Athletes - YES! China - NO!

I wrote this and published it in a column on Newsvine.com, but it was too hard for my friends to see, so I have republished it here. Normally, pretty much all I talk about here is knitting - but since this is my forum, here it is - feel free to comment.


Athletes - YES! China - NO!
News Type: Event — Thu Aug 7, 2008 9:44 AM EDT
sports, china, media, olympics, joey-cheek
hudcathy
I am sitting here in a Starbucks in Ocala, FL with steam coming out my ears. Hearing about Joey Cheek's visa being refused by the Chinese govt. for reasons they say they don't have to give, has motivated me to speak out like I have never done before. The Chinese govt. thinks this Olympics is all about them and the "show" they are preparing to carefully craft their image to the world. Things like media having certain internet sites blocked, training young Chinese women to be mass-produced Stepford Wife-like "hostesses, and our own President's refusal to acknowledge the politicizing of these athletic competitions have tainted my excitement about the Olympics - and believe me - I was excited. Every Olympics I can remember, has found me glued to the TV every moment I haven't had to work, sleep, or take care of children. I will have a hard time being enthusiastic tomorrow night watching the opening ceremonies. The delicate dance of the Chinese will only serve to remind me of the heavy-handed hammering the Chinese govt. is not only capable of, but demonstrating before our very eyes.
I can only hope and pray that the US media finds a way to broadcast not only the facts, such as Joey Cheek's case, but the unacceptable nature of the Chinese govt.'s actions. The Olympics haven't even begun - one can only wonder what other horribleness they can come up with. After all, they have effectively controlled the competitions Joey Cheek would have competed in by not allowing him to compete - for no stated reason. He wasn't found to be taking performance-enhancing drugs or anything else that would disqualify him by the Olympic committee. In fact, the Chinese govt. has disqualified a US athlete before he has even had a chance to bunk up in the Olympic village.
People - Olympic lovers everywhere - how can we stay silent?

Urban Dweller Ruffles

Are these buttons not perfect for the Urban Dwellers Ruffles project? (Known commercially as the Anthropologie City Dwellers Cardigan.) They are bamboo, are graduated in size from a large of 1 3/8" to a small of 9/16". They come in packs of 5, so maybe 5 of us could share?!

Ready for Ravelympics 2008!

As a beta member of Ravelry, I have really enjoyed this community of knitters. So it is fun and exciting to be casting on a project as the opening ceremony begins and make sure my project is done before the flame is extinguished 17 days from now. 6018 of us will be at the ready with our yarn and needles at 8pm Beijing time as the opening ceremonies begin. For me that is 8am today! Since it is 7:42am right now - I'm getting excited. All 6018 will cast on at the same time, so that means if you are on the west coast of the US, you will cast on at 5am. On the group site there is a time zone calculator to tell you when 8pm Beijing time is where you are.


This is my project - I call it the Cardithalon! The pattern's name is Hey, Teach! from Knitty, Summer 08 and was designed by the mother of a high school teacher and named in honor of her daughter. I will be participating as part of Team Tampa; 71 members here in the Tampa Bay area.

I better get in the starting blocks!

K9knitters USA, Inc. coming to a town near you!

I said I would talk about dogs - I'm so excited to announce the pending incorporation of K9knitters USA, Inc. as a sister to the UK K9knitters that has been at work for 3 years now. I met Carrie Warr, the powerhouse behind and creator of K9knitters, on Ravelry and she has graciously allowed me to hitchhike on her work. She has over 100 knitters and raises money for 2 dog charities in the UK by knitting and selling dog sweaters and coats to the public. They also take custom orders. They have their wool donated and the knitters all donate their time. Carrie donates her time, plus postage, and other costs related - so it seems 100% of the proceeds of their sales go to the charities.



So that is what I'm going to start! And that's why I want to get up and running with my knitting machine - I don't have time to handknit dog sweaters in the quantity I want, but I sure can by using my knitting machine! I can't even tell you how excited I am about this opportunity to serve humanity by supporting mankind's best friends. Sounds lofty, but that's just how I feel about it. Even one small effort is valuable - and as anyone who has done any charity work will tell you - I'm sure I will get much more out of this than I give. It is a blessing to use my passion for the betterment of others. It's a good thing!



Here is the banner for the K9knitters website:

The Heading is:

K9 Rescue Knitting Club
A Stitch in Time Saves a K9. . .

So now I have to come up with a banner - I'll be working on that and announce it right here at Nature Coast Knitting! Watch for it -

tomorrow - 8/8/08 Ravelympics 2008!!!!

Hotelless in Seattle

What is this? This is my knitting machine - my Toyota KS901 - that I have had for 2 years and have yet to even get set up properly. It is in my office, covered with a part of a sheet leftover from the bassinet I made and the two Christmas stockings I knitted for my DS & DDIL, plus the curtain sheer for the window that is washed, but not hung.

This is my ribber - Toyota KR506 - that goes with my knitting machine. It has been laying on the floor of my bedroom behind a chair, with all the accessories and books, for the last 2 years. I haven't even attempted to set it up.

BUT ALL OF THIS CHANGES on August 22th when I begin an intensive weekend of study at The Knitting School in Seattle! I found them (actually her, Helen) from a machine knitting group on Ravelry. I immediately sent my registration form and check and booked my flight and I'm off for Seattle.

I'm actually getting there Tuesday, 8/19 to do some business, making calls on all the home offices of the corporations there (Microsoft, Nike, REI, Starbucks, etc) to personally introduce them to my "How Does Money Become Wealth?" workshops for their employees, and I leave the next Tuesday, 8/26 which gives me one day after the workshop to schlep around Seattle or cajole Helen into showing me how to use a ribber.

I have never been to Seattle before, in fact, the first time I have ever been to the Northwest was last October when I went to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for 10 days. Beautiful! And for anyone who appreciates nature like I do (remember, I live on Florida's Nature Coast) it was a feast. So now I will be in the Northwest that is all about business. Such creativity in this area! I can hardly wait - my camera will be at the ready.

And The Knitting School is located right downtown in an old, restored, historic brick building! So I decided I had to live the adventure and booked a room at the College Inn. It is right across the street from the University of Washington (college campuses - another passion of mine), and was built in 1909 for the Alaska-Yukon Exposition. There are 27 rooms, each with a wash basin and mirror. Each floor has a communal bathroom and shower - get that - no bathroom in the room! An adventure! I have reservations for Tues., Wed., & Thurs., and then Sun. & Mon. - no reservations for Fri. & Sat. So I could be HOTELLESS IN SEATTLE! I'll find something I'm sure. I'm on the waiting list at the College Inn in case someone doesn't show up, but there's always a room somewhere.

So - starting August 19th I begin a Yukon adventure - exploring a new place, spreading my business, learning something new, and casting my hotel room fate to the winds! Cool -

OMG - I didn't mention dogs like I promised - OK - that will be for next time.

Life is Good!

I'm sitting here at my son and daughter-in-law's house, with my doggies Buffy and Ronda laying here beside me. We had a wonderful dinner last night and Kimberly and I are going to the beach today, rain permitting. It actually doesn't get any better than this.

But close, are some wonderful things that are happening that are bringing my knitting front and center in the enrichment of my life, and hopefully, other lives as well.

First, as many of you can relate - I was organizing my stash, yet again, and made a profound decision. I have decided I do not want to knit with all acrylic yarn. And I have A LOT of acrylic yarn. Now, I'm not a yarn snob, well, I guess I kinda am - but my fingers just don't have fun with acrylic.

When I first started back knitting 3 years ago, I was thrilled at the cornicopia of acrylic yarn found on eBay that I could WIN! So I just stuck my foot - no, my whole leg - in the water of eBay yarn buying! Here is my acrylic stash:

So I found the Angels of Love! They are based in Florida and knit for all the babies they can who need a layette. I mentioned this to my DDIL last night and she already knew of them since the work of Kimberly House, a haven for mothers awaiting the birth of their babies without the support of husband or family, is very close to her heart and a charity she hopes to find more time to support. So fabulous! I'm going to box up this treasure and send it on to them on Monday. I talked with the lovely founder of these Angels of Love and she is beyond thrilled to have this yarn. And she said that all of her knitters, most of whom are retired and/or in assisted living, love this work of knitting for babies - gives their live's purpose and meaning when they aren't able to do a lot more.

So, let's take a count - my Pounds of Love, Homespun, Sport Yarn, etc. is uncluttering almost an entire 50 gal. container in my stash, making me feel good I found a good use for it, giving meaning and purpose to 100 knitters, surrounding new babies with warmth and love, supporting mother's at a time when they most need it, and helping me bond even tighter with my DDIL! WOW - as I said - LIFE IS GOOD!

tomorrow: Another blessing in my life - I'll just give you 3 words - knitting machine, dogs.

Where does everybody get all the time?!

I put just a few projects on Ravelry, and have been trying to download pics and write this blog, and it has taken me hours! Not everything works the way it's supposed to all the time and by the time you get the pics and info collected, well, it just takes time. I am amazed by some of the blogs - like brooklyntweed - that take gorgeous photos of their knitting work, and some - like tienneknits - that posts something wonderful and new almost everyday! Here it has been 7 days since my last post - where did those days go? I have been working and knitting and taking care of my Dad, but gosh, doesn't seem like a whole week. Oh, well.


I do have a few FO's to show. The first is the Perfect Periwinkle Turtleneck Tube Top from Fitted Knits. It was a lovely project, however, I started it with an error. I didn't check for errata before casting on and had the whole neck done and was getting ready to split for the arms when I saw it. The error in the pattern was that you bind off 12 stitches between front and back, and it was just supposed to be 9. I left it, because I left the 3 extra stitches in the front, and I thought it would help with those jiggly parts of a woman's body of a certain age and/or weight right by her underarms. And I do like how it hides those, and it doesn't look skimpy in the back and bra straps don't show, so I'm glad.

And I modified the bottom ribbing because at my age and size, I didn't want to

call attention to my bust as much as the pattern did, so I just stair-stepped the ribbing down from the sides and ribbed all around starting about 1 inch above my waist. I'm really happy with that.

The only problem is that I knitted it in the yarn called for - Cascade 220 - and it's too hot for Florida. I'll knit a matching cardigan for up-north weat and knit another one of Berroco Touche' for Florida wear.



The other FO is the Brioche Rib Top from Verena, the newly published US version of the European tried and true knitting mag. Knit it using Pakucho Organic cotton in
sage and the only mod I added was a slip-stitch vertical row on each shoulder to stabilize the rib so it wouldn't droop. I'm happy with it and it matches a skirt I love really well.

I'm Back!

I guess I haven't been very good about this blogging thing since I haven't posted since last November! But I'm trying. I've been doing a lot of knitting though, and I will attempt to post some memorable projects.

I have been the host/moderator of the Hemlock Ring Blanket KAL on Yahoo and have learned a lot and had a lot of fun. I finished 2 HRB's both out of Cascade Eco Wool - one in gray and one in purple. The one in gray was a gift for my 92 yr. old Pop.

The purple one, I kept myself. I knit this one one on US11's and knit 5 rows in between yo row instead of 4. This made it much easier to block and totally got rid of any puckering.

I knitting now on a really simple free pattern from Berroco - Sharon, and doing it in Cascade Sierra in yello. On a tip from someone on the knitlist, I am knitting and frogging at the same time! Instead of frogging and balling the yarn, and then using it, I am knitting from the ufo - bypassing the separate frogging step. It is very cool!

This is the bassinett I made the skirt and hood for. I did it out of sage 500 count Egyption cotton sheets - very soft! And I knitted the hood cover for the front from the shawl pattern I found at The Thrifty Knitter - the leaf pattern shawl - out of organic cotton. I was happy with the way it came out - notice the light/music/vibrate control - they think of everything these days!



Here is the Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stitch N Bitch knitted in Schachenmayer's denim. After I washed and dried it, it of course shrunk a little (which it's supposed to do) and faded, just like denim jeans. The only problem was, you can see where the ends are woven in. So, from now on, my knitting will be higher quality because I learned the wonderful ends treatment found at Knitting Daily.





Here is the Umbilical Cap from Stitch N Bitch, the off center baby jacket found at f. pea's Free Pattern Fridays, and the drawstring pants from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. All knitted in the same Schachenmayer's denim in 3 different colors. People just ooohed and aaahed over this little outfit!

This is my own design - a bunting knitted in Sublime in ivory and taupe. It is a dream to knit with! I felt okay to put buttons down the front, since they want babies sleeping on their backs now.

So that's it for now - I think I'll go enjoy my family - and maybe do a little knitting -

My 2nd Post!

I started this blog over a year ago to talk about my knitting, and got too busy knitting to post! But I am ready! And the impetus for this is my new GRANDSON!!!! Here is Jackson with his Grammy - ME!

I have done some knitting for Jackson and gifted my DDIL, Amy, with it at her shower. This baby got sooooooo many clothes! I won't be knitting for him, clothes that is, until Christmas 2008! But I do have a lovely kit from Morehouse for a dragon he might get before that - ssshhhhh don't tell anyone - it will be a surprise! hahahahahahaha

Here is the knitting I have done so far:

Hello! My First Blog Post!

I have been lurking about on the KnitList and reading other blogs and just had to put in my 2 cents. I've been back to knitting since December, 2004 and am hooked - stick a fork in me, I'm done! I have had such a great time buying yarn - on eBay, at my wonderful favorite LYS in Tampa, at WalMart, actually anywhere I can find yarn. My stash is WAAAAAAYYYYYYY too big, but I have projects planned for all of it. My spare bedroom is totally taken over.

I also have acquired a daunting supply of patterns. It has been an absolutely blast getting free patterns off the web and buying pattern books, knitting books and copying stitches and ideas from others on the list and on their blogs.

I couldn't go on without giving a shout out and a thanks to The Knitting Fiend - what a fabulous blog!!!!! The photos, the knowledge, the ideas, the talent for explaining complicated ideas and directions in a way I can understand - WOW -
all I can say is thanks - I wouldn't miss a day without pulling up your site.

I've just posted on my very first KAL, Chic Knits Ariann. I am loving the pattern, the yarn, and participating in the knitting world I have watched for so long.

So, welcome to my world. I have done a lot of knitting that I am proud of and will post pictures in the future. Come on back!