Monday, June 19, 2017

Not exactly a vacation...and an explanation.

Gentle knitters,
Yours truly has been coping with the usual aggravated hand issues, which have been mentioned in earlier posts, so I won't bore you again, but that's why I've been in Off Mode. Until just recently there was no knitting on my end and a lot of grief about not knitting, thus nothing to write about. Then my PT miracle worker, Vicki designed a splint that keeps my third and fourth fingers immobilized, so the tendons can't be stressed, and it has helped mightily, as well as the wearing of a carpal tunnel wrist support. In the meanwhile I've explored rigid heddle table looms, which I find daunting but interesting, and a pin-loom thing, the DIY Weaver, which reminds me of making potholders in third grade, though the results are better.



This clutch and shoulder bag were made with the DIY Weaver.


So knitting is happening once again, both slowly in terms of gradual re-entry, and quickly, because I'm using enormous needles, number 17s currently. The rehab key is to work with large-scale needles, since they're less taxing to hold, and thick yarn.


This color-block baby blanket measures about 32" x 35" (unblocked), is done in Lion Brand's Wool-Ease Thick & Quick (80% acrylic, 20% wool, good for babies), and was knitted with #17 needles. Time elapsed from beginning to end of knitting--about eight hours. Quite amazing, IMHO. I designed the pattern, such as it is, and you can find it here, for free. Kramer wants me to give him the blanket, but it's already got an owner. She arrives sometime within the next few weeks, and will be a young citizen of Brooklyn, NY. (There are no surprises for expectant parents anymore. Had I been given the option of knowing my babies' pre-birth genders, would I have accepted? I can't decide.)

So, the saga continues, and the next post will arrive sooner than this. In the meanwhile, happy summer knitting to us all.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

It's not over until the Cat Lady sings...

Foxy's silence is deafening.

and believe me, it's going to be a long time before that happens. The Rally for Women's Rights at the Rhode Island Statehouse, and all of the other simultaneous rallies in DC, throughout the US and around the world, showed that there's a vast movement rising and it's here for the foreseeable future.




How heartening it was to see so many Pussy Hats in evidence!


La lutte continue!



Saturday, January 7, 2017

Pussyhattin' around...

Shrinking violet that I am, I rarely appear on my blog, but having knitted my first ever PUSSYHAT, in preparation for the Women's March on Washington on 21 January 2017, I feel compelled to be a role model for all Politically Concerned knitters out there:

Il neige aujourd'hui à Woodville, RI.  Mon chapeau Pussy me protège très fort. Should I stuff the ears to make them stand upright?  Or should I stick with the "Scottish Fold" look?

Gentle knitters, here's the pattern; make one for yourself and make one for someone else. It's a really quick project--maybe four hours, faster if you use chunky yarn and larger needles. Check out a wonderful knitting blog, photographer Gale Zucker's She Shoots Sheep Shots, for instrux on the bulky yarn pattern, and other good links.

True confession:  I can't be in DC for the March on the 21st, but will attend the Sister Rally at the Rhode Island State House that day.  Click here for info on and to register for The Rhode Island Women's Solidarity Rally. Wear your Pussy Hat! Find me there; I'll photograph you in your lovely headgear, and post it on this blog ex post facto.  (I'll also bring an extra Pussy Hat with me for a photo prop.)

And if you can't make it to the DC March or any of the fifty state Solidarity Rallies, just make a hat and wear it on January 21st.