Random Siamese Cats

Pictures of them, that is. Of my boys. (Yes, I'm one of those; other people are twee if they obsess over their pets, I think it's perfectly fine for me to act this way.)

Getting There

In spite of some difficulty (nothing like having a needle snap, especially when it's vintage and you can't be sure of the gauge of a new one) I'm moving along quite well on the sweater.

The armseye shaping is finished, and soon I'll be shaping the shoulders. Shall I be lazy and bind off (thereby landing myself with some nasty seaming) or do proper short-row shaping so I can use a three needle bind off? Probably I'll do the latter, and then add some ribbon to the inner seam for stability.

I had to buy a new--and I do mean new--needle. None of the straights at the shop were of the correct dimensions (I did have the presence of mind to bring a needle gauge with me), so I ended up buying an Addi circ. It's working very well. I don't like circs for knitting in the round, messing with cable lengths drives me mad, and I don't like interchangeable needles very well.

But...they're great for working back and forth on an item, especially when it gets some weight on it. And it turns out that marked "3" or no, the straights I was using were really 2s. Oho...just thought of something; I'll bet they were needles from New Zealand, and so the size marked was, of course, in mm. Because, yes, the one I bought is 3.0 mm. Mystery solved.

Would you still like some proof?



The young critic in the photo is Than Chai. He insisted on making an inspection.

Why the U.K.?

I'm an Anglophile. It came naturally, via my mother and her Anglophilia.

As kids we watched Dr. Who (Tom Baker), (parts of) Benny Hill, and Monty Python...because Mom did. We saw Masterpiece Theater with Derek Jacobi in I, Claudius, and never made it through Upstairs, Downstairs because, foolish children that we were, it bored us.

Then I married another Anglophile. When I got married again...you guessed it. I've spent a lot of time watching Are You Being Served?, As Time Goes By, Waiting for God, Mulberry, and a slew of other British programs, either on PBS or BBC America or on video, DVD and whatever other media presents itself.

British programming can be just as empty and useless as U.S. shows are at their worst, but the best in the U.K. is very, very good indeed. And it's usually richer, funnier, and much more inclined to require that the viewer possess a few working brain cells.

I'm not sure why that is. Maybe because of the television license? Maybe because America got there first, and the Brits set out to surpass us? I really don't know, but I see the superiority time and again.

There are good U.S. shows. Funny ones, quirky ones, shows that ask the viewer to think...but so many inane things lurk around them that I'm not inclined to try and sift through to find the stuff I like.

It could be, of course, that their better offerings are what we get over here. After all, it's been pre-sifted. There are things, though, that I can't buy in non-PAL format (I'm looking into getting a format free DVD player)...or instance, Blackpool, which I managed to watch on YouTube (not my preferred method of viewing, I promise you).

I'd like to see Tennant's Hamlet NOW, thanks. And the truly uncut versions of Dr. Who. Why in the hell do we get the slashed and burned versions here? Is the Hays office still lurking?

I don't know. But in the meantime, I'll continue to hunt down British comedy, dramas on the Beeb, and wish for complete access to it online. For heaven's sake, we don't even have radio shows any more!

This time I'll finish it!

The sweater I'm working on, I mean. For some reason, I seldom finish a sweater, no matter how small it is, or whatever the gauge. I get bored, probably. Socks are usually quick, and there's no such thing as too many hand knit socks. They wear out so quickly.

This time, though...I found the missing yarn, my "Crayola Tweed". First I thought it would be a 20s sweater (June 1924, from Needlecraft). No, didn't work. No gauge was mentioned in the pattern, but some swatching and math made it plain that it needed a very bulky yarn. Found a nice worsted, but even that didn't do the trick.

So back to the fingering weight and a different pattern, out of a British hardcover, The Compleat Book of Knitting. It's just listed as a jumper, and the pattern is indicated by graph. I'm using US #3 needles to get gauge, which is 6.5 stitches per inch, and 9 rows per inch. The ribbing for the back piece is finished. It took 45 rows and is staying true to gauge. I'll have use for a sweater like this: fine gauge, yarn that will go with half my wardrobe, from jeans to skirts, and real 1930s style.

The question is, will I actually finish it?

Comfort Food and Comfort Knitting

I'm an expert on both.

Therefore I have been knitting socks. Socks for me. Baby socks to stash for gifts. Bed socks...which chose not to felt. (Yes, Bozo the Clown would like them. A lot.) I have a crazy pair on my feet, made from the remains of the multicolored skein I used in the potholders. They're knitted in a wavy lace pattern and the toes are quite pointy. On purpose.

Right now I have a pair of ribbed gray socks on the go. Also for me. Lots of socks for me (who appreciates them more, I ask you?).

In the food department, we have beef stock. Real beef stock. I've been stashing away beef bones as I find them in the market: marrow bones, bits of oxtail, you name it. And I added the usual carrots & onion. And a caramelized onion, and bits of leftover beef bits and pieces also stashed in the freezer. The house smells heavenly. Canned stock works in a pinch, but it doesn't have half the flavor of the real thing, with its darkly caramelized bones and meat and onions.

Tomorrow we'll have chicken, though. I'm planning on stuffed pounded chicken breasts, with a filling made of spinach, cheese and pork sausage, and sides of caramelized red onions and yellow potatoes.

Possibly some of this is in response to the news the NBC won't be airing the pilot of "Rex Is Not Your Lawyer" this spring. (I didn't name it. But it stars David Tennant. So, frankly, I don't care what they call it.) I needed something to compensate, and hand knitted socks and home cooking fit the bill.

Links still not working, so...

...go to Facebook or other sites where you can get safe information on donations from people you know.

Again, try organizations like Red Cross International, Doctors Without Borders (which you can also reach through the Yarn Harlot's website), UNICEF, and so on.

And pray for them and their friends and families. The new year is an important time in Haiti, but this is one lousy beginning.

Haiti

A one-minute earthquake in Haiti has destroyed lives, hopes and even relief agencies. Some news reports called it "The" quake. It's an horrific situation.

It comes home to me a bit more forcefully than it might, as a friend whom I was very close to has family there. None of his immediate family are down there now, but no one has heard a thing from extended family. All communications are down.

There's nothing I can do hands-on, but I'll ask this of anyone who can spare a few dollars: please make a donation. Even $5 or $10 will help.

Unfortunately, times like these bring out the bad as well as the good, so make your donations to well-known relief agencies: the Red Cross, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières, and so forth.

I wanted to post links for you, but Blogger is being more useless than is believable; it will not post the links when I insert them.

Please search for the legitamite sites and look for donations specifically geared toward Haiti, or where help is needed most. I will try again to make the links work, perhaps tomorrow.