When Knitting Was a Manly Art

After weeks of complaining and feeling sorry for myself, I have had one of the most enjoyable weekends in ages.

Friday was spent on a volunteer work party doing final preparations for this weekend’s start of The Great Oregon Steam-Up

The past two days were spent learning *way* too much about steam powered sawmills. The workparty on Friday led me to the volunteer coordinator and a job on the green chain and helping with the steam powered planer.

This is the headrig and saw blade of the mill

The whole mill is powered by the 100 year old boiler from a Shay Locomotive that was once used to haul logs in the Oregon Coast Range.

And finally, progress on the Big Black Socks. I finally ripped out the last attempt at toe-up. Cast on a cuff and have complete 4″ of 2×2 ribbing and about another inch of straight stitch. Only 7″ more to go before starting the heel… Pictures tomorrow.

Popularity: 8% [?]

It’s been nearly a week again since I posted last.

I requested this coming weekend off for the Great Oregon Steam-Up which has been an annual event for us for the past 8 to 10 years. Usually I go both weekends, but with work and the current shortage of employees at the restaurant, I could only justify one weekend. But, I ended up scheduled with a three day weekend - first three days off in a year - and I’ll be doing some volunteer work on Friday on last minute preperations down there.

To get that weekend off though, means a bit more of a crunch on me and last night marked my halfway point in 8 straight days of work, including 7 closes. I don’t expect to get much more work done on the BBS - which have been restarted three times so far - but I’ll be packing the socks along just in case I find some extra time.

Speaking of the Big Black Socks… I’ve done this toe-up pattern a couple times successfully, but this time it’s frustrating me. Probably my current lack of concentration, but the toe increases keep biting me and the stitch count is currently wrong again. I think I’ll probably rip this out and start again cuff down.

I don’t expect to find time for any further posts until the beginning of next week.

Popularity: 11% [?]

I’ve already mentioned I’ve joined a group knitting socks for the men and women fighting this god awful war.

Leisure socks are accepted, but most are asking for hand knit boot socks. Boot socks are required to be black and extend above the top of the boot, thus BBS (Big Black Socks). I’m looking at a total calf lenth of 12″.

These will be toe up starting with my favorite start, Aloha Cast On (PDF). It’s part of the Crazy Toes and Heels Book. About men’s size 10, so about 82 stitches around foot and calf and increases instead of decreases for toe and gusset. I’m using a paired lifted stitch - picking up a stitch from the row below and knitting into it - and it’s been fun. Black yarn, 9 stitches/inch on US#1. I’ve been holding the toe directly under my Ott lamp along with my reading glasses to be able to see the stitch to pick up. That said, the straight stitch portions are dead simple and once I get past the toe increases, I’ll just breeze along. Well, until I hit the gussets…

By the way, these needles are KnitPick’s new circulars and so far I love them. Nice join, cables that don’t kink (at least at 24″) and nice points. They’ve been overwhelmed with orders and it took nearly two weeks to receive mine on backorder. Still, if they can catch up, these are cheap and nice.

UPDATE: Discovered a dropped stitch in the middle of the side increases this morning that has dropped farther than it’s worth the effort to fix it back up. Reset and restart..

Popularity: 30% [?]

It’s been nearly a week since my last post. Life is still not cool, but it’s time to stop feeling sorry for myself and move on. Details are private and will remain so.

I haven’t touched a stitch since Monday and though I’m hoping to start again tomorrow, I’m beginning to feel that I’ll probably put the Feather and Fan shawl aside for a while and work on something that requires a bit less concentration.

I’ve joined a group working on making handmade socks for our folks in the mideast - SocksForSoldiers - and while I don’t look forward to size 10 socks in black yarn, it’s mostly nice and mindless. I have the black yarn and the new KnitPicks circulars. We’ll see… I just need to get started again.

Popularity: 10% [?]

is not cool right now.

I’m going to need time to straighten some things out and I’m afraid blogs and the internet will have to wait.

Popularity: 8% [?]

I’m opposed to this war in Iraq. It was entered in lies, it continues in lies and daily, young men and women die.

Tommy Tucker was one of two young soldiers who recently died in Iraq, under circumstances more brutal than usual for a brutal war. Tommy Tucker was an Oregonian and in his hometown, the Madras Pioneer today published an article honoring Tommy and his family, without flags or sabers.

I’m proud to be a Vietnam Veteran, I’m proud of the young men and women serving in the Armed Forces right now. They deserve the respect I was never accorded and they deserve something better than to die in a country far away, in a war we have already lost.

Article link fixed

Popularity: 26% [?]

A neighbor stopped by to tell us she lost her husband on the Fourth of July to cancer and to tell us she had probably hit one our cats on the road last night.

After the shock of Rod’s death and hugs and tears all around, I told her not to worry about the cat.

What I didn’t tell her was that we had found Oliver, the cat, this morning, very beat up but alive. I thought he had been in a cat fight and put him in the garage to recuperate. Needless to say he was immediately driven to the Veterinary in town. The Vet was out on farm calls all morning and wasn’t expected back until sometime this afternoon.

So… I sit here with the phone next to the computer waiting to hear something. I didn’t find any obvious injuries, but he’s lethargic and now we’re concerned about head injuries.

And all this after a very good morning of a complete round (1032 stitches) on the Feather and Fan shawl this morning.

Needless to say, not in a grand mood right now.

UPDATE: Oliver spent one of his nine lives last night. Vet can’t find anything missing, broken or misplaced. It looks like the extent of his injuries are a bloody nose, a black eye, a sore jaw and abrasions on his head. He’ll be kept inside for a couple of days, eating soft food. Still a bit unsteady when we returned home, but he was eager to get out of the travel case and I managed to get a bit of a purr out of him for the first time today. Much better mood now.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Busy weekend. I’m working all four days of the extended Fourth of July weekend, but we get to close at 9PM, instead of 10PM on Tuesday (7/4/06) so that we can enjoy the fireworks. My impressions, on talking to longtime employees, is that we’ll be lucky to get out before 10:30PM due to the crowds waiting for the local Banks, Oregon fireworks to begin. Nice gesture, though.

UPDATE: 7/7/06 - Managed to get out at 9:45, though we also managed a record for July 4th. Nearly $2000 for the day and $1500 of that between 3pm and closing. Whew.. What a night..

Work continues slowly on the Feather and Fan shawl. I may start a pair of socks too, for a diversion.

Can you tell I love this time of year? So much growing and so many pictures to take.

Don’t they remind you of three ballerinas spinning on their toes? Fuchsia magellanica

A hardy Blue Passion flower which has managed to survive three winters with us and has been bursting with blooms this spring and summer.

Rosa centifolia (aka Cabbage Rose). Amazing number of petals, wonderful scent. This one is an unknown. We’ve taken it to many Rose experts, but still no identification. It was on the property when we purchased it.

Popularity: 67% [?]