Bandwidth Exceeded

The light is dim today, but I want to document a timely FO for July Camp Loopy. Behold Water by Sylvia McFadden, knit in Leading Men Fiber Arts Show Stopper, colorway Koi Pond. I'll do a beauty shot later, suffice to say now that I love the fish-scale short row lenses. Six of them! Such fun to knit and ogle.

I've mostly missed the uproar over the new Ravelry design that led to this post from Jessica. That's not a request for breadcrumbs, nor a declaration of uncaring. It's simply an acknowledgement that I can't be everywhere at once, so am not informed.

Then there's the straightforward, sad announcement (and followup) from Cat Bordhi that she's dying of cancer, would welcome supportive email, asks that project photos be tagged #4catbordhi, and offers a free unpublished pattern, Rio Calina Cowl, as a lesson in letting go and a generous parting gift to knitting friends. The pattern link keeps displaying Bandwidth Exceeded, which so aptly describes how I feel right now.

Briefly on Water

Briefly, it's on to the interminable edging stage of Water. The edging is simple and doesn't look like much now, hopefully it will be more distinct when blocked out. The end of the month deadline for Camp Loopy looms, I hope I finish on time.



The experts say last summer was a mast year for acorns followed by a mild winter, with the inevitable consequence there are a lot of chipmunks roundabout Exit 151 this summer. They've discovered my vegetable patch, which is very bad news. They're also fast, so I have yet to catch them on camera. Let's hope deterrence works. To be continued....

Fireworks and Water

And just like that, it's July.

Many of the usual Fourth of July festivities roundabout Exit 151 were canceled due to covid19, so a neighbor took it upon himself to put on a show with big aerial fireworks that barely cleared the trees. I like fireworks well enough, but it was loud, bright, and perfectly terrifying to experience them so close up.



Happily no one got hurt, nothing was set on fire, and the next day in the blessèd peace and quiet I cast on Water by Sylvia McFadden, worked in Leading Men Fiber Arts Show Stopper, colorway Koi Pond. I'm liking both pattern and yarn very much.



The project is for July Camp Loopy, Zoology section (koi pond, water). I decided to press on despite ::cough:: not finishing my June project. As one does. Onward.

Transitions

This post has been evolving a while. When I started writing about my weekend it was the season when the walls between worlds grown thin, and maybe some walls between nations, too. Ahem. To celebrate mark the date, there even was a Halloween sun, courtesy the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory.



Roundabout Exit 151 a bit more Halloween sun would have been welcome – Halloween was warm, windy, and rainy. I had planned to test a survey which claims the most popular Halloween candy in NJ is Skittles. Knock me over with a feather, I like chocolate. But, not wanting to run afoul of the generational friction of ok boomer and mindful of slave-free chocolate concerns, I gave Skittles a try on the sparse handful of trick-or-treaters who braved the balmy storm. Within the small sample size, it would seem it's true, Skittles were very well received. Huh.

After the storm and clean up, I hauled our last TV with a picture tube to the recycling center. The attendant suggested I was nuts for wanting to take a photo (and he didn't want to be in it), but it seemed important to document the occasion. Farewell, faithful TV!



As for knitting, all I got to show is this Pumpkin Socks singleton. I'm DNF for September/October SKA and feel rather indifferent about that, given everything else that's been going on. And while I'm concerned about it becoming a Singleton Sock of Shame, perhaps there's no danger – some gentle readers (who don't themselves knit) find the term objectionable and stifling, and have had the temerity to demand I find better terminology. Hm....



Moving right along... For runners, it was NY Marathon weekend, of course. As all New Yorkers well know, it's the weekend when the city is, er, overrun with fleet pedestrians and traffic closures. So perhaps it was only fitting that the president, having declared himself no longer a New Yorker (for whatever good that does), decided to snarl traffic further by attending a mixed martial arts card at Madison Square Garden, where his reception inside and out was decidedly mixed. This on top of his Game 5 reception and followed by an off-year Election Day and some of the crowd at a Trump rally in Monroe, Louisiana leaving early.

No doubt about it, the times are a-changing, winter is coming, and there's snow in the forecast.

Rambling On

Oh hai. I've been traveling too much, knitting (and canning and blogging) too little. Some of the travel has been very pleasant, some less so. Here's some of the pleasant.



Ahh.

Too little knitting is not no knitting, of course. Here's a Pumpkin Sock interposing itself in the sculpture When Anthony Met Stanton by Ted Aub, that depicts Amelia Bloomer (you can barely see her loose trousers, known as bloomers) introducing Susan B. Anthony of Rochester to Elizabeth Cady Stanton of Seneca Falls. The statues are life-sized – it's a bit of a surprise how tiny such looming figures were. And surely gentle readers all know what happened in Seneca Falls, New York, the 1848 Women's Rights Convention, re-enacted annually in July. Something to consider if you're in the Finger Lakes region. (I can't believe I'm nattering on about travel, when I've been traveling too much as it is.)



Next year marks the centennial of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, or (white) women's suffrage. Much ink has been shed about the racism baked into the women's rights movement, and the differences and intersections between race and gender. I have some thoughts on such matters, of course, but right now I'm going to rest (not quit) and ramble on.

Not Bemoaning

When last seen I was in the basement cowering from a late July heatwave. Time passed. August galloped by, and a major hurricane, and a double plus ungood hurricane controversy that seems to have no bottom. You can see it from space, in rainbow colors, sort of.

And now it's September. Rather than bemoan all I did NOT accomplish this summer, I decided to make an effort to get ahead of the curve and cast on Pumpkin Socks by Nicole Simmons in Claudia Hand Painted, colorway Ink and some Trekking leftover from Ekornsokkene. It's a rather, um, festive look for the second week of September, but with my record of UFOs this year I need as much of a head start as possible. Thus: premature pumpkin spice jokes, Halloween rush jokes – you are banishèd! Begone!



No doubt it will be October soon enough.

Trolls Ascendant

What a strange and terrible week it's been, so dominated by the spectacle of corrupt and spineless politics in Washington, Big Lies, and crackpot threats of violence. In an odd way it reminded me of the scene on a beach while a hurricane is going by: the warning flags are up, the water is churning with tremendous force, and yet some people are surfing. Perhaps some of the same principles of responsibility and self-care may apply.



When trolls are ascendant, one is left to concoct one's own sunshine amid the sturm und drang. A third way, if you will: not reacting to them, not pretending they aren't there, but a form of resistance (admittedly privileged) to their coarsened public discourse. So I've been doing some cauldron work, and am rather pleased with the results. There's more tomato jam to add to the Great Wall of Tomato Jam, this time using yellow and (more) orange tomatoes. It's Marissa's recipe again, with 20% less sugar, white vinegar substituted for cider vinegar, and ground jalapeño subbed for smoked paprika and cayenne. I'm ridiculously happy at how the colors have held during cooking and processing.



Ah, the colors. I could look at this all day. Flavor and yield are good, too. Tomato jam is often paired with cheese, but I like it best with eggs.



Meanwhile, the Diana Prince sock progresses, while as anticipated the shrug is Overtaken By Events. Ah well, maybe now more than ever a bit of Amazon fortitude and some fancy needlework is needed. Pew! Pew!



After an absence to several years, I'm planning to go to Rhinebeck this year. I've been before, but for the first time I'm planning to stay overnight. I'm thrilled to bits, even though I'm still so busy that I'm not going to attempt to knit a sweater. But... er... well, maybe a hat.... To be continued

Away Again

And just like that, summer turns to fall. Not that you could tell by my schedule. For me it's another long flight, another cast on. This one is Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) socks by Becky Greene. I'd admired the pattern before, almost exactly one year ago, and unwisely cast on in an overly busy yarn. One year older and wiser, I'm going with a more subtle variegation, Zitron Trekking XXL colorway 77.



That's better, sockwise. Travelwise, this trip proved rather eventful. More when I'm back in terra Jersey.

Traveling Still

There's been yet more traveling and knitting (alas, without mini-Beyoncé). This time the travel was to an inurnment in Honolulu, which meant a long plane ride was involved. To pass the time I cast on the Sock Madness Round 5 sock, Pearls-on-a-String Socks by Anita Grahn, using Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in colorway Shell Pink. Between bad airplane lighting and an apparent inability to count to two, I didn't make much progress on my pink pearls. At least the airline snacks were pretty good.



So... a still photo of travel that is ongoing is a still traveling still, yes? Maybe one needs to be jetlagged for that to make any sense, maybe it doesn't make any sense. Ah well.

Easy Refrigerator Pickled Asparagus

A tale of the quick and the slow.
The April FIJ Challenge is quick pickles, also known as refrigerator pickles as they are not canned and must be stored in the fridge (rather than on the shelf). Given nice asparagus is so plentiful in the markets these days and DH and I just planted some crowns in the fine hope of picking our own in a year or two, it seemed like good practice to try this recipe: Easy Refrigerator Pickled Asparagus.

It was a hit. From the cook's perspective, the recipe is indeed easy. There's photographic evidence, barely, of the results – this quart jar used to be full. Apparently the quick in quick pickles refers to more than just the speed with which they can be prepared. The asparagus pickles disappeared so fast, I didn't even hear the happy chomping. The only clue was an off-hand observation that the pickle flavor got stronger as time went by.



Aficionados of quick pickles claim they are brighter-tasting and crisper than their processed analogs, and can be put up in smaller batches. Considerable virtues indeed, although as my refrigerator space is limited I can't say they outweigh the value of preserving large quantities of the harvest in a shelf-stable way. Not to mention that when the happy chompers realized this, they began agitating for canned pickled asparagus in increasingly louder and grumpier tones. Also for tweaks to the pickling spices. Oh my.

Much of the fun, and value, of the can-along is seeing what others make. I'm enamored of the many examples of pickled hard-boiled eggs that triumphantly graced Easter sideboards in multi-colored splendor... but the once-happy, then agitated chompers at casa Jersey Knitter turned positively revolting at the prospect. Something about how HB eggs are a perfect food that must be spared hideous adulterants. Well, except for a bit of salt... or soy sauce... or mayonnaise... then there's potato salad... and HB eggs and gravlax (I made more gravlax)....

It's enough to drive a cook to slow knitting.



While the rest of Sock Madness charges along (Round 2 ends today!), I've been working on the second sock of the qualifying pattern, Twisted Madness. Slowly, because the pattern stitch makes my wrists hurt. Yet slow progress is still progress, and will do for now.

March Ado About Snow

Tuesday, Pi Day, was a snow day roundabout Exit 151. It was a typical March snowstorm, heavier than snow earlier in the winter, and it shut everything down. Fortunately, I had obtained turkey and stuffing pie and bangers and mash pie from The Pie Store a day ahead, so was very well-provisioned for the day's festivities. Unfortunately, DH was so grumpy and hungry after shoveling snow that there are no pie pix, just glowing reviews of both.



In between shoveling snow and feeding Hungry Man I mixed up a batch of Blueberry Ginger Shrub for the March Food in Jars Challenge (jellies and shrubs), using the cold process technique outlined by Michael Dietsch on Serious Eats. Stir, let sit in the fridge, sample. I'd never tried shrub before, which is an old-fangled blend of vinegar, fruit, and sugar, and I have learned something important. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, boasts (Act 5, Scene 1, and what a scene it is):

Woo't drink up eisel [vinegar], eat a crocodile?
I'll do it.

Not me. Shrub and the drinks based on same are not to my taste. The concoction is not meant to be drunk straight, but rather mixed with one's favorite mixer and an optional splash of booze for an old-is-new-again cocktail. I tried ginger ale and still found the mix overly acetic, YMMV. It did help the fruit flavors to let the drink breathe and come to room temperature, which makes sense for something originally developed pre-refrigeration. But, I'll pass on this one.



I'm also going to pass on Sock Madness 11. Sadly, between too much travel and a qualifier's pattern that made my wrists hurt, this is as far as I had gotten as of 2:45 pm EDT today. One sock, with counting thread and a long tail at the toe because I knit to specs but plan to undo the star toe and substitute my preferred wedge toe. That means I qualified for patterns, but not for competition... which may be the best for my sanity and my wrists!

Tomorrow I'm away again. Alas, the tales of my away adventures are piling up and I'm too busy/lazy to set them in order. Must try to address that soon.

Ahead of the Storm

The alarming weather forecast for tomorrow is for pelting rain and 70 mph (113 kph) winds. That's bound to do some damage, so I rushed out to Branch Brook Park for a hurried look at the cherry blossoms lest I miss this year's show entirely. The main season bloomers were just shy of peak bloom. If you can't see this year's show in person, try Cherry Blossom Cam.



Inspired by jooan's wee socks, I knit a wee Rose & Thorn sock, using the fussy beaded CO, Quatrefoil Eyelet (in Treasury 1) and twist sts for the roses and thorns, eye of partridge French heel, and wedge toe. Note to self: for a wee sock, it's better to knit a plain heel flap rather than a slip-st flap, which pulls in too much for the reduced scale. I think I'm going to attach the wee sock to my purse.



Here's hoping everyone in the path of the storm stays safe and sound. See you on the other side.

Voluntarily

I feel stupid posting this. So why voluntarily engage in stupid? Well, because I'm not so loftily principled that I would spurn something positive and fun just because it's also partly stupid. It's a matter of degree, and naming the beast is the first step towards embracing reluctance.

For February Sockdown I have to furnish proof of sock, so here it is. First up, my project in good light. It's Queen of Diamonds Sock by Kristi Schueler worked in Spunky Eclectic handspun Superwash Corriedale, colorway Tahiti.



The yarn was a 2010 Ravellenics project. The pattern is written toe-up but I'm knitting it top-down because I cast on when I was tired and cranky after shoveling snow. Here's a requisite photo showing my cast on and the number of projects (14) before I set up my Ravelry project page.



And here's a photo showing my project page and the number of projects (15) after I set up my Ravelry project page.



I also need to furnish proof of placement for my second giveaway for Free Art Friday Montclair (#fafmtclr), coming soon. ETA: Here it is in the wild, on the Northeast sled hill. Also, now we're supposed to use #fafmtc. OK, whatever, photographic proof.



Such tough-sounding talk has its appeal, I suppose, by derivation. Kittens enjoying pretending to be tigers. Rawr. (I am the only one troubled by the hint of animal cruelty in the video?) I've never much cared for the fad of knitters appropriating the language of racism and addiction or ultraviolent competition. Similarly, I'm increasingly troubled by my own use of the language hostage negotiators use when dealing with psychopaths who kidnap and brutally execute people. Such language doesn't seem strong or daring to me – while admittedly colorful, it also seems inauthentic and unreasoning. Gentle readers, YMMV, if it works for you that's dandy. All I know is I need a different vocabulary.

Unglued

It's been quite a week for terrible news. At some point one tends to become a bit unhinged if one remains glued to the TV and other media, so I unplugged and did other things.



Earlier in the week I was in Washington. As the twigs pictured with the Jefferson Memorial indicate, peak bloom of the Tidal Basin cherry trees was last week, but it was still nice to stroll around. At one point beavers (of all the unlikely things) were chewing down the famed trees, which is what beavers do, and somehow that translated into signs admonishing two-legged pests against damaging trees by picking flowers or climbing in them. I suppose it makes sense to someone.



Not that they have much effect. The brown sign reads, "Please do not climb or sit in this tree."



Meanwhile, for reasons that escape me, Llama Llama Duck has little twist stitch cables that are set off by purl stitches on the leg but not on the instep. Perhaps it makes sense to someone, but for me the charm of the little cable is lost on a stockinette ground. See what I mean? I followed the pattern as long as I could stand it, then gave up and fixed one cable.



No surprise, I liked the effect so much, I decided to fix all of them. It only meant dropping back 28 rounds. No biggie.



Ah, that's better!



After a lot of walking, I finally found a cherry tree that still had a good amount of flowers. Connoisseurs can tell they're past their prime, but they still give an idea of how incomparably beautiful peak bloom must be. I'd like to come back some day to see it.



However, rather than pine about what I missed, I went to Cherryblossomland, which is at peak now. Go if you can or check out cherry blossom cam, or stay tuned....

Sock of Changes

My latest cycling socks are finished. They started as a 4th of July study of stripes, but finish not merely stripeless but also with a floral air. I decided to call them Padma, from the Sanskrit word for lotus. (I've been resisting the puckish impulse to call them Padma Peds or Pedma, Padma Pedals, Padma Cycle, etc.)



The new twist rib cuff reminds me of a lotus blossom, the rays of sunrise or sunset, fireworks, or perhaps even an awakened mind. The cuff is knit top down, so it was grafted to the de-cuffinated sock – the second sock was knit normally. It's so hard to tell them apart, I promptly forgot which was which.



Lest any would-be knitting police kick up a fuss, Padma has a regulation 3-inch (7.6-cm) leg and cuff – see, the dressmakers gauge says so – so they qualify as true socks.



The Merino/Tencel yarns used, Zarzuela's Fibers Shiny Sheep and Yarn Botanika Radiance Fingering, are noticeably more comfortable in this heat than many other yarns. We'll see if they hold up to the rigors of summer cycling – if so, I may have to revise my opinion of Merino/Tencel blends.

H-H-H

The summer solstice arrived with a roar roundabout Exit 151 – there's a heat advisory and air quality alert for the second day running. It feels more like late July than mid-June (last week it felt like early May). The township cooling center and one pool are open (find a NJ cooling center). How hot is it? Here's a heat index map as of 3:00 p.m. Gah!

Heat Index Map for June 21, 2012 at 3:00 p.m., from the New Jersey Weather and Climate Network. All stations are above 90° F (32.2° C); one-third report 100° F (37.7° C) or above.

If that weren't hot, hazy, and humid enough, there's an unfolding story on Ravelry that's hotter, faster, and superficially wackier than Fast and Furious (the gun-walking scheme, not the movies). Yesterday came an announcement that the U.S. Olympic Committee sent a cease-and-desist letter to Casey in re the Ravelympics, overnight there was a flurry of outraged Raveler reaction on Facebook and Twitter, and today there's coverage on NPR and the New York Times, and a sorta apology statement, then an updated statement from USOC. For all that, it still seems the Ravelympics will have to be renamed.

On the surface, the matter would seem to be a straightforward case of trademark infringement plus an outsized kerfuffle over some ill-chosen words. Except, as The Guardian reports in a must-read article, the Olympics is not an ordinary brand, protected by ordinary trademark law. As part of the bidding process, the International Olympic Committee requires host countries to create special laws that grant the organizers and their sponsors special protections. These laws privatize words and images in ways that privilege giant multinational corporations (which can afford sponsorship fees or, alternatively, ambush marketing campaigns) and disadvantage local small businesses (which can't afford sponsorship fees, sophisticated marketing, or, should push come to shove, legal defense fees). Seen through this lens, the matter becomes one of free speech, free expression, and free commerce; the letter from USOC is the tip of the iceberg – or the spear.

Thanks to Knitarooooo for the photo.

Meanwhile, today is also the beginning of the Summer of Socks. My first sock is Lantern by Lisa Stichweh, shown here at SnB. It's inspired by the Tour de France and the Tour de Fleece. But more on that another time.

Of Two Minds

After pondering the merits (and pitfalls) of Mitten Tree mittens, I turned to ruminating on Mitten Tree hats. I wanted the sort of gift hat that would make the recipient feel happy and NOT as if dressed from the bottom of the charity bin. Then I saw a publicity still from Deathly Hallows I and thought, "I could un-vent something like that."



I channeled the spirit of EZ and knit up a child-sized reasonable likeness, and was happy.



Then I saw another photo of Emma Watson, presumably in character (albeit blonde), sporting a hat that looks rather different. The color isn't the issue – it's the texture.



Knowing how persnickety Potterheads can be about verisimilitude, now I'm stricken with renewed indecision. Which hat is in the movie? Either? Neither?? Both??? Could this be – gasp! – a continuity error? Guess I'll have to wait 'til I see the movie – I'm sure I'll be very distracted whenever knitwear is on the screen.

Rough Diamonds

Hooray for sun after monsoonal showers! I've wanted to publish this post for days now, but there wasn't enough good light to take decent pix.

All summer into fall, I've had diamonds on the brain. Maybe the exhibits at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and the American Museum of Natural History had something to do with it, maybe it was Naomi Campbell's testimony about midnight prezzies of "dirty pebbles," or maybe it's something in the air – I was amazed by the number of diamond motifs among this fall's knitwear. Also slightly piqued, because my design for the 4! Ounce! Challenge! is Rough Diamonds Mitts.



Ah, the anxiety of influence! The spinning phase of the challenge was sparked by the illuminating article, "Spinning for Crochet" by Maggie Casey with Margaret Tullis in Fall 2010 Spin-Off. I spun this steely teal-y beauty, Spunky Eclectic Light BFL, colorway Virgo, into 2-ply sportweight crochet yarn – that is, spun the singles S (counter-clockwise) and plied them Z (clockwise). It seemed like a good idea at the time, although ::cough:: I ended up knitting with it.



I consider myself an apprentice spinner and an experienced knitter; I've long known but never really thought about how I tend to add S-twist to the yarn when I knit, necessitating periodic pauses to unkink it. Most knitting yarn is S-plied, so that the act of knitting tightens the ply; were it Z-plied, knitting would tend to unply the yarn. Similarly, singles intended to be knit as singles should be spun S, not Z, lest knitting action cause the yarn to drift apart.



In the design phase, I started making samples with a commercial-spun yarn, Noro Silk Garden Sock, colorway S269, before working in handspun. I wanted to conserve the handspun and SG Sock is a good substitute, plus I knew the texture stitches would be more visible in lighter color yarn. The white-gray mitt was the first completed, followed by the steel blue pair, and last the speckled brown mitt.

The twist-stitch motif is a 20-stitch variation on the 16-stitch Knit-Twist Lattice in Barbara Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, adapted for knitting in the round. Handspun yarn sometimes contains variations in wraps per inch and grist – twisted knit stiches traveling on a knit background are more forgiving of thick and thin spots than twists (or cables) over a purl ground, and also use less yarn. I like the quilted look, as well as the secure grip the textured stitches give on things like steering wheels.



While the stitch pattern is worked on every other round, the increases for the thumb gusset are worked on every third round. This causes the thumb of the mitt to lie closer to the palm, at a more natural angle. What can I say? I'm fussy about things like that. These vagaries are noted both in the written and the charted versions of the pattern.

The pattern phase of the challenge posed its own hurdles. Writing up the pattern was straightforward enough, but posting it to Ravelry became rather more involved than I would have expected after a volunteer editor flagged the pattern. I think that's resolved now. In any case, my very first pattern on Ravelry is finally up: Rough Diamonds Mitts!



All in all, I enjoyed the 4! Ounce! Challenge! I learned a lot, something I value highly. Group members produced such beautiful and inspiring yarn and patterns that this month there will be a 4!O!C! knit-along. I'm grateful to the organizers – indy dyers Adrian of Hello Yarn, Amy of Spunky Eclectic, and David of Southern Cross Fibre – and to the moderators of the group for what has been, for me, a deeply satisfying challenge.

First French Toast

Today is the first French Toast Alert of the season roundabout Exit 151! It's snowing – intermittent globular snow rather than flakes and unlikely to stick, but inarguably winter precipitation, and before Thanksgiving, no less. Better knit faster on the current sock – mustn't let this singleton grow lonely.



I love this beauteous blue Green Merino Socks by Tuulia Salmela, worked in Fleece Artist Basic Merino, colorway Blue Lagoon. The cuff has an Estonian twisted edge and twisted rib, and the leg is slip stitch honeycomb. The original calls for yarn swags everywhere; because this yarn is pilly and (I fear) may not wear well, I worked the sole plain and discontinued the honeycombs on the top. The stitch count is increased to 64 sts to accommodate my Frankenfeet; the pattern is endlessly adjustable in increments of 4 sts.

Off to have the car brakes looked at. Lately the rear brakes have been screeching, which can't be a good thing. I'm thinking new brake pads, possibly new rotors, sigh.