redfiona99

I decided to go with the mohair pattern, mostly because it gives me something to do at lunchtime while working from home.



Don't worry, I am also keeping an eye out for suitable boleros in case I don't finish it in time.

Casting on in mohair is a pain in the neck, but once that was done, it's okay to work with. The pattern less so. As per usual for patterns from this company, they assume you know what you're doing and don't explain things particularly well. So attempt 1 and 2 were both disasters but I think wrote the pattern out in a way that made sense to me and attempt 3 is going much better so far.

Fandom:

Thor: Ragnarok fight scene but Holding Out For A Hero is playing-https://deadcrushing.tumblr.com/post/171842048979/thor-ragnarok-fight-scene-but-holding-out-for-a Exactly what it says on the tin. Because sometimes fandom is silly and awesome.

Food and drink:

How a footballer became Africa's first Cognac maker - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40587894

Knitting:

The Costume Designer From "Black Panther" Blessed Us With A Pattern - https://www.buzzfeed.com/clairedelouraille/black-panther-costume-designer-released-shawl-pattern

Miscellaneous:

Liu Xiaobo: The man China couldn't erase - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-40585327

Janet Commins: How police caught her killer after 41 years - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-40568522

News:

Grenfell Tower: A shadow over the capital - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40592626

Grenfell planner’s shock at burnt remains - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40571856

Women In Pakistan Dared To March — And Didn't Care What Men Thought - https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/03/15/593549219/women-in-pakistan-dared-to-march-and-didnt-care-what-men-thought

Canadian Civil Rights Pioneer Will Appear On Country's $10 Bill - https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/13/593086064/civil-rights-pioneer-will-appear-on-canadas-10-bill

Religion:

Pakistan’s secret atheists - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-40580196

Sport:

Athletics:

World Para-athletics: Richard Whitehead - marathon man turned 40-year-old sprint star - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/disability-sport/40574441

Cycling:

Tour de France 2017 - Tom Simpson: The British cyclist who pushed the sport too far - https://www.eurosport.co.uk/cycling/tour-de-france/2017/tour-de-france-2017-tom-simpson-the-british-cyclist-who-pushed-the-sport-too-far_sto6251996/story.shtml

So, I have a knitting pattern for a square. It is written by that same company I always complain about.

The pattern is:
Cast on 27 stitches
1st row: K to end
2nd - 4th rows: K to end
5th row: *K4, yarn forward, slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stich over, repeat from * to last 3 stitches, k3
6th row: P to end
7th row: k2, knit 2 together, yarn forward, k1, yarn forward, slip 1, pass slipped stitch over, *k1, knit 2 together, yarn forward, slip 1 stitch, knit 1, pass over slipped stitch, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, k2.
8th row: P to end
(repeat these 8 till you have 32 rows, then K4 rows)

I just want to check that when I pass the slipped stitch over in the 5th row, I'm passing it back to my left hand needle.

Also, I'm not sure how this pattern doesn't end up with me having a lot fewer than 27 stitches by row 8. I suspect I'm supposed to be creating stitches somewhere, but I am not sure where.

HALP!

Please :)

Architecture:

Arms wide open: The story of Rio's Christ the Redeemer - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26354918

Science:

Tracking Lydia the Shark - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26514827

Science and Knitting:

An adorable story, basically some Norwegian school children visted CERN, and their teachers have knitted the scientists project-specific jumpers - http://home.web.cern.ch/cern-people/updates/2014/02/particle-physicists-norwegian-knitwear-oh-yes

Photography:

An interview with an F1 photographer - http://www.speedhunters.com/2014/03/capturing-brilliance-formula-one-like-youve-never-seen-it/

Formula 1:

The perpetually adorable Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel explaining the 2014 technical rule changes - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFHmYFlbFn8

Starting with the slippers that have been my most recent knitting project. They fit, and are warm and comfortable, but they don't match each other, or the pattern. I'm not sure what went wrong (I know what went wrong with the picot rows at the top) but they developed curly toes like Aladdin slippers.

Also in the same category - Oz: The Great And Powerful

( One of those cases where the film is not like the trailer )

So we're probably putting in for a flat. This means there'll always be a floor for any of you lot while I'm still in Brum. I am trying to be calm about it, but I'm torn between panic and an odd sort of calm, which I think might dissolve into panic at any moment (AC/DC are helping with the avoidance of this).

The second viewing led to me observing on of the most fun game of verbal chess ever. What was actually meant in italics:

Mum's boyfriend: "So, do you have any idea why this hasn't sold yet?" ( Are you expecting us to actually meet your full asking price?)

Seller: "Well, we've had offers but they were insultingly low. We don't need to sell so we just walked away." ( Pretty much, yes. )

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Another funny thing was how different Mum and her boyfriend's memory of the flat were from how it actually was. Like totally different. Not just size of rooms, but things like colour and what state they were in.

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Friend of mine is just back from New York and on the way back she got the surprise of her life when Richard Branson decided to wander through economy class on her flight, checking that everyone was having a nice flight.

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F1

Nico Rosberg will never be one of my favourites but I'm so glad he's finally got a win under his belt.

NCIS

( Spoilers for 'Life Before His Eyes' or episode 200 )

Knitting

So Operation Hat, and the knitting pattern that makes no sense, are finished. Unfortunately, the hat is probably too small for the intended recipient. Therefore, we move on to Operation Bigger Hat. Any tips on how to knit more loosely are gratefully received.

Shakespeare Meme - Day #14: Your favorite fight scene

I've been obvious and gone with the one at the end of Macbeth, as found here

It's the McKellen version, even if I was wrong in blaming Peter Hall for the direction, apparently we're to blame Trevor Nunn. It has the advantage of also show the 'tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow' soliloquy that I mentioned yesterday. It has the disadvantage of showing what I didn't like about that production. Sadly, it doesn't even with the award for worst lit Macbeth I ever saw (via TV), that goes the the Antony Sher one. Which annoys me because they had Harriet Walter as Lady Macbeth and I couldn't see her. And before anyone says, surely it's the words that matter, not the visuals, if I'd wanted to just hear it acted, I've got the Ken Stott radio version on tape, and that's perfectly satisfactory.

( Other Days )

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A pit of non-poisonous snakes would be no problem. A bit of spiders would give me a heart attack so I'd be dead whether or not they were poisonous. This is the problem with being a card-carrying arachnophobe. But I am quite fond of our friends in the suborder Serpentes.

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I have been knitting my girl cousin's Christmas present. I was about to transfer between balls of cotton and realised I dropped a stitch. Cue me unknitting 5 rows and not messing that up and re-knitting them and then switching balls. Score one for vague competence. Now I just have to knit the remaining 2/3rds of the item. In time for Christmas. Argh!

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I have been watching the Fencing World Championship. Vezzali is wonderful, isn't she.

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Other than that, some brief film thoughts, not entirely brought about by Revolver but definitely related.

So I watched Revolver, and I still don't get it. I also don't think it particularly worked, because were were a little too removed from Green's plight. That being said, I commend Guy Ritchie for at least trying. It's a film that does it's own thing, and does it it's own way, and that's something you've got to admire.

In a similar vein, a few weeks ago I saw New Jack City (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102526/). Now, in terms of its content, it was a pretty basic hard ass crime action drama. But, and this is the thing, it had a message. Now, whether it got it's point across is a matter of opinion, I think it did, but YMMV. The thing that got me about it was that it did have a message. It was refreshing. There's so many major action pics that don't have that or an idea, I'll accept either. They don't seem to be making films like that any more, not action films anyway (honourable exception, rather wierdly, to the comics films, good or bad, they tend to have messages, even if they're cribbed straight from whichever comic, and to the films of Christopher Nolan). It's annoying, because I like films where things explode but I want some solidity there as well.

( Also, related to Mark Strong's role in Revolver, and his role in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy )
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Caught part of Newsnight - James Rubin is looking old. This is not a good sign re: my own age.

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Human Target - Why is Indira Varma not on all the programmes. Any programmes. In short, damn it Fox, don't give an actress I like a role and then cancel the programme.

And Guerrero has the same problem with dressing smartly that I have. The man is naturally crumpled. And the sinisterly fun evil. Especially when he comes out with 'I'll give you a choice, because I believe in every human being's right to be tortured democratically'.

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Book Meme - Day 11 - A Book I Hate

Again, going with something I've said before - The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson.

I now realise why our year 6 teacher made us read it rather than the infinitely more fun books we had read, like George's Marvellous Medicine or Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Because Tracy Beaker was more realistic and more 'grown up' and we obviously needed to read those kinds of books if we were going to grow up and be good little teenagers at high school. I take it you can hear my eyes rolling.

Unfortunately, it's kind of difficult to interest me in a 'realistic' books. It gets worse when it's an unsympathetic lead character, who we're supposed to feel sorry for because she's had a shitty life. And by the by, she has, she has a mother who reminds me somewhat excessively of my Auntie Jackie, and she's been let down by her once too often. The problem is, the people Tracy is horrible to are people who have had equally if differently shitty lives. And, yes, part of the story of 'Tracy Beaker' is that she learns this and vows to stop being quite such a cow. But, and this is the important part, I don't care about it. There are no horrible grannies being poisoned, there are no hyper-intelligent rats, what is my angle of interest? Apparently, just because there is a female lead character of around my age I'm supposed to be interested. It was annoying, and the kind of wooly-headed thinking my year 6 teacher specialised in. So yes, some part of my dislike of the book may be tied up with my dislike of the way my year 6 teacher did her thing.

But even beyond that, it's a bit of a boring book, and I don't get why people go cockahoop over it.

( The Other Days )

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I would like to wave my knitting in her face and go 'see, I have craft skills'.

Yes. I am still mad about that. Yes, I know it was 14 years ago.

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World Book Day Meme as taken from nwhyte.

The books I am reading: 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' (Douglas Adams) and 'The Black Cat' (Martha Grimes).

The book I am writing: Well that would be telling. Like everyone, I am convinced I have a novel in me somewhere, it's just being awkward on the getting out front.

The book I love most: 'The Three Musketeers' (Alexandre Dumas, pere)

The last book I received as a gift: Probably How Things Are Made (Sharon Rose and Neil Schlager)

The last book I gave as a gift: Either 'Serious' (John McEnroe) or 'Ronnie' (Ronnie O'Sullivan) which were Christmas presents to my Mum and Nan respectively.

The nearest book on my desk: 'Computing Made Easy For The Over 50s'. I suspect it of being my Mother's.

Started volunteering in a charity job due to lack of actual job. It's fun, and I ran into one of my old friends which was even better.

Second part of the knitting magazine came through. Their instructions for purling are impossible. I shall scan them in as proof later.

So there's this new magazine out, your basic how to knit type, and, other than being badly organised, it has thrown up an interesting concept - the tension square. Now the magazine says that 'experienced knitters will knit a tension square to ensure that the way they are knitting the stitches will result in the same size of item as the pattern designer intends'.

I therefore asked the nearby experienced knitted (my Nan) who looked at me as thought I was a Martian. Of course, this could just be a culture thing, given my Nan started knitting at a time when you didn't waste material like that. As I know a couple of you knit, what's the verdict on tension squares - essential, a good thing but not vital or new fangled silliness?

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I'd love to say that during the winter months I don't shave for some good reason like 'have at that, obscure beauty double standard' but mostly it's because I don't see the point. I spend my entire time wearing a jumper at minimum so it's pointless, to say the least. My Mum, after a convoluted story, saw me without my t-shirt on and decides to tell me that I really ought to shave under my arms. I have tried to explain to her the pointlessness of self-same, given that my armpit gets the equivalent of a 5 o'clock shadow, so I only do it when and as necessary. She didn't take well to this. Somehow, I didn't expect to do the 'inaliable right to do with my body as I please' speech about my armpits. I was expecting that to be the tattoo conversation.