Monday 25 July 2011

Knitting First, then News

Knitting First
I finished my third Stripe Study, the watery one in madelinetosh merino light. I soaked it and then left it to dry in such a way that it would stretch under its own weight. I didn't want to block it in case it looked stretched, but I wanted it to get a bit swingy. Which it did.


It's beautiful and I wish the weather was colder so that I could wear it. It hasn't been warm, but it hasn't been cool enough to wear a wool shawl. 



And I got an extra stripe of green in the Machair Stripes. The last stripe used nearly a fifth of the ball, and I was left with four grams of green left over. I'm still on the last band.


This bit is somewhat interminable because up until now there's always been something going on, counting, or wrapping, or heading back, or making a narrow stripe, whereas this is just knitting. Not that there's anything wrong with that.


This is the best pic I've got of the colours in the dark blue Jabberwocky. I had 66 grams left for the last stripe.



I couldn't resist starting a little something something, a Palatina shawl. The pattern is only available with the yarn, as a kit, but I've hazarded a guess at how it works and I've set off. This is the Colourmart lace set which I was planning to do something else with - actually there's probably enough yarn for both, but the earlier idea has palled.


It's two rows of plain and two rows of purl, executed indefinitely with a stitch added at one end on every second row.

News
The Murdoch business continues to hypnotise. It doesn't look as if they got the numbers of 9/11 families, kmkat, as that story has faded away on closer investigation (it was in fairly unreliable newspaper to start with), but they did get the numbers and addresses of 7/7 families, probably from someone in the police. That's the sort of news that gives you a cold feeling in the pit of the stomach. When most people were running about making a difference, someone was making a quick buck.  It has been replaced in the rolling news schedules by the more immediately awful events in Norway. I've stopped watching the news constantly because it was so annoying, as well as deeply disturbing. When the carnage in Norway began, the interviewers all but asked, 'Did you see a dark-skinned man wearing a head-cloth running away?' It was as if we'd never heard of blue-eyed blonds causing any trouble. Or Christians.

And then on Saturday when Amy Winehouse was found, they all became experts on addiction and started second-guessing that too. A lot of them seemed to think that it would be less of a shock and less distressing for her family because of her history, and didn't hesitate to say so rather placidly, but anyone who has been close to an addict knows that this isn't true.



Let's remember her at her best instead, singing a Carole King song.

(I think I got the size a bit better this time, Zippiknits!)

6 comments:

Knitting Linguist said...

You hit the nail on the head wrt to the Oslo events, in every respect. We've mostly been watching the Tour here, instead, happily seeing Cav win the last stage, and Evens (finally!!) take yellow.

Also, I have finally fallen to Stripes - I held strong in the face of your beauties, but then walked into my LYS where one was on display right above the most gorgeous combination of purple and gray I could hope to find. I walked out of the store with the yarn and cast right on. Oops.

Mette said...

All your blue colours are really beautiful. I have turned on Norwegian TV and I really admire the Norwegians' way of coping.

Mary Lou said...

Gorgeous colors - I was just sent this link from a Norwegian friend
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2018368/Norway-massacre-150k-gather-Oslo-rose-march-tribute.html

Janet said...

We watched the horrifying news from Norway unfold as we travelled from Seattle to Victoria British Columbia. In Victoria we had access to BBC World News. But even the BBC covered the tragedy in ways which I felt were unsuitable - or maybe what bothered me was the way the Norwegian police gave an extended news briefing - and also the lawyer for Brevik seemed to be speaking out of turn.

zippiknits...sometimes said...

The sizing is great. :o)

How anyone can say that about Amy Winehouse's family is appalling. I don't want to ever watch idiot news casters ever again. I quit years ago and never went back.

Machair Stripes is a lovely shawl. And the weather will turn fast enough at the end of August. Wear it proudly. Take care. Keep the kind heart, listen only to beautiful things.

Yarny Days said...

This is beautiful! The colors are just great.