It's like we have one mind...

The comic that defines me has finally been written:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/10/24/verdict/

Lazy, lazy, lazy

While I *have* been lazy, not updating my blog very often, today's blog is about another kind of lazy person... the lazy knitting pattern writer.

I am sick to death of reading patterns that go something like this:

Row 1: K5, P4, SSK, YO, P4, K5
Row 2: P all
Row 3: K4, P6, SSK, YO, P6, K4
Row 4: P all
Row 5: Same as Row 3
Row 6: Same as Row 2
Row 7: Same as Row 1

Is it really that damn difficult to write the actual stitches over? Or *copy and paste* them?? If I print my pattern, and the page happens to cut off in the middle of your little "listing" I'm going to end up flipping papers over and over and over. I shouldn't have to print my own set of cheat cards in order to make your pattern usable.

Another example of lazy pattern writers is the people who excessively use "AND at the same time...". For example, a pattern I recently attempted which was a snug-fitting vest/top in a famous knitting book, should have been a fairly simple project. Oh heck no. Instead of writing line by line instructions, they tell you to knit X number of stitches in a rib pattern. Oh, but by the way you should be decreasing every six rows *here* and oh, by the way, please leave a panel here in stockinette. Never mind that the two last-minute additional instructions start to conflict and cross over each other, do it anyway. Oh, and by the way, you'll need to start increasing over *here*. Just FYI. Oh, PS. Did you remember to change needle sizes in the middle? Oops, start over please.

I am not a lazy knitter. I *do* read through my patterns completely before casting on. But reading it when you just have a piece of paper in your hand, and reading it while trying to actually do what they say to do are two very different things. Stitch markers flying everywhere, three different strands of yarn for those pesky color changes... practice is much different than theory.

If you write patterns, please help preserve my sanity... write out every line of instructions. If your stitch pattern reverses itself in the middle and starts repeating the first six lines in reverse order, write them out that way. Don't just use "ditto". Or whatever.

If you have a complex series of decreases, some starting in several different rows, please for the love of all, make a damn chart. Or put the decreases in the lines, not in some lame "PS" maneuver four paragraphs later. I don't care if your publisher told you to cut 14 pages, drop one of the patterns instead of making all the existing ones a muddled, confusing mess. Or better yet, drop some of those crappy B&W photos that do nobody any good anyway.

GAH!

Bad news and good news

First off, Hurricane Ike caused a lot of damage. Power in Texas was off in a swath over forty miles long. When we awoke the morning after, this is what our courtyard looked like:








The good news? We are all alive, and we have power back in our apartment complex.

In other good news, I recently found out Rick Springfield released a new CD earlier this year. Yes, I am slow to find these things out. BUT if you are like me and were unaware, here's the link at Amazon: Venus in Overdrive . I'm biased, but it's pretty good. I especially like "What's Victoria's Secret?" and "3 Warning Shots".

I think the worst part will be having the first song stuck in my head every time I see a Victoria's Secret commercial. :P

New (sort of) roving up on the site!

I had a nice order come in before the long weekend, so I've re-dyed it all and I finally wrangled some decent pictures and relisted them. Teddy Bear, Black Cherry Cheesecake, and Sunny Day colorways all making a reappearance. The colors have changed slightly since the last batch, but overall I feel it's an improvement.

As Promised...

Silk painting. They're really rubbish, so far. I'm figuring out what works for me, and what doesn't at this point. So far? Shibori: yes Serti: No

I really, really wanted to like the Serti technique, (outlining with gutta and painting within the lines) as shown here in my daughter's requested butterfly scarf, but I really don't. I suppose my hands are somewhat tied by the fact that I refuse to use anything but water-based resists, as I do not want to add regular trips to the drycleaner to remove gutta. As a result, my gutta lines tend to get flooded or washed away by my painting.


I did batik (using wax as a resist medium) back in college, so I may have to give that a go again. Boiling or ironing out the wax sounds like a complete pain in the tuckus, but I KNOW that painting won't wash that away.





Unfortunately, the better guttas that don't wash away as readily make my paintings look like a kindergartener got into mommy's wardrobe with a magic marker. I don't mind the "human touch" in my artwork, but I don't like it looking like I used a fine-tip Sharpie when I painstakingly squeezed the lines from a bottle with a teeny tiny point on it.








My abstract items look better, and I think that's the way for me to go until I get more practice or get my wax.

I *really* like the effects of salt and alcohol on the dye. Those techniques are staying in my arsenal for sure.







The Shibori will look better when I take the time to do it right, instead of hurriedly trying to slap something together. But isn't that true of most art?

This shibori scarf reminds me of the "Magic Eye" posters that were prevalent when I was in High School. I took the 17" square scarf and twisted it into a rope. Then I over-twisted it until it wanted to wind back on itself, which I let it do. I then clipped the end together so it wouldn't untwist, and placed it in a small bowl of dye. I then unclipped it (my clip was metal) and nuked it in the bowl of dye for a few minutes. A rinse and ironing later, and it was as you see here.

I look forward to experimenting more.

Silk painting is on hold...

At least the "Show and Tell" part. I don't want to set up a steamer for one, tiny scarf, and I don't want to do more scarves until the frame I ordered arrives. I do not do well with improvisational art supplies. I just don't. Believe me, I tried. I was all "Little House on the Prairie" inspired, ready to make it myself or make do, but everything I tried was just a *little* bit off. It made things messy and sloppy. And trust me, my "artistry" needs to have everything going right for it from the get-go.

BUT... I really enjoy it. So expect to see some, eventually. :D

Diving in... again.

Yes, I'm diving into a new hobby... again. And in my usual style: head-first, no-holds-barred and don't spare the pocketbook! What's the hobby? Silk painting.

Yes, today was payday and I've just ordered over $100 worth of supplies... and yet that was not as many supplies as I wanted to get. Oh, no. I had to restrain myself because the little niblet really, desperately needed a new computer. So, supplies for me, and needed parts for her machine. Fortunately, hubby and I know how to build them so the cost will be minimal on the PC front.

Also, with all the fiber dyes I have on hand, I already have a wide palette of colors to choose from, it's just the knick-nacky things, like stainless steel pushpins, better suited brushes, resist materials, etc. Actually the resists were the priciest part of the purchase, even out-doing the silks by a wide margin, if you include the applicator bottles.