Knit-Nerd-Rant

[ via ] Ok, this one has been brewing for a while (there are more long-standing grievances to file, but this is sufficient for now).  I have a deep and abiding hatred for Pinterest.  It's unabashedly gender-role enforcing.  It's basically a place where straight, white women go to collect pictures of aspirational interior design, fashion, recipes, saccharin inspirational quotes, and they accumulate. More accumulation - as if that's what we need to cure the ails of society.  They tack up meaningless quotes that they think are insiprational that are usually historic/literary quotes taken out of context or meaningless drivel. They decorate homes they can't afford, select outfits they will never be able to buy, find makeup tips they will never use, and pin recipes they will never bother with.  It's the ultimate way to feel like a domestic goddess without ever actually trying anything. There are some snarky pins that I run across, including some I don't underst

So, the great thing about living in DC is that we have such a strong relationship with politics. Particularly the (mostly white) professional population that comes from all far-flung parts of the US to work in federal government, non-profits, think-tanks, and the like tend to be very highly geeky and obsessed with politics.  The rest of the city natives (mostly black) have shown wholehearted support for Obama, in keeping with the traditional support for the Democratic party in DC for ages, and have been energetically vocal.  DC went for Obama with 91.7%.  I'm surprised it was that low. Conversations in coffee shops, on the Metro, in bars, and on... blogs... have obsessively followed every detail of the campaigns.  Some of it is definitely connected to individuals hoping that their jobs will be secure - from political positions to non-political civil servants afraid of politicians pushing federal spending cuts that would jeopardize their positions and career trajectories.  Brin

A while ago, a woman from my church community gave me a large bag full of knitting odds and ends, since she was no longer able to do it herself.  I had recently started a monthly "Fibre Party", basically a nicer name for a Stitch-n-Bitch group, at the church and this woman decided that I would be able to give these odds ands a happy home. When I opened it up, there were some amazingly kitschy acrylic yarns, a couple random darning needles, a set of very long, straight size 8 needles, and a whole bunch of old patterns.  The patterns are AMAZING. Between the fantastically cheesy (see the photo above) to the fantastically hideous Christmas stockings, it was a real treasure trove.  There were 2 thick books of sweater patterns for men and family full of Scandinavian fair-isle patterns from the mid-1940s, some children's sweater patterns from the 1970s, 1970s christmas patterns and random mimeographed versions, and a couple more odds and ends. Particularly the forced poses