RIP MJ

Couldn't resist ...

Eat it --

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyfcOriVKBM>

Thriller --

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMnk7lh9M3o>

;) Dux

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted. (Martin Luther King Jr.)

Freebie Group wants to keep up with you on Twitter

Freebie Group wants to keep up with you on Twitter To find out more about Twitter visit http://twitter.com/i/66d9fe13d06a73e12f7b8fc39c92ed8b27f1239b Thanks, — The Twitter Team About Twitter Twitter is a unique approach to communication and networking based on the simple concept of status. What are you doing? What are your friends doing—right now? With Twitter, you may answer this question over SMS or the Web and the responses are shared between contacts. This message was sent by a Twitter user who entered your email address. If you'd prefer not to receive emails when other people invite you to Twitter you can opt-out

Meriter's Community Resources Guide

This is updated as of December 2008. I used it as a resource for a paper I wrote this spring. It's pretty darned complete, and should give us a good jumping off point.

Here's the address:

<http://www.meriter.com/living/homecare/communityresources_dane.pdf>

And I'm attaching a pdf you can print. It's a 20-pager.

One on one

One of my favorite fact checking sites (FactCheck.org) and what it has to say about another of my favorite fact checking sites (snopes.com).

<http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/is_snopescom_run_by_very_democratic_proprietors.html>

Dux RN

I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours. (Stephen Henry Roberts, 1901 - 1971)

punishmentality

My new fave WOTD:

punditocracy

From Newsweek: "Clinton's 'Classy' Exit Strategy

<http://tinyurl.com/5m7cdd>

;) Dux

An evil mind is a constant solace.

Google logo today

Trés cool, and it's a clickable link.

;) Dux

Gods don't kill people. People with gods kill people.

Scarf Tales — Editor's Cut

I started scarf #3 the very next day after I finished scarf #2, and finally got the scarf that I remembered. This scarf looks more crocheted than knit, and has the looseness I envisioned. It flows, it drapes, it sparkles, and it has already been stolen by Eldest Daughter (it was loomed with LB Inc in "Blue Shades," a favorite of hers).


Like scarves #1 (LB Inc "Copper Penny") and #2 (LB Inc "Autumn Leaves"), this one took only an evening to make (I'm not including frogging and experimenting time here!). It ended up like the others at somewhere between four- and five-feet long, and has a six-inch fringe on each end. Each scarf took less than one ball of yarn (they run a little over 100 yards).

Scarf #3 uses a "triple-wide" stitch, which is the exact same stitch as I described for scarf #2 (the "double-wide"), but which is wrapped around three pegs instead of two. So the pattern is exactly the same, repeated until you reach your scarf's desired length:

— Row 1 e-wrap and knit off (knit stitch)

— Row 2 purl stitch back

— Row 3 e-wrap 3 pegs for each stitch, knit off the first peg, then anchor that stitch and lift the loose loop off the tops of the second and third pegs. Move across the loom wrapping three pegs for each stitch.

Repeat.

The fringes were simply 12" lengths of the same ribbon yarn tied on using a lark's head knot. [sigh] Youngest Daughter has already chosen LB Inc "Carnival" for her scarf.

Scarf Tales (Take 3)

Part of the reason that I frogged this project so many times was that I was hung up on my "vision" for this scarf. I had gone to a pediatric oncology seminar last spring, and fell in love with the long, skinny scarf that the woman presenter was wearing. During breaks, my mind kept wandering to thoughts of what it would take to loom that scarf. It looked like it was made from a bright metallic ribbon yarn, it had a pretty fringe on each end, and it moved softly as she moved.

LB Incredible looked like the right yarn, but I never got around to buying it because $6 a ball was a little much to just "play around with." I finally got my chance last week when Michael's put it on sale for $2, and I snatched up several balls (note: never yarn shop with kids who loom — they are yarn magnets and you will walk out of the store with waaay more yarn than you intended to buy).

I loomed and frogged my first scarf nearly a dozen times, yet I still wasn't satisfied. Oh, it is pretty and I'll wear it, but it wasn't the scarf I remembered. So back to the looms for more experimenting. Another half-dozen frogs later, I finally hit on it — a combination of stitches that was working for me, and I was starting to create the scarf I envisioned.


This scarf was loomed as a three-row pattern, with the same three rows repeated for the entire length. I was still using an ITA loom as a rake, but I switched to a smaller one that would be easier to handle in my lap. Row one was cast on as an e-wrap around eight pegs. Then I e-wrapped again and knit off that row. The second row was done as a purl stitch. These two rows became my "anchor" stitches for the pattern, and by repeating them throughout I ended up with a nice flat scarf.
Okay, row number three. I really do wish I had a video camera to take pictures of how I'm doing this, because explaining it in words makes it much more complicated than it really is. Bear with me —

You are working an eight-peg panel. For row three, you are doing a variation of a simple e-wrap.

— Take your working yarn (it's on the inside of your loom) and wrap it from behind peg 1 around peg 2 (inside to outside), then bring it back around peg 1.

— Knit off peg 1, then put your finger on the working yarn still looped on peg 1 to ANCHOR it.

— GENTLY lift the loose upper loop off peg 2. (You now have a big loop of yarn on the inside of the loom that extends behind peg 1.)

— CONTINUE TO ANCHOR that loop on peg 1, and make your next wrap from behind peg 2 around peg 3 (again, inside to outside).

— Knit off PEG 2, then move your anchoring finger to PEG 2.

— GENTLY lift the loose upper loop off peg 3. (Your second big loop of yarn now extends behind peg 2.)

— Wrap around pegs 3 and 4. Knit off peg 3, anchor peg 3's loop, and lift the loose loop off peg 4.

— Continue to wrap your pegs this way (double-wide) until you are past peg 8. At peg 8 you will be wrapping 8 and 9, but will be removing the loop from peg 9.

— To begin the next row, e-wrap all of the pegs back from 8 to 1. When I do this, I wrap the first two pegs and knit them off as I wrap them, which helps anchor those very loose stitches. When all of your pegs are e-wrapped, knit them off. THIS IS THE FIRST ROW OF YOUR SECOND SET. Now do a row of purl stitches back to the other end.

— Continue with your double-wide wrap back, and repeat these three rows until you have the length you want.

If you can follow these directions for a double-wide stitch, then you'll find variation #3 a piece of cake.

Scarf Tales (Take 2)

Three scarves loomed this week from Lion Brand Incredible yarn, three completely different results.

This flat nylon yarn has a lot of body to it, giving it a real springiness that makes it a challenge to work with. But it also has some gorgeous, super-saturated colors and a metallic glint that I knew would make it perfect for a skinny fashion scarf, and I was determined to figure out how to loom with it.

For my first attempt at a scarf, I chose Lion Brand Incredible in "Copper Penny" (and boy, is that metallic ribbon hard to photograph!), and an In The Attic large gauge round loom.

I loomed this scarf on an ITA adult-size large-gauge round loom as a flat panel, and simply alternated rows of knits and purls (to keep it flat). But I added a little twist — to lighten it up, I "super-sized" my stitches. I wanted the stitches loose so that you could see it was made from a ribbon yarn. As I wrapped the ribbon, I went around two pegs for each wrap, and then skipped a peg in between. As a result, for this eight-peg-wide scarf, I used about 24 pegs. This prevented the stitches from tightening up and flattening out the yarn, and really allowed you to see the colors.

I liked the way this scarf ended up, but it wasn't the scarf I planned. Scarf #1 came out a little boxier and denser than I wanted, but after hanging in my closet for a week it has loosened up a bit, and has a nice flow to it. Not quite the drape I wanted, but I got closer with scarf #2.

Scarf Tales (Take 1)

Have you ever bought a yarn because you fell in love with it, had a plan for it, and then not been able to get from point A to point B?

Oh I am having a devilish time with this Lion Brand Incredible yarn I just bought. It is an absolutely gorgeous metallic ribbon yarn, dyed in rich, eye-popping variegated colors. I've been lusting after it for months, but at $5.99 a ball it was just too pricey for an experiment. Then Michael’s put it on sale for $2 a ball this week, so I bought it – in fact I bought three skeins of it.

My plan was to loom myself a long, slinky fashion scarf from it, something I could drape over business-casual to dress it up a little. I've made tons of skinny scarves for The Girls and my friends, but this was going to be for me. I've made scarves out of fun furs, and fancy furs, and bling bling and nubblies. I've used cottons, and wools, and silks, and even banana silks. I love scarves, but nearly every one I've loomed has been gifted away. Well, when this yarn came on sale, I knew it was my turn.

I have now frogged the silly thing nine times. The Lion Brand catalog claims that Incredible “drapes like silk.” Nuh unh! This stupid ribbon yarn has more body than Oprah's, uhm, hair. It has a life of its own, and is so wild and springy that my vision of a silky accent is turning into something that looks like it should be tamed with a whip and a chair. I have tried everything, and this yarn (and we have really stretched the definition of “yarn,” now haven't we?) just won't lie flat. I even tried pressing a section of it overnight between heavy books. Did it make any difference? I lifted off the books this morning, and it just stuck its tongue out at me and sneered.

Well, at the very least I am inventing combinations of loom stitches that haven’t been tried before, and I am nearing the end of scarf number one. It's not what I envisioned, but it is wearable, and one-of-a-kind. But I'm not done; the yarn war is not over. This one comes off the loom tonight, and I already have a plan for skein number two.

Take that, Incredible!