodVi0XKrWrNkV77NQ/s200/WindmillsToDalfsen.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711984458112999490" /></a><br /><br />Then if I turned 90 degrees and took a photo out the window, it looked like this:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8izMHhC5wq1NDzfqsUfFNx5EEnqqTtb6weB64WbrpMASf6Hq3Ak5U7FqyvnsRLMSzQmLd4_THOIC84v68wJ2FSC3huYYR5hx5QXZyw-D4570F_beC-c1W2MkoYk7JNvju72B/s1600/FieldsToDalfsen.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8izMHhC5wq1NDzfqsUfFNx5EEnqqTtb6weB64WbrpMASf6Hq3Ak5U7FqyvnsRLMSzQmLd4_THOIC84v68wJ2FSC3huYYR5hx5QXZyw-D4570F_beC-c1W2MkoYk7JNvju72B/s200/FieldsToDalfsen.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711984480784868018" /></a><br /><br />And the typical side roads looked like this:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-ig5PxS6CIJzgYPUmyX-daeVMGhgyqmGr8C0LBbnUfP96fKSDJ32mLsF_NS0TReANmwujr0q3_h5Y_otVhTBaZgr-gO7tihavDXAG3IETyKYfpyNoZ1BGEtpMSJEGRr19zJz/s1600/RoadOutsideDalfsen.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-ig5PxS6CIJzgYPUmyX-daeVMGhgyqmGr8C0LBbnUfP96fKSDJ32mLsF_NS0TReANmwujr0q3_h5Y_otVhTBaZgr-gO7tihavDXAG3IETyKYfpyNoZ1BGEtpMSJEGRr19zJz/s200/RoadOutsideDalfsen.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711984481347196002" /></a><br /><br />After Dalfsen, we went up into Frieslan and stayed in Lauwersoog:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzuy5_fY29xOXnMJyTm5pbA7DLZ4LrPwQwTywc5RBdnKmsPwMWmvJV2efbfWolCKB7kDMzm6dtTMBPgHqnHNCZRae9Hh8tsr7PohbEw002hQvXAKHuRNTJysR8KHDR9EDqN6h/s1600/LauwersoogBungalows.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzuy5_fY29xOXnMJyTm5pbA7DLZ4LrPwQwTywc5RBdnKmsPwMWmvJV2efbfWolCKB7kDMzm6dtTMBPgHqnHNCZRae9Hh8tsr7PohbEw002hQvXAKHuRNTJysR8KHDR9EDqN6h/s200/LauwersoogBungalows.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711989857441055714" /></a><br /><br />On the way, we made a side trip to IJlst, where I found some "wildbreien" (yarnbombing)!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM7EQyxM8hKalmg09FKmetfvsF3rRbvQpkJA5W_cIMyHm0sgiDVmK2Yntxkf9Q7Rlpb2BQJ-f-v-5_5xQCXAuIc9Mh_Z7PaIWj1fYjR-R-LwaF5j8jtYZtSpQKwKqiT8qjXBw3/s1600/WildbreienIJlst.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM7EQyxM8hKalmg09FKmetfvsF3rRbvQpkJA5W_cIMyHm0sgiDVmK2Yntxkf9Q7Rlpb2BQJ-f-v-5_5xQCXAuIc9Mh_Z7PaIWj1fYjR-R-LwaF5j8jtYZtSpQKwKqiT8qjXBw3/s200/WildbreienIJlst.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711991016326824434" /></a><br /><br />It was so beautiful and so <i>green</i> in IJlst:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstBm7AYNQTaE4QnkPB2kCh9HbFsnzaY1Z8WOnDKA7MKJx9yZ1LVBFthzqp3yZISDBFAmX_4jZdtLPChE0BXi68Qrslb93_MLMaxFLXCVO1zawDIF-CxTugxLQ5FVHr-QOUAKs/s1600/IJlst2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstBm7AYNQTaE4QnkPB2kCh9HbFsnzaY1Z8WOnDKA7MKJx9yZ1LVBFthzqp3yZISDBFAmX_4jZdtLPChE0BXi68Qrslb93_MLMaxFLXCVO1zawDIF-CxTugxLQ5FVHr-QOUAKs/s200/IJlst2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711991015094647138" /></a><br /><br />And finally we had to drive back down through Harlingen to Amsterdam again:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjsxrj-4-1ITRzwVVZTSbbZ8IlpmYLaEVP1KMpqCqQllGbLBC4XjYZvvP9rsGAPgGVdvunLbUYxm12YBFVG4kBcPNsvE5D7tAera-gHw0b-TIEpkEqACDvvdevRlLIpMP0p4y/s1600/HarlingentoAmsterdam.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjsxrj-4-1ITRzwVVZTSbbZ8IlpmYLaEVP1KMpqCqQllGbLBC4XjYZvvP9rsGAPgGVdvunLbUYxm12YBFVG4kBcPNsvE5D7tAera-gHw0b-TIEpkEqACDvvdevRlLIpMP0p4y/s200/HarlingentoAmsterdam.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711992207926990898" /></a><br /><br />On our last night in Amsterdam, we stayed in an attic hotel room - see the edge of the hook they use to lift furniture through the windows? A beautiful last view of the city before we flew home:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Qtra-sAJZqCnXtRC-os2QEoy-mRWVM7tfxMRGroYk0FeUUQE6ktKSJPXKM_DlCIOAjoKwvZ9WSxLT6y6Ardy0zjex-KKJN8EOi0a-TkYdO0Y9Ie-83GpagI-5JeTvgC9k3cT/s1600/AmsterdamAttic.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Qtra-sAJZqCnXtRC-os2QEoy-mRWVM7tfxMRGroYk0FeUUQE6ktKSJPXKM_DlCIOAjoKwvZ9WSxLT6y6Ardy0zjex-KKJN8EOi0a-TkYdO0Y9Ie-83GpagI-5JeTvgC9k3cT/s200/AmsterdamAttic.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711992211605853794" /></a>Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-75169444749757229342012-01-29T16:00:00.005-05:002012-02-11T13:30:42.897-05:00I Don't Know Why This is HarderI have lots of good memories of my grama, my dad's mom. For whatever reason, it's been a lot harder to put them into words. <br /><br />So the heck with trying to get this mess to cohere, I'm just going to put down the bits and pieces that come into my head.<br /><br />The first handknit socks I remember seeing were knit by her for my dad.<br /><br />When I was a teenager and she and my grampa started taking their camper out to southern California and Arizona for the winter, they pared down their household possessions, and she gave me some things. <br /><br />One was the <a href="http://lost-arts.blogspot.com/2007/01/teapot-parade.html">orange lustreware tea set I posted about several Januaries ago</a>.<br /><br />Another was a set of sterling silverware. Between the two, I could set quite a nice little tea party table, and it drives me <i>wild</i> that the phrase has been taken away from the event where the table is covered with an ironed linen cloth, where there is a bunch of sweet violets in a vase, where the crusts are cut off the triangular sandwiches.<br /><br />She had the most awesome bubbling chuckling laugh. You could never mistake it for anyone else's.<br /><br />When I was a little girl, we went out to their house a lot. My dad had a garden in their back lot. I remember the smell of the hot sand and the brambles - my own back lot smells like that.<br /><br />Another reason we went out there was that my dad's mixed-breed hunting dog, a long-legged hound mix called Zip, lived out there until I was about five. (We were renting a house next to a church, and Zip howled when they sang the hymns, so he had to live at Grama and Grampa's.)<br /><br />For years their dining room was dominated by a spindly orange tree she told me my dad had grown from a seed. There were two great little kid-sized rocking chairs (I have one of them), and we used to sit in them and drink Sprite while the grown-ups talked, after it got too dark and mosquito-y to play outside.<br /><br />We used to cram their house at Christmas Eve, until there just got to be too many of us to fit. They always had a live tree, a prickly blue spruce, in a huge pot to plant outdoors after Christmas.<br /><br />I remember my grama doing the newspaper crossword puzzles in ink. I thought that was amazing.<br /><br />And I miss them both so much.Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-62601493091488852842012-01-27T22:39:00.000-05:002012-01-27T22:39:24.388-05:00Let Me 'Splain<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZYhDMCOyww">No, wait, there is too much. Let me sum up.</a><br /><br />Oh, what the heck. It's my blog, I'll explain at length if I want!<br /><br />I am a pretty good chicken photographer, and I can take a decent close-up of knitting or a columbine flower, but it turns out I'm a rotten travel photographer.<br /><br />And without pictures, I don't have a lot to say.<br /><br />There have been a bunch of little stumbling blocks keeping me from blogging, little, but one after another, I just don't seem to get to it.<br /><br />For one thing, what with the home schooling, on weekdays we have a "No computer until afternoon" rule. <br /><br />However, it turns out my most productive writing time is in the morning, from around 8:30 to about 10:00 am. Pretty much anything I get started in that time slot gets done. But you'll notice that it falls in our "no computer" stretch.<br /><br />For another, I got this sweet little netbook, and I was thinking that would lead to easier blogging, since I can move it around anywhere.<br /><br />But the netbook doesn't have all my yummy photo editing software that my PC has, and I haven't figured out yet if it will even work on the netbook.<br /><br />We bought a new Brother laser printer to replace the horrible old HP inkjet, and the old one is sitting in my computer chair, inconveniencing me and keeping me from using the PC until I woman up and deal with it.<br /><br />Then there is this mostly snowless winter Michigan has been having - no snow makes our cloudy days all the darker, and I slow down like a chilled lizard.<br /><br />And! There is <a href="http://fold.it/portal/">FoldIt</a>.<br /><br />I started playing FoldIt just before we left for the Netherlands. I actually played some of the tutorial puzzles in the airport, then I worked on the science puzzles while we were there.<br /><br />So I've been playing a lot of that and not blogging.<br /><br />And to add more weight to the winter darkness, my last living grandmother, my dad's mom, passed away on the 10th of January.<br /><br />I've written an in memoriam post for her in my head so many times I don't know what I want to say any more.Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-6294685985843219372011-11-19T19:24:00.003-05:002011-11-19T19:35:50.332-05:00House Cleaning<i>Unlocks door of blog, walks in, throws open the window curtains, blows the worst of the dust off, and gets out the broom</i><br /><br />Hi! I aten't dead!<br /><br />It's been a while, hasn't it - in October, I helped make an SCA event (Vineyard Raids) happen and went to the Netherlands with my husband, son, and mother for two weeks.<br /><br />Since we got back, I've been getting over six hours' worth of jet lag, catching up on the news, and adjusting to the incredible gray and brown contrast to the green of the Netherlands.<br /><br />I keep meaning to put up some pictures and things, and seeing we've been back for over two weeks now, maybe I ought to get on that, huh?<br /><br />What should I blog about?Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-25765831960592102752011-09-13T15:58:00.003-04:002011-09-13T16:21:11.717-04:00Spot the Repair<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehhq9TYak1xswdcZ35PO2r6BaA8LjqBRBGeCieA4yqpqF097Wb-2wVbwBXeecxZNh_G8COOjqDxyo1NLLD09OoHtjZpJxkG2v_aummWvGpCDPyebLHaPhy0JK04X4e0kbr0_f/s1600/NoMoreHoleSm.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehhq9TYak1xswdcZ35PO2r6BaA8LjqBRBGeCieA4yqpqF097Wb-2wVbwBXeecxZNh_G8COOjqDxyo1NLLD09OoHtjZpJxkG2v_aummWvGpCDPyebLHaPhy0JK04X4e0kbr0_f/s400/NoMoreHoleSm.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651937376526812530" /></a>The horizontal threads are in the same position.<br /><br />This is the only knitting I touched since I brought it home. I was afraid if I stepped away from it, I would convince myself it was too hard. <br /><br />It actually got harder as I worked my way up to the top of the hole, when I had to <a href="http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html">CONNECT ALL THE THINGS</a>, sewing the patch I had created to the unbroken stitches around and above it.<br /><br />I commented on Facebook, "People who think I'm such a super lace genius are not familiar with my method, which is DO IT EVERY POSSIBLE WRONG WAY FIRST."<br /><br />That line might make people laugh, but so many times I reached the end of a row, only to realize I had made a mistake two rows back that only became obvious when I tried to go on to the third row, and couldn't.<br /><br />As a project, this was both satisfying and hair-pulling-outingly frustrating. I am pretty happy with the end result, but wow. Getting there was no picnic. I was happy to do it for a friend, but I would not do this for <i>any</i> amount of money!Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-77980126092221605452011-09-01T15:11:00.004-04:002011-09-01T16:23:50.259-04:00Using My Powers for GoodSo what good is marinating my brains in lace knitting, other than turning all evil snark-weasel on badly-knit examples of lovely lace patterns?
<br />
<br />We'll see - I'm making an either brave or totally mad attempt to repair a good friend's <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/an-orenburg-triangular-warm-shawl-to-knit">triangular Orenburg shawl</a> which has a hole chewed in it by her cat.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZ84eETjzHLzK2bvZ2-NxyVicOcA0TSaX32iGSoXO6-GOXW3HaglOwhur2NybVbreCjMCFmuEbW6oMUd0c1DN2P_pKN1-hv-0iTXjg0mT5GPV88g_JvUTVuhy7hQ2yXBo_Kx9/s1600/LookAHole.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZ84eETjzHLzK2bvZ2-NxyVicOcA0TSaX32iGSoXO6-GOXW3HaglOwhur2NybVbreCjMCFmuEbW6oMUd0c1DN2P_pKN1-hv-0iTXjg0mT5GPV88g_JvUTVuhy7hQ2yXBo_Kx9/s200/LookAHole.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647489126802107522" /></a>
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<br />The yarn is <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/jaggerspun-zephyr-wool-silk-2-18---skein">Jaggerspun Zephyr Wool-Silk</a>, which makes a nice stable stitch that doesn't run.
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<br />The hole runs diagonally, taking three diamonds out of the lace ground section, so it's not a simple matter of picking up at the bottom and knitting straight up.
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<br />No, it's a puzzle, this is.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSVzI-ki8XsNN5_zDEdfTXABinL1TC3DLaLnY0ciLF0y0KpZ8-iBxOA2o70TM0E9l_Mp51_YRmnf9lWgpSaEsEJ4tR3FRzEEx5505gVVrF2ptXuF7OhQHc3PmbbSzyL-vbM9gw/s1600/LookAGraph.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSVzI-ki8XsNN5_zDEdfTXABinL1TC3DLaLnY0ciLF0y0KpZ8-iBxOA2o70TM0E9l_Mp51_YRmnf9lWgpSaEsEJ4tR3FRzEEx5505gVVrF2ptXuF7OhQHc3PmbbSzyL-vbM9gw/s320/LookAGraph.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647489217167116210" /></a>
<br />Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-38209615630520681242011-08-12T07:00:00.004-04:002011-08-12T07:00:11.936-04:00On Following DirectionsAs I was looking for something else to knit the other day, I went paging through <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/andrea-kunststricken-sonderheft-0802-groe-und-kleine-deckchen">Andrea Kunststricken Sonderheft, 0802</a>, and I noticed that three of the charts in it were Christine Duchrow charts.
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<br />They're very distinctive charts, with their <b>r</b>s for knit stitches (from the German <i>rechts</i>) and <b>II</b>s for yarnovers.
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<br />I hunted through my Christine Duchrow books until I found all three.
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<br /><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/duchrow-815">Duchrow 81.5</a>:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNCMdGL4RJQfsmJIXMzcUIHMXGEcU4O1G2oMymB11GeiNlMTdyxxlQnskXSmoPqMtEH7AodUf2YnZg8xyhAzQU7YiIKhhhHC1CESCkDcLXRu3qu4Wqpeh0Ky_hJw_kP0_n9of/s1600/Duchrow81-5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 86px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNCMdGL4RJQfsmJIXMzcUIHMXGEcU4O1G2oMymB11GeiNlMTdyxxlQnskXSmoPqMtEH7AodUf2YnZg8xyhAzQU7YiIKhhhHC1CESCkDcLXRu3qu4Wqpeh0Ky_hJw_kP0_n9of/s200/Duchrow81-5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639592245120684130" /></a>
<br />Duchrow 81.8:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkiGyhyphenhypheniFQ2TtLHnA4y_ImNFH6CSPr_IH7ZJ2Kuxluyfy2y20vGbxQYN93yK9rbvhHTNKPbe2ld5TqpS-AcggkkXuW3BW2X7DMOzFiyCzRDEPnsKFTItmcunUVzgeD0v0WdQb/s1600/Duchrow81-8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 122px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkiGyhyphenhypheniFQ2TtLHnA4y_ImNFH6CSPr_IH7ZJ2Kuxluyfy2y20vGbxQYN93yK9rbvhHTNKPbe2ld5TqpS-AcggkkXuW3BW2X7DMOzFiyCzRDEPnsKFTItmcunUVzgeD0v0WdQb/s200/Duchrow81-8.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639592438510744642" /></a>
<br />And <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/duchrow-735---die-kleine-decke">Duchrow 73.5</a>:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznTJj9M82VvijfW-HKoQ-ud5SQTxIzhTq-OgobChmusInxAHi7YjFUAcf0zSIvUMbZksU9XjhdxXnYSGXRKRzz9nolsTQ45z4NdC7kNuDLas_1dz_fhF4mT_vLo_NglvwFonY/s1600/Duchrow73-5charts.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznTJj9M82VvijfW-HKoQ-ud5SQTxIzhTq-OgobChmusInxAHi7YjFUAcf0zSIvUMbZksU9XjhdxXnYSGXRKRzz9nolsTQ45z4NdC7kNuDLas_1dz_fhF4mT_vLo_NglvwFonY/s320/Duchrow73-5charts.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639592609651636866" /></a>But what was the matter with the knitted example in the photo?
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<br />The original 73.5 photo showed two large holes at the end of each flower petal, and a border of lacy little holes.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi352rsqO_ZuzYgbX6axEcw_JAl_JMtRBbthyphenhyphenW8lhzxQNabNuzQJSdlb4mb8t75i7nZzIq3oR5q47BF5AjPU7P1siQQ_iQ9sqiPgK1PBawBDHoqM_FlXaFOaGIPnPCa1cygFE7V/s1600/Duchrow73-5OrigPhoto.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 397px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi352rsqO_ZuzYgbX6axEcw_JAl_JMtRBbthyphenhyphenW8lhzxQNabNuzQJSdlb4mb8t75i7nZzIq3oR5q47BF5AjPU7P1siQQ_iQ9sqiPgK1PBawBDHoqM_FlXaFOaGIPnPCa1cygFE7V/s400/Duchrow73-5OrigPhoto.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639593000500699682" /></a>
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<br />I had to knit and find out.
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<br />This pattern has not one, not two, but <i>eight</i> notes relating to different chart lines. Some are obvious things like knitting three plain rows following a pattern row. Others are a lit-tle more involved.
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<br />The points of the petals are formed by knitting 16 stitches alternating with 15 triple yarnovers in one row, then in the next row, dropping those yarnovers, elongating the 16 stitches, and knitting all 16 together into one stitch!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbMiXfn6mS06bYNq0Snoac0G54sTnN89zp8ReEQuDGjofHTck-PCbwtpfePsRG-tdhvaFNtKMQ9mlFBU37q3f6b62bPlxc3aJHvZ4ODuu5eCuu-spUYYdQBABcBkJyHdOEVHu/s1600/Duchrow73-5Sm.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbMiXfn6mS06bYNq0Snoac0G54sTnN89zp8ReEQuDGjofHTck-PCbwtpfePsRG-tdhvaFNtKMQ9mlFBU37q3f6b62bPlxc3aJHvZ4ODuu5eCuu-spUYYdQBABcBkJyHdOEVHu/s200/Duchrow73-5Sm.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639571407218216962" /></a>
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<br />Just to make that whole process more fun, before and after the whole dropping-a-triple-yarnover process, you also make two new triple yarnovers before and after the petal point to form the two large holes. Wow.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQsWMHgotbGbY0FbnAPCJJuy2KS4fIrToJse04AcLjzeLlPj_8RMnty9xWvCUaaAjmfwSsJ6-M193CXBGFND6ryN7lfqP-IOTfMSEJIKJEap5WMLy9U7bvLp4Ia1EccivdH5w/s1600/Duchrow73-5onBlack.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 384px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQsWMHgotbGbY0FbnAPCJJuy2KS4fIrToJse04AcLjzeLlPj_8RMnty9xWvCUaaAjmfwSsJ6-M193CXBGFND6ryN7lfqP-IOTfMSEJIKJEap5WMLy9U7bvLp4Ia1EccivdH5w/s400/Duchrow73-5onBlack.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639571637972892994" /></a>Creating the lacy border involves moving the start of the round by one stitch in three different rows. If you skip those moves, you end up with the laddered border in the Andrea photo.
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<br />If you <i>follow the directions</i>, you get the lacy holes that match the original photo. So important sometimes, following directions!Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-53897780797212465422011-08-11T10:12:00.000-04:002011-08-11T10:22:16.754-04:00After Glöckchen, What?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdjUr2YukE499yc0m61YT4E_a9Mljx_nE-t7vcbw0x79N4eioYGRQPtMdPYeM_pkEqCLb-kbgTZsC-kEvZlR848mQ9dGbxva12-g-7LCjqIopmGR4LJhjYzvDZ8XTIyc4JB4xS/s1600/Glockchen14blockingSm.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdjUr2YukE499yc0m61YT4E_a9Mljx_nE-t7vcbw0x79N4eioYGRQPtMdPYeM_pkEqCLb-kbgTZsC-kEvZlR848mQ9dGbxva12-g-7LCjqIopmGR4LJhjYzvDZ8XTIyc4JB4xS/s320/Glockchen14blockingSm.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639563547479010130" /></a>Yes, Glöckchen is finally done and starched and blocked! Ta da!
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<br />This is one of those wonderful Niebling patterns, with no mistakes in the chart, no binding or ruffling to block out, just flowers and leaves standing out against a half-acre of hex mesh.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCvIY57qrnHfroNh1o4FGW5-1gbQ_QYdggA5flO6g24L0A-KzrMi9d4eJ1bn2Zeak_zs1N5pQ-NZiYWejrQWDqRzfCX-s8UnuNx_8HRxBdHWSJhPYZNTUIGFTI6-SHJ7gQ85wz/s1600/Glockchen15blockedSm.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 364px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCvIY57qrnHfroNh1o4FGW5-1gbQ_QYdggA5flO6g24L0A-KzrMi9d4eJ1bn2Zeak_zs1N5pQ-NZiYWejrQWDqRzfCX-s8UnuNx_8HRxBdHWSJhPYZNTUIGFTI6-SHJ7gQ85wz/s400/Glockchen15blockedSm.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639563665620611794" /></a>
<br />But you gotta admit, Glöckchen is a pretty hard act to follow.
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<br />One more glamour shot:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9djQUe92-fUm_Zed1sEI4JVgJFTlaDse_EirdEdkOANOTDIP8qCguAPHFb0X-suteDzWRD2qZP_Kl8HN8wQ4hY41KNlmP3bAvrV_pEwOODTcOzLmsk7Wpn7FeAie6XIwpXXRq/s1600/GlockchenGlamour.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9djQUe92-fUm_Zed1sEI4JVgJFTlaDse_EirdEdkOANOTDIP8qCguAPHFb0X-suteDzWRD2qZP_Kl8HN8wQ4hY41KNlmP3bAvrV_pEwOODTcOzLmsk7Wpn7FeAie6XIwpXXRq/s200/GlockchenGlamour.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639564527526144274" /></a>
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<br />How can you top that?
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<br />How about with butterflies?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPv7xV5XiF0Lha7Fj3marU6bJNi-3SMqf_jcw7TxQWKN4Wg5tZCTgxPHf088FPlsHLuTE4366u7ooKaAKkLFG0lJumwkPA0gMbbZd9k46yC4dooKnxOJd7I-3d12rmPlUlj-i2/s1600/SpicebushST1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPv7xV5XiF0Lha7Fj3marU6bJNi-3SMqf_jcw7TxQWKN4Wg5tZCTgxPHf088FPlsHLuTE4366u7ooKaAKkLFG0lJumwkPA0gMbbZd9k46yC4dooKnxOJd7I-3d12rmPlUlj-i2/s400/SpicebushST1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639566204962754242" /></a>
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<br />I was ready to leave for work when I saw these pretty things out nectaring on the swamp milkweed. It was a very hot and humid day, and they fluttered their wings even as they rested on the flowers.
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg74wNEOhdz55ATmJ3ER0qygTi8y3nxFsiRcYmLzC5rUvuBMb6HBlj5qCV0pLg6gZnWi_SjmDl_vi7hTaPDXQKipt1tLv4omYrAj598vxCxmH0u0rmlIBqNQVFMMPFsBpU2kOGZ/s1600/SpicebushST2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg74wNEOhdz55ATmJ3ER0qygTi8y3nxFsiRcYmLzC5rUvuBMb6HBlj5qCV0pLg6gZnWi_SjmDl_vi7hTaPDXQKipt1tLv4omYrAj598vxCxmH0u0rmlIBqNQVFMMPFsBpU2kOGZ/s320/SpicebushST2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639566294518112882" /></a>
<br />These are <a href="http://bugguide.net/node/view/2648">Spicebush Swallowtails, <i>Papilio troilus</i></a> (aka <i>Pterourus troilus</i>). Some days nothing makes me feel older than trying to keep up with current nomenclature.Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-46729987421445320852011-07-23T19:52:00.011-04:002011-07-24T09:53:24.329-04:00Flowers and Flowery Lace KnittingI have a degree in horticulture, and my area of specialization was floriculture, but I don't have anything like an organized flower garden. I tend to plant things here and there, and because I recognize the seedlings and the early sprouts, mow around them in the grass.<br /><br />I have flowers all over the place in random clumps. My brain presents me with scientific names memorized decades ago - where does it store all this stuff?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtkB_ZczZN9TsQbKIeg3kYM_raZqoxionH5GB1dTzjHZHEgP1di0OF4qBg-LfZk2u_vwEZUznsZel13mVnz1IrBnCsYx7RMtQ8PvMJkm6Ip1v0I0bcAwLb93GbF7B93elIOLL/s1600/mullein.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtkB_ZczZN9TsQbKIeg3kYM_raZqoxionH5GB1dTzjHZHEgP1di0OF4qBg-LfZk2u_vwEZUznsZel13mVnz1IrBnCsYx7RMtQ8PvMJkm6Ip1v0I0bcAwLb93GbF7B93elIOLL/s400/mullein.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632700806568051778" /></a>I remembered the <a href="http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VEBL">moth mullein</a> was a <i>Verbascum</i>, but I didn't remember the species, <i>V. blattaria</i>.<br /><br />My <a href="http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ASIN">swamp milkweed</a>, <i>Asclepias incarnata</i>, is not growing in a swamp. It is growing out of a crack in a concrete porch slab from the original farmhouse site, about as un-swampy as you could get.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRlxVu0PC4MneYPIbGXpAP2vWA66q_4htq53XmAEB0wdgZOOP3TWbNvehnKl_9gAHkRkJqpHHD8ON14Mm86j5QxX4q2-3IhVgUI0_EH7YSUoy747D8vjvDOlwEihoCw4thotT/s1600/SwampMilkweed.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRlxVu0PC4MneYPIbGXpAP2vWA66q_4htq53XmAEB0wdgZOOP3TWbNvehnKl_9gAHkRkJqpHHD8ON14Mm86j5QxX4q2-3IhVgUI0_EH7YSUoy747D8vjvDOlwEihoCw4thotT/s320/SwampMilkweed.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632700708893398514" /></a><br /><br />Ever since I noticed a few years back<a href="http://lost-arts.blogspot.com/2007/06/another-use-for-catnip.html"> how much the hummingbirds liked the catnip</a> flowers, I've encouraged it, but they aren't the only thing that likes it.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NVWL2LeGJvMqTFknut2yzVym_7_5wapGcNkM6JrUbA8ZfwMIAOls2-WaFdljjJchagFWEmVW3vfoSi1K2VGw-vuKgI0WXVs_2na7Cvjdhc7O597glxkL1gRZJBes533eQ3ts/s1600/SkipperFlying.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NVWL2LeGJvMqTFknut2yzVym_7_5wapGcNkM6JrUbA8ZfwMIAOls2-WaFdljjJchagFWEmVW3vfoSi1K2VGw-vuKgI0WXVs_2na7Cvjdhc7O597glxkL1gRZJBes533eQ3ts/s200/SkipperFlying.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632700238949612370" /></a><br /><br />This <a href="http://bugguide.net/node/view/403">Silver-spotted Skipper</a>, <i>Epargyreus clarus</i>, likes it, too. The skipper is very territorial, and comes back to the catnip over and over throughout the day. When I went out to take its picture, it flew off, but not very far, and within a minute was back where I could take a close-up.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPoQIyKPH0snKsRHMffnWtCcvuuA8Gq6wX2YCk22_cCn_EcbPVQSBb-WImxsk1sV1Ifd02Tpst1T8phjFwCqllUq12teTahNTYojrDxDTbdUpmCkgPx6VYHIv8lPgm9Dy_Hgg/s1600/SkipperNectaring.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPoQIyKPH0snKsRHMffnWtCcvuuA8Gq6wX2YCk22_cCn_EcbPVQSBb-WImxsk1sV1Ifd02Tpst1T8phjFwCqllUq12teTahNTYojrDxDTbdUpmCkgPx6VYHIv8lPgm9Dy_Hgg/s400/SkipperNectaring.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632700541138076450" /></a><br /><br />And here's my White Henryi lily again. I just realized I bought the original bulbs about 25 years ago, and it's come back reliably year after year. 2011 has been a very rainy year, but it made a <a href="http://lost-arts.blogspot.com/2007/07/we-got-some-rain.html">fine show back in 2008</a>, which was dry.<br /><br />White Henryi is one of the lilies Donna Lee was talking about in her comment, the ones with a scent that knocks you down and sits on you. Most of the <a href="http://thelilygarden.com/pages_lilies/oriental_1.html">Oriental lilies</a> are like that - the green nectary star in the center is a fairly reliable indicator of strong-scentedness.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoz-3Uy6ry4FYjmjm-6UqNqkMaiHt1ARNsBnBAB-Kziv0YbCHbsGCNnIl4xcb_Sk9o1K3QxiOUGUvdzemNNFPfptVoJyme_sqbn7QcPYvbxyITwuAn5-ygLBEkqiU-l6PBaEr6/s1600/WhiteHenryi.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoz-3Uy6ry4FYjmjm-6UqNqkMaiHt1ARNsBnBAB-Kziv0YbCHbsGCNnIl4xcb_Sk9o1K3QxiOUGUvdzemNNFPfptVoJyme_sqbn7QcPYvbxyITwuAn5-ygLBEkqiU-l6PBaEr6/s400/WhiteHenryi.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632700905078407602" /></a><br />Personally, I'm not a fan of scents that knock me down and sit on me, so the majority of my lilies are Asiatics with little or no scent.<br /><br />The knitting on Glöckchen is done:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5OCgiD9kFoN_fu3OZKwuLdEI9TUVUDkpL59S2iORDeCzQKJ2UdiiiAIUqeVptUae0Jk30O7b9B_P5hkCehgkiSjacW7Nhh59yUWop_TfGQs6g9FBHw8VLhQciXWk3J9eSgir/s1600/Glockchen13.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 384px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5OCgiD9kFoN_fu3OZKwuLdEI9TUVUDkpL59S2iORDeCzQKJ2UdiiiAIUqeVptUae0Jk30O7b9B_P5hkCehgkiSjacW7Nhh59yUWop_TfGQs6g9FBHw8VLhQciXWk3J9eSgir/s400/Glockchen13.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632701076983063490" /></a>The casting-off is . . . half done.<br /><br />Each of the twelve repeats has twenty-two crocheted chains, and I am not a very fast crocheter. I was hoping to finish by Saturday, but along about Thursday afternoon I realized I wouldn't make it. I'm still plugging along, though, because I can hardly wait to block this thing!Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-46844663155033081122011-07-13T13:07:00.014-04:002011-07-13T16:27:18.145-04:00Wednesday Bits and PiecesFirst, a little bit of responding to comments.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/08659861040874049868">Becky</a> said, "So *that* is what those kinds of spiders are! We quite frequently have them trying to live in our mailbox."<br /><br />They get in my mailbox, too! My husband emphatically does NOT like spiders (<a href="http://www.snorgtees.com/the-only-thing-we-have-to-fear">this t-shirt</a> is just <i>made</i> for him), and when these come in the house in the mail, I'm the one who escorts them back out again.<br /><br /><hr />Cathy-Cate said, "My Asiatic lilies have never looked the same since a friend of ours (who is a landscaper) thinned them three years ago....he said they would bounce back better than ever in a couple years."<br /><br />I have my suspicions about what he did! The way to thin lilies is to dig up all the bulbs after the stem starts to die and space them out, so each bulb has more growing room. But this takes a lot of time and a lot of labor.<br /><br />The cheating way is to pull off the stems of some of the lilies in each clump, hoping to starve those bulbs out and let the ones left with their stems take over. This method is obviously a lot faster and easier than all that digging.<br /><br />But the problem with this method is that if the lily variety is tough, instead of the stemless bulb dying, it just throws up a new stem the following year. <br /><br />This new stem will be smaller and weaker and less likely to bloom, since it didn't get to store up as much energy when its stem was pulled off.<br /><br />If this was what happened, I'd either leave them in place (the small stems will probably recover), or else dig them up and space them out in the fall.<br /><br /><hr /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/01953101594940806384">Catsmum</a> said, "I don't want to know what the stitch count will be by the final row."<br /><br />Well, that's the thing about Nieblings, they don't always increase in a strict geometric way. In this particular doily, the stitch count got to 76 stitches per round in Round 139, <b>leaped</b> up to 101 per round in 140 (that make-a-triple-yarnover-into-13 bit), and has been <i>decreasing</i> by two stitches per pattern round ever since.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpIrQFFINHMUVV7Tgq19FeBt6swlvmBDJP7eKuORIsoGANmHo7qQ4Ye2lzIg9PXDO0fzPIz_CSOv1yG8OkHt0JIpFYuqGbzTtm2Pytzb26FSp5X6KWDmj5Hq1-3S5c4-XEGYk/s1600/Glockchen11.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpIrQFFINHMUVV7Tgq19FeBt6swlvmBDJP7eKuORIsoGANmHo7qQ4Ye2lzIg9PXDO0fzPIz_CSOv1yG8OkHt0JIpFYuqGbzTtm2Pytzb26FSp5X6KWDmj5Hq1-3S5c4-XEGYk/s400/Glockchen11.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628931564673549794" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I just counted out the last chart round, and it has 91 stitches per repeat, so I'll be ending at 1,092 stitches in the final round.<br /><br />I also stretched it out a little against a ruler, and it's at least two feet in diameter, even knitted in size 30 thread on a 2.0 mm needle.<br /><br /><hr />In other news, we found some more beanie babies for Beanie Baby Wars.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">An octopus mounted on an ice dragon.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzuGoKuHlQGt0WE35kRhrztJ-bJUqnDqrAvJhwUSOGiRzvUPe-3WC-SiFaYhUlZ7zXYbVklE7eyl6R2aEBFqoZ3hvO5lzn9W4iQHM9RIOd9-jNAM3Cjk2zPSCvuFveL2BlKiA/s1600/OctoIceDragon.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzuGoKuHlQGt0WE35kRhrztJ-bJUqnDqrAvJhwUSOGiRzvUPe-3WC-SiFaYhUlZ7zXYbVklE7eyl6R2aEBFqoZ3hvO5lzn9W4iQHM9RIOd9-jNAM3Cjk2zPSCvuFveL2BlKiA/s200/OctoIceDragon.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628929435652308402" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">A turkey mounted on a unicorn.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8oxf9x3eNAz4v9KjY0lwh8UYb6c7CnTnxY5cQGN07Qt6PaUgYRDF2AKk-W055u12_AIbLoxyld7tppa2W0yobYztdwdTkiR7lsnEXfWlMpQeHlKzfutvsNuPcWqChMFq07pC/s1600/TurkeyUnicorn.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 156px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8oxf9x3eNAz4v9KjY0lwh8UYb6c7CnTnxY5cQGN07Qt6PaUgYRDF2AKk-W055u12_AIbLoxyld7tppa2W0yobYztdwdTkiR7lsnEXfWlMpQeHlKzfutvsNuPcWqChMFq07pC/s200/TurkeyUnicorn.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628930168358074290" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">They're jousting.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJINdMxYPuR7o7m6Tp6uDt_KAozjQ1EohoIXwih71t_8Ve9QWbqFfceL26bUuVQkizyqbxBPgnr-Saig6vKTjNa5r7MMQfXVYwJ7L3R5eleMt6geX7srt8IQkyIQ1kOzZm7HT/s1600/Jousting.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJINdMxYPuR7o7m6Tp6uDt_KAozjQ1EohoIXwih71t_8Ve9QWbqFfceL26bUuVQkizyqbxBPgnr-Saig6vKTjNa5r7MMQfXVYwJ7L3R5eleMt6geX7srt8IQkyIQ1kOzZm7HT/s400/Jousting.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628930697393224674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><hr><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMl0vzjC2wZoUxWcRQ2y09Vvxdp0CrF2KnZPj4_VGZqXnqTGRjS1BRxf1syLlUDJNMdSbVdpYjUPfm7yGxp14U6P9PNpHI8NGn3TjrKAQwkislQGq-1_fiHREnYHs6Jb7-TjF/s1600/Hummer1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 302px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMl0vzjC2wZoUxWcRQ2y09Vvxdp0CrF2KnZPj4_VGZqXnqTGRjS1BRxf1syLlUDJNMdSbVdpYjUPfm7yGxp14U6P9PNpHI8NGn3TjrKAQwkislQGq-1_fiHREnYHs6Jb7-TjF/s320/Hummer1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628931142227565122" border="0" /></a>Ah! And I finally got a picture of one of the hummingbirds at the feeder this year. I waited so long with the camera all set up that the power saver kept turning it off again.<br /><br />My camera's preview screen has a speed of 30 frames per second, and when I watch the hummingbird on it, I can see the wings moving! But they were still too fast for the camera and showed up as blurs in the photos.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5u-xGPs3EY73UOXN1EeIqmJCvoeuNTui5Wr5_mww81ITpf7aBOukgtSSpubdLEuEO0g68oSLEHY5sSAD8eB23TvfwPoqQbu_Zp-6N6Q5htCuWoLTJbeNHi1yPbmHKV3uEJ8Tg/s1600/Hummer2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5u-xGPs3EY73UOXN1EeIqmJCvoeuNTui5Wr5_mww81ITpf7aBOukgtSSpubdLEuEO0g68oSLEHY5sSAD8eB23TvfwPoqQbu_Zp-6N6Q5htCuWoLTJbeNHi1yPbmHKV3uEJ8Tg/s320/Hummer2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628931147204803474" border="0" /></a>Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-72911456707717347962011-07-09T19:19:00.014-04:002011-07-09T21:34:04.896-04:00Glöckchen Progress, Lilies, a SPIDER!If you are spider phobic, and don't even like to see pictures of spiders, I'm giving lots and lots of warning so you can look away. There is a spider photo at the end of this post!<br /><br />One of the knitting projects I took to work on at Origins was <a href="http://ravel.me/alwen/g1">Glöckchen</a>, but I had only knitted on it a little bit before I remembered one of the reasons I had put it down.<br /><br />It was so seriously crowded on the needle at over 900 stitches per round that at one point about 11 stitches oozed off the needle while it was between bouts of knitting!<br /><br />I twisted my husband's arm and had him take me to <a href="http://www.knittersmercantile.com/">Knitters' Mercantile</a> one morning before we headed in to the convention. I bought a second US 0 (2.0 mm) circular, so I could stretch Glöckchen out a bit again.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOpQbcPN3-O1JiCWBi64d6NvsQ54LauDdkh5JfI_icL0MBcaLQBolLitM4no-q_1uUAZp_IEKT6C_q9Q8mbs5L_dSS43mT0dWKyh-0iNMsruLBukgwpnD28Ggx89K_cyjG_vL/s1600/Glockchen09.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOpQbcPN3-O1JiCWBi64d6NvsQ54LauDdkh5JfI_icL0MBcaLQBolLitM4no-q_1uUAZp_IEKT6C_q9Q8mbs5L_dSS43mT0dWKyh-0iNMsruLBukgwpnD28Ggx89K_cyjG_vL/s320/Glockchen09.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627525911280169746" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The stitch count peaked at 1212 in Round 139, where you make a triple yarnover and then knit into it 13 times in the plain row. I am finally out to Round 149 with one more pattern round to go after this.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxQ16XVqPwVbkJePrYwLDqdj43jNlqyZh8TGj_5std8PTXuZfqk65xuT1Sa_UTNRZT0PwiKkxdjt1IaFjw39NVfDdk64BIKlFNnRtmsm-9eBaJUnrCMxTaHEmADY42LHyPoXN/s1600/Glockchen10.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxQ16XVqPwVbkJePrYwLDqdj43jNlqyZh8TGj_5std8PTXuZfqk65xuT1Sa_UTNRZT0PwiKkxdjt1IaFjw39NVfDdk64BIKlFNnRtmsm-9eBaJUnrCMxTaHEmADY42LHyPoXN/s320/Glockchen10.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627525916252065074" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We came home to lilies in bloom.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEyEUS6Rmk4K4cLvJBTJG73J0dqgDeSav3B9LsfjIk_bmVunuPZntoR1m5qRKXydDb6VohipT3dg7d6jbbYfJnxlN6eSE-BPW9uLr6d6xk_m9PrmUBJ-7hXqI8nkKj0iMtFuH/s1600/PinkLily.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEyEUS6Rmk4K4cLvJBTJG73J0dqgDeSav3B9LsfjIk_bmVunuPZntoR1m5qRKXydDb6VohipT3dg7d6jbbYfJnxlN6eSE-BPW9uLr6d6xk_m9PrmUBJ-7hXqI8nkKj0iMtFuH/s320/PinkLily.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627525565902785746" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06hMyWJLd1ppGch6uuYaBn4DOW4f-RMSWohS6gKxlkE2hiAdU0VcryLuQ9-2zray4101LNvuJU0eTYJbFzjZeLPu3rmuO36-7dh42PVy_kCq2g4ULpoK2jadKz-9ZbcKZrAgR/s1600/RedLily.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06hMyWJLd1ppGch6uuYaBn4DOW4f-RMSWohS6gKxlkE2hiAdU0VcryLuQ9-2zray4101LNvuJU0eTYJbFzjZeLPu3rmuO36-7dh42PVy_kCq2g4ULpoK2jadKz-9ZbcKZrAgR/s320/RedLily.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627525572962322194" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I just realized my "Tiger Babies" lilies from <a href="http://www.thelilygarden.com/pages_lilies/asiatic_peach_1.html">The Lily Garden</a> have been in the ground here for 20 years.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZqazaoTedhpK8n6xx-n2vjAcfWdom8Sy5INdQK_CITj_ZKht4PhLSTxwOd_maVZhi1QbTRuth52-pCS9IhO5sgZ4iyT2E0cgiHGynloVs7XKBv250CQmI5ogaVJHfzV6JuvF/s1600/TigerBabiesLily.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZqazaoTedhpK8n6xx-n2vjAcfWdom8Sy5INdQK_CITj_ZKht4PhLSTxwOd_maVZhi1QbTRuth52-pCS9IhO5sgZ4iyT2E0cgiHGynloVs7XKBv250CQmI5ogaVJHfzV6JuvF/s320/TigerBabiesLily.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627525580558694978" border="0" /></a><br /><br />They look pretty crowded at this point, but after twenty years in one spot, many lilies would have crowded themselves completely out of bloom.<br /><br />Okay, is everybody ready for my spider? Spider-phobics safely out of the room?<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.white space, so you don't have to see it if you don't want to<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />Last chance to click away before seeing a close-up of a bold jumping spider, <i><a href="http://bugguide.net/node/view/2006/bgimage">Phidippus audax</a></i>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ31OZCGsjMLEA72Rvkynvsv7rSLM0UMzoq51LNefunFXbRB9VYrBd3SkR0QHDI23rBf-r5DtkGDwm32W2SWZRngPz4esVmcBPficq86AkryueQctW98iRVwLS1nbXsLfG36z/s1600/SpiderFace.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 284px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ31OZCGsjMLEA72Rvkynvsv7rSLM0UMzoq51LNefunFXbRB9VYrBd3SkR0QHDI23rBf-r5DtkGDwm32W2SWZRngPz4esVmcBPficq86AkryueQctW98iRVwLS1nbXsLfG36z/s320/SpiderFace.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627525578422572994" border="0" /></a>Is that thing cool or what? Eyes, nose, and big white lips!Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-69641924025386594932011-06-30T10:44:00.004-04:002011-07-02T18:53:32.836-04:00Summer AdventuresOur most recent summer adventure was our annual pilgrimage to Origins (<a href="http://originsgamefair.com/">Origins Game Fair</a>), but just before that, we had a kitten adventure.<br /><br />The child and I were getting in the car when we heard a sound: "Mew. Mew. Mew. Mew. Mew," coming from the edge of the driveway.<br /><br />A pair of catbirds nested in one of the yew bushes by the house this year, and they are incredible mimics, so my first thought was, "Wow, that catbird sounds <i>exactly</i> like a cat!"<br /><br />But I walked over to the rain-sodden irises anyway, and found this:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbD1c0AtvzWSG5RSsPRGYC2-rVdX6c8y_y8QjrfRbnqV5Qe47BgiYw65wMV9-mbbxXeTT1mkkTHLD6Af1f-ws_3J0iRd0H6mEI0Quw2SF524hUPB1vYxXcPEAO94pcxcnulOU/s1600/Kitteh3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbD1c0AtvzWSG5RSsPRGYC2-rVdX6c8y_y8QjrfRbnqV5Qe47BgiYw65wMV9-mbbxXeTT1mkkTHLD6Af1f-ws_3J0iRd0H6mEI0Quw2SF524hUPB1vYxXcPEAO94pcxcnulOU/s320/Kitteh3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624889690911306418" /></a><br />A smallish, rain-soaked, hungry and alone kitten, around five or six weeks old.<br /><br />If it was just up to me, I would be happy to add a kitten to the household. But my husband does not like cats. Not even when they are as cute as this:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Vdp3B8ELnSAxBASWSY3cPsXkR_AXPDfNHHbcdegii7qMoJ0pRCW6DivI9UbsVV7CfrQG-55ZvgWmNpKs8VzpvM2tThnN_D2RPi6e6VJ8rjhEqbll6-apG5gbYAaQWKbNL6aK/s1600/Kitteh4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Vdp3B8ELnSAxBASWSY3cPsXkR_AXPDfNHHbcdegii7qMoJ0pRCW6DivI9UbsVV7CfrQG-55ZvgWmNpKs8VzpvM2tThnN_D2RPi6e6VJ8rjhEqbll6-apG5gbYAaQWKbNL6aK/s320/Kitteh4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624889701245041234" /></a><br /><br />I probably wouldn't let that stop me, especially when faced with this,<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZK52uUoK0obuV7GFiLQ9w-tbV0o3eU_nyQGV1SOxeqQ4_IZ1dXbv_j97gO2pbFOiINHkjvVGZ8fdr-mW-V_oeWn-5yVAjtDQAtXWduCa79L8HBcuabsHJKv00cvzgsn8m8ylY/s1600/Kitteh1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZK52uUoK0obuV7GFiLQ9w-tbV0o3eU_nyQGV1SOxeqQ4_IZ1dXbv_j97gO2pbFOiINHkjvVGZ8fdr-mW-V_oeWn-5yVAjtDQAtXWduCa79L8HBcuabsHJKv00cvzgsn8m8ylY/s320/Kitteh1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624889688977350050" /></a><br />except . . . Ajax likes cats perhaps altogether too much, but not in a <i>cute-photo-of-kitten-snuggling-under-dog-chin</i> way.<br /><br />More of a <i>tasty-animated-snack-food-on-legs</i> way.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_G9WpkzC_p8R_o07KkD_2H00Rslk8Ygx2vXZcqFGxSa0DtHOuw02-gSaFhFHry1uzhXegUjIWk2TXv3hsHR2R5jFtN6fbQNegRwZvBpLJ5Vhzje2xoyYaupcanaYv0A2P0bT/s1600/Kitteh6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_G9WpkzC_p8R_o07KkD_2H00Rslk8Ygx2vXZcqFGxSa0DtHOuw02-gSaFhFHry1uzhXegUjIWk2TXv3hsHR2R5jFtN6fbQNegRwZvBpLJ5Vhzje2xoyYaupcanaYv0A2P0bT/s320/Kitteh6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624889710925976962" /></a><br /><br />So we had to find a safer home for the kitten, and quickly! Before we left for Origins.<br /><br />Luckily for the kitten, one of the first people my husband called to ask if they knew anyone looking for a kitten, was looking for one himself. Wow. That was one lucky little kitten.Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-27231859648278704082011-06-19T16:19:00.003-04:002011-06-19T16:32:43.010-04:00Theory of ProfanityI'm blogging off <a href="http://samuraiknitter.blogspot.com/2011/06/cussin-and-kid.html">Julie (Samurai Knitter)</a> today - this started out as a comment, and as I typed, I realized it was so long it might as well be a blog post.<br /><br />My Theory of Profanity is a little different. I guess it boils down to "Words Have Power," and some words, particularly profanity, acquire more power the less you use them.<br /><br />I am generally known as a person who doesn't swear, but that's not really true. I don't swear much on my blog, but I'm a person who fixes broken stuff: believe me, nothing gets a stuck bolt unstuck like a fiery blue streak of profanity.<br /><br />I've said in various places that I swear so seldom, when I do, lightning flashes, the earth trembles, and large men cringe.<br /><br />My theory is, in order to have power, the words need to build up a charge. If I used them all the time, it would get zapped away in little static-sparks. The long in-between times when I'm not swearing let them build up some hefty voltage. Then when I do - <span style="font-size:180%;"><b>ZAP!</b></span>Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18314180.post-57272091772317757362011-06-13T13:31:00.005-04:002011-06-13T14:23:34.546-04:00What I SeeThis is what I saw:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfq84TFwvJUwTgjFFTF7YC32HzN1HC9g8s66yIs73QwCH51fxERumfOpQJ3im93QYloDmp8SwYXnxcPKOqRgtXiFdXaSo1spPOFhx6FtvYd8NfVVHZjNMwXBxnf90Eg7R9Wk_N/s1600/DasStricken78-3painted.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfq84TFwvJUwTgjFFTF7YC32HzN1HC9g8s66yIs73QwCH51fxERumfOpQJ3im93QYloDmp8SwYXnxcPKOqRgtXiFdXaSo1spPOFhx6FtvYd8NfVVHZjNMwXBxnf90Eg7R9Wk_N/s320/DasStricken78-3painted.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617758810778153458" /></a>Six little flowers, blossoms towards the center of the snowflake.<br /><br />I have to say, I don't think I've ever run across a pattern where the flowers (if they were meant to be flowers) were knitted from the flowerhead down to the leaves.<br /><br />I broke down and ordered the other Marie Niedner book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0916896536/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=lostartsstud-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399701&creativeASIN=0916896536">Knitted Lace (Kunst-Stricken)</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lostartsstud-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0916896536&camp=217153&creative=399701" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0916896498/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=lostartsstud-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0916896498">Volume I</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lostartsstud-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0916896498&camp=217153&creative=399349" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0916896625/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=lostartsstud-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399701&creativeASIN=0916896625">Volume II</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lostartsstud-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0916896625&camp=217153&creative=399701" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> of the Christine Duchrow patterns, and spent the weekend after they showed up entering the patterns into a spreadsheet.<br /><br />My spreadsheets usually have the page number the pattern photo is on, the German title, a rough translation, and the page number of the chart. I print them out and write notes on them, like how many rounds in a doily, or how many stitches wide an insertion is.<br /><br />But their main purpose is to pick out potential projects - one of my main notes is "pretty!"<br /><br />I received a question about blocking this doily, and how I cast off to make the edge so smooth.<br /><br />First off, the pattern ends with a series of yarnovers alternating with single or double decreases. That is, it ends with a nice round of holes, handy for running a nylon blocking cord through.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytq0mZHFDes_Fg1dHG6rZQ2FOLWcaq1WtakCVzX1gwV3aQq8xraNYYUyOn4KjLEDePQmhGJ8TQOThi3M8yF6eRdlAgPLmL_ITNyJB_kkyCaWO7iSsUcJ0knK26yG9FlshfmIn/s1600/DasStricken78-5Point.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytq0mZHFDes_Fg1dHG6rZQ2FOLWcaq1WtakCVzX1gwV3aQq8xraNYYUyOn4KjLEDePQmhGJ8TQOThi3M8yF6eRdlAgPLmL_ITNyJB_kkyCaWO7iSsUcJ0knK26yG9FlshfmIn/s320/DasStricken78-5Point.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617767835138464482" /></a><br /><br />I followed the cast-off I learned in one of Galina Khmeleva's workshops (purl, wrapping the yarn backwards, put the new stitch back on the left needle, then purl 2 together, continuing to wrap the yarn backwards). This makes the cast-off stitches curl over to the back of the work.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLi8AOBtKlwhBpepmZBsZ3HmTd0NZRu_yOmK9rL1xhzeBoJE4lxne0nAUIIXoyqtsSq5_nhJjLTAon1g0r7OA038oHXhh5MZ7BS_l3-J-l_P7vQYz1fSc7mwqNlBxC1W5hxXwQ/s1600/DasStricken78-6Purl.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLi8AOBtKlwhBpepmZBsZ3HmTd0NZRu_yOmK9rL1xhzeBoJE4lxne0nAUIIXoyqtsSq5_nhJjLTAon1g0r7OA038oHXhh5MZ7BS_l3-J-l_P7vQYz1fSc7mwqNlBxC1W5hxXwQ/s320/DasStricken78-6Purl.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617767840647966418" /></a>I am a very tight knitter, so in order to cast off loosely, I used a much larger (<b>much much larger</b>: a US 8, 5 mm, when this was knitted on a US 2, 2.75mm) needle to do all this purling.<br /><br />I used a needle to run thin nylon crochet cord through all the holes, eased it out until I liked the looks of it, then tensioned it with 12 rustproof pins. I used nylon cord before, and although it doesn't look right for every pattern, I was really happy with how it worked for this one.Alwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200150883889857882noreply@blogger.com5