Sweater Quest Continues

Progress so far: I had to go down to size 4 needles. When I started I had to go from 6 to 5 to get gauge and now I must be getting looser because I am at a size 4.

I am on the second repeat of the pattern and must right out each row as Dear Alice your pattern is not well written at all. So last Wednesday in class the lys owner and I worked on the next section to take me through the steeking of the armholes. Onward I go. Why am I writing out each row because Chart A has 12 rows, Chart B has 6 rows and Chart C and D have 20 rows and you must work A and B in sequence and since they don't divide evenly into 20, well you do the math.

Alice you will not defeat me. One of the other ladies in the class is making the most beautiful sweater, dont know which Alice sweater it is but I think I might have to try that one as well and a few others.

Off to write out the next set of 20 rows and knit on.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

It is finally my fav day of the year. Also Happy Anniversary to my parents, 56 this year wow.

Be safe out there tonight and enjoy yourself.

Off to catch the ballgame in between kids.

Sweater Quest

Ok so tam is done, now on to the sweater. While I think most of Alice's sweaters are gaudy in her color selection I found Water Lily to be a pretty sweater and one I would wear. Ok I can do this one. Yarn ordered and class begins. Lily is done in worsted yarn so you know this is gonna be one warm sweater, almost coat like. Cast on did the border and started the sweater. Chart A done and move on to the next part.

Holy crap batman each row has 33 charts in it. I better write these out. 20 rows at 33 charts each and it takes me 26 minutes to write out the row. That is time wasted when I could be knitting but..... trust me writing out each row is much better than going back and forth between 4 different charts each with a different number of stitches and rows. (I still need to write out 5 more rows.)

Ok off we go and I am at row 11 of the first repeat, hey it actually looks like it should. While coffee was brewing this morning I thought I would read ahead and write down some questions for class this week.

What is this? In the paragraph below the one with the 33 charts spelled out for each row it says to change the colors of Chart A and B to match Chart C and D. Well I got Chart B because it has two colors, background and pattern, that was a no brainer. So I had been doing Chart 2 in the colors the chart calls for and wondered why it had a second colorway in the middle of the back but thought it kind of looks ok and I can't see a picture of the back so it should be ok.

Nope I ripped out 9 rows and am starting over. So here is the sweater from the book and my progress so far.

Sweater Quest

So I read the book about knitting the Tudor Rose Sweater by Alice Starmore. I though the book was kind of boring as I wanted more about the sweater and some pictures.

I wanted to learn how to steek so I signed up for the beginners fair isle and advanced fair isle class at my lys. I know how to fair isle but figured I would take the beginner class just to get back in the swing of 2 strands of knitting together.

We did the tam from Alice's Fair Isle book. Here is the one in the book and mine. I need to weave in the ends and block it. I think it turned out pretty well. Ok tam down and no issues.

Obama Phones

Just when you think you’ve heard it all,, our illustrious Congress quietly comes up with a new zinger to put their hands in your pockets, and pick them while you aren’t watching.

Isn't this just wonderful! I wonder if our Democrat-controlled Congress used its favorite phrase ("We have to pass the bill, to see what's in it") when it passed this gem of pork barrel legislation.

“Welfare recipients are now eligible to receive” what he described as (1) a FREE new cell phone, and (2) approximately 70 FREE minutes of air time every month. SafeLink Wireless is a government supported program that provides a free cell phone and airtime each month for income-eligible customers. In other words, your tax dollars are being distributed to a wireless phone provider to provide welfare recipients with free cell phones and airtime.

We are $14 Trillion in debt, Congress is balking at continuing unemployment payments to those who want to work, and Congress is increasing the dole-out to dead beats.

The ship of State is sinking, and it’s sinking fast. The old concept of getting ahead through hard work has flown out the window. It has been replaced by Obama’s and Congress’ idea of “Hope and Change.” The country has changed all right, changed to "Why should I work for it, when I can get it for free?"

You can click on the link below to confirm for yourself that the “Obama Phone” is real. Just have a barf bag ready.

https://www.safelinkwireless.com/EnrollmentPublic/Home.aspx

You are Eligible if:


You already participate in other State or Federal assistance program such as Federal Public Housing Assistance, Food Stamps and Medicaid. OR
Your total household income is at or below 135% of the poverty guidelines set by your State and/or the Federal Government. AND
No one in your household currently receives Lifeline Service through another phone carrier.
You have a valid United States Postal Address. In order for us to ship you your free phone you must live at a residence that can receive mail from the US Post Office. Sorry, but P.O. Boxes cannot be accepted.




Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/politics-other-controversies/636800-more-obama-welfare-welfare-recipients-now.html#ixzz0wRVQSRpu

Not Bush's Fault

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Remember the day...January 3rd, 2007 was the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress. At the time: The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77. The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%. The Unemployment rate was 4.6%. George Bush's Economic policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB CREATION!

Remember the day...January 3rd, 2007 was the day that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee. The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy? BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES!!!

THANK YOU DEMOCRATS for taking us from 13,000 DOW, 3.5 GDP and 4.6% Unemployment... to this CRISIS by (among MANY other things) dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac! (BTW: Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie - starting in 2001 because it was Financially risky for the US economy):

And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac???? OBAMA. And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie??? The HYPOCRITE in Chief Obama

So when a LIB tries to blame Bush...REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd, 2007.... THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!

This Gives a New Meaning to Stimulus Money

Feds Spent $800,000 of Economic Stimulus on African Genital-Washing Program
Monday, September 13, 2010
By Matt Cover


The AIDS awareness symbol is used for earrings and pendants made at a counseling center in Chennai, India. (AP File Photo/M. Lakshman)

(CNSNews.com) – The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), spent $823,200 of economic stimulus funds in 2009 on a study by a UCLA research team to teach uncircumcised African men how to wash their genitals after having sex.

The genitalia-washing program is part of a larger $12-million UCLA study examining how to better encourage Africans to undergo voluntary HIV testing and counseling – however, only the penis-washing study received money from the 2009 economic stimulus law. The washing portion of the study is set to end in 2011.

“NIH Announces the Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Competitive Revision Applications,” the grant abstract states. “We propose to evaluate the feasibility of a post-coital genital hygiene study among men unwilling to be circumcised in Orange Farm, South Africa.”

Because AIDS researchers have been unsuccessful in convincing most adult African men to undergo circumcision, the UCLA study proposes to determine whether researchers can develop an after-sex genitalia-washing regimen that they can then convince uncircumcised African men to follow.

“The aim of the proposed feasibility study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a post-coital male genital hygiene procedure, which participants will be asked to practice immediately post-coitus or at least 12 hours after,” reads the abstract.

Entitled “Community-Based HIV VCT: South Africa,” the name of the broader umbrella project, the program plans to test how well received the penis-washing regimen is among South African men.

If most of the men in the study wash their genitals after sex, are willing to do so after the study ends, and report that their partners accept the regimen, the researchers will develop another study to see if the “penile cleansing procedure” actually works to prevent HIV infections.

“If we find that men are able to practice consistent washing practices after sex, we will plan to test whether this might protect men from becoming HIV infected in a later study,” the grant says.

The study’s lead investigator Dr. Thomas J. Coates was the fourth highest-funded researcher in the country in 2002 and is currently conducting HIV research on three continents.

CNSNews.com asked both Coates and NIMH the following question: “The Census Bureau says the median household income in the United States is $52,000. How would you explain to the average American mom and dad -- who make $52,000 per year -- that taxing them to pay for this grant was justified?”

Coates, who was unavailable for comment, directed CNSNews.com to ask grant-related questions of his assistant, Darya Freedman, who did not respond.

The NIMH also declined to respond to CNSNews.com’s question.

Roller Derby

When I was a kid and we lived in LA I used to watch Roller Derby. It was not like Roller Derby today, they were much rougher, bigger tracks and slanted upwards. I would put on my skates (the old fashioned kind with the key that was strapped to your shoes) and pretend to be a Roller Derby girl.

I went to the Roller Derby Saturday night, what a hoot. We started with the Color Guard and the National Anthem. Then two games, the B team and A team that travels. We skunked NW Arkansas. Anyway if you have Roller Derby in your town go to a game, it will be some of the funnest 4 hours you ever spend. I know I am going back.

Maybe when I retire I can start my next career as the oldest Roller Derby Girl. Now all I need is my roller derby name: I think "Crabby Knitter."

Electric Vehicles Could Get A Volt

Hamburger? Fries? Milk shake? Want to throw an electrical charge in with that?

Yes, voltage is on the menu at a McDonald's near Raleigh, NC.

At least 535 charging stations are operating in the US at hotels, parking garages, airports, libraries and even a pizzeria. Nearly 80% are in California. (It figures).

The Nissan Leaf can go 100 miles on a battery charge, compared with the Chevrolet Volt's 40 miles. If I owned a Volt I could not even get to my lys without stopping to charge.

Numnuts wants to put 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015. Somehow I can't see him trading in his Hemi for a Leaf. The government is spending $2.4 billion to encourage companies to develop electric vehicles. It takes 8 hours to fully charge the Leaf at 220V and 20 hours to charge at 110V. What if you have a power outage, how do you charge your car and how much is this gonna skyrocket electricity rates with crap and tax about to hit.

Personally I drive a Murano and she burns Premium. I dare you to make me get rid of her.

Michelle's Mirror

If you have not been to http://www.michellesmirror.com/ you have to go. Whoever writes this is a scream and shows just how fashionable the angry one isn't. I don't know who dresses her but I think I saw stuff at Goodwill that looked better than most of the stuff she wears. And who told her putting a wide belt under the mosquito belts would give her cleavage. Well check it for yourself and be prepared to laugh yourself silly.

Tax Breaks for Films Get Mixed Reviews

Even if you never go to movies, you are contributing to Hollywood production budgets. That is because while states are cutting services to plug massive budget shortfalls, many are still giving away tens of millions of dollars in tax incentives to production companies that shoot movies and TV shows inside their borders. Now some states are starting to rethink those subsidies.

Overall, states gave away $1.8 billion in incentives to Hollywood between 2006 and 2008. Filmmakers bid states against one another and reap the benefit. States are engaging in this escalating bidding war to win over a marginal amount of business. It's a race to the bottom.

Kansas and Iowa have suspended their programs. Arizona's will expire this year and Pennsylvania reduced the amount of its credit. Supports of the tax credits say they help create jobs and boost local economies.

What say You?

She's Fed Up With School Lunches

As a kid, did you ever wonder what they put in those school lunches to make them so, well, unique? (I took my lunch, and the looks of some of that stuff in the 60's, well now we know.)

An anonymous blogger attempts to find out on Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project. Flagging herself as a "teacher who is eating school lunch everyday in 2010" this brave woman tries to get to the bottom of why school lunches are so inadequate. She lives in Illinois.

A pre-packaged pbj sandwich actually made her sick,and she drank so much milk she became lactose intolerant. Pizza and hotdogs are served often.

So if you are curious about school lunches go to www.fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com Better have that trash can close by.

The Chocolte Condundrum

We've been hearing for sometime that chocolate is an antidote to depression. But now some solid research has been done - and the results are unexpected.

Researchers asked more than 900 adults from San Diego about their chocolate eating habits, then used a standard scale to measure the subject's symptoms of depression. The data found that those who rated highest on the depression scale also consumed more chocolate - an average of almost 12 servings/month. In other words, eating more chocolate seems to be linked to being more depressed.

While chocolate may make people depressed, it's also possible that depressed people crave it more because it improves their moods - and have learned to "self-treat".

I don't care what they say I am eating as much chocolate as I can, how about you?