kmkat and her kneedles

Warm heads, not hot heads.

As I mentioned before, I jumped into this project with both feet and all my needles. I knit one hat and plan to knit one more by next weekend. But I had several other hats hanging around in the "to be donated" basket, and what better use could they have?

I have worn several of them on occasion, but after a good soak in Eucalan -- which none of them had had before -- they are good as new. (There is one more hiding on the shelf below.)

There is still time for any of you to whip out a hat and let twinsetellen know to whom you plan to send it. As of today she has people signed up to send hats to 20% of Congress! That's a lot of hats and a lot of knitters!

Yesterday I drafted the letter that will accompany the hats I will send. It was cut and pasted together from Ellen's and Alison's examples.

February 22, 2011

Congress[wo]man The Honorable* Xxxxx Xxxxxxx
Yada yada

Dear Congress[wo]man Senator / Representative* Xxxxxxxx:

I knit this hat for you; I live in xxx in Wisconsin District 7. Many of your colleagues will also be receiving hats from knitters of all political stripes and from all around the nation. We wanted to show you that we appreciate the work you do for those of us whom you serve in the House.

I knitted it as part of a campaign among knitters for Warm Hats, Not Hot Heads (more information at http://twinset.us/?page_id=3736). We are from many political backgrounds. We want those who engage in angry and even vicious public rhetoric to stop speaking for us in those ways. We want civility in Congress. We are choosing to give hours of our time silently to be able to give you a visible, tangible, heartfelt symbol of our desire for respecting and honoring one another within our government – and to thank you for doing your best.

Why a hat? Knit hats meet a simple need for warmth. They are an every day comfort. Everyone can use a good hat. Civil political discourse also meets a simple need – the need for our government to have the best information and insights from many viewpoints. It would be an everyday comfort to me and to many other Americans if the airwaves were free of hate-filled rhetoric, and it would help lead to good government. As I am sure you will agree, everyone can use good government.

Each stitch is individual. Each stitch depends on every other stitch within that hat being present for it to be able to do its job where it is of creating comfort and warmth. I wish you the best in your work and thank you for your service to us all.

Warm regards,

 

Kathryn Xxxxxxx

P.S. If you are not able to use this hat yourself, please donate it to a worthy charity. There are many that help the homeless and underserved, and I would like to know that the hat is keeping someone warm.

* The Google showed me the proper way to address such a letter.

 * * * * *

It is melting here this weekend.

Do you know how hard it is to photograph a melting drop in the air? This is the best I got out of over 20 shots. I even investigated the "Continuous" mode on my new camera. It worked just like it was supposed to, but I still failed to capture the desired shot. You will have to settle for a drop almost ready to come off.

Hannibal was not impressed, either.

That volcano.

 

More here.

Biking safely.

This is the approximate site of yesterday's bicyclist accident. You are looking down Park Avenue, a one-way street and major arterial into downtown Minneapolis.

From RideBoldly, a cycling site/blog:

If you look at the configuration of the bike lane and the traffic lane at this intersection, and, in fact, all the way along Park Avenue, this tragic occurrence is not surprising. The lane configuration will regularly put a bicyclist riding straight through in the path of turning vehicles, contrary to the rules of strategic lane placement for vehicular cycling.

Incidents like this are challenging, because the bike lane itself ends up being a part cause of the accident. A cyclist stopped at the light may be invisible to a vehicle stopped next to it, depending on lane width, placement, and even the height of the vehicle (like a truck). My advice to cyclists using such a lane with such engineering is to never stop AT the stop line. Be sure to be stopped in such a position that you have a clear view of the rear view mirror of the car in the adjoining lane - so the vehicle is ahead of you. Watch for turn signals. Making noise is also a good plan - sing, clap, whatever. You may look like a goof, but better a live goof than crushed by a truck.

Younger Son told me a lot of these safety tips when he called me yesterday with the news. I am reproducing it here in hopes that it may help someone else someday avoid an accident.

Snow, Baggs, candles, sock, and blocking.

Knitnzu is having a contest; when will the massive snow pile in her area melt? Hint: she lives in Maine. She also gives some data on last year's snow pile results in the post I linked to. The prize she is offering is AWESOME; a Nantucket Bagg! (Click on "Watch the pitch" in the left sidebar on the Bagg site -- the inventor demonstrates all the tricks that the bag can do. It is truly amazing.) She blogged about the bag a couple weeks ago, and I was so impressed that I ordered one myself. I have been using it all week instead of a purse (which was falling apart and needed to be replaced), and I love it! Plenty of interior pockets, plenty of room to hold the usual purse stuff plus my knitting, lunch, a book, whatever, and since it has straps to use it as a backpack, the extra weight is not the burden it would be if I were carrying it in my hand or on my shoulder. Win!

* * * * *

Tonight was Earth Hour. I was home alone so could participate without having to explain it to anyone else. At 8:05 my neighbor across the lake called to find out what time she should turn her lights out. At 8:25 I gathered some candles and matches and my iPod and my knitting; the latter two were already in use, I just took the iPod off its dock to run it on battery power. At 8:30 I turned off the lights.

 

The iPod dock was turned off, but I realize now that it was still drawing enough power to dimly light its blue screen, left. Oops.

Here is the same scene with camera flash on.

 

The multicolored sock at the back was for size comparison. I started some new socks for spring.

 

The yarn is some Opal that I won in Carole's Tour de Fleece contest in summer, 2007 (the white cuff is Knit Picks Essential Bare). I did about a quarter of what you see during the blackout hour. Let me just say that I am thankful for electric lights; at 9:30 I was ready to turn them back on. My eyes are not young enough to knit in dim light.

At 10:30 or so I stopped knitting and came into my office to write this post. A few minutes later my neighbor called -- she and her husband had kept their lights off for 2 hours, playing cribbage and Scrabble and having a great time. They had seen my office light go on and called to give me a hard time about turning it back on before they did. Fun!

* * * * *

I had to start that new project because the first piece of the baby sweater, upon which the next part will be built, was blocking.

 

Yeah, I know. That does not look like a baby sweater-in-progress. Here is a picture of a finished one on Ravelry to help you visualize. It is the child Einstein jacket by Sally Melville in The Knit Stitch.

 

The blue piece currently blocking is the lower part of the sweater. Tomorrow I will pick up stitiches to knit the fronts.

The Kat™ is angered.

Good grief. I believe this is the very definition of snarky.

Go, read that piece of twattle, I'll wait.

What the hell was that woman thinking when she wrote that? She is billed as a horticulturalist, for pity's sake. Apparently her definition of horticulture does not include "plants raised for food". She probably thinks boobs were invented purely for male entertainment. Words cannot express my disappointment and wrath. (found via La Harlot's Twitter stream. Someone there called it "dense sarcasm". Maybe so, but I still think it sucks.).

Cleanse-the-palate time. Read this. Now THAT is more like it. Hmmmph.

ETA: A friend commented to me in an email: "I don't believe she is a horticulturalist -- horticulturalists are nice."

* * * * *

Crap. It had been delightfully springlike here this week. Until this morning when there was a dusting of snow on the ground. Crap.

 

See all that blue stuff? Snow. See that red X in a circle? That's where I live. I may be in Minneapolis right now, but I will be in the middle of the X for the weekend. All I can say is that there better not be any more snow coming out of the sky or I am gonna really, really pissed.

And that's all I have to say about that.

(Or not. The weekend forecast is for partly cloudy and highs in the 50s. If we get any snow out of that I will eat my socks. With hot sauce.)

* * * * *

Well. Now that I have spoiled your day with my ranting, I'll try to make it up to you. Here is the Ashby family from the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee:

 

Aren't they just the cutest thing you have seen today?

Have a great weekend!

The job. Kathy needs. Candy bars.

soxanne beat me to this. Yesterday.

* * * * *

I saw this over at Dr. Mel's blog, where it cracked me up. Go to Google, type in "[your name] needs" and see what you get. Here's what I need (my comments in red):

1. Kathy needs to give herself some credit. Okey-doke. "Yay, me!"
2. Kathy needs more attention. [/whine]
3. Kathy needs to be back on the red carpet. Yes! ::pumps fist::
4. Kathy doesn't NEED E! and their Red Carpet. Another country heard from.
5. Kathy needs love. We ALL need love.
6. Kathy needs a liver and miracle. Ruh-roh...
7. Kathy don't [sic] need to be with anyone who looks like he takes more time in a mirror than she does. Hear, hear.
8. Kathy needs a Komb. Huh?
9. Kathy needs your spooky stories. Hello, blog fodder?
10. Kathy needs a lobotomy and therapy. No comment.

Lisa beat me to this. Yesterday.

A day late and a dollar short. Story of my life. ;-)

* * * * *

However, I am (I think) the first to post this quiz.

Name that candybar. (Link fixed.)

I got 4 on the first page and 2 on the second, for a stunningly mediocre score of 25%.

Do one thing. For Valentine's Day.

From BAGnewsNotes, a statement by photographer Chris Stanfield:

As the wealthiest and most generous nation on the face of the earth, it is amazing to me that so many young people are living on our streets and while we spend trillions of dollars fighting wars and bailing out corporations, our children spend yet another night in shelters, alleyways or motel rooms across this country with nothing but hope to keep them alive. Contrary to public belief, most of them are not stupid, or lazy or unmotivated. For a number of different reasons, they have found themselves dependent on the good will of others, sometimes just to survive.

To those who read this, I say: Buy one less thing you don’t really need this month and take a homeless teen to lunch. Invest in their future. Be an example for your own children by teaching them to love your neighbor as yourself. Just for one day…let one single act of kindness turn into two and then three and then four. Volunteer at a shelter, become a big brother or big sister or donate that expensive meal you were going to share with your loved one on Valentine’s Day and help make dinner for the homeless teen you pulled off the street for that night. Whatever you do, do in honor of our nation and our reputation throughout history for lending a helping hand. I can think of no better place to start than in our own neighborhoods.

Visit and keep up with the Do1Thing website and blog,

From the website:

White House farmer.

From the site:

Who Will Be the First White House Farmer?

The United States has a White House chef . . . and now is the time for a White House Farmer.

Everyone, from your family and friends to our First Family and their guests, needs to know who grew their food and how it was grown.

There are hundreds of knowledgeable, passionate farmers out there who could fill this post, and we encourage you to nominate your favorite one.  Simply click on the Nomination Form and tell us who you are nominating and why.

raison d’être: This site is a forum to follow up on Michael Pollan’s call for a White House Farmer. The farmer will be charged with transforming “five prime south-facing acres of the White House lawn and plant[ing] in their place an organic fruit and vegetable garden” whose produce will be used by the White House Chef, and given to area food banks.

Please consider going to the site and voting for Claire Shader, a community gardener from Madison, Wisconsin. When I voted Monday afternoon, she was #2 and way ahead of #3.

Imagine a garden on the White House grounds -- what an inspiration!

* * * * *

Meanwhile, I am knitting preemie hats for Jeanne.

Hope.

Thanks for the link, Vicki!

There are such hopes and expectations riding on his shoulders. He cannot please us all, nor can he solve all our problems. But he is intelligent and compassionate and serious and far, far better than the alternative(s). I have hope again.