All Purls. No Swine.
Some things never change. One-hundred seventy years ago today, on 25th October 1854, during the Battle of Balaclava (1) 670 British soldiers under the command of Lord Cardigan(2), launched an ill-fated attack upon a well-defended Russian artillery battery and sustained 40 percent casualties in the form of approximately 120 killed, and at least 160 wounded.… Continue reading This Day in Knitting History. And Something Else: “Boldly they rode and well”
To be clear, I rarely think about feet. Especially poets' feet. They're just not that attractive. But I make an exception for Pablo Neruda's feet for reasons I'll explain, if you'll grant me a minute or two of your time, and allow me to get there in my usual roundaboutatious sort of way. Today is… Continue reading Why I Dream About Pablo Neruda’s Socks
While August 2 is not the birthday of T.E. Lawrence (that's exactly two weeks from today), it is the birthday of the man whose most famous screen role was his portrayal of the British soldier, diplomat, adventurer, and writer. Peter O'Toole, who died in 2013, would have been 91 years old today. His portrayal, in… Continue reading Lawrence of Clouds Hill
I began this little blog several years ago, as a fallback position in case something happened to Ricochet, or perhaps as a backup option which I might offer to others if Ricochet suddenly disappeared. Despite many requests for the capability, giving us the means to back up our own posts on Ricochet seems always to… Continue reading Be Still, My Beating Heart: This is what Google Bard Thinks of Rightwingknitjob
... what goes on under the arms. First: a few comments on basic human morphology. Most of us, when viewed from above, and relative to our shape at chest-level, are not based on ideal geometry, neither circular: nor designed like an old-fashioned letterbox with knobs: Most of us are, as the shape below (which was… Continue reading The Most Important Element in a Top-Down Knitted Sweater or Cardigan is …
This is a simply beautiful shawl. I've knitted two of them so far. The first was knit (on purpose) as a donation to a silent auction for my local community orchestra. I'm happy to say it raised a large amount of money, although if you figure it out as "payment by the hour for the… Continue reading Third Time’s a Charm: Dorothy Siemens’s Peacock Feathers Shawl from Fiddlesticks Knitting
OK, peeps, it's getting chilly in my neck of the woods, and it's time to bundle up! Here's a clever and easy little pattern for a super-warm and impressive hat for men, women, and children. Although it looks as if you spent hours knitting with two colors at once, it's actually a slip-stitch design that… Continue reading Free Pattern: Your Cheatin’ Hat
I returned home late Saturday night from a new and wonderful experience--spending the Jewish Sabbath with a delightful family and friends who, until now, I'd known only online. My friends are shomer Shabbos, when means that they observe the Jewish commandments regarding the Sabbath, and they follow the rituals that govern it from nightfall on… Continue reading Good Shabbos, Good Slippers: From Warm Hearts to Warm Feet
Yes, that’s right. I’m a proud grandmother. On top of that, I’m an avid knitter. Now, I know exactly what a few of you (you know who you are) are thinking. Something along these lines, I’ll bet: Amirite? The more charitable among you might be going more in this direction: This formidable-looking lady is actually Grace Coolidge,… Continue reading “G” is for . . .
Dear Sis, I know we missed out on some of the stuff in one of our favorite songs, “Sisters” by Irving Berlin. With almost seven years between us, that business about: . . . . . . . . . .sharing every little thing that we are wearing never really worked for us, did it? By… Continue reading Sisters–And Knitting!