Picking Up a Stitch

Blog Nation is a Ghost Town [Blogger Community Review]

2013-06-07T22:23:00.002-04:00

When bloggers can't get readers for their blogs by organic means, many go searching for communities that provide bloggers a glimmer of hope that by joining their community, they are able to generate more readership.

Following the ending of my relationship with Bloggers.com, I went hunting for more blogging communities to join to see what else was out there. This is when I found Blog Nation.

The Back Story: Well there really isn't one. Back in the Fall I used my Google-fu and found Blog Nation in one of the search results. What attracted me to it was its clean professional look. There is a ton of blogs to see on Blog Nation. Hoping there might be a place for my li'l blog, I joined. Here we are six months later...

Joining requires you to create a profile using your email. Then, you have to claim your blog whereby you place a Blog Nation script somewhere in your blog's coding. This is so Blog Nation can verify you own your blog, and so it can capture a screenshot of your blog for your profile pic. You can then place a Blog Nation logo on your blog to encourage readers to go to your profile on Blog Nation and vote for you, also called a"Boost". You then can link up your Facebook page, Twitter and Google Plus account, and RSS feeds to the profile so others on Blog Nation can follow you any which way they want.

Blog Nation is very ambitious. There are close to 14,000 blogs on the site. It's great if you have to do any blog research, or looking for a specific subject, or just want to read what's out there. It's quite impressive. There is a directory for everything you could possibly think of: knitting, scuba diving...cupcake making! But...

Who is running things over there??

Blog Nation is run almost as though the engineers of the site set it up and then went missing. I could pick on the fact the login logs you out of your account at random. I could also grind that the site often gives you 504 gateway timeout errors when you try to update anything; sure, that bothers me. But, what I find particularly problematic is how a blog is promoted on Blog Nation. Their "Random Posts" and "Popular Posts" pages exist to showcase newly published blogs which is great. But for whatever reason it shows mostly blog posts that are well over a month old (some from two months ago), and very few from the current month. I have been posting steadily and I have never seen my blog posts on that page. This isn't sour grapes, people; there is something else at work here. I figure that the posts that are showing on those pages have the highest number of votes. And while I'm piling on, this voting crap is a problem. On Blog Nation you can vote for yourself! That's right! I know, because the site tells you that you can. And I have - three times now.

How it is supposed to work is I am supposed to get my organic blog site readers to click on the Blog Nation icon on my blogspot so that they end up on the Blog Nation website . These readers then vote for my profile so my blog gets more exposure on Blog Nation, and hopefully more readers....Yeah. What a game. That hasn't been working out for my blog. My blog is still linked with Blog Nation, but who knows for how long.

I could be wrong, but it seems there isn't much happening on the site or that it does anything to be a part of it. I am not saying no one should use Blog Nation to promote their blog. It couldn't hurt - but I don't feel it does much for it either.

Bloggers.com and Why I Left [Blogging Community Review]

2013-06-07T09:10:00.000-04:00

Shameless self-promotion can be difficult for bloggers out there.

Back in the Fall, I was looking at ways to promote readership of this blog. I searched around the web for blog communities and directories to join to maybe see if I could gain more readership. In the blogging world, when there is a ton of blogs on everything under the sun floating around on the internet, it's really tough to bring people's attention to your blog without becoming one of those annoying spammy ads that pop up and blare really loud music in your face while trying to read something important. That is not my style.

Throwing forward to the past couple of months - readership of my blog is still low, and this is even after my vigorous attempt using social media to get more readers and followers. These days, although my need to write my thoughts down is stronger, it would be awesome to have more active "regulars". Frankly, all bloggers wish for some engagement with readers. And because it can be tough out there, blogging communities exist with a sliver of a promise that they will help bloggers gain an active following. There are several out there, and because I didn't have anything to lose, I thought I would try some of them out and report back.

First up, Bloggers (bloggers.com)

The Backstory: My first foray into the blogging community realm was a site called Bloggers. I found out about it when I was reading someone else's blog. I noticed a tiny blue "B" icon in the top left corner with "follow me" next to it. Clicking the icon led me to Bloggers.com.

What's in a name? Wait, I might just blow your mind.

In no way should you confuse Bloggers with Blogger, the site owned by Google that this blog is being hosted by. I couldn't help but notice the resemblance in name (even the icon reminds me of Blogger), and I couldn't help but think there had to have been a lawsuit story somewhere in there...

Dammit, Google, I said, "Blogger-s,"!

I had never heard of Bloggers before, but it supposedly has over a million blog users. At first glance, it looked very much like a My Space deal where people register and advertise their blogs. I tried to look up some reviews of Bloggers on the web - you know - to see if people liked it. I could not find anything! No one talking about it, no one recent reviewing their experiences with it... And of course, Google kept directing me to Blogger, not Bloggers. I couldn't tell from the "About" page where on earth they are from, how long they've existed, and all the finer details. One external site had blogged about it back in 2010 with little information. I browsed through the Bloggers website and didn't find anything bad about it. The site seemed on the level, so with that thought, I signed up for an account - what the heck.

The Bloggers.com User Interface

Bloggers.com makes it relatively easy to get started on their site. It has you create a user name and a profile where you write a brief blog introduction and link to your blog. It has you put a tiny "Bloggers" icon on your blog so that the administrators of Bloggers can verify that you are its owner. They have you upload a pic of yourself, and they encourage you to make your bio "cool" because others will be reading it. Then, after you've registered and your blog is verified, the "fun" begins.

Shades of Facebook, memories of My Space

Bloggers is part blog directory, part friend finder, part blog reader, part polling station and all popularity contest. The navigation is self-explanatory; you can search for blogs by country or by subject. They even have a topic area that showcases hot trending subject matter, and happening blogs to follow.

The site is very much like Facebook in that you have a profile as well as a news feed that gives you the current goings on with popular bloggers as well as the particular blogs that you follow. The site encourages you to read other blogs and befriend blog members. It also has this voting system that I don't quite understand fully. Other bloggers vote for you and your blog (I guess) to raise your rank and therefore increase your popularity and exposure on the "Most Popular Blogs" section of the site. Then, bloggers are encouraged to "friend" each other too. This is where the My Space thing comes in. These people who "friend" you aren't actually people that you know AT ALL. I don't really understand the point to that whole thing either, and it was one of the reasons I got away from My Space.

Like Bizarro Cheers, where no-one really knows your name, but always glad you came...and voted.

Love me, love me, say that you love me...Fool me, fool me...

Bloggers.com seems like an alternate universe of niceties. Everyone is SO nice on Bloggers. Everyone wants to be YOUR friend...Many comment on each other's walls, including mine (which, btw, verged on creepiness and banality): "Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to vote for me and read me and follow me...did I mention VOTE FOR ME!!" The site also shows who has viewed your profile and your blog, as well as which ones I've viewed, so trolling others' profiles is really not a good idea on here...

Here's where things get weird. Within the first 20 minutes of joining Bloggers, I got 5 "friend requests". In checking out one of these "friends" I discovered they had a high count of votes but was also maintaining 10 personal blogs (yes, you read that right)! Others also had multiple blogs and showed a similar wide-eyed enthusiasm. In the process, I did find one or two blogs that were interesting that I have followed outside the forum. But as I discovered, this concept was not reciprocated from my fellow Bloggers bloggers (heh!) as I managed to get only ONE page view from the whole experience in the 10 days I was registered on the site. Essentially, people would befriend me, vote for my profile, say they liked my blog even though they didn't look at it at all, just so they could potentially get a vote from me; a voting system that is meaningless and arbitrary. I mean, what happens when you hit the top? Blogging world domination?

I never know what to expect from these blogging communities, and of course I don't want to bite the few readers that fuel my writing. Bloggers.com happened to be easy to use, but I didn't find it did anything for blog promotion or gaining readership. Mostly, I just wasn't comfortable with the My Space feel, the spammy "friending" and weird voting behavior. This site was certainly not for my blog. Even stranger things occurred when I tried to quit the community - the option to quit was not available anywhere on the website. I ended up having to write the administrators asking them to pull my account. They must have listened, because my blog is no longer there.

Update: A very recent development that might pretty well render my review of Bloggers moot...I was just on the site when I learned that Bloggers will no longer exist come June 25, 2013 unless it gets a backer with a wad of cash. The owner seems convinced that it will all end then. I would not be surprised if Google buys the domain, and kills it outright, then encourages everyone to use Google Plus (but, that's just a theory...).

Healthy PB and Banana Cookies [Recipe Drop!]

2013-06-04T22:44:00.000-04:00

I've got two over-ripe bananas, no eggs and I'm sick of muffins or bread. What to do?

This is what I call experimentation in baking, which sometimes ends in disaster, but worked out this time. My challenge was to make bananas into cookies. I wanted to use honey instead of sugar, whole wheat flour instead of white and no eggs. The idea was to make these cookies as healthy and as tasty as possible, because I am on the rice cake diet these days, and I am only allowing myself one treat a day (instead of two...or four...).

The internet, although well-intentioned, really didn't give me what I was looking for, so this recipe is adapted from many sources.

PB and Banana Cookies

2 over-ripe medium sized bananas, mashed up
1/2 cup of honey
2 tbsp of all-natural peanut butter (I used the chunky kind)
1/2 cup of quick oats oatmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
A big bowl and wooden spoon

Heat oven at 325 F
Combine bananas and honey into a big bowl.
Stir in the peanut butter, then oatmeal.
Add the flour in increments until well blended.

Take a tbsp full of cookie batter and roll it into a ball with floured hands. Place on a greased or parchment-paper lined cookie sheet. Flatten the ball with a fork. Repeat until there is no batter left. Place cookie sheet in oven for 10 minutes.

Makes 1 dozen cookies.

These make moist peanut butter cookies with a nice hint of banana, reminiscent of the sandwiches your mom used to make. The chunky peanut bits give the cookie a nice texture. They are chewy, but dense; you could probably only eat one...or two.

*When I'm off this diet, I think I'll try them with chocolate chips. That should be very yummy...

Enjoy!

Popped Some Tags, No R. Kelly Sheets

2013-06-02T14:14:00.001-04:00

This past weekend we checked out our local Value Village in Richmond Hill, Ontario. We like to hunt for hidden treasures at thrift stores: My husband searches for video games, I go for clothes, books, and miscellany. This past winter the thrift shop finds have been hit or miss. I have to say though, that Saturday's shopping excursion more than made up for it.

1. Ceramic Mugs...

Aren't these awesome? They are square-shaped cups with a motif of trees in what can only be reminiscent of cross-stitching or needlepoint. It also has a retro-gaming pixel feel, which my husband enjoyed. I always make a point of looking at the mug rack to see if there is anything cool, and these definitely caught my eye.

2. Pair of shorts...

Not much to report here...My husband found a pair of gently used navy blue Hillfiger shorts. This is always a useful find when thrift shopping in late Spring. It's a bonus if the original tags are still on the clothing. Speaking of which...

3. Portal T-shirt*...

I found me a never-worn gaming t-shirt. This one comes from Portal, the popular video game from 2007. I have played Portal 2, so close enough! I often go picking through the men's t-shirts to see if I can find anything cool, much to my husband's dismay, who thinks "those shirts are for dudes!". (I guess I'm exposing my style aesthetic, here...)

4. Sound Mixer...

My husband also found an old Realistic mixing console, originally bought at Radio Shack for the bargain price of $149.99(!!!!) in the '80s. We bought it at Value Village for $19.99. He told me about some guy he knew who had one of these, and he was so jealous because this friend could cross-fade music on his mixed tapes. I also knew someone who used to DJ on the side with a mixer, and being into music and mixed tapes in the 80s and 90s, I was also jealous of what he could do with it. That said, I guess I'll be expecting some cool Daft Punk moves soon enough. Maybe I'll find a motorcycle helmet on our next trip to the 'Village?

5. Game!

My husband found Timesplitters 2 for the Playstation 2. Value Village used to be a great source of retro video games. But, lately, it seems video game resellers come in and raid the thrift stores before other gamers have a chance. Finding any video game is scant at these places, unless of course, you need multiple copies of NHL 2002...

6. Original Painting...

Value Village usually dedicates a wall to old mirrors, plaques, macrame' and old dry-mounted posters with cheesy big-eyed cats. I often just glance and keep on moving, but this little number caught my eye. It was painted by someone called Povelka, and appears to be acrylic on masonite. It depicts a landscape of an ocean, the waves of which are crashing into a rocky shoreline, a setting (or rising?) sun on the horizon line. My art profs back in University would have had a field day with this painting's critique. I could image them saying: "The rocks are problematic. They look stylized (art school term for 'not realistic' or 'took artistic liberties'), and they lead the eye off the canvas, not towards anything in the painting. And, no one has looked at the sun, so it should never be represented in a painting." Know what? I don't give a shit; I like it! Bonus is that it's already framed. The frame is a little crummy, but I'm hoping a meeting with Mr. Clean will spruce it up a bit.

*So, as it turned out, the Portal shirt was too big for me, but big enough for my husband. He is one happy camper.

Those were our thrift-shopping finds for this month. Not bad loot, I must say. What is your best-ever thrift shopping find? Let me know in the comments!

Van Gogh and Me

2013-05-28T19:45:00.000-04:00

Lately, everything is reminding me of Vincent Van Gogh.

Maybe it's the fact that my garden is blooming and Van Gogh liked to paint flowers. Perhaps it's because I have Van Gogh- inspired coffee mugs that make me think of him every time I drink my tea. On second thought, it had to be that my Mom's birthday passed last month, and she was named after a particular flower, the subject of which he famously painted a whole patch of them. That's gotta be why...

Irises

...Or it was Doctor Who. Yes, that's it! It was the Doctor!

Recently, I watched one of the best Doctor Who episodes ever. It was the one where the Doctor and Amy go back in time to 19th century France and meet up with the artist, Vincent Van Gogh. You can be sure the episode had some alien creature lurking that the Doctor must investigate, and that it involves Van Gogh and one of his paintings. The episode was really cool - they delved into Van Gogh's life as a painter, and really made Van Gogh a big deal, which should happen in my opinion, because he was an awesome artist. Thanks in part to Doctor Who, Van Gogh's art and my world seem to be colliding in strange ways.

The Doctor and Amy Pond find something peculiar
in one of Van Gogh's paintings

I am no stranger to Van Gogh's life and times. Being a Visual Arts major in University, I learned many things about him and his painting style when I took an Art Theory and Criticism seminar my first year. That was "many moons ago", but certain pieces of his life story has stuck with me still:

- Let's begin with a phonetics lesson: How do you say "Van Gogh?" There are varied ways to pronounce his last name. In North America, it is often pronounced "Van Go" (the gh is silent). In Doctor Who, they pronounced it "Van Goff", which is apparently how the British pronounce it. In Dutch, the V in van Gogh is silent, and Gogh is said like "Gok" (rhymes with "lock"). Who knows which is right?

- Although he had a passion for art at an early age, Vincent Van Gogh tried a few vocations before settling on becoming an artist. He worked as an art dealer for several years, and his brother, Theo, followed suit. Later, Vincent tried to join the Ministry, but his fanaticism caused his Superiors to bar him from preaching, so he left. On a recommendation made by his brother, as well as his love for art, Vincent decided to become an artist full-time.

- The relationship between Vincent and his younger brother, Theo, is an inspiring one in itself and demonstrates the closeness and love that can occur between siblings. Theo was Vincent's biggest supporter. The two had a very close relationship, which was memorialized in their letters to one another, and later published in "The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh". Vincent and Theo corresponded for several years in which Vincent often reveals to his brother his love for art and his perspective on life. In one excerpt, he wrote: " "I want to do drawings which touch some people."

- Vincent had moved around to explore the art scene in several places in Europe, but eventually settled in France. While there, he was introduced to the Impressionist Movement of painting, popularized by artists such as Monet and Renoir. He was so influenced by the Impressionists, we can see his style of painting evolving into the one we are most familiar with. Many consider Van Gogh to be a post-impressionist painter. Others say he was the pioneer of the Expressionist movement, most recognized for its bright use of colour and expressive brush strokes.

Expressionism: It is as though the brush strokes come alive in this painting

- There is no way to ignore Van Gogh's trouble with mental health, especially with the story of Van Gogh cutting off his ear. No one is absolutely certain what was wrong with him, but some sources say he suffered from Epilepsy, hallucinations and depression. I'm not even sure if all of these were interrelated. Another source said he was addicted to Absinthe, a popular drink that was said to induce hallucinations. Often, Van Gogh would write to his brother about depressed and helpless feelings, which worried Theo, who would often encourage his big brother to seek help. As Vincent Van Gogh's life ended in suicide, one can't help but think that there had to be some depression that was partly to blame.

- Let's get the cutting of the ear one out of the way...Van Gogh had fiery red hair, and a fiery temper to match. The famous "cutting of the ear" story had a lot to do with his emotional state at the time. Some sources say it was his whole left ear. Others say it was his ear lobe (either way, ouch!). This occurred at a time when he was living in France with one of his friends, Paul Gaugain, also a painter. One day, Gaugain and Van Gogh got into a major argument centred around Gaugain's success as a painter. In a fit of impulsive rage, Van Gogh chased Gaugain around their apartment with a razor. Van Gogh left, and out of frustration, cut his ear with the razor. Bleeding, he found his way to the local brothel to see his favourite prostitute, and it was she that received the severed ear piece. He was put into an asylum to have the ear re-attached, and to recuperate.

This is a self portrait of Van Gogh he painted in the asylum
following his ear incident

- Vincent was the epitome of "starving artist". The subject matter of his paintings were often self portraits, still life, landscapes and people he knew. He couldn't afford to have people sit for him, so he often painted himself or what he saw around him. Theo, a successful art dealer, would often support him financially.

- Amazingly, Van Gogh's career as a dedicated artist was only twelve years long! His portfolio consists of over 2000 pieces, most painted in the last two years of his life.

- Although he managed to have his art exposed in exhibits in France, and was a part of the art community there, he never saw much career success. The man only sold ONE painting his entire career - a painting called the the Red Vineyard, for 400 French Francs.

The Red Vineyard

What I liked most about the Dr. Who episode is not so much that they "brought Van Gogh back to life" so to speak...no, it was when the Doctor and Amy went back to the museum and asked the art tour curator how Van Gogh changed the world of art. This is what he said (and it brought tears to my eyes when I first saw it...):

"...to me, Van Gogh is the finest painter of them all. Certainly the most popular great painter of all time. The most beloved. His command of color, the most magnificent. He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world. No one had ever done it before. Perhaps no one ever will again. To my mind, that strange wild man who roamed the fields of Provence, was not only the world's greatest artist but also one of the greatest men who ever lived."

Agreed.

In the short time he was an career artist, Van Gogh's portfolio became quite prolific. Writing this blogpost made me wish that he knew how special his work was, and how much he influenced art in general. Maybe he would have stayed with us a little longer if he saw more success during his lifetime. At least we have his legacy, and I can still be reminded of Van Gogh's awesomeness every time I take a sip of my coffee.

Photo credits: canvasreplicas/ Anorak Zone Forums / simonbrushfield.com/ theartwolf.com/ 1paintings.com / personal

Spammy Sponsored Posts on Facebook (and how to make them go away)

2013-05-16T08:42:00.000-04:00

Last week, I started noticing what Facebook calls "Suggested or Sponsored Posts" at the very top of my news feed on Facebook. I don't mean the stupid meaningless ads for becoming an Addictions Worker, getting a criminal record pardoned or getting a divorce lawyer that show up on the right hand side, I am talking about the ads that are smack-dab in the centre column of the Facebook news feed where everyone's status update shows up. I pretty much ignored them and scrolled down to the goods: my friends' statuses, pages I like updating me on the latest, news from affiliated TV stations...Having all this extra crap show up is a bit annoying, but I don't think the advertising is avoidable considering Facebook is free to use.

It was when I got the following ad showing up that I paid attention:

Now who doesn't want to lose body fat?

I'm not one to gross out easily, but really, the graphic is sort of "eww!". And normally when I'd see something like that I'd scroll past it quickly. But Facebook, using whatever algorithm it uses to determine what kind of ads I see on my news feed, decided I needed to see this ad THREE times in one session. Meaning: this post was interspersed among all the other stuff I read in three different places down my news feed wall. (What are you saying, Facebook? That I have belly fat?)

I thought I managed to tell Facebook I didn't want to see this ad any more by ticking the "I found it offensive" box, or "it was against my views" box and the "it was spamming my wall" box. I thought I was free from seeing it again until I logged back into Facebook later and the ad showed up again - it was the first thing I saw, right at the top!

How do I get rid of these unwanted posts? I experimented with the ad three more times to figure out a workaround, and I knew there had to be an easy way. And, as it turns out the best way to lose these ads is to treat them like the game notifications for Candy Crush that your friends inadvertently send you in your news feed: HIDING the ad by telling Facebook you don't want to see any more notifications from X company again, like in this example for a Raw Food cleanse company that showed up on my Facebook feed (I swear...I have no idea why this is showing up...):

Put your mouse arrow close to the "Sort" drop-down at the top right corner of the ad. An "X" will appear which you can click. It will give you the option to Follow Post, Hide and Report Story or Spam. You can either use the "Report Story or Spam" option, or "Hide" (both take you to a similar place).

Now, make sure you click on Hide all stories from X Company. That should be it. I followed this formula, and haven't seen any Cleanse or Fat belly ads in my news feed.

Take it from me, the Spam option does not work. If you call an ad spam in the hope that it will forever disappear, the ad CAN reappear in your news feed (and DID reappear repeatedly for me until I hid it). Facebook uses programming - not human beings to base what it shows in your news feed. I don't think my feed will ever be devoid of ads - supported, sponsored or the like. But, at least I can control what I see a bit better. And in any case, as it is for my Facebook news feed, it would seem the algorithm has a weird sense of humour!

Nasty Nanna's Awesome Pasta Sauce [Secret Recipe]

2013-04-30T22:37:00.002-04:00

Behind every great recipe, there is a story. It's time to share a secret I've been keeping to myself all these years. The boyfriend is long gone, his "Nanna" long dead; but her delicious pasta sauce lives on.

Many moons ago, I went out with a guy whose Grandmother was an Italian immigrant. She was the quintessential Nonna (but was called "Nanna"); a portly woman who always wore an apron over her short-sleeved house-dress, ready to get to the housework at hand. There was always a pot on the stove, her house was very clean. But what warm and inviting casa she created for herself and her husband was completely counteracted by her damaging and downright mean demeanor. The cherry on the top was the fact you could never communicate with her in a meaningful way as she could not understand a lick of English.

Any time I went over to visit her with the boyfriend I would have to endure an afternoon of sitting at her kitchen table and listen as everyone conversed in Italian. I had no idea what they were saying to one another, except that I could tell when Nanna was talking about me as she contorted her face into a snarl and pointed her thick finger in my general direction. After each visit, I would ask the boyfriend what her complaint about me was this time. He would laugh and say the same things: that she was fired up because I was not domesticated enough (??), I didn't speak any Italian even though I carried an Italian last name, nor did my family follow any real Italian traditions, and I planned to work outside the home for a living [insert eye-roll here]. The message was sent: I was not appropriate for her grandson. This ended up being true in the end...or I should say, he was not appropriate for me.

About the only decent thing to come out of that relationship was an awesome pasta sauce recipe that this guy learned from his Nanna and he made for me a few times. I remember asking him if I could write down the recipe and keep it - "NOOO!" he said, emphatically. "It's a secret recipe, never to be shared! No one can know!"

He had to be joking, right?

That's exactly what I thought when I stealthly paid hawk-eyed attention to every step he took to make that sauce. Then, I wrote it down, and have used this recipe religiously since, but haven't ever really given out the details on how to make it.

When I make pasta sauce, I make a ton of it. I used a Sunday a few weeks ago to make more of this delicious sauce to fill up my freezer for the next few months. Lately, we have been on a health kick in the house of Sim, and no doubt about it, this sauce is not what I would consider "low fat" per se. But, most of the ingredients are as natural as you are gonna get, so that has to stand for something (okay, canned tomatoes are not from nature, but I try to go for the low salt canned tomatoes).

[My caveat: I am severely allergic to beef, so I don't cook with cow. This is a meat sauce where I use turkey or chicken, but this can easily be adapted to use beef in place of poultry, if that is your preference.]

Nasty Nanna's Meat Sauce
Prep time: 1 hour / Cook time: 3 hours

You will need:

2 packs of ground turkey, chicken or beef
5 cans diced tomatoes
5 cans crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 large cooking onions, diced
1 celery bunch, chopped
3 cups chopped carrots
2 medium green peppers, chopped
2 medium red peppers, chopped
10 medium-sized mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Italian Seasoning (or your own oregano and basil)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 big ass pot with a lid (I don't know how big mine is, but fits all the above in it with about an 1 1/2" space between sauce line and pot rim).
1 little frying pan

(This makes A LOT of sauce, and is meant to fill your freezer for the next 2 months with awesome sauce goodness. You may want to scale it down by half if you have no room or are not interested in having extra).

In the big pot, add a little olive oil to the bottom and brown both packages of meat.
While the meat cooks, start chopping up your veggies.

Once the meat is mostly brown, drain some of the fat until there is about a tbsp left.
- Add your onions to the meat and stir regularly (10 minutes).
- Add the rest of the veggies. Allow all to cook with the lid on. Stir periodically so onions don't burn on the bottom (about 15 minutes).

Time to Fry the Tomato Paste and Garlic

While the meat and veggies are cooking in the pot, you'll want to fry your tomato paste in olive oil and garlic. This is the aspect of the recipe that really makes the sauce awesome and makes your whole house smell like an Italian Restaurant:

Frying the garlic with tomato paste in olive oil is the ticket!!

Take the small frying pan
- Add 2 tbsp olive oil to the pan and heat on low/medium.
- Add 2 tbsps minced garlic and one small can of tomato paste.
- Stir concoction until the garlic browns and the tomato paste absorbs all of the olive oil.
Once the paste has absorbed all the oil, drop what you fried into the pot with the rest of the meat and veg.

Then it's can opening time!

Mmm! I can smell it from here!

Add your 5 cans of diced tomatoes and 5 cans of crushed tomatoes. Stir after each addition.
Cover the pot, and place the sauce on low/medium heat. Check and stir the sauce every 20 minutes to ensure the sauce doesn't burn on the bottom of the pot. Do this until the sauce comes to a boil, then turn the heat down to low to simmer. Stir periodically after that.
Once the sauce has boiled and is simmering, add your spices (oregano, basil, bay leaf...). I have some Italian Seasoning from Club House that works well.

You'll want the sauce to simmer for at least two hours before eating for optimum flavour.

Yum!

Have this sauce with your favourite pasta, meatballs or whatever. It's awesome! So with that, the secret is out. Now go and make...(and pass it on!)

*Fun Factoid: Did you know Picking Up a Stitch has a Facebook page?
Go to it now and like it to get all the updates!*

The Lazy Fare Gardens Are Springing!

2013-04-19T11:45:00.000-04:00

Yesterday evening was the first time since Fall I took the time to clean up my flower beds. I thought it might be a good idea to do some maintenance before things started sprouting. Even though the weather has been cool and gloomy, my tulips at the front are coming up. And, another sign that Spring is here: it seems my red maple on the front lawn is starting to bud.

I only made enough time last night to clear out the two flower beds at the front of my property, since last night was also my workout night. I began by trimming back my lavender, and pulling away all the dead leaves from my large hosta. I also found where the neighbourhood cats have been digging to use the loo (nasty!). Then, onto the flower bed at the side of the property that is really just some bushes, lilies and periwinkle. The area is situated under a large pine tree, so I had about 10 pounds of pine needles and cones to clear out. I ended up with enough dead stuff to fill up a yard waste bag.

Everything's coming up tulips!

I am what you call a laissez-faire (or lazy fare) gardener. I don't like structured neat rows of flowers. I like the wildflower-type of gardening - pretty perennials and interesting texture. I choose my plants wisely - usually perennials so I don't have to continually plant and replace my flowers. Some years I get adventurous and buy packets of seeds to see if things will come up. This year, I plan to try growing cosmos, foxglove and chives. I really haven't put a lot of work into my gardening in the last couple of years, but I am hoping to turn that around this year. I enjoy it immensely, but over the last two years we have been concentrating our efforts on rebuilding our rotting deck and constructing a new gazebo to go with our hot tub, so not much attention has been paid to gardening recently.

I have 6 garden beds in total. Basically, the perimeter of my back yard is a garden, then two beds at the front. There were four more beds originally, but some were pointless and too much work, so I covered those up with seed and sod. The previous owner of our house was responsible for all the gardens - all were not well-tended, overgrown with weeds, rhubarb and Queen Anne's Lace. One good thing was the number and variety of gorgeous hosta plants that I found growing in the flower beds. There are hostas EVERYWHERE! Good thing - hostas are very hearty and fill in spots in the garden like no other plant. They are very forgiving too, as they flourish in areas with little sunlight and transplant very well.

My flower beds don't look like anything great right now, as the below pic shows but I expect they'll be in bloom soon enough!

A Photo Finish No One Wished For

2013-04-16T13:33:00.000-04:00

It's three in the morning, and I'm wide awake. I don't often get up in the middle of the night - not even to get a drink or use the bathroom. But this morning, sleep eludes me. Maybe it was because I went to bed too early....Or maybe it is the events of yesterday afternoon that didn't affect my sleep at bedtime, but are now all I can think about.

Yesterday, was the 2013 Boston Marathon. I love watching marathons. I'm not a fan of many types of sports, but to me, running a long distance has always been part of my pantheon of athleticism. I am not athletic at all - never really was. I've always thought about what gives people the will to run in a large sweaty crowd for hours of hard work to get to a finish line. Endurance, will and definitely a goal; possibly a lifelong goal they have been dreaming of accomplishing, and can be proud of as they cross the finish line with loved ones looking on. Yesterday, a lot of people had a goal to finish at the marathon. At least one person, however, had a more sinister goal...

At around 3 PM, the Boston Marathon was attacked by an unknown perpetrator. Two pipe bombs were set off near the finish line killing three (so far) - one of them an 8 year-old child. A third explosive was set off at the JFK Library. A fourth suspicious package was detonated.

The news outlets are in a flurry. Videos of the finish line show a bomb set off into a crowd of spectators. The Atlantic Magazine posts disturbing images from the scene online. CNN keeps saying, "We don't know anything yet." As the night wears on, the number of the injured rises, and sadly, so does the death toll. The news tries to get the facts straight, and in the process, gets things mixed up, I would assume as a result of confusion in the aftermath...If 9/11 has taught us anything, it will probably take at least 48 hours to get some the information right, and even then some questions will probably not be answered.

My brain is swimming in thoughts: The injured...those poor people. Some, spectators, were cheering their loved ones on to the finish when they were hit. Then there are runners who were literally blown off their feet by the blast as they were nearing the finish. Those runners that weren't affected struggled to push their exhausted legs past the area in confusion and fright.

Two bombs were detonated close to the finish line; an unlikely coincidence. Who does that? What kind of person? Why? WHO THE HELL DID THIS?!

A journalist from the Boston Globe said something interesting last night (and I'm paraphrasing): the Boston Marathon is Boston's jewel - a treasure - now possibly tarnished in fear by the events of yesterday. I hope not, but time will tell. If this event has taught me anything it is that the world continues to be a scary place. But, we shouldn't let that keep us from running in our own marathon of life to our own personal finish line.

At least we have to try.

Photo credit PicsToPin dot com

What!?! You play video games?? Hell, yes!!

2013-04-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

Recently, there was a brief blurb on the interwebs that brought to light the concept that some of the male gaming population seem surprised to hear that women actually play video games, and aren't just wearing their boyfriend's t-shirts. Now, I don't want to make this post about how naive or ignorant men are about women gaming. I also don't want to make this a feminist plight, although I will say this: Gaming is male dominated, most definitely, but I won't let that stop me. I happen to be in the category of women who like to game. And, I think there is room for everyone in this arcade.

Move over, Fellas!

Now, I don't have the feverish addiction to video games my husband has, but yes, I do like to play. My skill level is not super awesome, but with each game I play, I find myself improving. I had never considered myself a gamer at all until one day when I was frustrated while playing Alan Wake, and was talking with him about the intricacies of shooting a "Taken" in the head (basically a "Taken" is ghost that can kill you). Okay, I was complaining. I couldn't get past a checkpoint and was frustrated. He said, "Listen to you. Keep going! You can defeat this game! You are a gamer!"

Whoa, what? I am?

I did end up finishing Alan Wake - one of the scariest games I've ever played. Silent Hill; Shattered Memories was pretty freakin' scary too. Then, there was the Walking Dead game I finished earlier this year...I never put myself in a "gamer" context before, but okay...Yes, I am a gamer.

From NES to all that BS...

When I think about it, there has always been some form of video game play in my life. Beginning with my Mom's best friend's kids who got an Atari for Christmas one year (jealous!), to my best friend who lived down the street growing up and got her NES for Christmas, and later, a Super NES (double jealous!). There was no game system at my house, except for handheld devices: my sister's Game and Watch of Mario Bros., and my mini arcade games of Pac-man and Donkey Kong, which I played repeatedly. It was moving in with my husband that I learned so much more about games and consoles. I was exposed to different types of games - racing games, platforms and the fun you could have with multi-player games.

Recently, I began to enjoy a different type of gaming, thanks in part to Where's Waldo; The Fantastic Journey for the iPhone. The game where you have to search for Waldo led to a love affair with Hidden Object gaming, an off-shoot of Casual Gaming which combines mysteries and puzzles, as well as a list of items to find. It isn't as complex a gaming genre as what I have been playing lately, of course. But, there is something relaxing about it that I like. At one point, Hidden Object games were all I played - over 40 of them over the course of a year. I especially loved the creepy ones like Shiver: the Vanishing Hitchhiker. The Hidden Object genre has a small but steady following - and from what I can figure out on the Big Fish Games forums, a lot of them are women. I still play them today, even though they are often produced quickly, not always with the best quality, nor with the freshest story-lines.

My husband has always tried to involve me in playing game. There was a time when I didn't play at all, and I resisted his requests- I didn't feel like it, I wasn't good enough, he was better than me, I didn't like first person, third person, no person gaming...whatever the excuse was. It might have been Castle Crashers for the Xbox 360 that got me more interested in playing multi-player games again in 2009. Since that time, my husband and I have played games together steadily, and with that, my exposure to more complex play and storylines. The most recent game we completed together was Borderlands, but we have also played Portal 2, Lara Croft - Guardian of Light, among many others.

I have to say there is a sense of pride in completing a game. You start a journey, you struggle, you fight, and see the story to the end. I have just started Bioshock Infinite, and have gotten stuck on one part. I have left it for a bit to gain some more patience to see it through. My hope is to finish it, and I know I will. Then, I will wear the t-shirt, proudly. Don't worry: I won't spoil the ending for anyone...

Pac-Man drawing is my creation
Photo of t-shirt credit from Irrational Games dot com

Dip Recipe Drop! Black Bean Yogurt Dip

2013-04-12T13:28:00.000-04:00

Dip dip dip dip dip dip dip dip! Sha-na-na-na, sha-na-na-na-na! (sorry, couldn't resist...)

As if you weren't aware by now, there has been a full-on assault on our fat asses in our house. The lifestyle change started on Good Friday, and so far I have lost 4 pounds total. With the "more exercise" part, there is of course the better eating part. That, surprisingly, has worked out quite well. With this new regimen, I am eating more frequently (three meals, two small snacks), and have not felt deprived of anything at all. In fact sometimes I am downright stuffed, even though the MyFitnessPal tells me to eat more. I didn't think cutting out chocolate and cheese would end well for me, but it hasn't been too bad at all. (Might I add: I am not cutting out these things for good...just until I can get a handle on things. Long live 'za!)

My snacks usually consist of some veggies, maybe some crackers, and a protein dip of some type. Last week, I made a hummus dip to eat with a tortilla or crackers for a snack (I'll post the recipe sometime). This week I searched for another dip to try so that we don't get sick of hummus. I came across a low fat spicy black bean dip from Food.com; fairly simple to make and easy to adapt to personal taste:

Low Fat Spicy Black Bean Dip (adapted from Food.com)

You will need:

2 cans black beans, drained

1 jalapeno, cored and chopped

1/2 an onion, chopped

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 cup low-fat plain yogurt (or if you prefer, Astro Balkin Style works well, too)

1 tsp cumin

Salt to taste

A splash of lime juice (optional, but recommended. Lime juice rocks!)*

1 food processor

Put all the above in a food processor until smooth.

Get some crackers/tortilla chips/whatever and mow down. The end.

Refrigerate the dip before eating so it sets and the flavours meld together. The original recipe says you can also heat it up if you want. Versatility!

*The lime juice was not part of the original recipe and was something I added because the dip seemed to be missing something. It was spicy enough, it just needed a "zing"...

The end result is that the dip looks a bit like grey puke...or blueberry yogurt...Don't let its appearance turn you off - it's delicious! We bought these Boulder rice and beans chips to eat with it. They're pretty good too. Enjoy!

RIP "Gus" and With Him Our Affair With Ford

2013-04-06T15:28:00.000-04:00

One call no one likes to get...

The house of Sim had an interesting morning this past Thursday. My husband, while driving his green 2003 Ford Ranger to work, had to stop on the side of the highway because the engine stopped running. He said he heard the engine "pop" before it died. As the truck began to lose life completely, he managed to use whatever momentum it had left to slide onto the shoulder. He called me as I was commuting to work myself and broke the news - the truck is dead. It subsequently got towed to our mechanic. Thank heavens for our subscription to CAA...

"Dead dead dead...someday we'll all be dead"...

After a peek under the hood, our mechanic, Ryan, diagnosed "Gus" (what we affectionately call the truck) "kaput". The engine had ceased, and it would cost more to fix the truck then what it was worth. He suspects the engine died because it ran out of oil due to a leak.

I know what you're thinking: How does a truck run out of oil without complete negligence? Aren't we looking after the darn thing?

Yes, of course! But, consider this: It is difficult to notice a leak when there was no leak that we could see, and when you have an oil change and the guy says, "Yep, everything is fine..." you assume everything checks out. It also doesn't help that "Gus"'s dashboard gauges were either broken or unreliable which, in the end, likely attributed to the problem.

The truck breaking down was not part of our foreseeable financial planning, but from the problems it had been giving us over the last 8 months or so, I can't say I was surprised there was a problem with it. I always hope my vehicles would retire gently into that good night, not go out in a blaze of glory (or just fart out completely). Regardless, I always hope that a car that has been maintained well would last longer than 10 years. That, unfortunately, has not been a common phenomenon for us.

In the wake of "Gus"'s demise, we have been looking for another set of wheels. One thing is certain for us: we have had two Ford vehicles now, and will never go with Ford ever again. Our experience with their vehicles' integrity has been less than impressive.

Once there was "Christine"

My first experience with Ford happened to be my first car I ever owned - a 1994 Ford Escort hatchback in red. A real beaut on the outside, but a devil on the inside (it was called "Christine" for a reason...). It cost $7100 in 1999 with low kms, which was a good deal back then. But the damn thing cost us at least $2500 a year in one major repair after another, including big ticket repairs like a new steering column, stick shift and complete transmission rebuild. We also dealt with the fact that this car never had any pick-up, and the accelerator petal often stuck to the floor on long trips (yikes!). In 2004, "Christine" went out in a blaze of glory on a busy highway, in a five-car pile-up that wrecked the front of the Escort completely (don't worry, my husband was fine). What followed was the purchase of (and my 7 year love affair with) a gold 2001 Toyota Echo (no moniker given), that is still running today with well over 300,000 kms. I have since moved on to a blue Toyota Matrix (I call it the TARDIS) and I am enjoying that vehicle immensely.

Can't forget "Ozzy"

My husband's first car was a red 1993 Chevy Corsica called "Ozzy". A beast of a car in snow, and a very comfortable ride. The car was our primary ride when we first moved in together. I don't recall it giving us too much trouble, other than it just rusted down to dust by the time we got rid of it. What followed was the purchase of the Ford Ranger.

...And of course, "Gus"

The truck was the first car we bought brand new, with a warranty and a payment plan. The warranty eventually wore out, and almost like clockwork, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. The check engine and gauge lights were warning us to bring the truck in. We took the truck to the local Ford dealer to run a diagnostic - the answer was there was nothing technically wrong with it. "A fuse or something," they didn't know. We left the dealership $200 poorer, without the problem fixed. Shortly after this, the gas gauge busted. The lights kept coming on, but our mechanic could not find the problem. Years went by and we lived with the broken gas gauge. The lights on the dash eventually disappeared without explanation. More electrical problems surfaced. More recently, the oil gauge needle would flicker from side to side like it was possessed. Funny enough, the odometer still worked. Through it all the darn truck would always pass its emissions tests.

Not surprisingly, the 2003 Ford Ranger was rated 'poor' in a recent Consumer Reports for integrity, rusting, brake issues and having constant electrical issues from unknown causes. Over the last several months, we have spent over $2500 in repairs on the truck. New brakes, alternator, new tires, new battery, new starter. We hoped that "Gus" would be able to get through the winter and maybe in the summer we would start thinking about saving for another vehicle. The truck had other plans...

Neil Young said it best - "Rust Never Sleeps"...

"Gus" has been looking rough as of late. If you look at the front grille of the truck, you would think it was in good shape. But an inspection of the rest of the vehicle tells a different story. The severely cracked windshield for starters (the result of a large chunk of something that fell off a dump truck and flew against the glass). The cracked bumper (K slid into a snowbank). The tailgate fused shut from rust and its broken tailgate latch, rendering it completely useless. "Gus" has gone ghetto in a seemingly short period of time. So with this last breakdown, the decision has been made in quick succession: The truck will be taken off our hands and then sold for scrap, thanks to our mechanic, Ryan.

A plan in the making

Last night, we checked out a 2012 Honda Fit we saw advertised in AutoTrader. We have since put a down-payment on it, and will have the car next week. Obviously, the Fit is a hatchback - not a truck. We decided to downsize for fuel economy. It will be a bit of an adjustment to no longer have the convenience of a truck to haul big things. But, you can't beat saving $40+ at the pump. My thinking is to use the fuel money we save to have whatever big item we buy delivered to our house, or rent a van for a weekend. And, we can always put a hitch on the Matrix and buy a trailer if we have to go to the dump. Winter driving safety is also important, as the truck only had rear-wheel drive (standard for trucks without 4x4) which can make for slick driving in the winter.

This little Honda Fit has a lot of pep. It was a demo model in its past life, fully loaded and has low kms. We're also getting it at a decent price. I'm sad that our truck is toast, but couldn't have asked for a better ending.

Picking Up a Workout Stitch

2013-04-01T21:46:00.000-04:00

Nothing like Good Friday to start being 'good' about the diet.

This weekend the house of Sim embarked on a "get healthy" kick again. We seem to go through an internal "Spring Cleaning" every April or May, where our usual eating of junk gets cut down to once a month, and we hop back on the treadmill three or four times a week. Then summertime arrives: we travel, go visiting or have visitors, and get lazy, then the diet goes back on the back-burner until our fat pants become too tight. We can't blame anyone but ourselves.

Not to say we eat a lot of junk... We eat well-balanced meals most of the time. We don't drink a lot of pop and we barely go out to eat. But we do have our vices: Our Achilles heel for us is the salty chip and sweet dessert. Everything in moderation, of course. It's the exercise piece that needs to be stepped up.

And exercise is definitely needed on this 'jelly'...

Working a desk job every day does not allow for much physical activity. I could use the gym at work but it's usually insanely packed at lunch, blah blah blah. I also don't want to be recognized by colleagues as I'm sweating down in my Megadeth t-shirt on a treadmill on my lunch hour. Besides, I have a perfectly fine treadmill at home....

It's my fitness, Pal!

Last year, my husband found a great online program that tracks your diet and exercise and tells you if you are eating enough calories - MyFitnessPal dot com. It's a neat website that I have been using this time around faithfully. You input everything you ate for every meal, and it calculates everything for you. Brilliant! It has most major foods and brand names in its database, so you don't have to guess. It also asks about how much water you've had to drink and how much you exercised.

Call me Sugar Baby...with Steak!

My Fitness Pal is pretty revealing. Before I started this regimen, my diet must have been high protein, high sugar. Here's what surprised me: since Friday, my protein and sugar intake has been maxed out (and in some cases over the limit), but fat, carbs and sodium are very much in the green - big time! So much in the green, that I can't possibly make up the amount of fat, carbs and sodium the program says I require in a day to stay healthy. I am also having a hard time meeting my minimum daily caloric intake. If I make it to 1000 calories, it's a miracle! I'm not sure what to do about that when I've maxed out sugar and protein....eat lard? (don't have this all figured out yet).

So far, I've lost 2 pounds, which isn't much at all. It would be nice to lose 20 pounds, but I am just hoping to keep up with the exercise and better eating habits. Good stitch to pick up, wouldn't you say?

Dropped 'the Stitch' For a Bit...

2013-03-31T10:43:00.000-04:00

Well, what can I say...like the name of the blog, I dropped my blog for a bit (Sorry to the four people who actually read this...)

I've been knitting, yes, but I've been doing a heck of a lot of other stuff, too, and just didn't make time to document... Like gaming. A LOT of gaming (I know, not knitting related). And watching documentaries. And watching Doctor Who. And taking care of my eczema-ravaged skin.

I have a few knitting-related updates: I have finished the wave blanket, and started on a sweater. I have also come across a crapload of projects I would love to start but haven't the time right now. I have also bought more knitting magazines.

My last real entry was at the end of November. After a month went by without posting, my husband commented that he hadn't heard about me posting on here for a while, and speculated that I got "burned out" on the whole knitting blog thing. Honestly, yes, I feel sometimes the knitting convo is a bit forced when that isn't what I am doing at the time.

I had completely let the blog go in my mind until someone had commented on my itchy sweater post last week. This made me look at the blog more critically. I think I still have a lot to say - about knitting, my interests and the world around me. So to keep the blog going, I've decided just to write whatever interests me. I'm not ready to give up this 'stitch' yet...

Is "Made by Me" Worth the B.S.?

2012-11-30T12:18:00.000-05:00

About 12 years ago, I got my first sewing machine for Christmas. Up until that point, I hadn't ever used one except for a hand-held portable Singer sewing machine (which didn't work too well...). I wasn't really much of a sewer really - buttons, tapering pants and hemming by hand was about as far as the skills went. But, for whatever reason I really wanted to try to design and make my own clothes. Maybe it's because I come from generations of women who made their own clothes? I just wanted to wear something I made and think to myself that I could do it.

Once I got the machine, I thought that making my own pj pants would be a great first project. My plan was I'd use my favourite pair as a template and fly by the seat of my pants (hah, nice pun...). I relied heavily on the instruction manual (still do!), and tried to learn a bit about stitches, threading a bobbin and the like. Then the excitement started! Off to the fabric store; I needed to find some fabric! And this is where I discovered, really having no previous idea, that fabric can be expensive to buy off the roll.

I settled on a cool milk and cookies motif in flannel. It cost about $35 for the fabric. Thread, elastic and other supplies brought the price up to $45 for a handmade pair of pj pants, which in this age of globalization and being able to get pj sets for $15, the handmade version was twice the cost. This doesn't include all the sweat I poured into making the pants...and the swearing...I really didn't know what I was in for. I did finish my pants, by the way. My sewing inexperience took me at least two weeks' worth of effort to make the pair. I learned from the experience and I still have those pants today.

Would I make another pair? Hmm. I haven't yet...

This was my first, and last article of clothing I have ever sewn - ever. Since then, I've made panelled curtains, hemmed pants and shortened drapes. C'est tout. I always have hope to pick up sewing more regularly, especially after I watch a season of Project Runway, but then I get overwhelmed and move past the emotion. "Some day" always floats in the back of my mind. Seriously though, I think making these pants scarred the sewing buzz for me. The learning curve, the effort and let's not forget the money spent, all affected my perception of sewing for future projects - no doubt about it.

An epiphany

A year after completing my pj pants, I went out thrift shopping with a friend. I remember her telling me that she believes there isn't much point in making anything that costs much cheaper in the store to buy. She then pulled a pair of pjs off the rack and said, "Take these pjs for example. They are brand new, never worn. They're really nice and they only cost $10. I'd never make these by hand. Why would I when you can buy them already made so cheaply. The cost of the fabric alone would probably cost more than $10."

This logic resounded with me, especially since not a year before, I had made my own pj pants. It did make me think...Why make anything like that when the supplies to make it cost so much?

I often think of the maternal side of my family in the 1930s and 40s - making their own clothes... Smocking dresses using the old-time foot-propelled Singer sewing machine; darning and mending their stockings by hand...It wasn't so much that they got pleasure from making their own clothes - They had to do this because they were poor and didn't have a Wal-Mart to go to. They couldn't afford to buy new clothing, so they made what they could by hand. Fabric was cheaper than clothes back then. Things seem to have certainly changed.

I look at all I have created with yarn. Similar to fabric, I create pieces of clothing that I wear today. I continue to knit items for myself, a little fettered by the cost of wool, but not enough to really stop me from knitting. Why? Not only because I hate everything I find in stores these days, but because as an artist, I have realized the value in having something unique. It's even better if you can say, "I made this."

Consider, if you will, my milk and cookies pj pants. I definitely haven't seen that fabric in any retail store in any clothing form. That to me says that the likelihood of running into anyone with milk and cookies pj pants around here is next to nil. The same can be said about the sweater patterns I choose to knit. Yes, there might be someone with a similar style out there, but I take pride in creating something different than the norm. Uniqueness rocks!

There was a point in my life when I thought hopefully (deludedly?) that I could make money on my knitting. That thought was later squashed by the same dynamic - wool is expensive, and so is your time. You can't expect to charge $200 a sweater like you want to. I mean, we aren't all Stella McCartney. But, in the age of Etsy, creators, artisans, knitters and crafters have a stage to show their wares and actually make a little money off their labour. I know selling my knitting is something that I don't want to take on at this point, but maybe in the future. Having knitting as a side business would take time, effort and money - not to mention business sense. And, I would have to consider a knitting machine to increase my productivity. We know how my knitting machine experience ended the first time...

Confessions of a Statistics Ho

2012-11-25T11:22:00.000-05:00

Anyone who has ever written a blog can attest to the following: It's hard work. Trying to think of subject matter that would appeal to the masses, writing well, making sure people can find you on the web, trying to attract readership by reading other blogs and tweeting, and making your blog's interface easy to navigate and attractive to the eye all go into writing a blog. It's not all "if you build it they will come" philosophy. No, I have been discovering just how hard it is first hand.

When I first started Picking Up a Dropped Stitch, I went into it with very limited expectations. As I continued to post entries I got more of an interest in sharing my experiences with readers. But, lately I found myself wanting to drop this blog altogether. Why is that?

Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light

I discovered a very nasty side to myself over the last month: I developed an obsession with readership and pageview statistics. That's right: I turned into a Statistics Ho.

Logically, I don't really have a right to expect readership. I've only had my blog up since September and so far it has become a niche blog on knitting. Let's be honest, most people are not into knitting. I have 12 blog posts which really isn't much. I try to write a blog entry once a week, but this is not always possible. I have no followers and one subscriber (my hubs). No comments. I have been obsessed with asking why this is the case.

Why don't I have engagement in the knitting blogosphere? I've discovered the reason: There are THOUSANDS of blogs just like mine trying to get readers' attention. On the one hand I think, maybe it's a good thing, not having any attention. I could write whatever! But then the Statistics Ho in me thinks, "What's the point of all this?" The bigger question should be: "Why is this so important to me?"

Advice. You know the saying...

No one can say I haven't attempted to get an audience. I've been following the Ann Landers of blog advice on the net: aka GOOGLE. Meaning, everyone who blogs has advice on how to give your blog more exposure. I've read it all and done most of it:

One should write every single day. (Okay, I can't do that..)
Join Google Plus (I have, and I hate it).
Tweet about your blog and follow other knitters. (Done.)
Read other people's blogs, comment on their posts and subscribe to their feeds. (Done, done, done!)

I have even gone on the dreadful Google Product Forums (where Blogger Help is now) to give technical support and maybe get some exposure. I joined Bloglovin and Knittingblogs dot org. I post on Facebook, which gets the biggest audience. I also submitted my blog to Google and Bing.

This is becoming a full-time job

Whew! I could go on. Between writing and designing the blog, reading other blogs and researching how to get an audience, my evenings and weekends are shot. I would like to know how other bloggers manage this with busy personal lives. Reading blogs all night is not something I can commit to, though I really do try when I can, and comment when I read something really interesting. How do other bloggers do it without making it the unpaid full-time job?

The Blogger vs Wordpress dilemma

Picking Up a Dropped Stitch is made in Blogger (those that have "Blogspot" in their address usually are created in Blogger). I was thinking maybe Blogger isn't a good choice for me. Maybe I need to migrate to Wordpress? Perhaps they're good at marketing themselves, but Wordpress gives me the perception that they are better for blog exposure and community even though everything I've read about switching contradicts this idea. So, then I change my mind and stick it out with Blogger.

Blogger is owned by Google, and some believe this somehow makes your blog more powerful. I could probably write a blog post on my experience working with Google and how Google is systematically backing away from Blogger. Let me list briefly what Google has done to push away all the things that support Blogger users: Ending their Blogger Help Blog, forcing people to start a Google + account by shutting down Google Friend Connect and backing away quietly from supporting Feedburner (the free email and rss subscription service for Blogger), but I digress. I'm keeping my eyes on you, Google! I haven't decided if I'm switching yet.

Should I change the name?

I have searched Picking Up a Dropped Stitch on Google to see where it's listed - It's buried somewhere on the third page, which isn't good for search results. The blog name is blended with tutorials on how to pick up a dropped stitch. The thought popped into my head that I should change the name of my Blog. But, the two people who read my blog tell me to keep the name - they like it. Alright then...

The Numbers Ho rears her princess head

Let's get down to the one thing that I think is really psyching me out - the blog's pageview statistics. Blogger has its own proprietary stats built in that you as owner of your blog can see through Blogger's Dashboard (not viewable to the public). But, I honestly can't say how true the numbers are. For the most part, I think the numbers are inflated. I have had over 600 page views since I started - great figures overall - but that was before I told Blogger to stop counting me viewing my own blog in the stats. To have a more accurate (albeit soul crushing) number of page views, I signed up for Google Analytics which anyone with a blog can sign up for. GA supposedly gives you a more true reading of who or what is viewing your blog. So by GA's criteria - and this is the soul-crushing part - there have only been about 100 pageviews. The rest are me, and Google's crawler bots (not real people - cyber robots) that scan my pages for search engine indexing.

My pageview statistics - looking a lot like a black diamond ski hill to hell

Coming around

I've been analysing the content of my blog critically. Knitting is a very specific topic. I can't expect everyone to care what I have to say about it, so I'm going to lighten up on my readers...or lack thereof. Read if you want to read, subscribe if you want to subscribe. You are welcome to my fold wherever you are from. Welcome, friends.

Plus, the notion to write every day is not always possible. I can't help but question the quality of blog posts if you are writing every day. Are you writing meaningful posts, or just writing for the sake of writing? I conclude that if I have something to say, then I will say it, and try to make it interesting and well written. Above all, I choose quality - not quantity. If that is the reason my blog gets passed over, I will accept that as the consequence. I reap what I sow.

I am proud to say that I haven't analysed my blog stats in about a week in an effort to lick this bad habit, and it's been hard, but I've managed to get through. I think I can cautiously say this Statistics Ho Roxanne can turn off that red light. Now to exchange one bad OCD habit for a better one...where are my knitting needles?

All About (Itchin' In) Wool Sweaters

2012-11-14T10:50:00.000-05:00

Growing up, did you ever have that article of clothing - a sweater...socks, perhaps - that your Grandma made for you as a Christmas present, and it was the itchiest rash-producing piece in your closet, yet your mother made you wear it: "because your Grandma made it for you - that's why..."?

I never did - thankfully.

I come from a very small family of 5 growing up - a mom, sister, aunt, grandmother - and me. Later on, a step-dad would enter the mix, too. The only person that could knit was my Granny and she liked to knit in acrylic wool. I'm sure some of her choices of wool were often due to budgetary reasons and availability, and not because she enjoyed acrylics. But she was also a woman from Manitoulin Island, Ontario. There, she came from generations of working on the farm; she was practical and always tried to stretch a dollar. Acrylic wool serves a great purpose - it's cheap, plentiful, easy to care for, often doesn't pill, and you can make great things out of it. I see acrylics in a more affectionate light - if I make something out of acrylic wool, chances are it will not make me itch. And believe me - I know itch.

Since the age of 7, I have suffered from a combo of eczema and psoriasis. I get extremely dry, itchy red patches over most of my face, upper chest and back. Maintenance is a daily occurance which includes an anti-histamine and moisturizing at least twice a day. Having pale skin is no fun either, as every blemish and red mark shows. One thing is certain: you learn how to properly apply make-up, and trick that pony like you're Max Factor. I'm just happy I grew out of the acne stage...

Through all the skin problems though, I have to be thankful for not developing eczema on my hands. I know people who do suffer from it that way, and it can be debilitating. Imagine feeling like your hands are made of stone because the skin is so tight and dry. Then, imagine trying to knit like that. I can only deduce that wool through fingers ridden with eczema would make them feel like they were on fire.

Ouch! You know, there's a cream for that...

While we're imagining what it would be like to knit with itchy wool, let's think about those that have to wear the scratchy fruits of our labour. I have tried not to use scratchy wool in my projects, but this is not always easy, especially in the event of an awesome wool sale. The itchiest wool I've ever used is a Shetland chunky in my first sweater. The wool used in that project was a blend of acrylic and Shetland - so it has the softness and maintenance of acrylic yarn, along with the look of genuine wool. But no doubt, it's an itchy sweater.

I have a critical eye for itchiness with most of my clothing: sharp ribbon tags are cut out of t-shirts, scratchy socks are stuffed in the back of the drawer or thrown out. I hate those plastic seam reinforcers that pick at the nape of my neck. But, I can't say the same attention is given to my sweaters. Some of the nicest sweaters I own are made of pure wool - Shetland, Lambswool, Angora. They are very warm and made to withstand any chilly Canadian winter. But they are positively, without a doubt, rash-producing. Does that stop me from wearing them? Hah, what do you think?

The one on the left is my favourite.

I came across the itchiest sweater I have ever owned - bar none - buried in the back of my wardrobe. It was not thought of for a long while - not worn for even longer. It should have been given away a long time ago. It's not particularly attractive...it's kind of fugly, actually, but forgive me, I bought it a long time ago.

It doesn't look so bad in the picture, but believe me - looks are deceiving

The sweater is forest green with a beige-brown fair-isle trim. It also has a chemical smell to it that has never gone away. This thing induces such an uncontrollable itch I could swear barbs were spun into the wool. No exposed skin allowed; You're a nun for a day wearing a turtleneck underneath because even your wrists don't have a prayer. What's with the scratchy wool?? What the heck is this rag made from anyway??

Erm, what exactly is in this 100% wool?? This is almost like reading that something is made with man-made fibres but they don't tell you what EXACTLY is used. Dryer lint - That's a "fibre," isn't it? Goat whiskers. Horse hair. Beard shavings. Okay, that's enough! Seriously, though, the sweater is likely made of pure, raw sheep's wool that has then been rolled in a wood pile, dyed green and then knit into this sweater.

Instead of wearing it any more, I have a more appropriate use for it:

Scouring kindred spirits! You get the idea.

Because the sweater is so awful, I won't donate it; I will spare thrift shoppers from having to browse by this sweater at Goodwill. I honestly don't know what the future holds for it. For now, it goes back to the land of "never again to wear" in the back of the closet. Meanwhile, I will continue to buy and wear itchy wool sweaters...and chase them with some Gold Bond.

Knittage Knuggets - Beverly Hills, 90210

2012-11-04T07:18:00.000-05:00

Knittage Knuggets is a feature where in my watching copious amounts of TV and movies I unexpectedly come across a scene where knitting is thrust into the forefront; like a character is found knitting or sporting a gorgeous knitted item. Hey! You never know what may inspire a future knitting project!

One of the things I enjoy doing while I knit is watch shows - TV, movies, sideshows...whatever! Just sitting there doing nothing while being entertained makes me feel like I should be doing something other than just sitting there, but knitting helps to curb that feeling.

My husband and I have shows that we watch together; Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, and The Walking Dead - to name a few. But I also have shows *I* like to watch. I don't subject him to Grey's Anatomy or Sex and the City, for example. I usually will pick a show that I can enjoy myself and watch all the episodes in sequence, commercial-free. These days, Beverly Hills, 90210 is one of my guilty pleasures.

I used to watch Beverly Hills, 90210 when it aired from 1990 - 2000. Because I was still in school during most of its run and concentrated on studying (geek), as well as worked a couple of jobs in there (geek), I was more of a casual watcher of the show, and was not always able to catch every episode. Then, last summer I happened to find the first two seasons on DVD at the Hock Shop, and I thought this would be a great "catch-up show" and gladly slapped my $20 on the counter. Later on, I managed to find other "avenues" to watch the rest of the seasons (borrowed from a friend, Netflix, and...well...*cough...don't ask, don't tell). Because I like to watch shows back-to-back, I am now up to season 8.

Beverly Hills, 90210 is a soap opera that centres around a group of friends living life in sunny Southern California. Most of the characters seem to have little concern for money (and if they do, well that's okay - they still have food to eat and a roof over their heads...). They drive around in Corvettes, Land Rovers and BMWs and rent gorgeous apartments on the beach while their parents' cheques come rolling in. Every character has gone through a form of addiction, rehab, breakup, arrest or STD. Yet, despite their circumstances, they still manage to graduate college with honors, take responsibility for their actions, and seek work like regular joes; even taking not-so-great jobs like washing cars and flipping burgers.

Okay, people...Fess up. Who cut one?

One aspect of 90210 that the entertainment media used to fawn over was the wardrobe for the show. Apparently, the actors were always dressed in designer clothing. Before I go on, let me preface what I'm about to say with admitting that I'm not a fashionista by any stretch - I HATE to wear high-heels, and dressing up to me is leaving my RUSH t-shirt at home. So, that being said, I might be blind to opulence. But, to me I found the show's wardrobe unimpressive. In some cases - ridiculous. For example, in one episode, Donna Martin (played by Tori Spelling), hurt her back in a car accident. You would think after that experience she would be living her days wearing joggers and flannel pyjamas. No, the next day her back was in spasms and she could barely walk, yet she was wearing a short tight skirt and high heeled strappies - all while spending her day on a boat! Talk about being a slave to fashion...and circumstance!

"...What? Are you from the Worker's Comp. Fraud Squad, or something??"

And while we're on the subject...

Obviously one is not meant to watch the show eight episodes in a row like I prefer to watch TV, because continuity was not a strong suit with 90210. The show frequently had scenes of people running around in bikinis on the beach, yet the show's characters would be walking around town in fur-collared coats and turtlenecks. This is Los Angeles we're talking about. Isn't it funny that the further away from the coast line you are, the colder it supposedly gets? But, I digress...

The myth vs. the reality?

Back to the Knit Knugget

Here we are in season 8 of Beverly Hills, 90210. At this stage in the plot, we are joining the group of friends the year after they graduated from college. All of them are trying to find meaningful work and most have succeeded. By the 12th episode, called "Friends in Deed"....well, you don't really need to know all the interworkings of the plot - believe me. What's important is, for the first time ever, what interested me the most about this episode was what the characters were wearing.

For four seasons now, Valerie Malone (Tiffani Thiessen), known by the group as the conniving town bicycle, has basically lived in booberific spaghetti-strapped tops. But, in this episode she covers up for a change. It's seriously shocking! Surprising, not only because she wears a bra for one episode, but because she is outfitted in a very stylish wool sweater:

"Noah, remember last week you took me to Red Lobster and we spent the night together?
Um, the shrimp wasn't all I got from that experience..."

I say it reminds me of a fisherman's sweater. It's cream coloured and appears to be Shetland wool. It also has a basketweave diamond pattern reminiscent of old-time fisherman's sweaters. What gives the sweater a more modern look is the large cowl-neck. I guess putting Valerie on a boat inspired the wardrobe people not to keep her in a tank top? The sweater looks warm and cosy - perfect for winters in Los Angeles! ;^)

Two episodes later...

Just when I fell for this gorgeous fisherman's sweater, Valerie, in her latest conquest, must have removed the sweater and left it for the wardrobe people to recycle. It was dyed a rust colour, and then given to Terri, Brandon's assistant at the Beverly Beat newspaper, to wear. This is why you don't watch 8 episodes in a row...

"BTW, Brandon, I plan to leave you high and dry as I run off to elope with some dude.
Don't worry, that won't happen for another episode or two..."

Okay, the sweater is not so unique...but apparently, enough that I can't seem to locate a basketweave pattern similar to this sweater anywhere. I've been lookin' - and I'll keep at it! I might just have to hack my own pattern...

Knitting Rox, but My Knitting Machine Sux

2012-10-28T09:36:00.001-04:00

Did you hear about the time that I bought a knitting machine?

No? Probably because it was an experience I would prefer to forget.

I don't know what even possessed me to buy a knitting machine in the first place. Perhaps a little laziness, perhaps a little geekiness; definitely curious to see how one works. It was a quick decision and one of the most impulsive knitting purchases I have made to date.

About 10 years ago, I frequented the Michael's Arts and Crafts store quite a bit; the main reason being it was close to where I lived. I was always in the knitting aisle, checking out to see what kind of new yarn, books and gadgets were for sale.

One day I noticed Michael's started selling knitting machines. I wasn't familiar with them other than reading a few patterns that required using one. This particular one was a BOND ULTIMATE SWEATER MACHINE-Ine-ine-ne (can you hear the echo?)...If you read the box you would think the darn thing also made fries. But really, it was porno for Knitters:

- "Make a sweater or afghan in just two evenings!" Ooooo!
- "Knit 600 to 1200 stitches a minute!" Ahhhh!
- "Knitted fabric looks like it's been made by a professional hand-knitter!" *Cough
- "Knit 12 rows of 100 stitches in just 1 minute!" Umm, excuse me - WHAT?? Sold!!

Er - That's what...she said?

I read online more about this knitting machine, and it got some decent reviews back in the day. I was interested in it, but I did have some 'knit-picky" things about it that bothered me:

1. Touting its own portable carrying case as a "feature". Actually, the carrying case was the cardboard box the knitting machine was packaged in that had a handle at the top of it for easy transport. This is like saying a 6 pack of Corona comes in its own cardboard carrying case with a handle and advertising it as a "feature". Nice try, well played... and complete balls. Moving on...

2. It was bothersome to me that it was made with polymer plastic. But the box said the plastic was aircraft-grade, so my thinking was, "Okay, great. If it's good enough for Air Canada...w-wait, hold up! Are the airlines using the plastic for their drinking cups? Or for the seats?" That makes a difference...

3. The price. This thing was not cheap - $199 to be exact. Yep, almost 2-hundie for a knitting machine made of plastic.

I don't remember the circumstances exactly, except that I had a 50% off full price coupon from Michael's and thought that I'd use it to get this knitting machine. Just like that, I bought the Ultimate Sweater Machine and brought it home. The machine itself came with a DVD that instructed you on how to properly use it. I was so excited! I took my knitting machine up to my studio, assembled it and attached it to my drafting table. I then spent the evening carefully going through the reading instructions.

I should explain how one of these things works. You have this long rectangular piece of plastic that you attach to the edge of a table. This piece has long grooves cut into it where there are latch-hooked needles inside. These latch-hooks are what are used to weave the yarn to make your garment. What precipitates the weaving is a carriage that you run along the length of the plastic rectangle that pulls yarn from a wool ball. As the carriage hits the latch-hooks, they grab on to the wool the carriage is pulling and weave stitches. It's all very sophisticated. ;^)

Here is a video of the Ultimate Sweater Machine in action. It brought back nightmares, yo:

Now let me engage you in a review of this device

I HATED it. The first thing I tried to work on was a simple rectangle to get my feet wet so I could move on to maybe an afghan. I could not even manage to make a half decent knitted rectangle before it jammed and dropped stitches. The instructions don't tell you how delicate the knitting machine is and how much "cha-cha"-ing you have to do with it just to knit a square. You can't be rough with it for fear you break a needle. You can't use force or risk dropping stitches. And then there are those stupid latch-hooks that you have to make sure stay open, and are in the right position. The "12 rows in a minute" is a trap. I couldn't even get past 12 stitches before the thing bunged up. Nothing is ever simple, and this thing proved that proverb right. Then one of my plates (made of polymer plastic) that is used to mimic the size of knitting needle one would use if knitting by hand - called a "knitting key plate" - cracked for whatever reason, and it was "good night, Nurse!" My dreams of actually knitting a sweater on my knitting machine were squashed.

I have one swatch left from that experience:

I think I'll convert the swatch into another tea cosy or something...

Apparently, I'm the only one feeling this way

Funny enough, when researching for this blog entry, I was looking for any negative reviews of the knitting machine, and could not find ANY! People apparently love their Ultimate Sweater Machine! And good for them. I really didn't have the patience for all the work involved with my machine, nor for its lack of performance integrity.

In the end, my ULTIMATE SWEATER MACHINE was not very ultimate. And mine ended up in the Barrie, Ontario landfill - broken for good. One day, we were moving a twin bed around in my studio. One of us leaned the mattress against the drafting table where the knitting machine was and broke a corner off rendering the machine more useless than what I had started with. So much for aircraft-grade polymer...

Thanks to Bond, and EBay for supplying me with a couple of pics of the Ultimate Sweater Machine. Special thanks to YouTube user lynncnc for the instructional video. Images used for purposes of review under fair use. If you feel your images / video have been used unfairly, please contact me at pickingupastitch (at) gmail (dot com). Thanks.

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Part 3 - Breathing New Life into a Broken Blanket

2012-10-20T11:07:00.000-04:00

The Lumps and Bumps of Doing "the Wave"...

You know the movie "When Harry Met Sally"...the part where Billy Crystal and Bruno Kirby are sitting at a football game discussing Crystal's cheating wife while the rest of the world around them is into the game play. Every 30 seconds or so Crystal and Kirby break from their conversation, stand up with the rest of the crowd and lift their arms up in unison to engage in the stadium wave. The crowd is excited and happy. Crystal is going through the motions, but, really, he's headlong in a pity party. This is sort of like my experience with the triangle blanket I've been repairing up until this point. All I can say is I'm going to do a big stadium wave when my afghan is done.

Since February 2010, I have been working on fixing an afghan I had knit for some friends of mine. The afghan was a triangle blanket that had come apart in several places, and and was basically unusable. The process hadn't gone well. It went through several stages that you can read about in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.

The end result was doing sweet nothing to the afghan for a year and a half, and leaving it to sit in my studio:

Speed forward to August 2012...I was fixing my Granny's chevron afghan that had a hole in it. Out of this experience I came up with a plan of attack that would save this blanket from a lifetime in the Penguin book bag.

Now you're up to speed.

When I was 10 years old, my Granny had given me an afghan for Christmas that was knit in the wave pattern (a.k.a. the ripple, the zig-zag, or my favourite moniker: the fan and feather). It was in early 80s colours (oranges, rusts, yellows), and kept me comfortable on cold Winter's nights.

The wave pattern shown up close and personal

If you look closely at a blanket knit in the wave pattern, it has an interesting texture. As I had decided that the triangle afghan was going to be unravelled and re-knit into a different blanket, my concern was, of course, the condition of the yarn I was going to be re-using. If you've ever ripped out an old knitting project to repurpose yarn, the wool is never in the same condition as if it was knit fresh from the yarn ball. No, you're often dealing with wool that is kinked. Depending on the type of pattern chosen, using a kinky-textured yarn may not be appropriate, as I had discovered in my last blogpost. But, it was the wave pattern's lumps and bumps that made me think that the kinky yarn from the old afghan would work wonderfully in the naturally textured wave pattern. It's worth a shot! I had nothing to lose at this point. Now to find an appropriate pattern to work from...

The Frugal Knitter, letting her fingers do the walking - online!

$10 for a 7-page pattern booklet? You've got to be kidding.

There is no denying that locating the wave pattern in print for an adult-sized blanket proved to be difficult. The pattern itself is elusive, in that originally, my Granny had knit it from an old Patons Beehive knitting booklet that is long out of print, but copies of it are being sold on eBay for $10+. I am a cheapskate - in knitting and in life - and absolutely refuse to pay top dollar on anything available on the net for free unless all avenues are exhausted.

My Library Technician schooling paid off as I did some online reference work for the hard-to-find wave pattern. What I found was that there are many crocheted varieties, as well as wave blankets for babies. But free adult-sized wave blanket patterns were hard to come by. After a couple of days, though, I finally stumbled upon the right afghan pattern for this project. It came from an independent needle arts shop called Needleworks, based in Champaign, Illinois. The design is by Jennifer Penney and is in PDF format here. (Note about link: It might start downloading the pdf file right away. If you don't want this, search "feather and fan needleworks" in Google. It'll be the top search result. )

I think I can, I think I can...

I set to work on the afghan using the pattern I downloaded, and even though there were the usual hiccups, the knitting went better than it has gone since this venture began (YAY!). I could actually see some progress, and feel like I could see this thing to the end!

September 3 -- 7 days worth of evening knitting work...

I feel like a Magician "waving" my magic needles...

I also realized that this pattern looked hard to make, but (thankfully) actually wasn't. Getting back to the afghan I had growing up - I remember thinking that my Granny was a pure genius with needles. That wave pattern looked so interesting visually, and so complex to anyone who has never knit before. My husband was a good gauge of this. As I had started knitting the afghan he thought the wave pattern came from the fact that I was using repurposed kinky yarn (Hah, I tried to explain the pattern to him, but I think he glazed over a bit). In actuality, the wave pattern is quite simple to accomplish once you learn the basics of yarning over and knitting stitches together. It's these two techniques that give the afghan a wavy appearance. The whole pattern is four rows in length. The first row is where you knit stitches together and yarn over repeatedly. Then, you knit two rows and purl one row. That's it!

September 22 - More like a skirt than a blanket

Stitch markers (and constant counting) are the ticket

The afghan is knit using circular needles and stitch markers. I'm no stranger to circular needles, but stitch markers? Well, let's just say that before this project began, I had never understood the need for them (yes, even knitting socks "in the round"...looking back, I was crazy not to use them). Now, I can't imagine my life without them! Stitch markers are these tiny little round plastic circles that are placed along the needle of your knitting to indicate where a section starts and ends.

Keep them stitch markers handy!

With this afghan, each wave (or section) is 20 stitches in length and there are twelve waves, so putting a marker every 20 stitches helps you keep count to make sure you haven't dropped any stitches, and if you do, it gives you a simpler way to pick up the dropped stitch within the stitch markers instead of having to pull the entire project off the needle and unravel a significant amount of your work. Believe me, it happens. In my case, the stitch markers saved me from having to unravel my knitting repeatedly to correct mistakes.

October 3 - finally resembling a blanket

One lousy dropped stitch...damn.

Which brings me to the meltdown component of this afghan. Yes, I had a meltdown.

I was about half-way through knitting the afghan. Things were going well. I was faithfully counting each stitch, when I realized I miss-counted. It was only one stitch...one lil stitch. "No big deal," I thought. Not panicking, I just took the section in between stitch markers off the needle and pulled out a few rows. I counted, but it still wasn't right. I kept unravelling and counting until I had unravelled about 8 inches worth of work between stitch markers before finally reaching the mistake I made. This resulted in my having to remove the entire blanket off the circular needles and unravelling it down to the mistake. A whole week's worth of work - gone. To add insult to injury, as I was unravelling the afghan, the yarn was getting knotted onto itself which made a huge wooly mess. I was wrapped up in string and was paralysed. This sucked!

Only *I* would take a picture of the mess mid-tantrum...

Thankfully, no one but me was home to witness me throw the afghan and mess of yarn across the room. I stared at the pile for a while, took a deep breath and walked away from it. I then did something that I should have done all evening - brew a cup of tea. A swig and a deep breath later and I got to work repairing the damage. Luckily, my throwing the blanket didn't do a whole lot to it. It was mostly having to untangle yarn that was the most time-consuming. It took me another week to get my afghan back to where it was pre-meltdown. Sometimes all you need is a little tantrum.

Patience is a virtue...

October 21 - Getting there! :^)

These days, my afghan is looking almost done, but I still have some work to do. There are still rows to knit up and loose pieces to weave in. I also want to do a border around the blanket. All in all I am quite satisfied with the results. I just got to keep on counting my stitches. And watch my temper. ;^)

Part 4 - Turning the corner... Coming soon!

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Part 2 - Breathing New Life into a Broken Blanket

2012-10-14T11:37:00.000-04:00

Walking through the knitting pattern forest without a sandwich

The triangle blanket (Aug 2012). A ripped-up mess

In my last blogpost, I talk about repairing a hand-made afghan that I had given to some friends as a wedding gift back in 2000. The blanket was a series of triangles, sewn together to make squares, that were then fashioned into a blanket. By 2009, the blanket was completely coming apart at the seams. I took it home to fix it. I tried to re-stitch the triangles together using navy blue yarn. Whilst working this method of repair, I had an epiphany that this was not going to be a long-lasting solution. Then, efforts made on fixing the triangle afghan were shuttered.

Okay, now you're up to speed.

My first plan of attack was to take a powder from this afghan. I gave myself a two-week vacation from considering alternative methods of repair. Before starting on anything though, I thought it would be a good idea to approach the owners of this blanket - my close friends - and ask them if it would be okay if I changed the appearance of their original gift. They gave me their blessing.

At this point, it was February 2010. The Winter Olympics were on, and I was leafing
through some old patterns while the opening ceremonies were taking place. I came across a pattern I had used before to make a yarn buster afghan several years ago. It was a lap blanket knit using circular needles. The design was simple: rows and rows of colour that could pretty much be as random or as structured as you wanted. Inviting the simplicity of it, I decided to work with the 6 colours of the triangle blanket and give it a go.

The inspiration: (R) My first completed striped afghan (made ca. 2003), and
(L) the second reworking of the wedding blanket

I'll never get it! Never get it! Never get it! *Bangs head*

I didn't get very far before realizing a problem. My first completed striped blanket of this kind used wool that was knit fresh from the skein. The triangle blanket, on the other hand, was being unravelled and re-knit to make a striped blanket. A nice try, but, I had doubts in its outcome. It just didn't...work with the yarn. It just didn't...look right. The unravelled yarn gave the work a lumpy appearance. I had been reading how to straighten used yarn by washing it, then wrapping it around the back of a chair, or hanging the washed yarn on the line and have the weight of a hanger straighten it out. I tried the hanger method on some yarn, but it didn't really work out.

Bumpy, anyone?

It's not an unusual story in a knitter's life - you have all the excitement of embarking on a new project. You get so far and then you realize how much you need to put into it for it to go without a hitch. Self-doubt sets in, and then you succumb to the doubt. I could have tried to straighten all the yarn (all 140 triangles worth), OR, I could be practical and reasonable about this and work with the yarn I had in its current condition. This striped blanket path in the forest was abandoned. I was losing steam quickly.

Desperation: It's the world's worst cologne.

In late Fall 2010, my interest resurfaced. I laid the broken blanket out and thought, "Well, all the triangles are done. Just try to re-sew them again using the navy blue yarn like your original idea. JUST GET THIS THING DONE, ALREADY!" At this point, we had just gotten our satellite dish hooked up after no cable or satellite for several years. So, over episodes of Cesar Millan and Celebrity Ghost Stories, I toiled over sewing up the blanket again...

...for one whole week.

*Sad horn*

Here's the outcome: I stuffed everything into a bag and left it in my studio. And that's where it remained pretty much until a few weeks ago (August 26, 2012).

I'm lonely...so lonely...

But one day, I get my sandwich

What made me pick up this dropped stitch after all this trouble? It was repairing a hole in my Grandmother's vintage chevron afghan that planted the seed. She's dead now, but back about 30 years ago, my Granny was a big-time knitter of afghans. She had spent a whole year in the 1980s knitting each member of my little immediate family their own blanket. I recount my experience of repairing this afghan in a past blogpost here. But, it was these blankets she made that made me think there was a way to make my friends' sad blanket work.

My grandmother loved knitting both the chevron pattern, and another pattern that has several monikers: "the wave", "the zig-zag", or (my favourite) "the fan and feather". The fan and feather has a unique pattern that is just complex enough to hide the fact that you're using unravelled yarn, and looks very appealing to the eye. This was the design I decided to go with. Now if only my cheap-ass self could locate a free pattern...

Next time: Part 3 - The lumps and bumps of doing "the wave."

But first, a preview:

Breathing New Life into a Broken Blanket -Part 1

2012-10-08T14:33:00.000-04:00

Where are you going, where have you been?

Joyce Carol Oates has an anthology and short story titled the aforementioned. Although it has been decided after much effort to read her works that I am really not a fan of her writing, the title of this work was the first thing that went through my mind when I decided to embark on my latest knitting project. (I want to clarify though: it is the literal meaning of the title - not the disturbing story behind the title by Oates that inspired me. There: said it. Thank you.)

Following my post about fixing my grandmother's 30-year-old hand-made chevron-patterned afghan, I decided it was time to tackle one project that has been sitting around waiting patiently for something to happen to it.

But first, a little back story.

The year 2000 was a busy year. Not only was this the year I got married, but we attended a few weddings, christenings and birthdays. I tried (not for all, but many) to make something as a gift for whomever's party we were attending, whether it was a knitting project, or a piece of art, or simply making a card to congratulate the receiver.

Some close college friends of ours who lived a few hours away were one of the couples that got married in 2000. As a gift, I wanted to make them something special that they could cherish for years to come. At that point, I was pretty comfortable with knitting, having completed many projects from sweaters to stuffed animals.

In need of inspiration, I flipped through my stash of knitting magazines, hoping something would inspire me. I came across one project that looked easy to make and didn't take up much room; at the time we were living in a tiny one-bedroom apartment. This project was from the Fall 1995 issue of Family Circle Knitting. It was an afghan that was made from a series of triangles that were sewn together into squares and then pieced together into a blanket. It was beautiful. The magazine displayed a picture of an afghan that was 50 years old, and still looked great. My sentimental side kicked in and that's what made me settle on this particular project.

My muse.

Shortly after I chose the pattern, I went shopping for yarn. I settled on Red Heart Super Saver acrylic wool in a medium weight - easy to use, easy to care for. I chose a series of 6 colours - celery, muted pink, periwinkle, forest green, butter yellow and deep purple. The colours complimented each other very well, and went well with our friends' home's colour scheme.

I went to work on the blanket, and it took 4 months to complete. Making the triangles was an easy task: Cast-on 35 stitches, work in garter stitch. Decrease one stitch on the right side until you have 3 stitches on the needle, then cast off. Repeat this process until you have 140 triangles.

Looking back, the hardest part about constructing the blanket was stitching the triangles together to make the actual blanket. To the pattern's detriment, it never teaches you HOW to sew the blanket together; all it says is to sew the triangles together (yeah, right, thanks, Captain Obvious...). I had never made a blanket where you actually piece the parts together. I tried to refer to other blanket patterns in the hope they would tell you how to do this exact thing, but came up very short. The internet in 2000 was no trove of knitting instruction, either. So what do you do? The best that you can, that's what! Sew the triangles together like you would a sweater...? ...I guess?

Working on sewing 140 triangles together is NOT a fun job - tedious comes to mind... boring, in fact. But, finishing any project right is fundamental, and must be done well if you want any knitting to last. I managed to stitch the triangles together, and then crocheted an edge around the perimeter of the afghan in deep purple. Although my blanket did not look like the 50 year old afghan from the magazine, I wound up with a unique present to give my friends. They were pleased with their wedding gift and I was relieved and very proud of the results.

The finished afghan from 2000, before it was gift-wrapped.

Throw forward to 2006.

Many years had gone by and my friends were still using my afghan. I was happy to see them get use out of it. But in this last visit to our friends' home, I had noticed the afghan's seams starting to come apart a bit in some sections. Holes started to appear between seams. "Darn it!" I thought. And darn it was what I did. I knotted the ends of the weaved yarn that had come apart, so the seam would hold. But, as I discovered down the line, this didn't solve the problem.

Swiss cheese afghan

You, Sir, are a Fraud...with knitting needles!

Just when I thought darning holes was a great solution, a visit to our friends' home a few years later - Christmas 2009 - proved to be an eye-opener: the afghan was looking like Swiss cheese! The triangles were essentially coming apart everywhere! I realize now, my "guess" in sewing up the blanket like you would a sweater was not really the best course of action. An afghan is not a sweater - it takes a lot more abuse with stretching, pulling, and even washing than a sweater. I was beside myself about the condition of the afghan. What happened? What did I do wrong? Honestly, I felt exposed as some sort of "fraud knitter," pretending to know how to knit, but not able to accomplish anything of the sort. This was embarrassing!

The friends I had bestowed my handmade blanket to were very kind and fully prepared to continue to use the holey blanket as it was, without complaint. They never once asked about wanting their blanket fixed. Really though, that's an awkward conversation: "Do you mind fixing the shoddy job you did on your gift to us? Thanks!" (This is my harsh inner critic talking - not my friends. They'd never...). Feeling an obligation to right a wrong, as well as feeling a New Year's resolution coming on, I offered to fix their afghan for them, and they said, "Sure." I have had the darn thing in my possession ever since.

What do you do with a broken blanket? Fix it, right? Not so fast...

So, here I have an afghan that I created, and am now in charge of fixing. What do you do? Initially, I thought it would be simple enough to use the existing yarn weaved into the blanket and reinforce the holes by knotting the ends together. But, because I didn't "do it right" the first time, this didn't work without the blanket having a puckered appearance. Then I thought I could use leftover yarn to rework the seams. But this didn't work either. I looked into my stash of yarn for leftover bits I could use, but there wasn't any left. It was all used up in a stash buster project! My husband suggested taking the whole thing apart and re-sew it using a common colour like black or navy. This was the best suggestion, and where I concentrated my efforts.

I chose a navy blue acrylic yarn, not only because it seemed to compliment all the colours of the blanket, but I also had plenty in my stash. I started to take the blanket apart in sections. From there, I began to stitch up the triangles like so:

Nine triangles stitched, only 131 more to go. *Sigh*

Clown is to the left of me, Joker's to the right...

Re-stitching was a tough job. It was hard enough stitching up the blanket the first time around, let alone repeating the task. I didn't even get a third of the way in and I wanted to give up on it. Let me re-iterate: Finishing work has got to be the most boring job in a knitter's life. I worked on my method for about a week, tops, but then my project slowly became less of a priority. It wasn't long before I was finding any excuse not to work on it.

I had a thought that nagged me obsessively as I tried to fix this afghan. I only wish I had come to the following conclusion twelve years ago:

Each triangle's point is sewn to another point of another triangle. Six triangle points are sewn together per block. If I have to sew together so many points, and the blanket comes apart at these seams, I concluded this afghan has way too many weak points, and therefore, opportunities where the blanket could potentially come apart. It didn't matter how much work I would put into fixing it. Ultimately, the triangle pattern was pretty, but not practical, and eventually I would deal with this same problem again. Who knows if I'm right? Maybe this was the wrong approach. Maybe it's impossible for the same problem to happen again. But, how is it the 50-year old afghan from the magazine lasted so long without a problem? Of course, the magazine wouldn't tell you that the blanket will fall apart in 5 years (It was saying their afghan lasted for 50...). My mind was made up: I was in way over my head with this afghan. So, instead of staying the course, I decided to explore alternatives.

Read up on what I did in the sequel: Walking through the knitting pattern forest without a sandwich...coming soon!

The Hand-Knit Dishcloth - a short trip from pretty to gnarly

2012-09-21T20:01:00.000-04:00

The Dishcloth...handmade with love.

Anyone who has gotten married or moved out of their parent's house; hell, anyone who is starting to knit, or has been knitting for years knows what these are. A square cotton cloth in garter stitch with a little yarn-over edging. If you are a knitter, but haven't made one of these yet - get on with it! It's a rite of knitting passage!:^)

The finished dishcloth, ready to take the abuse.

The dishcloth is a simple pattern to make that goes something like: cast on three stitches, knit each row, increasing at each end until you reach 35 stitches on the needle, and then decreasing until you wind up with three stitches left, then bind off. Along the way, on each row you yarn over once at each edge so the cloth has an edge that looks fancy schmancy.

Ooo, pretty!

Some yarn manufacturers print the dishcloth pattern on the yarn's ball band. The cotton is almost always in joyous, vibrant variegated colours; not what you would imagine a dish rag would be. Still, they are easy to make, and a nice thing to give as gifts.

However, there is a small impractical flaw in using this cotton yarn to make dishcloths.

For starters, the yarn is 100% cotton. It's durable by all accounts and would, in theory, make a great dish rag. However, the label gives you instructions on how to care for this yarn: Machine or hand wash in cold water. Use mild soap. Lay flat to dry. Colours may run.

This is a dishcloth, people!

A dishcloth is meant to be:
1. Able to get wet;
2. Used in hot soapy water;
3. Used in conjunction with abrasive soaps and cleansers like Comet.

And then to suggest I hand wash the dishcloth? In cold water, no less? After I've used it to wipe down the kitchen counter? Hell-o, bacteria farm! I was taught to always wash dishcloths and tea towels in hot water, followed by a spin in the dryer for good measure. If this yarn is meant to be so much work, it's impractical as a dishcloth!

Before I get sued by cotton yarn manufacturers, let me say this: I love cotton yarn. It's a joy to knit with, and soft on the hands. As a dishcloth, this cotton yarn is very durable and makes a darn fine rag. I've been using my handmade dishcloths for years and they take some wicked abuse in my kitchen. That being said, just don't expect your pretty coloured dishcloth to stay that way forever. As a matter of fact, it's pointless to use any coloured cotton and expect it to stay nice. Your pink and purple variegated rag will turn to a gnarly-looking ashen version of its former self within five washes; Maybe less time if you use it with a cleanser with bleach.This is actually a sad beef with me (if a beef with anything could ever be sad...).

Two clean, but sad-looking, dishcloths. (Yes, they're clean, I said.)
Point made.

This isn't to say that this cotton yarn isn't suited to other items - baby blankets, toys, clothing...and I've even seen it used for a summery throw. I just think using this happily-coloured yarn to make something that will eventually be used to clean the burned on, caked on black grease from a roasting pan a sad waste of pretty colour.

Sweater Starters: The BIG sweater in need of a little love

2012-09-16T07:21:00.000-04:00

Before the sweater was a twinkle in the knitter's eye...

When I was in elementary school, I had a classmate whose family came from the Yukon. She would often talk about visiting her Dad up there in the summers and would return every September wearing a different, gorgeous Icelandic-style sweater. I'm not sure who knit them, but you could tell they were hand-made. Knowing my Grandmother could knit, I begged her to knit me a sweater one year. She said she would, but it never came to fruition. Not sure why, but aside from knitting hats, mittens, scarves and blankets, she never knit anyone a sweater that I know of - not even for herself. Later on, I got my Icelandic sweater for Christmas - a machine-knit Icelandic sweater by Woolrich, makers of fine faux Icelandic sweaters. I liked it, at any rate, and it got years of wear.

A Knitter's best day besides finishing up a project is running into a yarn sale!

It's a natural progression for any knitter to try and make different items to expand their horizons and knitting repertoire. For me, the choice to knit a sweater came in 1996, around the time I was finishing up my Junior year of University. The year was a lesson in time suckage as I spent most of my time either studying or completing assignments. But every bit of spare time was either spent with friends or at home knitting. That spring I walked into a Lewiscraft store (arts & crafts chain store in Canada that no longer exists). As luck would have it, they were having a sale on knitting kits. The wool was Patons Shetland Ragg Chunky - a wool/acrylic blend that came in 100g balls. I had my pick of colour, and I chose a pretty variegated cranberry/moss/denim/indigo coloured yarn. The kit had 10 balls of this yarn in a bag with an instruction booklet inside. This booklet had 7 men's and women's sweater styles to choose from. I bought the kit and eagerly ran home to start my knitting project. I settled on a Raglan-style sweater that had a series of knit and purl squares creating a checker-board pattern.

The folded sweater to show its texture.
I still love these colours after all this time!

Laziness bites.

If you have read my previous posts, you'll know that I was a bit stubborn (lazy) with my knitting back then. This sweater is the prime example of what can happen if you don't take the time to check your gauge before starting your knitting project AND just randomly decide on a men's size large as a good size of sweater for a size medium female without even checking the sizing. Why I chose to knit the men's sweater, and not the female equivalent is beyond me. I guess I saw the finished women's sweater and didn't like the turtle neck style. I know now that there is a simple fix for that (follow the men's instructions on how to make his collar and adapt it to the women's sweater).

At any rate, I followed the instructions fine, but the execution was off; my tension was extra loose. I managed to complete the project with several edits. The sweater looked huge and shapeless on me, which, unfortunately could not be fixed without pulling the whole thing apart and starting over. What's more, the sleeves were extra long. This, I could fix - and did by pulling out at least 4 inches of length. Then there was the finished collar - it was too tight to get my head through!

The end result - Mama Cass, you got yourself a sweater...

I eventually fixed the sweater enough that I could actually wear it. Back then, "Boyfriend-style" sweaters were popular, so I got a couple of seasons of wear out of it. But then the day comes when you are wearing this big shapeless sweater, pass by a mirror and think to yourself, "Damn, do I ever look frumpy," followed by, "Never again."

I haven't worn the sweater in years - It's true. Taking pictures of it for this blog was the first time since I moved into my current house that it has been pulled out of hiding. Before that, it laid in wait in my closet among my other worn sweaters. Pretty sad.

STB:NCII...

My first sweater, made just for me.
It's not a bad big sweater, it just needs a little love.

When I looked at it today, I thought that maybe I had grown into the sweater, meaning that maybe I should start wearing it again. Nope. I've concluded it's STB:NCII (Still too big: not comfortable in it).

The sweater might not be great, but this wool is really pretty! The photo above really doesn't do the sweater's colouring justice. Maybe it needs a little overhaul? Solution: reuse the wool and make something you like and that you'll wear. I just might do that. I have since knit several sweaters, but it's time to knit myself something new. Hey, at least I earned experience points!

Knitting magazines: To Buy or Not to Buy, that is the question...

2012-09-14T22:45:00.000-04:00

Have you ever found a magazine that you loved so much, you ran to the newsstand every month in anticipation that a new edition would come out?

What? No one buys magazines any more?!

Except, as a beginner knitter in the mid '90s, there was no internet to look up cool patterns. Books were too expensive or old and moldy. The newsstand was my source. And one day I came across a knitting magazine that I still crow about today. That magazine was Family Circle Easy Knitting.

Family Circle Knitting, and as it was later called "Family Circle Easy Knitting plus Crochet" (let's just call it FCEK, um kay?) was a quarterly magazine that began hitting the news stands around the time I started to take a serious interest in knitting. My first purchased issue was the Fall 1995 edition and I hold it dear to this day. My exposure to knitting magazines was new at that point. All I knew was this magazine was like a port in the storm and I often compare it to what's out there today.

My first issue (Fall 1995) and there would be more.

Up to this point in 1995, I had knit a few things - scarves, mittens, and started a blanket, but really, my knitting portfolio was short. That didn't mean my ambitions weren't high. I didn't care about my skill level - I could knit and purl, and therefore willing to attempt to execute any project (or so I believed). The cover was the one thing I noticed off the bat on the first issue of FCEK. In an inset pic on the cover was a cute boy's knitted patchwork-style blanket with a car motif. But, that wasn't all. Thumbing through it there were also other projects I took an interest in. Not only did it have some pretty cool stuff to knit, the cover story had step-by-step beginner basics. What the hay - I might learn a new technique! This issue from 1995 is the magazine that keeps on giving - every pattern is a keeper, and I'm still knitting things from it to this day. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Family Circle Easy Knitting went out of publication in 2002. Out of print copies of the magazine are being sold on Vogue Knitting's website, eBay or independent knitting pattern sites.

While FCEK faded very quietly into the sunset, and the gaping hole that was my craving for fresh patterns grew even larger, there was a ton of copy-cat magazines that were more than eager to take its place. Even today, go to any newsstand and there are at least 5 knitting magazines on the shelf. With at least 20 different knitting magazines currently printing it's a bit overwhelming, but I've developed a discerning taste. Looking at them all staring back at me on the magazine rack, I size them up - sure, they're knitting magazines, but how do they compare to FCEK?

Why the love affair? What made FCEK so great? Let me count the ways:

1. For starters, FCEK would always consider the beginner knitter by adding patterns that were stylish for everyone but that the newbie could handle and be proud of (no dishcloths here!)

2. The patterns were always stylish and achieveable. The colours used were fresh and the yarn they used to complete the project was actually something I could buy at the local yarn store. They very often used familiar yarn company yarns like Bernat Red Heart, Patons and Lion Brand yarns - which was relatively affordable on a student budget and sold everywhere. Many - if not most - of the patterns used acrylic wool which kept costs down, and didn't shrink in the wash.

3. FCEK would always add an instructions page that would break down step by step how to knit and crochet. And if there was one pattern that used cable stitch, those instructions would be added too.

4. Another great thing that started in FCEK and often duplicated in today's publications - the magazine would have a yarn strand page that listed every brand of yarn, and pics of each strand to scale so you could check visually if you have the right bulk of yarn. This came in handy for me - having that visual piece gave me a bit of comfort to know I was on the right track with the weight of wool.

I loved the yarn strand page.

5. And lastly, the articles would give you information you could use - like how to chose the right style of sweater to accommodate your body type, or how to felt your garment.

I am still sad about FCEK shuttering. Following that event, I bought an issue of Vogue Knitting magazine, and I found it to be very sophisticated. They used expensive wool and designer patterns. I might have found it a little too serious. I haven't knit anything from that magazine yet, even though the styles are gorgeous.

In 2008, I bought a magazine after a long hiatus - called Creative Knitting. I don't remember why I bought it. It must have been on a whim. I am not terribly excited about any of the patterns. This particular magazine has an interview with a knitter I've never heard of, and an article on hand painted yarns which isn't on my radar these days. Frankly this magazine put a stop to buying print knitting magazines. I just figured they were all the same regurgitated ideas, and therefore a waste of money.

I *think* I bought this for the vest on the cover...
But the magazine itself didn't impress me. Even the model here looks bored.

It's easy to become cynical. With the digital age of publishing here and the price of printed knitting magazines running from $7.99 to $12, a strong argument could be made why people wouldn't pay money for any print magazines any more, especially when there is the internet to run to when searching for patterns - paid and free. Instructions on how to do anything knitting related can be found all over - even on YouTube. Ravelry has become my friend these days, especially when I was trying to find a free chevron pattern to fix my grandmother's vintage afghan. I love the internet.

The other day, however, I put my cynicism to rest and decided to pick up a new knitting magazine at my local grocery store. I figured enough time has passed. I was curious to see what was happening out there in the world of knitting magazines.

I picked up the Fall 2012 issue of Love of Knitting at random, as there were 5 others vying for my attention. I have to say, it isn't bad at all.

The latest knitting magazine purchase that wound up to be a good thing
(the Martha Stewart quote is just a co-incidence).

They have some nice shawls and ponchos to knit for Fall, a discussion on the Trinity stitch which gives a unique popcorn-like edging to cardigans, and a whole lesson on Entrelacing an afghan, which I was recently introduced to and interested in it. There is no yarn strand page, but in the how-tos the magazine offers coloured pics of hands knitting and purling, giving the beginner a good visualization. Not bad! I especially like their standard knitting abbreviations page which lists at least 40 different stitches on one tip sheet.

Lookin' at you for a future project, swoncho.

So, maybe there is still some room in my life for printed magazines. Inspiration can come from many places, right?