Posts from — April 2009

This is an interesting little piece of information I think more of us knitters should know about.  I received a bill in the mail for a subscription renewal to Knit ‘N Style.  I actually don’t recall ever even knowing about that magazine, but wondered if maybe it had just slipped my mind that, one day in my Internet travels, I’d clicked up a subscription to a new knitting magazine.  So, I surfed on over to the Knit ‘N Style web site.

As it turns out this great subscription price I’d just been offered in the mail was about an extra $20 over what Knit ‘N Style offers on their web site.  And then we noticed a “Reader Alert” on their information page!

Knit ‘N Style Subscription Information.

So it would have been money lost (or at the very least really hard to get back!) if we hadn’t checked.  So, don’t just mindlessly pay your subscription renewals, especially if you don’t remember subscribing!

Thank you Knit ‘N Style for the heads up!  (Looks like a nice mag, by the way!)

Alden Amos interview – Spin-Off.

On the off-chance you haven’t already seen this charming interview – here’s the link.

Wow, I haven’t done a 10-on-Tuesday meme in a while so I think I shall do one this week.

Today’s 10 on Tuesday is “Ten least-liked foods.”

I’m not sure I can think of TEN of them. I love food.

1. Eggplant.
2. Really crunchy toast – only the really crunchy part, because I love toast.
3. French roast coffee.  Hey, coffee is a main food group around here.  I just don’t like the French roast stuff.
4. Hot dogs.  To quote “Gomer Pyle”  “I like ‘em, but I don’t love ‘em.”
5. Most fast food.
6. Okra.
7. Liver.
8. Really spicy/hot foods.
9. Canned soup.  Love homemade soup though.
10. Spam.

Suddenly I’m hungry…

Ok…it’s really a dishcloth in disguise as a doily – or perhaps it’s the other way around.  In any case, I really like knitting this round dishcloth. Depending on the yarn you use, you can get a variety of results. I have noticed the same thing with the cast-off. As the pattern is written, they suggest adding a row to your last wedge before binding it off, and then stitching it to the first wedge.

That works fairly well, but it leaves a ridge when I do it – and I also have had problems with it kind of not really coming out “round”.  Since it’s mainly a dishcloth, or a gift I give to people who already love me – it really doesn’t matter that much.  No one has ever said – ‘oh, I don’t know about this one, it’s really not round you know.’

But still, each time I knit one, I try to come up with a different solution that will make that little issue a non-issue.  This time, I used a provisional cast-on, and then when I got to the last row, I kitchenered the last row to the first row.

It still “shows” – possibly because I needed to pull it up tighter than I did – but at least we’ve got round now – as opposed to mostly round.

Occasionally I get visitors to my blog who are interested in a free pattern for EZ’s baby surprise jacket. Perhaps there is something out there somewhere in Internetland, but if that is the case, then whomever has posted it is violating a copyright. And, in my opinion, if anyone has earned your money for her patterns – it’s Elizabeth Zimmermann.

Really, there will be no end of the times you will shake your head and smile in amazement at the plain and simple genius of EZ’s “unventions.” Having EZ’s books on my bookshelf is kind of like having my favorite aunt at my house anytime I want.  She’s always there with a great story to tell, and some knitting wisdom to impart.  She makes you fearless, and gives you the courage to just “go for it” – rather than think “I could NEVER do that.”

The Baby Surprise Jacket pattern is one of those times you will experience that feeling of “genius!”   You will want to go show all of your friends what you just knit and have them guess what it is – because it doesn’t look like ANYTHING until you fold it up.

The pattern is found in the book The Opinionated Knitter which, if you don’t have a copy, or don’t want to spend the money for it right now,  can very likely be obtained at your local library. (There is also the option of just buying the BSJ pattern from EZ’s daughter Meg at SchoolHouse Press – which I believe is around $3.00.)

Amazon.com carries the book The Opinionated Knitter as well as the DVD that Meg recently made showing a couple of different variations of this neat little piece of knitted oragami.

Here are links to these items at Amazon.  How ever you obtain your pattern – you may find as many others have – that these little sweaters are kind of like eating popcorn – you just have to go back for more.