Blog Controversies

Controversies always contain a hook that reaches out and compels people to jump into the fray.

Religion
I wanted to clarify one of my comments on the previous blog entry. The way I wrote it insinuated I thought the church was to blame for the tragedy of the woman stoning her children. I really don't think that's true, or at least I sure hope not. I was just trying to say that the fundamentalist neighbor who was interviewed had to make sure to say the church that the woman belonged to was a "good one". Meghan's comments expressed what I was trying to say much better than I was able to. I also was very moved by what Renee had to say and how even-handedly she said it. Thanks all for your thoughtful comments.

Reader Input
On a much lighter note, a kind reader sent this to me, so I thought I'd share it.



To be clear, I do NOT want this cartoon to start a round of discussions as to whether knitting needles can be brought onto airplanes. There have been more of those conversations on the various knitting lists than I would care to discuss.

Another reader asked whether I secure the yarn label into every ball I wind, even if I have multiple balls of the same color. That would depend. If the entire sweater is done in one color, then I don't secure any labels. If I have two or three of a color, I definitely secure a label into each one.

I was also glad that a reader mentioned the McMorran Yarn Balance. They are available at a lot of fiber stores that focus on spinning and definitely online. I've never used one, but I'm told they are pretty accurate. On a related note, I've also read that yarn can weigh significantly different amounts depending on how dry or humid the surrounding air is. The amount of moisture that the yarn holds varies a lot, so the weight will as well, so you can't always determine that one 50g DK weight yarn will have the same yardage as another 50g DK weight yarn.

Another question was about how I split the blocks on the front of the Chock-a-Block cardigan, and that maybe I should have reduced them by the width of the button band. That's an interesting thought which I had never considered, since the width of the front is definitely a little wider than the back. Fortunately, the new design is a pullover, so I won't have to worry about it, but for future sweaters, I'll have to try adjusting for that.

Marilyn, the Knitting Curmudgeon asked me if I owned a wooly board (and had to brag that she does...hmph!). I don't own one, but I have directions for making one out of relatively simple materials. The husband reviewed the materials list and the instructions, and he wants to discuss it further before he commits to making one for me. Here's someone's picture of their version of the homemade wooly board.



If anyone would like the instructions, you can find them on the web by clicking here.

Fair Isle Progress
Okay, I got another 3 cm done since the last update, so I'm up to about 9 or 10 out of the required 16. I'm hoping to be back up to the neck steek by the end of this week. At which point I will resume showing pictures of the garment which don't look the same every day.


Other Works In Progress
Just so you don't think I've forgotten, I haven't done any work recently on any of the following:

1. Double Ruffle Crochet Scarf
2. Self Patterning Sock
3. Hemp Pullover
4. Baby Alpaca Bed Spread
5. Cone Yarn Sock

I'll be back to some of them when I get this Fair Isle sweater done. Alice has been plaguing me for WAY too many years. I need to finish this.