Sunday Evening Sweetness

Mentioned that I had a collection of penannular brooches.  Here’s one of the more elaborate ones, actually more suited to cloth because the area on the pin between the fancy bit and where it crosses the “C” of the body of the brooch is rather narrow.  (I keep trying to spell “brooch” as “broach,” which is the verb meaning “to pierce or penetrate,” as broaching a cask of liquor, or “to raise a topic for discussion,” as well as the name of the medical instrument used by orthopedic surgeons, which is where I know the word from.)  Examples shown are approximately 2-1/2 inches in diameter, big enough to do the job well, but small enough to be light in weight.

Penannular booches are a rather nifty and ingenious bit of ancient hardware.  The pin has a ring on the back of one end through which the C-shaped piece is threaded.  The ends of the C-piece are finished/decorated in such a way as to keep the pin from sliding off.  The tip of the pin is allowed to swing down below the opening in the C-piece so you can fastened it in an in-and-out fashion through both layers of the fabric, the end is pulled back up through the opening, and the C-piece is turned 90 degrees.  They’re basically designed to let you make a square or rectangular piece of fabric straight off the loom into a cloak without cutting it up, thus retaining its ability to do double duty as a blanket.   They fell out of fashion once people started wearing cloaks that were purpose made garments intended solely for that use  and that were fastened with ties, obviating the need for additional hardware to keep them on.  Also, the pin has to have a sharp point in order to penetrate whatever you’re pinning with it, so there is a safety factor involved. . .  but anyway, they make great shawl pins (if there are no babies or small children involved because sharp points).  It is the third example I’m using at the moment on my Sunday evening Malguri Morning, and it is working a treat.

I have just finished shoving a sandwich made with roast beef and Muenster cheese on lightly toasted rosemary and olive oil bread into my little kisser, followed by a small dish of cottage cheese be-sprinkled with pineapple tidbits, I have a fresh pot of chai tea to hand, Soma FM’s Drone Zone playing through the ear buds, and I am about to settle into some fingerless mitt knitting (pattern on left monitor)  and catch up on the YouTube video channels I follow (on right monitor).  Bliss.

I have made a slight shift in my knitting agenda.  I will be setting aside Mrs. Crocombe’s Braided Delight temporarily so that I can finish the row and do a temporary bind-off on The Assassin’s Daughter shawl to see if five skeins is sufficient, after which I will frog out the bind off and either continue on to skein #6, or else finish the shawl.   I am doing this because of the “teal feather’ color Malabrigo sock yarn that has been whispering in my ear.  I have an idea for a semicircular shawl using Turkish cast-on instead of garter tab which I think I’m going to do on US7’s (4.5 mm), and I think I have spotted what I want to use for a knitted on border.  I’m also going to use KFB (knit front and back) as the increase instead of yo (yarn over), just for grins.

Using the Turkish cast on to start a top-down shawl instead of using the traditional garter tab allows you to have a decorative knit-as-you-go top border that’s knit in both directions at once from the center line.  It’s a bit tricky, since you have to start off using a short and a long circular needle for the border and a double-pointed needle for the center bit until you get enough knitted to shift everything over to the long circular needle.  That’s how the Ilisidi triangular shawl (at left) is constructed, with the seamless braided cable for a top border.  Here’s a picture of it a little farther along so you can appreciate the construction.

Fee, Fly, FO, Phooey

I finally wove in the ends on the fingerless mits that had been finished since months ago, got them photographed, and put the pattern up on my knitting blog.  This is the pair I knit in a navy DK weight yarn.

The Caron Simply Soft yarn also works very well.  (Caron says their Simply Soft yarn is a “Medium:4,” which is worsted weight, but it’s on the far end of the skinny side of worsted.)  (see at right)  I did change the pattern up from the way I knit these two example pairs in that the ribbing around the base of the fingers and the thumb is done in twisted rib to give it more spring-back when it’s stretched.   I’m doing another pair in some discontinued-brand snob yarn (cotton/silk blend) I got on sale in 2018.  They are 50 gram skeins and I’m going to see if I can, indeed, get two mitts out of one skein.  (I do have two skeins of this pewter grey — in case I can’t.)  (When in doubt, hedge your bets. ) I’ll do the twisted rib as (re-)written in the pattern on this pair.

My current digs are in a two-bedroom duplex.  The bedroom I’m using as a bedroom (I’m using the middle one as an “office”) is at the back of the house and has a sliding glass door from the 1970’s (as in ‘no energy efficiency at all’), and even with three pairs of drapes over the door, it still gets durn cold back there when the temperatures dip below zero.  I like to read in bed for the comfort and warmth, but that’s also where my knitting nook is.  When I’m knitting, a lap robe does for the legs and lower torso, but the fingers get cold.  Fingerless mitts I could both  knit and read in seemed the obvious solution.  Les voilà.

Of course, now that it’s half past winter (and only two years after I started it!), I’ve finally finished my “Malguri Morning” shawl.  (I made one for C. J. and one for Jane, and kind of got burned out on making a third one for myself.). It’s nice and big, just like I like a shawl to be.  Like a big warm hug.   I’ll be using it as a transition piece as the weather warms up — wear a long-sleeved, but lighter top, and wear this shawl over it in the mornings and evenings when I need a little extra warmth.

The Malguri Morning shawl is a very, very simple knit.  So simple a beginning knitter could make it.  All you need to know is knit stitch, purl stitch and knit front and back (kfb).  It’s made with bulky yarn, in garter stitch, with a two-stitch stockinette stitch border and doesn’t need to be blocked.   This one’s made with the Loops and Threads Charisma yarn, which is acrylic, but very soft and squishy.  This done in the colors “Northern Light” variegated and “Electric Blue” solid yarns.

“Mrs. Crocombe’s Braided Delight” is coming along nicely.  It’s in a bulky acrylic yarn that I bought in the early 1980’s that’s long been discontinued. (I’ve had it for almost 30 years — talk about deep stash!) Once I finish it, I’ll wash it and use (hair) conditioning rinse as fabric softener to alleviate the scratchiness, and then I’ll “kill” it when I block it to give it a nicer drape.  It’s going to be quite a long rectangular shawl as I want to be able to wear it with the right end thrown over my left shoulder.  I’ve got a couple of repro ancient Celtic penannular broochs, and one of them would be killer to pin it in place with.

The  off-center braided cable detail is understated, but elegant, and adds a nice texture against the garter stitch.  This is another one of my mindlessly easy shawl patterns.  This would be a good “intro to the braided cable” piece for a beginning knitter.  Bulky yarn on US15 (10 mm) needles goes fast.   Unfortunately, it’s at a size now where it’s almost too big to knit on it at the computer.

I am STILL being plagued by a fly.  Apparently, There Can Be Only One.  I kill that one, and the next day, there’s another one.  I’m durned if I know where they’re coming from, but I’ve had enough of the little buggers to last me til the peanut butter season, to quote a certain Possum. 

Well, only one thing to do:  Put on a Zepplin playlist, work on the right mitt I’ve already gotten about two thirds knitted and slide on into the weekend.  Valhalla, I am coming. . . .  plus ça change . . .

 

Books Read in 2020

22. *Rogue Protocol, Wells, Martha
21. *Artificial Conditions, Wells, Martha
20. Convergence, Cherryh, C. J. (re-read)
19. Visitor, Cherryh, C. J. (re-read)
18. Tracker, Cherryh, C. J. (re-read)
17. *The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Chambers, Becky (reread)
16. Peacemaker, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-read)
15. Protector, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-read)
14. Intruder, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
13. Betrayer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
12. *The Finder, Lorin, J. E.
11. Deceiver, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
10. Conspirator, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
9. Deliverer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
8. *All Systems Red, Wells, Martha
7. Pretender, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
6. Destroyer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
5. *The Stonecutter Earl’s First Christmas, Harris, Adella J.
4. Explorer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
3. *The Mystery of Nevermore, Poe, C. S.
2. *The Ghost of Ellwood, Osborn, Jacklyn
1. Defender, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)

*ebook

Busy, Buzzy, and Bowls

Still haven’t gotten rid of that durn fly.  ^&%$#@!@#&*!

In this and other pictures of my computer desktop, you may have noticed a bowl under my monitors (just to the left of the teacup).  It’s a nice little bowl.  Too small to be a yarn ball bowl. (I’ve got a half dozen of those scattered about.)  Wasn’t bought with that in mind.

It’s Japanese and has a kitty on it.  (They’re apparently out of the blue version.) I got it to use as a “knitting notions bowl.”  I have another one on the reader’s table in my knitting nook in the back bedroom.  I keep pretty much the same things in both bowls:  A tape

measure, some rubber stoppers that go on the points of knitting needles, a couple of crochet hooks, a couple of cable needles, a number of stitch markers of various colors, a tapestry needle, and a tube of Bert’s Bees lip balm (semi-arid climate, remember?).  I find it handy to keep these things out in a bowl rather than in a bag or in a box of some sort or in a drawer, etc.  All the needful notions are right there where I can quickly find what I need.

Of course the bowl has a cat on it.  It has a cat in it as well.  And I got the matching plate.  It’s cute, handy and just the right size.  As I say, I have a collection of yarn bowls of various sizes.  I’m a big advocate of balling up yarn rather than using the commercial pull skeins (pull skeins are Tools of the Devil!) that store-bought acrylic yarn comes in.  The first thing I usually do when I get ready to do a project is roll all the pull skeins into  balls.

Because I’m living on a fixed income, acrylic yarn is usually all I can afford (and, frankly, we’re a little warm for wool sweaters even in the depths of winter), but here lately, I’ve been saving up my ice cream money and blowing it on “snob” yarn instead — I got some Malabrigo sock weight.  I also bought some “artisanal” yarn from Blue Sky Fibers.  I got both through Must Love Yarn’s shop site.  (Each week in their podcasts, they feature a pick of the week with a code for 10% off that’s good for the next two weeks.)  I haven’t knit any of it up yet, but I have an idea for the Malabrigo.  I’ve got some other yarn from Must Love Yarn’s shop which I don’t remember the name of off the top of my head, and I’m too comfy here at my desk, reclined, with lap robe on and a 32-oz bottle of Breakfast in Paris tea to hand, to bother with getting up and going over to look.  However, now that I have been acquiring a quantity of “snob” yarn, I decided I needed the services of a swift and a ball winder (don’t know why they call it a “ball” winder — what you get is a cake).  Amazon gladly obliged.  There’s the hanks of Malabrigo being caked. (pop goes the weasel!)  I want one more skein for what I’m going to make from it.  (Sorry.  That’s the least obnoxious choice of patterns in a plastic table cloth with flannel backing that I could find at Wal-Mart.  I should be that busy. . .)

Well, you may remember “Mrs. Crocombe’s Braided Delight,” which I had started in blue on a US11 (8.0 mm) needles.  Guess what.  I changed my mind, and restarted it on a US 15 (10.0 mm) in white.  I like it much better on the larger needle, and I’ve got more white than I do blue, so it can be all one color.   I’m moving right along on it.  I’ve started my third ball.  I like the fabric I’m getting with the 15’s and I’ve gone to five rows between cable crosses to make the cable a little looser.  I may end up putting some paper tape around my index finger where the thread goes over it.  I’m using yarn at a faster rate because of the 15’s and the friction of the bulky yarn as it goes over the top of my finger  is starting to rub my skin a little raw.

It’s been really cold here the past week.  It got so cold at one point that Saturday, I said the heck with it, didn’t bother to get completely dressed, but sat in the bed reading in a fleece shirt, shawl and these  “half-handers.”  These fingerless mitts are made with Caron Simply Soft acrylic yarn using a pattern I’ve yet to post.  The palm side is stockinette, the knuckle side is ribbed and the cuffs are long enough to fold double. I made another pair in a navy sport yarn, but I need to weave in the ends and photograph them before I post the pattern.  Not only can I read in them, I can knit in them, too.

Here directly*, I need to get up and go wash my hair so it can get dry before bedtime, and while it’s drying I believe I’ll just finish up the next to last Foreigner book so I can start in on the new one.  It just came out and I haven’t read it yet.

*"Here directly" is Southern for "shortly, in a minute."  Not to be confused with "here lately," which means "recently, in the recent past."

The Fly That Wouldn’t Die

House flies!  I swear it’s like the song about the cat.  I exterminated one on Thursday, one on Friday, I’ve swatted two just this evening, and each time I think, “Finally!”  and not ten minutes later, Bzzzzzzz!  AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

I’ve no idea where they’re coming from.  I did have the storm door open while I was cleaning it during my pre Chinese New Year house cleaning frenzy weeks ago, and one of them could have snuck past my guard then, but five?  Some might have come in from the garage Wednesday (Wouldn’t you know it?  The first time I’ve come and gone through the laundry room door into the garage in literally years.  See?  Bad Feng Shui.)

Never mind where they came from; I know where I want them to go. Stupid flies.

In the knitting news, pictured is “The Assassin’s Daughter” shawl with ball #5.  If you can see the green stitch marker in the lower left, that was the end of ball #3.   I’ll finish this row, bind off and put a stitch marker through the last loop and test it for size.   If it’s still not big enough, then I’ll go the whole 7 balls.

I’m thinking about issuing myself another Mag Challenge.  Stay tuned.

SCRABBLE (ca September ? 2002 –February 5, 2020)

On a sad note, Scrabble, crossed the Rainbow Bridge Wednesday.  For the past 18 years, she provided editorial support to authors Sharon Lee and Steve Miller of Liaden Universe fame.  She was the grand dame of the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory. She is survived by her humans, Lee and Miller, and her feline associates Trooper, Belle and Sprite.  She will be missed.

What follows is a little something I scribbled in memoriam of Elizabeth Bear’s cat Maeve.  It bears repeating:

On silent feet, the furry folk arrive,
Leave paw prints all across my days,
Scatter catnaps in my sunshine places.
Oh, how their presence graces me.
Quicker than a winking eye, as agile as a smile,
they stalk the pathways of my heart
And what a great emptiness they leave behind
When it is time for them to go.

WOL©2011

Books Read in 2020

18. Tracker, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
17. *The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Chambers, Becky (reread)
16. Peacemaker, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
15. Protector, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
14. Intruder, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
13. Betrayer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
12. *The Finder, Lorin, J. E.
11. Deceiver, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
10. Conspirator, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
9. Deliverer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
8. *All Systems Red, Wells, Martha
7. Pretender, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
6. Destroyer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
5. *The Stonecutter Earl’s First Christmas, Harris, Adella J.
4. Explorer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
3. *The Mystery of Nevermore, Poe, C. S.
2. *The Ghost of Ellwood, Osborn, Jacklyn
1. Defender, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)

*ebook

Rollercoaster Weather

For a noticeable period of time now, we’ve been having what I call “Rollercoaster Weather.”   For a day or two, we’ll have cold weather, nighttime temperatures will drop below freezing, daytime temperatures will hover in the 40’s and 50’s F (4-10 C), then over the course of about 5 days, everything warms up 15-20 F to highs in the 60’s to 70’s  F (15-21 C) and lows in the 30’s and 40’s F (-1 to 4+ C).  Then, over the next five or so days, it’ll go back down again, up and down, like a rollercoaster.  The whole winter so far has been like that.

To put things in context, my city is at the same latitude as Casablanca, Morocco, which sits at the edge of the Sahara Desert, and we are about 600 miles north-northwest of the Gulf of Mexico (the source of the Gulf Stream, which is what keeps Britain from having the same climate as Maine, Quebec and Newfoundland ).  We’re pretty much the buffer zone between the furthest reaches of the cold weather that sweeps down the Great Plains unopposed and unobstructed from Canada (“Ain’t but one fence between us and Canada, and it’s down. . .”) and the hot humid mess that is the Gulf Coast.  One peek at our average rainfall (16 inches/46.6 cm) and average humidity (44%) will tell you we don’t get much of that hot humid mess up here, which is just as swell. . .  Our climate is classed as “semi-arid” which is to say, on the hot, dry side.  Such cold weather is not unusual for us.  We’re used to crashy-bangy thunderstorms with torrential rain and hail.  However, we are not used to snow.

Yesterday’s high was 34 F (1.1 C) and we got a light dusting of snow overnight.  A winter storm warning was issued.  Last night’s low was 19 F (-7.2 C).  This is what I woke up to this morning.   We got between 3-5 inches of snow (8-13 cm) today, but the high was 54 F (12.2  C). Tonight’s low is predicted to be 17 F (-8.3 C).

Naturally, I had to get out in it.  I had to be at the VA clinic at 8 o’clock for lab tests, and had an appointment at 11 o’clock to see my primary care provider for my yearly health check and — most importantly — to get all my prescriptions renewed for 2020. By the time I was ready to leave, it was actively snowing, big wet flakes.  Fortunately, I didn’t have that far to go to get home, and I made it home upright and in one piece.  Thankfully, I don’t have to stir until Monday, when I have another doctor’s appointment.

I’m also pretty popular with my dentist right now, too.  We were “waiting for the bone graft to take” that was placed in the socket of the molar that  I had pulled last year, which takes 4-6 months.  It is the “middle” molar that was pulled, the one next to the (impacted) wisdom tooth I haven’t had since February 20, 1962.  My mom has large teeth and a large jaw structure, as normal Human size distribution goes, and my dad had small teeth and a small jaw structure.  Wouldn’t you know, both my brother and I inherited my dad’s jaw and my mom’s teeth.  Apparently that size mismatch affects how much clearance there is between my upper and lower front teeth when I open my jaw as wide as I can.  (I can get it open wide enough to get a foot in, but apparently that’s not wide enough!)  My dentist is concerned he might not be able to get the gear into my mouth that he needs to be able to set the post down into the bone for the tooth implant, which I very much want.  I only had 3 working sets of molars (top and bottom) coming into this process.  Now I’m down to 2 sets.   The dentist has made a “mouth guard” sort of thingy which I’m supposed to wear at all times, except when eating, with the aim of getting some slack in my jaw muscles and hopefully gaining enough clearance to proceed with the implant process.  I have to go see the dentist again next week.

In the knitting news, I’m on the fifth skein for my “Assassin’s Daughter’s” Shawl.  I may go ahead and provisionally bind it off to see if I need to add the 6th and 7th skein, or if five will be enough.   Time will tell.