Dragging my feet into the 21st century

I've never been accused of being an early adopter. I don't own a food processor, since my knife works perfectly well. I drive a 20 year old Toyota with a manual transmission. When I had a shop, I had a cash register, not a point of sales system.

So it should come as no surprise that I am accustomed to using an overhead projector when I teach. I like the immediacy of being able to write on my transparencies to illustrate a point. Besides, I don't own a laptop.
I'm headed to Kansas City this weekend to teach at The Studio Knitting & Needlepoint Annual Retreat. When the retreat organizer asked the facility representative about an overhead projector, she was met with peals of laughter. It seems I'm being forced into an upgrade.

Fortunately, I was given an iPad for Christmas. (Thank you, Susie). And contrary to popular belief, it seems the iPad can actually be used for more than Twitter and Words With Friends. A Google search for "best presentation apps for iPad" pointed me at SlideShark.
I've spent the past two days re-creating my visuals in PowerPoint (who knew I had this already on my computer? not me) and uploading them to SlideShark, from which I've downloaded them to my iPad. It has been a steep learning curve, but I'm ridiculously proud of myself. I should be able to project from the iPad using the LCD projector which seems to have replaced the overhead projector while I wasn't paying attention. Wish me luck.

What have I been knitting?
Entrelac samples. I've been asked to teach Basic Entrelac Techniques at FashionKnit in Walnut Creek in March. I haven't taught entrelac since I had the shop, so I've been making samples and developing an outline. Call FashionKnit to sign up - I'd love to see you in class.


And I started a new pair of socks last night, since I'll need travel knitting this weekend. Sitting in my chair watching PBS, I realized I was looking at David Attenborough while knitting with yarn in a color called.....David Attenborough. I know. It's Skinny Bugga from the late lamented Sanguine Gryphon. Merino, cashmere and nylon.

If you want some Skinny Bugga of your own, you can get it from Cephalopod Yarns

Have a great weekend.

Go Niners!

I'll miss the game because I'll be in transit, but my thoughts will be with them.

A random collection of images and thoughts

1. Here is another new design. Yes, I was busy last fall.

This is the Lincoln Logs Blanket, made out of Riveting Worsted.  This yarn is the heavier version of Kollage Yarns popular Riveting, made from recycled blue jeans.

The blanket is worked in modular squares.  The sample shown in 9 squares - just perfect for the kids in the back of the car. The yarn is soft, and durable and machine washable, so you won't mind if the Icee gets spilled, or if the blanket falls out of the car in the parking lot. For the couch at home, I'd make the throw with 16 squares.


Find the pattern at Kollage Yarn's website, or on Patternfish.






2. I finished a pair of socks for me. These have been on the needles for over a year, as a pick-up-and-go project. The pattern is just a basic sock, with the leg worked in alternating panels of stockinette stitch and seed stitch, each 3 stitches wide. The yarn,  however, is anything but ordinary.  It is Saki from Prism Yarns, a superwash merino and nylon blend in a color called Ember. The toasty, caramel brown tones look good enough to eat. Even better, look what Laura Bryant put on the back side of the label:

Don't you just love little surprises like that?

3. I've started another sweater out of handspun yarn (hooray!). This is Polwarth from Abstract Fiber. The top was dyed the most gorgeous blood red shade.  It looks rustier in this photo than it does in life.
I spun it as a 2-ply, and I'm getting about 5 3/4 sts to the inch.
This will be a simple pullover - boxes of stockinette stitch divided by bands of seed stitch.  Are you sensing a theme here? I do love the combination of stockinette and seed stitch - such a simple, elegant texture.

4.  If you had told me the 49ers would beat the Saints in a shoot out, I'd have said you were crazy.  I knew the Niners could win, but I thought it would be a low scoring game. Ha! Most. Exciting. Football. Game. Ever.
And I was certain the road to the Superbowl would go through Lambeau Field.  Yet here we are, three days away from a Championship game at home against the New York Giants. I don't know if I can stand it. Go Niners!

5. A bit of a rant. I've had a several opportunities in the past couple of weeks to be in a waiting room with the general public. In three cases, there were women in the waiting room accompanied by small children in varying numbers. In all three cases, the women spent the entire time occupied by their cell phones, while the children had no diversion at all. Why would you expect a small child to sit quietly without entertainment, when you are apparently unable to do so yourself?  Now I'm not saying every kid needs a cell phone of their own (God forbid). But a deck of cards? Paper and pencil? A book, for heaven's sake? Before my son had a Game Boy, we had activity books with mazes and dot-to-dot and word search games to play. Are such things obsolete?
That is all.

Are you ready for some Football?

Tonight, the San Francisco 49ers play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. Why do I know this?  Because I love football.

One of the reasons autumn is my favorite time of the year is football.  Few things please me more than the prospect of a Sunday spent in front of the television watching football and knitting. Football and knitting are perfect partners.  It takes a little over 3 hours to play a 60 minute game, so there is lots of time when you don’t really need to watch. The play by play announcers generally do a great job of describing the action, so you can follow much of the game with your ears while you eyes and hands are busy with your knitting. If you do happen to miss a crucial play because you were, say, turning a cable, you’ll get to see it on instant replay.

My father was a football fan (he loved the Rams when they were in LA), but it wasn’t until I was in my 20’s that I caught the bug.  I had a succession of boyfriends who spent Sundays devoted to football.

Back in those days I bore a disturbing resemblance to Julia Roberts in Runaway Bride- I was perfectly willing to shape my preferences to match those of the man of the year. Backpacking? Sure. Run a 10K? Count me in. Play darts in grungy bars? Sounds good. Times have changed.

An appreciation for NFL football (along with single malt scotch and great wine) has stayed with me. I have no interest in the game at the college level - it is professional football that floats my boat.

I came to the game in the 1980’s while living in San Francisco.  That was a great time to be a 49er fan.  Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Jerry Rice, Roger Craig – all under the direction of Bill Walsh – the Niners were the dominant team of the decade. In the years since, the team has had its highs and lows. There have been many years where the celebrations were few and far between. This year has been the best year in a very long time. Under the leadership of Jim Harbaugh, we are 10-3 going into tonight’s game.

What is it about football that is so captivating?  I love the physicality of the game. I love that football requires both power and control.  I love the intricacy of the game. The best players are highly intelligent, analytical, and quick decision makers. I love the emotion of the game – the struggle, the drama, the elation. And I love that the emotion is collective. The fans are part of the game.

I also like the toned butts in those uniforms.  They don’t call them tight ends for nothing.

There are three games left in the regular season, and then we go to the playoffs. I’ll be scheduling my life around 49er games for at least another month.

If you need to reach me this evening, you know where to find me.