Knit-Nerd-Rant

For my friends, it's no surprise that I have a very dark sense of humor. This video HAD to be shared because it is quite possibly the most amazing thing to ever happen in a Thanksgiving Day parade. Barney gets shanked by a street light and is then destroyed by Lilliputians that look kinda like maggots. It really reminded me of those time-lapse videos of animal corpses decomposing in the woods. In other news, our Thanksgiving with the boyfriend's family was fun, lots of rest, lots of food, lots of opinionated conversation, some knitting, and some bonding.

Last night, I tried to see the rocket launch in Virginia, but managed to miss it. However, I had taken my camera with me and was going by the National Cathedral on the way back and decided to take advantage of the moment.  It's a really gorgeous building, and majestic at night. However, with the wrong settings on a DSLR camera, it can turn into a truly disconcerting, spooky experience. This one is my favorite: And then suddenly, I found the right settings. But it still quite spooky, or I was already in a fairly spooky mood. Plus, as an added bonus, a shot from near 30th Street Station in Philadelphia:

A friend posted on Facebook a link to a really interesting blog post about how the industrial age has changed the way that we create clothing - from fibers to construction to use - that really made me see my own sewing in a new light.  This friend has gotten into historical re-enactment in a big way (late medieval - early Renaissance, to be specific), and so has a particular skill with 16th century Italian women's wear. Anyway, the post was by an Australian woman known as Skud, titled " Why is it so difficult and expensive to make your own clothes (or have them made)? The discussion about pattern making particularly intrigues me.  Most, if not all, of the clothes that I make are essentially rectangles - many formed into modified tubes.  Skirts are tubes with added pockets, waistbands, zippers, and a few other fun bits added, and shaped with darts. The only black-tie formal dress that I own is made of a tube for the body, then another tube opened at the sides to create a T

It's been a while since I posted because I kept intending that the next post would be the pattern for this new sweater... and things got in the way.  I designed it on the needles, as I often seem to do, and just haven't sat down and reverse-engineered it.  It's a super big and floppy neckline, which is just oh-so-cozy. It's a bit theatrical, and perhaps not for the faint of heart. Here goes! The yarn suggestion is a  little tricky.  I rescued some super scrumptious tan lambswool from a Gap sweater that I found at a rummage sale that was just an atrocious pattern (turtle neck sweater with ribbing from the neck to the shoulders, then stockinette, also known as turns fashion model figures into potatoes). It's a chunky yarn - thicker than worsted weight, but probably not a full "bulky" weight. Needle suggestions - I did this all on a pair of straight 10.5s, though, if you have a circular of the same gauge, I would suggest that for the neck. Unless yo