Of Wild Horses and Liars

In the last millennium, when I was in high school, a friend’s girlfriend lived down a long rural road past a horse farm. Driving her home late at night on the unlit road, a horse came out of nowhere, over a fence directly into the path of his car. The force of the impact pushed the beast right over the hood and through the windshield. The accident was traumatic, the couple hospitalized, the car totaled, the horse dead. A year later, in his new car, he was driving her home and it happened again. A horse escaped from the barn, jumped a fence directly into the road. New car totaled. The driver both times was conducting himself in a completely appropriate and law abiding manner. The general response to the situation was “OMG, what bad luck!”.

Several young women of my acquaintance have recently encountered philandering consorts.  From my perspective, the situation is similar. The young women are going about their lives in a completely appropriate manner. They encountered a suitable young man, in the course of the relationship their hopes were crashed. In the course of discussing these situations with others, I discovered there seemed to be a tendency to look for inciting factors on the part of the young women.

Aside from property damage versus personal injury, another difference is no one blamed the driver for his bad luck. Clearly if a horse jumps the fence into a car, the driver has no control over the situation. Even if it happens twice on the same road, the driver is not at fault; the driver had no control over the horse’s actions. When men tell women lies and jump the fence into another bed, our society tends to blame the victim. “She must have done something to cause the philandering” or at the very least “she must have bad taste in men”. Reversing the gender roles, a young man would be afforded sympathy and the lying consort labeled a tramp.

Everyone has the right and reasonable expectation for trust. The onus is on the deceiver and the not the deceived, irrelevant of gender.

To Butt or Not to Butt In

Here is a quandary of which I have been considering since yesterday and would like your opinions... 

Yesterday I needed to run some errands, which included stopping in a local big box retailer. While I was walking up to the entrance i passed an elderly woman. She was moving very slowly supporting herself with a rolling shopping cart. Clearly suffering with kyphosis, she appeared to have related coordination / mobility issues. Never the less she was maintaining her independence, doing her own shopping without assistance. Her attire was a simple sweat shirt and sweat pants; the elastic waist pants were beginning to slide down. As she leaned over the cart a crescent of skin had been exposed. Walking past her I thought to myself, "she surely would be embarrassed by this display but would also be embarrassed if I mentioned it to her". At the entrance she sat down in a motor shopping cart which effectively concealed her attire malfunction.

They intend to make a spectacle of themselves.

Coincidentally as I was departing the store, she was  directly in front of me. She was waiting in line, again standing and supported by a cart. Unfortunately   her pants had dropped low enough for a considerable amount of her intergluteal cleft to be on display. It was a lot of skin and the exposure was progressing as she moved forward. Plumbers and Vegas showgirls would have been embarrassed to make such a show of themselves in the checkout line.

Without really thinking I came up behind her, as gently and discreetly as possible grasped her waistband and pulled up her trousers, saying quietly "I just know you don't want to lose your pants." The elderly woman nodded but did not look at me nor say anything. The sales-check did glance at me and mouthed "Thank you".

Did I do the right thing to intervene or should I have minded my own business? In such a situation would you want people to ignore your problem or assist you?

Tradition?

November through February is the Holiday Season to me. Friend and family birthdays begin and end with the conventional holidays sandwiched in between.  

Just before Thanksgiving someone asked “what were your family holiday traditions?” After a moment’s thought, I realized we had none. We weren’t Jehovah’s Witnesses, who do not believe in celebrating holidays or birthdays. Ostensibly we did celebrate both public and religious holidays and certainly birthdays. The problem was we just didn’t actually do anything celebratory.

There were birthday gifts but there were gifts at other times. There were holiday presents but those presents were likely to be purchased in your presence and/or distributed at random. Thanksgiving was celebrated, if at all, by dinner at the Country Club. Given my Mother’s notorious cooking skills we were frequent guests at their buffet through the year. Religious Holidays I recall, were occasionally spent at relatives or with the congregation, but usually they were discussed in passing.

At some point in this vacuum, I began to observe and often participate in other people’s traditions. Most of them were not representative of my ethnic group or religious culture. As a result I began to make up my own traditions in keeping with my personal attitudes and reconstructionist theology.

Organized religion seems an oxymoron to me but still celebrate the milestones of my culture. On the day of atonement, I fast and read my prayer book; once while on a camping trip. On Passover my goy Husband officially owns any yeast in the house, while I eschew bread for the 8 days. We usually have a big Seder at which I have often been the sole Jew and my Husband asks the four questions. When my Father was alive, long discussions of numerology often delayed the final meal, but we always consumed the full complement of glasses of wine. When my Daughter was a small child, we began a tradition of candles and exchanging a small present each evening of Chanukah. Coming up with eight small items you have to think. And it truly is the thought that counts.

And my favorite special event  - - Thanksgiving!  Perhaps it is the notion of giving thanks, as I have always felt fortunate. It was at Thanksgiving that we received word that the adoption of our adored Daughter was final; that she was truly and indelibly ours. Or, that it often falls on the Thursday prior to my birthday [everyone is giving thanks for me!] Or maybe I just like an excuse for a big, big dinner party.

For thirty plus years we have lived in and celebrated Thanksgiving at 1311, the house which will shortly be sold. There are pictures of random groups around the Thanksgiving dinner table. Candid shots with the fork half-way to the mouth or the eyes half-closed with laughter. Photos of dear family and friends who are gone and dearly missed, my Mom with her infectious giggle & my Dad in a rare moment, content. I will not miss this house or this city but I will miss those Thanksgivings.

Our Holiday open door policy means there are also photos of those of whom we say, who was that and what ever happened to them?

It was just before Thanksgiving that we received a phone call from a young man who was affiliated with a group called “the World for Free”, a practice now known as couch surfing. He was from Britain wandering through the US and would we put him up for a couple of nights? Ever open to unexpected guests, we said “sure” and introduced him around. He stayed with us over Thanksgiving, then a few days on a friend’s boat and finally with another friend who offered to drive him to his pre-dawn flight.

In the middle of the night his random host experienced terrible pains and could not get out of bed. The only reason he was not alone and isolated was because of his offer to drive the young Englishman to the airport for hiss pre-dawn flight home. His guest hearing the moans of pain checked on his host and called for an ambulance. As the young man flew back to England [someone else drove] our friend was in emergency surgery for a ruptured femoral artery. The Brit never realized that his presence had saved someone’s life.

Perhaps, it is the random moments that give the best reason to give thanks. Certainly, the it is the decision say “yes” and help in random circumstances which is the best tradition to maintain.

Oscar’s Hat

from the 2012 film “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”

made for Thomas Horn and understudies

finished size:  20" - 22" in circumference

& 10" -11" tall depending on blocking

Materials:  

Needles:

US size 1 2.25 mm 16" circular needles or equivalent DPNS/magic loop/two circulars

Yarn: 

One skein of Elspeth Lavold Silky Wool, 45% Wool, 35% Silk, 20% Nylon in Grey, color 80

[main color  / MC]

.25 skein (under 50 yards) of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport, 100% wool in Yellow [contrast color / CC]

Notions:

Yarn needle

small clips or pins for blocking

paint can or wire coat hanger as blocking form

Method:

Cast on 100 stitches with grey yarn using the long tail cast on or another non-bulky stretchy cast on. Join stitches for circular knitting taking care not to twist the cast on row. Place two markers on the first cast on stitch. Do not move one of these  markers carry the other along as you reach the beginning of the row for each subsequent row.  Knit nine rows, purl one, knit another nine, change to yellow, picked up cast-on row stitches while knitting contrast row to form cuff, continue for five sets of two rows of yellow alternated with 10 rows of grey on last grey row pass one stitch over the next to reduce stitches by half then run yarn through the remaining stitches to gather the top. Weave in yarn ends. Block hat and hem casing by pulling over a paint can and flower mesh or make a wire frame and hold hat to wires with hair clips or pins.

R1 - R9 with MC, k

R10 p

R11 - R20 k

R21 tie on CC, match R21 first stitch with R1 first stitch, k picking up one loop from the cast on row with each knit stitch.

R22 with CC k

R23 - 32 with MC, k

R33 - R34 with CC, k

R35 - R44 with MC,k

R45 - R46 with CC, k

R47 - R55 with MC, k

R56 *s1 psso k1* to end

Break yarn with approximately 12" tail. Thread yarn needle and pass tail through all stitches and cinch tight. Weave in ends. 

 

Blocking:

Paint Can option: 

Dampen hat and pull over a paint can or similar cylindrical object hold in place with a tube of netting or attach clips around the bottom edge for a clean edge. Place five equidistant clips around the top of hat to form pleats.

  

Coat hanger option: 

Shape a wire coat hanger to the exact dimensions desired, bending  the cross bar into a “u”shape for the crown of the hat and folding in the shoulder supports to form the hem of the hat. Dampen hat and attach the hat all the way around with clips. Use five clips to form the equidistant pleats at the crown. The coat hanger hook provides a convenient way to hang the hat while drying.

 Oscar’s Vest

from the 2012 film

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”

Original design for Thomas Horn in Boys size 8

Materials: 

Notions: two Stitch holders or scrap yarn, one stitch marker, yarn needle

Needle: 3.5 mm circular needle plus and extra needles for three-needle bindoff

Yarn: As shown Plymouth Yarns Encore Worsted

Main color 1 skein of 194 [grey]; Contrast color 1, .5 skein of 7120 [ombre blue/green]; and Contrast color 2, .5 skein of 7128 [ombre red/rust].

Woven stitch three color stripe

(even number of sts; 8 row rep)

Rnd 1:with CC1 Knit.

Rnd 2: with CC1* K1, sl 1 wyif; rep from *.

Rnd 3: with MC Knit.                                

Rnd 4: with MC *Sl 1 wyif, k1; rep from *.

Rnd 5: with CC2 Knit.

Rnd 6: with CC2 *K1, sl 1 wyif; rep from *.

Rnd 7: with MC Knit.                                

Rnd 8: with MC *Sl 1 wyif, k1; rep from *.

Rep rnds 1-8 for Woven Stitch Stripe.

Color sequence, as shown:  two rows of 7120 [ombre blue/green] , two rows of 194 [grey], two rows of 7128 [ombre red/rust], two rows of 194 [grey].

Method:

Waist ribbing and body:  Using grey, Cast on 120 stitches in Old Norwegian or your preferred cast on. Connect the two ends of the cast on for knitting in the round taking care not to twist the work. Knit 15 rows of 1 x 1 rib. Attach blue/green and begin woven stitch in the color described sequence. Do not cut the yarn, carry the yarn up the side twisting yarn together at each color change.

After 6.5 inches in pattern split for front and back. Place all half the stitches on holder or scrap yarn, this will become the garment front. Continue working as flat knitting in pattern working back and forth  

Back of garment armhole shaping: Bind off four stitches at row beginning followed by one stitch each row and then one bound off every four rows.

Front of garment armhole shaping: Bind off four stitches at row beginning followed by one stitch each row and then one bound off every four rows.

                                                                                     

Front of garment V-neck shaping:  On row eleven split for right and left front, placing half the stitches on holder or scrap yarn. Bind off two stitches adjacent to the split, then maintain an even edge to shoulder. binding off one stitch every four rows while continuing armhole shaping. 

Shoulder shaping applies to both front and back of garment: Bind off one stitch on the armhole side for four times. Do not bind off stitches remaining on the needles. Place live stitches on scrap yarn or holder while you complete the remainder of the garment. Once both front and back are complete place live stitches back on needles, picking up four stitches at the armhole side above the bound off stitches. Close shoulder seam using a three-needle bind off.

Armhole edging: Pickup ninety stitches, placing a stitch marker at bottom center. Knit the picked up stitches in 1 x 1 rib with a double decrease on the second and fourth row for five rows of rib

Row 1, 3 &5:   k1p1

Row 2, 4: [k1 p1] to marker sl1 k2tog psso [k1p1]

Bind off and weave in yarn tail

Neckline edging: Pickup 3 stitches for every four rows, placing a stitch marker at bottom center. Knit the picked up stitches in 1 x 1 rib with a double decrease at the marker on each row.

Row 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5: [k1 p1] to marker sl1 k2tog psso [k1p1]

Bind off and weave in yarn tail

The Eidos of Table, part two

The essence of a Nakashima-style dining table is that the finished product evokes the original tree. Not in any rustic haphazard fashion but the elegant modern design makes one appreciate the living tree from which the lumber was harvested. It also brings to mind our connection to the paleolithic hominid who put their gathered roots and berries on a fallen log instead of dropping their dinner in the dirt.

Our Cherry slabs would be  book matched, placed side by side with the branch stubs in mirror image. The outside board edges would be left as the tree had grown. The inside edges would be trimmed just enough to join the slabs to make the table top but a void would remain where the growing tree had curved. The two sections would be joined by joined wedges, butterflies. George Nakashima had favored Mahogany with Black Walnut butterflies. As our table was constructed of local Pennsylvania woods, we would use Birds Eye Maple for contrast against the Cherry boards. The birds eye marking would resemble the variegation of an actual butterfly wings and I wanted to maintain a lighter color tone.

Hans Wegner was a Danish contemporary of Nakashima. The finished live edge table would be paired with set of light Maple Hans Wegner wishbone chairs. The wishbone chair combines the shape of a traditional Ming chair with sleek Scandinavian construction. Aside from the designs dating from the same era the maple butterflies and bowed backs would echo each other. 

The workshop had to grow to accommodate the project.

The 10+ foot slabs took over the workshop. Francis decided the solution was a bigger workshop to complete the project. His 12 x15 shed pupped a giant 15 x 20 child. Now he had the original workshop for tools and the new area for woodworking. No reason for a workshop to look utilitarian, along with expansion came french doors for better light and air flow, a deck to rest from his labors and a stone patio with a fire-pit to burn the scrap. It’s not a workshop it’s a cottage,
dubbed “Labrotorio Artigianale Di Francisco” with it’s own address 118b.

Sealing, smoothing and aligning the rough slabs took every day of several vacations in the new space. A snapped plumb line from end to end determined the minimum wood to remove to join the two slabs. Just a small sliver off the side opposite the branch stub would permit the two boards to be joined but maintain a partial void  towards one end. To support and level the heavy slabs 2x2 stringers cut two inches shorter than the table width and attached to what would be the bottom of the top.

 Once the wood was stable, it was butterfly time. A half-dozen butterflies would rest in this table top. Each butterfly in the table required both a carved insert and a matching carved divot. 

Francis estimated it took him seven hours to carve out and assemble each butterfly. He started out with a paper template. The paper template was scribed onto the cherry table top and then glued onto the Birds Eye Maple stock. He sawed out the block and hand beveled the edges. The table top was hand carved to crisply set the dimensions. With a Forsner bit he set the rough depth and removed some initial waste and using  a router he removed more waste. The delicate work of carving just to but not beyond the outline and beveling out the sides of the divot was completed with hand chisels. 

The bevel and shaping  of both the divot and the insert had to be precise in slant and proportion. The butterfly insert must be slightly larger at the base than the opening of the divot but precisely the same dimension as the base of the divot. When knocked into place the two units snap tight with just a film of glue between. The opposing angles of the butterfly's wings drawing the two slabs together. Delicate butterflies joining two heavy slabs of lumber into one elegant table top.   The stringers running across the bottom  counterbalanced by the butterflies snapped and glued in place on the top, the opposing forces preventing the table top from buckling or bowing.

 

Finally, the top is complete and the finishing commences. To a man learned in the ways of French Polish, a finish cannot be rushed. First a seal coat, sand it away, then base coat, sand that down, then a top coat, sand that smooth, then the finish polish, which must be buffed to a gentle glow. We are still at the buffing stage. Will he ever be satisfied? Hmmm...

And between the butterflies and the finish, we encounter a design dilemma and make another  trip to Aldenville.  Should our table base replicate the Conoid (cantilevered) style or the Minguren (slab) style? In any case  materials must be sourced and it’s back to visit Dan Droppa.

When we arrive at Aldenville Lumber http://www.avlumber.com/ there is a new addition to the site. In the center of the lot is a pen filled with Japanese Quail. Tiny spotted birds wandering around, squawking at us and dropping tiny spotted eggs at random. Dan tells us that he bought some lumber from a farmer and picked up some baby Quail while he was there. The minute birds leave him eggs every day, which he reports he greatly enjoys with salad.

Francis has speced a number of lengths and sizes of Cherry from which to make the base. Once again, all hands on deck become involved in the selections, trimming and planing. They pull blocks and boards from the stacks for Francis’ approval then cut the lumber to size and plane the rough surface smooth. We are only charged for the segments we request but the remainders are thrown in as well, plus a pile of Cherry 2x2s to use as checks when stacking the wood.  Amazed at the service we have received, we begin to drive away, only to have Dan run after us. His hands are full, “Would you like a dozen quail eggs to take home?” 

Francis contemplates his creation.

How can an Old Goat Learn a New Trick with New Tech?

Say Brioche to most people and they imagine elegant soft textured bread. Brioche to a knitter is similarly elegant soft textured knitting. Brioche knitting is rumored to have ancient Middle Eastern roots. The etymology of the term is equally vague.

Not this kind of Brioche...

It may be a reference to the shape of a brioche roll, two pieces, one stacked on top the other, like brioche  knitting has two yarns stacked one on top of the other. How it went from the Middle East to France is unknown.

This kind of Brioche...

When I discovered the shaker knit sweaters I’ve always loved were brioche stitch I set myself to learn the technique. Never have I been so confused. Books did not have a basic description. Written instructions were unintelligible text:  brk, brp and brkyobrkypobrkyo. At my local yarn store the resident expert was equally confused by the written instructions. Further more, she had never made anything in the two-color technique I wanted to master. It was frustrating.

Frustrated but undeterred I investigated three different types of on-line tutorials:  U-tube demos; a professional training video and a professional E-book (http://knitfreedom.com/classes/brioche). There are multiple u-tube videos on brioche stitch. Some were amateurish in the worst sense, poor audio and/or video quality or simply tedious. If you make mistakes taping an instructional video, start over for pete’s sake! The one which was clearest and seemed to the point was in a language which I do not speak so I was lost, again. A commercial instructional video which I purchased and downloaded had excellent production quality but suffered in two aspects: prolonged introductions and an inflexible format.  The expert explaining the technique unfortunately looked like the proverbial deer in the headlights and her extended verbiage-only descriptions were both uncomfortable and tedious.  Being an expert does not necessarily make one a teacher. In addition, the continuous video made it difficult for me to skip the items I easily understood and repeat the items for which I needed more time.

The winning way for me to learn the technique was the e-book. The e-book features short text introductions with concise and well focused videos. Each short video clip has a descriptive voiceover while the technique is displayed. This creates an effective learning tool by providing a conceptual framework, then demonstrating the concept with detailed explanation. As each segment is a separate clip, you can concentrate on just the skill you want and repeat until you have mastered it. This particular E-book like many others in this format is available both on-line and as a downloadable document, so that you can continue practice whether on or off the internet. There is even a receive a mobile version E-Book designed to run on a  smartphone, iPad, or Kindle so the instructions can go with you anywhere. Way cool! From now on when I want to learn how to do something my search will be for an E-book on the subject.
   
The E-book format enabled me to brk and brp with the best. If you have any interest in mastering Brioche waste not your time and proceed directly to http://knitfreedom.com/  for their excellent Beginning and Intermediate Brioche Knitting  video e-book (http://knitfreedom.com/classes/brioche). I am thoroughly impressed with knitfreedom.com and have placed myself on the waiting list for their upcoming advanced brioche e-book. They have a similar tutorials on a variety of other knitting techniques as well as some free patterns.

[Note to reader:  from here on it’s all about knitting.]

 
What makes Brioche really neat is - - it is a kind of double knit with two layers of fabric interwoven in a ribbed pattern. Each row is completed in two circuits , in two-color brioche once in each color. Basic Brioche is a kind of 1 x 1  rib, working in the round, the main color would be the knit stitches while the contrast color would be the purl stitches. What makes Brioche unique is you alternate a worked stitch with a slipped stitch. When working the knits you slip the purl stitches and simultaneously wrap each purl stitch with a yarn over.  Similarly when working the purls you slip the knit stitches and simultaneously wrap each knit stitch with a yarn over. In the knit or purl process the yarn over is worked together with the stitch. This is a radical departure from usual knitting, the yarn overs in Brioche are not individual stitches but are accessories to the worked stitches.

Dear Spouse was also very taken by the appearance and texture of two color brioche and requested a neck-warmer/hood/balaclava. To this end I’ve designed a simple tube garment which can be tucked under the coat collar and adjusted for comfort. If the weather is really nasty, just pull it up over the ears or all the way over the head. The doubled rib of the brioche stitch provides enough resilience to stretch from neckline to skull and return to the original shape.

Note about casting on:  Most brioche patterns I’ve read suggest unusual cast on and bind off techniques, often involving sewing. The rationale for these techniques eludes me. If I wanted to hand sew I be making crewelwork not knitting. Use the cast on and bind off with which you are most comfortable. My personal preference is the Old Norwegian/Twisted German Caston with a Twisted Stitch Bind off, as they create a softly roped edge.


Franiclava

Materials:  16" circular needles in size 10
and another larger needle just for the cast-on
One marker
3 oz each of two contrasting worsted weight yarns
    The yarns used in the sample are Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted (85% Wool/15% Mohair) in Onyx and Paton’s Classic Wool Worsted (100% Wool) in Grey Marl

Directions:
Cast-on in Old Norwegian/Twisted German [see reference] 60 stitches loosely using a larger needle.  Transfer the stitches to the 16" size 10 circular needle. Connect the two ends of the cast-on row without twisting the row and place a marker at the beginning of the work. The marker serves as a reminder that a half-round or round has been completed and it is time to change yarns.

Round 1 - - knit plain

Round 2a - - Brioche setup, alternately knit a stitch and slip the next with a simultaneouswrap of yarnover - - in knitting shorthand this is written as:
      (k1 yf sl1yo yb) to marker sm switch yarn 
Round 2b - - Brioche setup for the second color, alternately slip a stitch  with a simultaneous wrap of yarnover and purl the next one - - in knitting shorthand this is written as:  
     (p1 sl1yo yf) to marker sm switch yarn

Round 3a - - Knit each knit  stitch together with it’s contrasting yarnover wrap and slip each purl stitch wrapping the yarn over the needle as you slip the stitch. Knitting the stitch together with it’s wrapped yarnover if called a Brioche knit - - in knitting shorthand Brk1. This row in shorthand is:   
     (Brk1 yf sl1yo yb) to marker sm switch yarn 
Round 3b - - Purl each purl  stitch together with it’s contrasting yarnover wrap and slip each knit stitch wrapping the yarn over the needle as you slip the stitch. Purling the stitch together with it’s wrapped yarnover if called a Brioche Purl - - in knitting shorthand Brp1. This row in shorthand is:  

    (Brp1 sl1yo yf) to marker sm switch yarn
 
Continue alternating Round 3a and 3b, until the tube is 16" long. Bind off using your preferred technique or the suggested Twisted Stitch bind off, [see reference].





Reference:    
Old Norwegian/Twisted German Cast on
http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/howto/archive/2008/05/15/old-norwegian-cast-on.aspx

and 

http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/cast-on


Twisted Stitch Bind off  

detail of bind off showing rope effect

Can’t find this anywhere but it can’t be unique.  At the end of a round when you are ready to bind off:   knit one and place the new knitted stitch back on the left needle, knit 2 together through the back loop and place the new the knitted stitch back on the left needle while twisting the new stitch around, [the same maneuver as in a cable cast-on]. Continue in this fashion, placing each subsequent new stitch back onto the left needle in a twisted configuration and knitting the twisted stitch and the next in line together through the back loop. The double twist makes this  bind off wrap over the edge of the last row of the knitting project, similar to a i-cord bind off or crochet crab-stitch edging but stretchier.