Batman Quotes

I have been enjoying watching full versions of the old Batman series on WADL lately.

Recently I saw an episode called "Hot Off The Griddle" (season 2 episode 3) featuring Julie Newmar as Catwoman, and one of the dialogue sequences had me giggling. I was unable to find a video clip of it (part of that scene was cut from a shortened version of the episode readily available on Youtube) but here is the quote:

(scene: Batman and Robin are tied to two large grills on top of a building. )

Catwoman: The reflectors have been greased with margarine, to make you all the more (pause) friable.

Robin: Holy Oleo!

Catwoman (with a puzzled look): I didn't know you could yodel.

For more Batman Quotes (not that one, that one I typed in while watching the show) you can go

HERE to Wikiquote

Reality Check Cashed

Hmmm.... Oscar reads my blog. He asked me some kind and pertinent questions yesterday which can be summed up pretty much as "Are you insane?"

You see, I have a tendency to get the bit between my teeth and ride roughshod over my health. It is such a great feeling to accomplish something that I tend to add more and more somethings to the list until I get overwhelmed.

Not very wise, especially as it has happened over and over again since he met me, and even more often BEFORE he met me.

So I am going to do what I can, but take the pressure off accomplishing it all before Sunday.

It will feel wonderful to have my obligations done, but not if I end up sick again.

It is good to have a wise husband, and even better now that I have started listening to him!

So, I will see what I finish, but not go nuts trying to finish everything.

I Love Being Able to be Busy

First, Happy Birthday Kenny!!

Now on to the main post:

For so long I couldn't plan ahead much. I could never tell how well I would be.

In the past year, the worst of this has been solved by figuring out what caused my colitis attacks.

I still have fibro and a few other 'issues' but the worst and least predictable was the colitis.

This year as we drove home from Convocation I realized how much energy I still had compared to the same trip home last year.

I decided that I can probably plan an outing or 2 each week, to go to the library or meet friends. We will be seeing Amanda, Tommy and Sean on Sunday, and plan to visit Liz, Tucker and Levi on Wednesday.

I also sat down yesterday to start my to-do list. I generally make these toward the end of the month to be sure I am on track with obligations.

This one looks insane, but because of the amount I have been able to do so far I think it is definitely doable.

Some of the obligations have soft due-dates, only a few of them are firm.

I have around 10 books left to review, 3 of which are read. (I can read 2 books a day, no problem), and then write about 2 reviews a day form books read previously.

I have 3.5 pattern samples left to knit (including one that I am expecting yarn for) and 3 patterns to modify for Knit Picks. I have one pattern that needs to be double checked, but is otherwise finished for them, too.

I have a new pattern mostly written that needs a little number crunching, due March 1st, the sample from that pattern (about 25% finished) needs to be in about a week afterward for photography.

That takes care of the February obligations.

Then I have an idea for a shawlette that will be next on the list, followed by some cool slogan mitts, and a goth pair of mitts, a pair of socks based on the Equalizer hat, another based on the Kiva Bag and three more shawls. And someone wanted a pair of socks based on Elijah and Cherry bark.

Then there are the sketches I made last year for summer tank tops.

And the collection of finger puppets I want to make into an ebook.

That should take care of March :-}

In the mean time I am working on an interview article, too.

It feels great to be busy again!

Now back to the Chicken and Noodles I'm cooking.

Opportunity to Help

Sometimes you just have to do something to help. Mitrian is a fellow crafter whom I know through my group Rovers, on Ravelry. Last week, Mitrian posted the following about her friend, Liz:

I hope it’s ok to post this here…

I have a friend who’s disabled and about to lose her medical insurance. She’s waiting for an answer to her last SSDI appeal (cause somehow, they think she can work even though she can barely walk and can’t even sit up for long).

So I created an LJ auction to try to raise money to pay for her medical insurance and prescriptions. More info is there, and I’ve listed some items I’m donating to start things off. (Including 358 yards of hand-painted and -spun merino/cashmere blend.)

If it’s not ok to post this here, please let me know and I’ll delete it. If it is ok, though - please at least go take a look? Bid on something if you like it, or signal-boost?

Thanks!

Of course I assured her it was fine to post it on Rovers, then I followed a link on the main LJ profile page to the story behind the auction, (Here). It touched me, so I am blogging it today to spread the word. If you are moved to do so, please take a look at the items available, or pass on the links to help spread the word. Thank you :-}

Here is Liz's story from the site:

Hi everyone! I want to tell you about my friend Liz. Some of you may know her on LJ as denelian.

Liz is wonderful. She is funny, creative, a talented writer, and one of the smartest people I know. She has a slightly warped sense of humor, an incredible imagination, and a healthy appreciation of the absurd. She's currently attending OSU and working on a dual degree: a BS in Journalism and a BA Political Science. In the time I have known her, she has been an amazing source of support and sanity-checking.

But now, Liz needs help.

She has some serious medical problems, which I am sure she would not be comfortable having listed publicly in detail. The combination of them, however, has taken a huge toll on her - she basically cannot lift or move one of her legs, and can no longer get dressed, bathe, or go anywhere without help. She is only allowed to walk 50 feet, and that with a cane or walker. She can only sit up for up to 30 minutes before the pain becomes unbearable. Despite several surgeries, her hip is not improving. She is in severe and chronic pain, even with heavy medication - when I asked, she said her usual pain level starts off at about an 8 out of 10 each day, and only goes up from there.

And somehow, she has been managing to pass her college classes. Even to do quite well in most of them. Until the last few quarters, when the lack of accessible classrooms and university facilities has made it literally impossible for her to get to her classes. Her hip problems mean that even if she can get to a class, she cannot sit up through it.

Her health problems have forced her to drop a lot of classes, the last few quarters, because she literally cannot get to the lectures, and cannot remain sitting through them. This has caused her GPA to drop from a 3.5 to a 2.8. But that is not the biggest problem.

See, the financial aid Liz has been getting for school is based on how many units of classes are taken. Not the number completed, but the number scheduled. So if a class is dropped, or a Withdrawal is filed, it still factors into the total units counted for financial aid. Liz has had to drop at least one class per quarter since the beginning of 2008, partly due to unanticipated complications (MSRI) after one of her hip surgeries, which cost her an entire quarter's worth of classes.

So now, she has not yet completed her degree, but has accumulated a lot of credit hours that are counted only on the financial aid paperwork. The maximum credit hours permitted to continue receiving financial aid through the programs she has been receiving it are 230. Including the classes she just had to drop, due to inability to get to the classes, she now has accumulated 233.

This puts her over the maximum number of hours allowed by her financial aid. This means she will lose her financial aid, and will not be able to attend school next quarter.

And that's bad, but there's worse. You see, the only medical insurance Liz has is through her enrollment in the university. So when she is no longer enrolled, in a month or so, she will have no medical coverage. Her university allows students to purchase medical insurance for one quarter after their enrollment ends, so she has the option to buy another three months' insurance.

Her prescriptions alone, without insurance, would cost well over $1,000 per month. With her current coverage, they're still around $300.

Yet paying for a quarter's-worth of medical coverage through the university would only cost about $600 - for 3 months.

Liz has applied for Social Security Disability, but has been denied twice so far. They acknowledge that she can barely walk, can't really move one of her legs, and cannot sit for long - yet, somehow, they say there is still work she can do. Liz has filed yet another appeal, and will be contacting a SSDI attorney if she is again denied. (She was told to expect a letter from SSA with a decision Really Soon Now, so hopefully there will be good news.)

I know that, with no job (or ability to get to a job) and no financial aid for school, Liz is in a rather desperate situation. Without her medication, she will get worse - and issues that are just barely manageable now will quickly become dangerous.

Liz is not a person who likes to ask for help. She remains, despite her pain and disabilities, as independent as possible. Yet this is not something she can pay for - her only income lately has been from financial aid for school, and that is about to suddenly end. She needs help, as much as she does not want to admit it.

So, I am asking the internet for help on her behalf. I created this comm to set up an LJ auction, and I will start it off with several items. I am hoping to raise enough money to pay for a few months of medical coverage and prescriptions for Liz - to buy time until her SSDI claim is approved, or until she can regain financial aid for school and have her insurance again covered as part of university fees.

Please help, if you can, by bidding on items up for auction, by donating items to be auctioned, or by signal-boosting this post and comm. Thank you.

A very special time

Yes, I had a wonderful time with Oscar at Convocation. But the really special part of this weekend was Friday the 19th, when Tucker and Liz presented us with our first Grand-Nephew, Levi.

Gone for a Few Days

I'm heading off for Convocation in a few hours.

I am looking forward to the lovely people I will meet and classes I can take.

Oscar promises this will be the beginning of monthly social activities for me.

This past year I can count on one hand the number of times I was able to socialize. NOT good for me.

Anyway, See you in a few days! (We return Sunday evening).

Useful Things

Today I made a purse to carry around at the convention with me. It is the perfect size for carrying the room key card, my ID and some cash, and yet not get in the way as a standard over-the-shoulder purse does when riding my 'steed'.

(based on the Hot Pink Bracelet Purse pattern) Of course I added some sparkly beads.

I used my brand new ergonomic crochet hook set, which I LOVE!!!!!

I made the whole purselet in one sitting and my wrist and hand doesn't hurt at all!!!!

Newest Kiva Bag

Today I finished the Knit Picks version of the Kiva bag. It's the same pattern just highlighting Wool of the Andes yarn and incorporating their specific abbreviations.

Better!

I am feeling much better today, the gallon of water I drank yesterday must have helped :-}

I am focused on getting ready for Convo, which includes finishing a few tasks. I just uploaded a review on First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost, and have one more review to write today on Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder. Then I have one more sample to finish knitting (which will leave one more to go) and will need to edit the patterns for Knit Picks. I plan to mail them out tomorrow or Thursday. The final sample and pattern can wait until we are back.

Part of getting ready for Convo includes getting ready for the week of recovery time afterward, so today I am making hamburger gravy, potatoes and green beans to have in the freezer as ready meals next week.

On the Otterwise front, I was excited to learn several people have chosen my patterns to knit for the Ravelympics! The Kiva Bag, the Aconite Shawl, the Equalizer Hat, Corydalis Cowl and Wild Cherry Bark Mitts are all popular choices :-} (Jaala did a lovely Corydalis Cowl in lettuce green Malabrigo)

I will be having my long-promised contest next week, too. I have two more patterns to load to the site, than I'll be set!

(The image up top is some non-work knitting I've been doing, a Miss Marple sock.)

My favorite song/video today

Success as a Consequence, Not a Goal

I have had a rough week. The fibro I mentioned in an earlier post. Later that day and for the following day I had a horrible allergy/colitis attack. I finally thought to read the label on the 'safe' food (Michigan Brand Cottage Cheese) I had eaten as a treat, and there it was, they now use citric acid. So yesterday I was very much under the weather, slept as much as I could, and knocked back lots of water to try and clear the toxins.

Today I feel slightly better, but still have all the aches, and the headache, and the fogginess whether it be from the allergy attack or the fibro, who knows.

At any rate, I have been fretting about the work I should have been doing the past few days. (book reviews, sample knitting, pattern polishing, getting ready for the 4 day trip to Convocation etc.)

This morning I read an article by Hillary Rettig in my Romance Writers Report that helped me gain some perspective. (link is to one of her blog posts which discusses a similar topic)

She paraphrases the quote from which I took my post's title today.

"Success is a consequence and must not be a goal." Gustave Flaubert

The upshot (for me) being that it is better to approach your work with a certain level of detachment, focus on the tasks, rather than the result, do what you can, and not hold yourself up to judgement based on what you think you should achieve.

It is not easy. I definitely have a wide streak of perfectionism when it comes to what I produce whether it be writing or a pattern, but this helped gain some insight on my recent self-castigation.

By relaxing my self-imposed deadlines and standards I am more able to focus and do what I can, and will accomplish more today than I might otherwise. And it will be fine.

Happy Valentine's Day!

(image from those collected on Innatelygray.com)

Flare Not Flair

I woke up to day 9 of one of the worst fibro flares I've had. For those of you with fibro, you know what I mean, for those without, it sucks.

(Edited to add: I had a really good day a week ago, after a week where I was not good. So this is really day 7 in a row, day 13 out of 14)

Pain, yadda yadda muscles feel like wood, yadda yadda, Feeling like you are trapped in a never ending Swedish deep tissue massage without the cute Swedish masseur, etc.

The pain sucks, but yesterday and today the brain fog has become so noticeable I can practically see it filling the corners of the room.

I am glad the fog held off until after the Blog tour.

I am glad I am about half done with important sample knitting and can stick to stuff just to keep my hands busy.

I am glad my next due date for pattern submission is March 1st.

I am glad this is now, and not next week when it would seriously impact my one big fun event of the year (4 days at Convocation).

I am glad I finally gave in and realized it's a flare, rather than fighting against the obvious as I did the first 5 days.

Now I can rest, and get as much sleep as possible, and hope it goes away soon.

And watch lots of vintage no-brainer tv.

Yep, it sucks, but it won't last forever.

As long as it's over by Wednesday, it will be ok. (Convo is Thursday).

We have a WINNER!!!!!

Wendy, comment #7 (randomly chosen by Oscar) is the winner of the Knitcircus #9 Pattern Collection!!! (including my own beloved Espalier shawl! No, it really is beloved, I have a friend who I gifted it to when she fell deeply in love with it. Well, she has modelled for me for a while now, with no pay except for an occasional knitted object).
ANYway, Congratulations Wendy!!!!

Crafting and Charity, a Chat with Jaala Spiro

(Edited to add, Wendy of comment #7 was the lucky winner!)

When I heard Editor Jaala Spiro was looking for bloggers to host stops on a Knitcircus blog tour, I got right in line for a visit.
I have been a subscriber for a while now, and was delighted to hear the magazine was going digital. For me it means all those lovely articles will be accessible through my lap top instead of having to hunt down my physical copy of the magazine, and that rather than having to print off a pattern, I can just pull it up on the screen for the tricky bits. In a larger world view, it means the sense of responsibility with which Knitcircus was started is being carried one step further. The original goal of having a lovely magazine springboard the ability to donate to Heifer International and Kiva.org will continue, and with the move to digital, the magazine will have a larger circle of readers and a much smaller environmental impact.

I have been looking forward to her visit here, I have been eager to learn more about using a publication for charitable funding, and delve into her own thoughts crafting, and giving.

Read to the end for details on winning the complete Issue 9 pattern collection!

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Jaala, welcome to Otterwise!

(me) There are many generous people in the world, but crafters as a general rule seem to go above and beyond. Is that a true perception? If so, why do you think that crafters tend to be so generous with time and funds when compared to non-crafters?

(Jaala) That’s something I wonder myself; watching people on Ravelry and Etsy jump in to figure out ways of helping in the wake of the Haitian earthquake really made me proud. This may sound simplistic, but as a group, fibercrafters are predominantly women, and women tend to have more well-developed senses of compassion and empathy as a group than men. As a subgroup of women, crafters spend time specifically creating something for other people to enjoy; the idea of translating your time into something to enhance someone else’s life gets built in to the work that we do. Crafting for other people by its nature is a generous act, so it may also be that people who choose crafts select themselves out as folks who are willing to take time out to create for and think about others. I don’t see a huge leap from creating a hat for your son to knitting a hat for a baby in need or, if that’s not going to help, selling that hat or pattern and giving the money created to the baby in need.

Knitters and crafters may also be driven to generosity by the desire to use up their stash—maybe your boyfriend doesn’t love that fluffy yellow alpaca and you already made a sweater out of it; a crafty gal knows she can donate that yarn to a prison knitting program or knit a scarf for a battered women’s shelter and erase stash guilt!

What do you personally gain from the generosity of Knitcircus? Have the results been all you wished for?

People purchasing the magazine have made it possible for me to donate more to KIVA and Heifer than I would have ever been able to alone, so that’s exciting. Part of the reason we’ve moved online stems from a desire to be able to bring more readers in, make the magazine more successful and increase our ablility to donate.

We held our first-ever Hat Circus event last year, and we had a big turnout—more people than I ever expected attended and we were able to sew polarfleece hats and scarves for 30 children in the Milwaukee area who needed warm clothes. That warmed the cockles of my heart and exceeded my expectations.

(photo is of only part of the donations generated by Hat Circus)

How will the new electronic format increase Knitcircus' ability to support charity? Are there any new charitable plans in the works taking advantage of the larger online platform?

We hope that having more readers will allow us to support our charities more fully; because of the Haiti disaster, we’ve also added a link to Medecines Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders; it’s a trusted name and especially well-known to knitters because of Stephanie Pearl McPhee’s ongoing generous work with them.

Right now, we’re not planning anything in particular; a charity knitalong would be fun, and we’re expecting and hoping that even more people will participate in our Hat Circus event this fall; we’re planning to add sewn and knitted mittens this year!

Would you consider having a database of charities available on the Knitcircus site?

What criteria would a charity need to meet to be included? How would someone propose a charity to be listed?

That’s a great idea. We’re not real strong on database code in our staff, more on the creative side, but we could probably manage a list. Yarn snob though I am, Lion Brand yarns has a great charity links page to look at when thinking about yarn-related giving. We’re pretty happy with the small number of charities since we’re a pretty small organization.

When you design a pattern for charity whether it be knitting, sewing, or something else, what do you keep in mind? (i.e.. Does it need to be simple enough for all skill levels? Androgynous colors? How do you make certain the finished item is appropriate for the charity for which it is intended?)

Umm, well, I haven’t specifically designed patterns for a charity, though along with you and a number of our designers of whom I’m quite proud, I did volunteer to donate the proceeds form sales of my Aden Hat, Spun Sugar Mittens and Lime Lace Scarf patterns to Haiti.

A lot of charities have specific garments they’re looking for and specific yarns/patterns they recommend, so I’d say a good way to help out as a designer would be to design a really appealing pattern and then let people know that you’re donating the proceeds to charity. People also have their interested buyers donate to the charity and then forward the email receipt to the designer, after which the designer sends the pdf or the printed pattern out, so those are both good ways to help.

What tips would you have for someone who is interested in beginning to craft for charity? With so many deserving charities out there, the sheer volume of need can be overwhelming. As a beginning 'gifter' how would you advise them narrow down who to help?

There are so many great ones out there; Project Linus is very accessible; Mother Bear Project gives a lot of comfort to kids in dire straits; lots of places create baby hats…a great book for charity knitting is Betty Christiansen’s Knitting for Peace. There’s so much information available online and on Ravelry, I’d say a good way to approach it would be to decide who you most want to help—is it abused women? People who have lost someone? Babies born to poor families? Kids in windswept places? And once you decide who’s the best fit for you, search Ravelry or type in to Google to find organizations that match well.

How and why did you choose Kiva.org and Heifer International?

Since we are small, and our donations weren’t going to be huge, we carefully chose organizations whose structures allow people to “pass on the gift,” so that you’re not only giving one time to one person; you allow that person to turn around and pay back the loan to loan out again to another small business (KIVA) or pass along the progeny of your livestock to other families (Heifer). These organizations work around the world and Heifer also works with people here in the USA, which makes me happy.

Many charities are religion-based groups. What are your feelings on that? Do you seek out secular charities? If so, why?

I myself was not raised in a particular religion, or it’s more accurate to say that our family includes several religious backgrounds; I don’t believe that it’s appropriate for a secular entity (like a knitting magazine) to support a specific religiously-based charity. We don’t go to the extent of keeping holiday-based knitting away from the magazine, (we would consider holiday stockings, but would also then like to balance that with Solstice and Hanukkah patterns if possible) but would want the patterns to focus on the secular aspects of the holidays, if that makes sense.

Thank you Jaala! It has been great having you here. I love putting my money where it does the most good, and Knitcircus definitely qualifies! The terrific articles and lovely patterns are the first payoff, but I appreciate knowing the money I spend helps to support two of my favorite charities.

Thanks so much, Diana!

Readers, to win a pdf containing the complete pattern collection, simply leave a comment and come back tomorrow to see who won!

Giveaway Here on Knitcircus Blog-Tour Tomorrow!

Tomorrow Is a Very Big Day!

Otterwise will be hosting a stop on the blog tour for Knitcircus Magazine, and Editor Jaala Spiro will be stopping by to chat about crafters and giving.
Long before I thought about submitting my Espalier Shawl pattern, Knitcircus has been one of my favorite magazines. They always have wonderful designs for knitting, but they also include lovely surprises like insightful reviews of books, yarn and helpful tools, recipes, sewing patterns, and great interviews with people like Ysolda Teague and, in the most recent issue Lily Chin (beginning on page 27).

To give you a glimpse into the high quality of the magazine, here are some of my favorite patterns/recipes from recent issues: (links are to the Ravelry pattern page, for more photos)

From Issue # 6, the Goth Gauntlets and the Black Bean Salad, both by Elizabeth Morrison.

From Issue # 7, the Crop Circle Shawl by Michelle Miller and the Indian Corn Scarf by Jeanette Cross.

Many thanks to Knitcircus Magazine for offering a PRIZE for their stop here tomorrow!!! Anyone who comments will be eligible to win a pdf of the complete set of 17 patterns from the newest issue of Knitcircus!! Go visit the link, there are loads of free articles and a YUMMY oatmeal cinnamon chip cookie recipe!

Bat Girl!!!!

(Image property of Corvus Tristes Blog visit the 2nd link below to see even more cool photos)

I have been reading Corvus Tristes for about a month now, and have enjoyed her posts on skully buttons and romantic embroidery patterns featuring cuttlefish and Cthulu, but this past Friday she stunned me. I was totally gobsmacked with awe and lust for her skilz.

Using a few bits and bobs and three thrift store shirts, the woman made a BAT MAN SHIRT !!!! (link is to the appropriate blog entry).

I LURVE the GAUNTLETS!!!!!

And the woman is SO multi-talented. You should pop on over to her Etsy shop. She's got goods ranging from an elegant jade and wood choker, to handmade Squid Toggle Buttons (well, she USED to have the squidlings, until I bought them just now! Neener neener neener!).

Corydalis Cowl

Corydalis is a genus of plant which includes Bleeding Heart, but that's not what prompted the name of this cowl, despite upcoming Valentine's Day.
One of the plants I've always wanted to grow is Corydalis Ambigua, a beautiful blue-flowered Chinese herb. (see image below). The interaction of the lace, ribbing and bobbles reminded me of the shape of the flowers.

The blue sky shade reminds me of early March in my backyard :-}

The PDF of the pattern is currently available just on Ravelry (but Oscar will add it to Otterwise.com pretty soon)

Here is more info about the Cowl Pattern:

Luscious, velvety Malabrigo formed with bobbles and curved lace combined with columns of ribbing make a close and cozy fit.

Techniques: Making Bobbles using a fully explained I-cord method, k2tog, ssk, yo, kfb.

Knit in the round, no seaming.

Yarn: 1 skein (210 yards) Malabrigo merino worsted (samples made in Emerald Blue) or other aran-weight yarn. (I had 50 yards left from 1 skein of Malabrigo)

Needles: #8 (5 mm) small circular, 2 circulars, magic loop method or DPNs can be used

(image from the wiki entry)

Urban Yarn Graffiti Advert

Thanks to Irishmam at Knittinghelp.com forums.

SO cool.

One of my jobs..

One of my jobs is to write reviews for Fresh Fiction.

I had to take a break from it last year, when I was so sick, before we figured out my allergy/sensitivity to citric acid combined with fibro, arthritis, adhesions, etc, etc was messing me up big time.

As I recovered from the worst of it, I was able to start reviewing again in December. The two reviews went so smoothly I am plunging in gung ho this year.

I received a shipment of six brand new books yesterday, including a new Darkover Novel by MZB (and Deborah J. Ross). JOY!!! My payment for doing reviews is the books themselves. I am very well paid, I feel.

Since it only takes me a few hours to read a book, about half an hour to write a rough draft, and 1-2 hours to polish it a few days later, I feel well able to handle them, and in fact requested more books for this month.

In December writing reviews provided a wonderful balance with doing all the math and techno-speak required for writing patterns. As I have relatively simple knitting to do, and only 3 more patterns in the works (only one of which has a deadline of March 1st) I plan to get the reviews for these six books done within the next ten days, if not sooner.

I can read and write rough drafts for about 2 books a day, even while knitting in between. If I use a book stand for the hardcovers, I can knit WHILE I read if I'm only doing stockinette or garter stitch. (Bonus!)

I do love to multi task. I even write the rough draft of the review as I am reading. Often a turn of phrase describing my journey through the book comes to mind, and if I don't write it down, my memory will likely not be obliging later.

I don't like to write the finished review until it has had time to mature a while, at least one night's sleep. In that time I go back to my pattern writing.

It feels wonderful to be busy, and relatively well!

It is true if you don't have your health, the rest of your life is much circumscribed. But you do celebrate a lot more, as you appreciate every ray of sunshine that shows up.

Just feeling this well, and being able to work at what I love is enough to keep me taking very good care of myself. If I physically overdo, I could spiral right back to where I was last year.

I guess that's my first and most important job, NOT overdoing thing physically.

Working until my body is exhausted totally screws with my ability to think, and endangers my other two jobs.

Thank goodness working until my brain is a little tired doesn't harm the rest of my body.

Vogue Knitting: Size matters?

Something has been eating away at me for a month or so. I didn't want to blog about it until my temper cooled. But the time has come.

It's the Editor's Letter in the winter 2009 issue of Vogue Knitting.

She chunters on about how they are a collection of women of different sizes and how they understand the need for plus sizing etc, until she gets to the meat of the matter:

"As professionals, we ask that you understand why we make our choices to size only certain silhouettes up or down. We choose those we believe will work for the greater majority of our readers, so you don’t waste time (and money) knitting a garment you will not necessarily be happy with when you’re finished. We mark our larger-size patterns (up to size 2X or 3X) with “Size +”, and if you check our pattern store on our website, you will find a search tab for large-sized patterns."

Well and good, they can publish what they like, and I accept that not every pattern is flattering to every figure. So I took a look at that issue. And looked again.

And you know what I discovered? The oh-so-sophisticated professionals at Vogue Knitting who put together that Winter issue consider the only proper shape to flatter a plus-sized woman resembles a potato sack. Dropped shoulders, boxy shapes, big ROUND bold accents above the bust and right at the hips.

Have these people ever seen Annie Modisitt's beautifully-shaped patterns? Or anything from Joan McGowan-Michael of White Lies Designs? Those designers know how to shape a garment to fit and flatter a wide range of sizes, up to and including multiple Xs. Even if you fall beyond those sizes they offer, their patterns offer lots of tips on how to shape them to YOUR form.

They use care, artistry and savvy to make certain their work pleases a wide range of women.

And they aren't alone. Countless independent designers can be found on Patternfish and Ravelry who care enough to make their patterns inclusive, not excluding.

A far cry from the lazy, cack-handed "we don't want to spend the budget to plus-size shapely knits" attitude Vogue has decided is now company policy.

I have terminated my 3 year subscription with them, with prejudice.

Harbinger of Spring

Mokihana out in the Pacific Northwest filmed this little one for us this morning!

Espalier Shawl

Today, my shawl, Espalier, is published in Knitcircus Magazine #9! (the shawl photos are on page 49) There are some great FREE articles in this issue including an interview with Lily Chin, a visit to Rainbow Fleece Farm and Terri Shea talks about Selbuvotter! (and lots more) I plan to savor them over the next few days over morning coffee.

Here are details and photos for Espalier :-}

This medium-weight drapey stole is perfect for a cool spring day. The unusual stitch (drawn from a late 1800’s publication) is lacy yet substantial and looks wonderful with jeans or a flirty skirt.

Gauge 14 st and 17 rows = 4” (10 cm) in Trellis Stitch

Skill Level Beyond Beginner

Size One size pleases most. To make larger or smaller, add or remove sts in a multiple of 6.

Finished Measurements Width: 15 inches Length: 74 inches, gently blocked.