Monday, November 30, 2009

Baby Hat

To fit : 3 - 9 months
Yarn: Bernat Satin, medium
Needles: US 8
Swatch: 4 x 4 = 18 S x 24 R

Pattern

CO 70 st and transfer to the circulars.
Knit for 8 rows for the seam to roll.
Knit until the hat measures 6.5in.

Shaping

*K2tog, knit 6*, repeat for the round.
Knit a row.
*K2tog, knit 5*, repeat for the round.
Knit a row.
*K2tog, knit 4*, repeat for the round.
Knit a row.
*K2tog, knit 3*, repeat for the round.
Knit a row.
*K2tog, knit 2*, repeat for the round.
Knit a row.
*K2tog, knit 1*, repeat for the round.
Knit a row.
*K2tog, repeat for the round.
Make an i-cord for the remaining st.
Cut the yarn and pass it through the st when the i-cord measures 1 inch.

Block it lightly.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Winter Knitter Returns

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As the days shrink, leaves fall and winter comes my inner knitter starts warming up to some serious knitting. I know it's time to open the carefully packed knitting machine and buy some new yarn (you know what happened to all my stash) for the winter projects. I just got a couple of skeins of this aptly named pure wool - harvest. I hope to make a toddler cardi for my little angel.

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Monday, November 9, 2009

Genius or Zaniness

I watched 'Factory Girl' few months ago and it brought back the debate that I had been having for a long time. What's genius? What is it anyway?

When it lurks at the borderline of madness, it just freaks the logic of true genius. Or may be that's the whole point! That of being on a completely different plane than the regular folks.

When we are provoked we are shocked, surprised, or confused. I think I am struggling with the last emotion at the time.

Is it both? What's absolutely amazing to some could be totally insane for others. They may have opposite views and still be correct. Well, that sort of makes sense. It really is about timing. If the timing is right, the new idea, the spark may turn into a trend, a tradition, a lifestyle, an icon, who knows what else.

That boils down to the knowledge of the right timing. Be it art, technology, retail, anything. (I think its making sense as I type this.) So many new ideas have died a premature death just because it was aired at the wrong time. There is no dearth of talent, smarts, and hard-work and still only a few make it to the top. Why? Because either they know how to recognize the right timing or they are lucky to be at the right place at the right time.

So there is hope. For everybody. Do your best and learn the art of projecting and presenting your ideas at the right time. Who knows you haven't recognized the genius within you until someone else points it for you.

If you haven't seen "Factory Girl", it's about Andy Warhol, the Campbell Soup guy. Question was if he was what he's been portrayed as or not?

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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Life of Inanimate Object

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A few weeks ago our microwave stopped doing what it's supposed to. That is, to heat. We thought that it was just a glitch and it will work fine after a while. All gadgets do that, malfunction sometimes but work okay otherwise. Just give them a break now and then. So I gave it a cooloff time for a few hours by not using it. Then later that day I put a cup of milk to warm, but nothing. Cold as it was before. Just like that. No warning, nothing. Simply not working. I checked for any loose connection, any other obvious signs but on the surface everything is just fine. Clock is working, light turns on when door is opened, turntable rotates when on, but just not warming.

I was not ready for this. My beloved microwave not working? It has never happened before. It will be fine, I assure myself. And then I tried to warn a glass of water. Okay, wait for 30 seconds and ding! I opened the door gently and took water out. Cold! Oh no.

I have this sinking feeling that something is wrong but I kept telling myself that it can be fixed. Sure, why not. A while ago, its wheel under turntable had broken and we fixed that and it worked just fine. Little bit shaky at times, but alright in all other respects. So, this time can't be any different.

Its behavior made me stop and think about its presence in our lives from the day we were a newlywed couple. Everything was new and everything was full of possibilities. When we received this as a wedding gift, it was more than a gadget, it was the beginning of experiments in culinary journey. We instantly fell in love with this and the bond grew stronger with each bowl of cereal that we warmed in it. Initially I followed every instruction of the manual and then trial phase began. I cooked, boiled, fried, and baked. I even placed steel dish in it just to see what happens. Okay, that was a bad idea, don't do it, ever!

Years passed. We moved from place to place and this moved with us. It was always the last to be packed and first to be opened during every move. It had been there for every occasion and had been part of every meal of the day. It reheated stuff countless times. But no more. Now after a few days of denial, we are finally convinced that after a very short ten years the time has come to say goodbye.

We look at its clock. It's showing the time, time for a change, time to move on. We take a deep breath and decide to let it go. We have to. We have a history and that needs to be told. We unplug it and put it in its box. A new one will be plugged in shortly after but we know nothing can replace our first from our hearts.