Monday, October 16, 2006

We made it in 2 newspapers and for 2 different events!

From the St-Louis Dispatch: http://tinyurl.com/ym9zjr
"'We will teach you'

"Whatever you can bring is valued," said Diane Thornton of Memphis, Tenn., who brings along her 11- and 14-year-old sons to Ozark Trail-building events. "Even if you're young or out of shape, their motto is we will teach you."

That wasn't the case in her home state. Thornton said that when she took her sons to a weeklong trail build in Tennessee, they were eventually asked to leave. She said her son felt humiliated, and "I didn't want him to feel left out again."

Her son, William, who turns 12 this month, said, "I like doing stuff with my hands. It's fun. I see new people's faces. They admire me for what I'm doing for the environment."

and if you check out October 16, 2006 Memphis Commercial Appeal apparently William and I are in the photo of the cast iron being poured at the National Ornamental Metal Museum. The photo is not on the web, or I haven't been able to get it to come up. Max, to his credit, volunteered Sunday afternoon and helped break down and stack chairs and tables.

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Left-handed knitting (The Left Out Knitter)

I have started a book. In my small withering mind, the book is about left-handed knitting. There are two distinct combinations of left-handed knit and purl stitches that result in a flat knitted fabric. There are any number of combinations that do not, stitches are re-oriented and twisted stitches result. In a burst of productivity, I have documented every possible way of knitting left-handed! I mean knitting from right needle to left needle. I even wrote Yarn Harlot (maybe I should send her chocolate again) about her agent. I have absolutely no idea how to get this idea and rough draft to a publishing house. I am now thinking the mind-set will be negative. After all, lefties have been left out of knitting for ages, why would the resurgence of knitting change that? Despite the plethora of knitting books, shows and DVDs there is not one single publication dealing with left-handed knitting. Even those that do give it a mention show only the basic stitches and expect left-handed knitters to use mirrors or PhotoShop to flip more complicated stitch instructions. If it were that easy, why in the world would there be a million dollar publishing industry for right handed knitting? Wouldn't a simple comment be enough? Lefties need printed knitting material too. Not separate patterns.
KnitMythBusters:
The biggest myth in the knitting world is that knitting is 2 handed so lefties can do it the "right way". That's wrong, knitting is 2 handed, but some brains can't wrap themselves around manipulating the yarn with the right hand. The second biggest knitting myth is lefty knitters have to reverse patterns. If righties sat down over an adult beverage and contemplated this comment it might, just might dawn on them that their very own cardigan patterns say "right front: repeat as for left front reversing shaping" ::GASP:: You mean they don't have to have it written out exactly opposite? That they can grasp the difference between a right leaning decrease and a left leaning decrease? How CAN that be? Listen knitting siblings, lefties can do it to. And while it may seem like an incredible praise to say to a right to left knitter "it's amazing you can do that" it only shows your bias. Knitting right to left is as easy for their brain as knitting left to right is for yours. It is not rocket science, but a comforting and creative passion that they refuse to be "left" out of.
I hope to have a short article accepted on this topic by a major knitting publication and it is still my dream to find a publisher that recognizes the market for a left-handed knitting book. If righties have to have specific pictures for their increases and decreases, why not lefties? My ideal book will show both methods of creating flat knitting right (needle) to left (needle) and their corresponding increases and decreases. It would be wonderful if a very small DVD accompanied it for the basic stitches. Until some agent sees the merit. This remains just another dream of a Left-out Knitter.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Naval Live Oaks Resource Day




Pensacola Unschoolers held Resource day at the Gulf Breeze Naval Live Oaks visitor center. We watched a few short movies, had a picnic lunch and a short nature hike. The yellow garden spiders were in abundance as were butterflies who refused to have their pictures taken and several 5 lined skinks.
Since there are some more movies we didn't see, I will probably do this again next Fall
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Blogspot Beta problem SOLVED

If you are trying to load my blog using Internet Explorer 6.0 or above, you will get a script error. to solve this problem you will need to either view my blog using Firefox (another browser) or develop the patience of Job and disable the scripts when the IE box pops up. Sorry! I am, however, thrilled to see that all my hard work is still here. Welcome back to my blog!