Cooperative Press is my fantasy employer

By on October 11, 2012 in Books, knit / crochet

Cooperative Press tempts me again with Needles and Artifice, a book full of fabulous Victorian-inspired patterns AND a novella to go with them.

OK, OK, it’s steampunk! I confess to a secret fascination with the steampunk aesthetic, even though I’ve never read any and suspect I wouldn’t even like most steampunk fiction. I just like the clothes and the props. I don’t have the figure for the clothes; in fact, I woudn’t be caught dead in some of these items. AND YET—I WANT THE BOOK!

rivet spats Spats! Knitted spats with brass buttons. This doesn’t depend on my figure…

master and commander This hat & cowl set is called “Master and Commander.” Just what every girl dreams of.

The last Cooperative Press book that tempted me is more justifiable, seeing as how I have a nephew on the way. The only reason I haven’t yet purchased Boys’ Knits is that I have plenty of time… I’m still making newborn gifts. My nephew won’t be big enough for anything in this book for a few years.

 The cover photo from Boys’ Knits. Cute!!

I’ve also subscribed to Knit Edge magazine, which has published 1-1/2 issues so far. (They started with a sampler which they called “issue zero.”) So far so good: I want to knit the sweater that was on the cover of issue 1. And maybe the colorwork cowl, too.

Iconoclastic is the word for Cooperative Press. The mass-market crafts publishing industry has gotten rather boring. They’ve got too much money invested to risk doing anything that won’t appeal to the broadest possible audience.

Shannon Okey, the brains (and often muscle) behind Cooperative Press, has shifted the paradigm. She’s using the newer publishing technologies of short-run digital printing and e-publishing to open up the field to unique, even quirky ideas. They don’t HAVE to have mass appeal in order to make a profit.

I’ve yet to purchase a physical book from Cooperative Press. Everything I’ve bought from them comes in 1s and 0s. I read them on my Nook, or my laptop. It’s easy enough to knit with my Nook propped up on the arm of my chair. I made these booties from a pattern in the first CP book I bought—Extreme Double-Knitting by Alasdair Post-Quinn. [Yes, for the nephew.]

So Shannon—how about it? See, I know how to use an em-dash. :)

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Organic food: should we bother?

By on September 30, 2012 in Environment, Gardening, Science

It seems a Stanford review of nutritional studies says organic produce isn’t any more nutritious than *”conventionally”-farmed produce. Does that mean we should quit bothering about organic?

My tomato harvest last week

That depends on why we buy and/or grow organic. But let’s back up… should we take this survey at face value?

I’m not trying to hint at any problems with the Stanford study. It’s just that NO scientific study or survey should be taken as the last word on its topic. There’s always room for more study. The paper itself states a limitation: “Studies were heterogeneous and limited in number, and publication bias may be present.” It’s irresponsible of the media to proclaim this finding as fact.

Many of us have assumed that organic food would have to be more nutritious than the regular supermarket fare. That’s why this study is causing so much consternation.

I didn’t buy the full article, but I did read here that the studies examined levels of vitamins and minerals… implying that they did NOT look at micronutrients, which might be a different story.

They also looked at contaminants such as bacteria and pesticides, but “only 3 of the human studies examined clinical outcomes.” They found a clear difference in pesticide levels—which is the other major reason most of us choose organic. So at least we still have that.

But organic is more expensive. It can be a hassle. Is reducing our pesticide intake enough to justify it?

Well, I’ve got more reasons besides reducing my risk of cancer. Here goes…

  1. Flavor. Organic produce has more. My tomatoes don’t taste like cardboard.
  2. Sustainability. Let’s not forget that “conventional” farming uses fertilizers derived from petroleum products. They’re just going to get more and more expensive, until they can’t be gotten at all.
  3. Soil. This could fall under sustainability… organic methods preserve and nurture the soil. “Conventional” methods rape it until it’s good for nothing but to hold the plants up.
  4. Farm workers. There are horrific stories out there of the health effects of massive exposure to pesticide applications.
  5. Collateral damage. The trouble with pesticides is that they kill beneficial insects also, as well as birds. For instance, the latest evidence is pointing to the pesticide clothianidin as the culprit in colony collapse disorder in bees.
  6. Plant diversity. Organic practices preserve diverse varieties of crops.

It just makes sense to me that it’s best to grow plants in harmony with the biological systems God created for them. It’s short-sighted and overly utilitarian to look only at the vitamin content.

And this isn’t your grandma’s organic gardening. The more we know about the soil web, the more complex we find it to be. There is plenty of science on the organic side of things helping us understand what works and why.

It takes more than N/P/K, and the sooner we realize we’re not smarter than the Creator of it all, the better off we’ll be.

Another blog opinion: Gardener’s Journal

*(I put this in quotes because what is referred to as “conventional” farming has been going on for only a tiny fraction of the history of agriculture)

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Where do I get my… yarn?

By on September 18, 2012 in knit / crochet

I’ve written a guest blog post over at Knitcircus, and it went up this morning.

I was so excited about the new local yarn store (LYS) that’s opened in my area, I just had to write about it. And since Jaala Spiro at Knitcircus has an intermittent series about yarn stores, I pitched it to her and she caught it.

Here’s the link: Yarn Store Road Trip Guest Post: The Wool Gathering

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Sharing… or bragging?

By on August 20, 2012 in Social Media

This article has me thinking hard.

Are We All Braggarts Now? – WSJ.com, by Elizabeth Bernstein.

The author complains about Facebook updates that make people sound more “fabulous” than they really are. For instance: “best gift ever from the best husband ever”… “Got my first royalty check for my book!”

Unfortunately, some people can’t seem to tell the difference between sharing positive information that others might actually want to know and flat-out crowing

At first I got defensive, reading this article. What’s wrong with sharing the good things that happen to you? Some of my Facebook friends would undoubtedly get slapped with the “braggart” label by this author, but I feel they have simply made a conscious decision to focus on what’s good in their lives rather than let themselves be dragged down by any negative circumstances. And “Best gift ever from the best husband ever” is just harmless hyperbole—isn’t it?

Then I noticed I was defensive. Which meant I should check & see whether I had something to be defensive about.

I do notice a tendency in myself to “accentuate the positive” on Facebook. I don’t think I’m cynically ”marketing myself,” as Bernstein writes about. Maybe it’s something more insidious than that… the unconscious desire to make myself look good in the eyes of others. And Facebook allows us to show only what we want others to see. Actually, it’s not so unconscious. I have noticed myself posting or deciding not to post based on how I think it will make me look.

There’s something down deep inside that’s gauging the possible responses as I thumb-type a post. Maybe not every time, but often enough. I think seeing we’ve received a reply must give us a jolt of oxytocin or something.

And yet, all this is antithetical to the highest, best uses of Facebook. What do I tell people when asked why I use Facebook? To keep up with my far-flung friends & family. It’s really supposed to be like a personal letter, doled out a couple lines at a time.

Except it’s not very personal, once you’ve friended a whole bunch of people, from your sister to somebody you barely remember from a job you had twenty years ago. I think that’s when our status updates turn into little press releases. Because we’re conscious that we have an Audience. And yet, as Bernstein points out, “it’s harmful to our relationships because it turns people off.”

People brag for all sorts of reasons… to appear worthy of attention or love or to try and cover up our deepest insecurities. To prove to ourselves that we’re OK, that people from our past who said we wouldn’t measure up were wrong. Or simply because we’re excited when good things happen to us.

That last one gets me. It’s natural to be excited when good things happen to us. But I guess we have to remember, not everyone will be as excited FOR us. So there’s a fine line, it seems, between good news and bragging.

Facebook is supposed to be about relationships, for all that it’s overrun these days with corporations asking us to “Like” them. But when it comes to the flesh-and-blood people we connect with on Facebook, how about this as a guiding principle?

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.   -I Corinthians 13:5, ESV

Do you think people brag too much on Facebook? Do you have a “policy” for your Facebook posts? Leave a comment if you’d like to discuss.

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I want to go to TEDx!!

By on August 2, 2012 in Rockford

 I just learned from the front page of today’s Rockford Register Star that we’re going to have a TEDx event in Rockford! (At the bottom of this post is a quote from the website about what the “x” means.) It’ll be October 27, and the theme is “Building a Sustainable Community.” I’m thinking they mean more than one kind of “sustainable.”

TED talks have inspired me for a long time. I love to watch them online or via the video podcast. I’m interested in most of the topics–or the speaker gets me interested.

What’s interesting is that you have to APPLY for a seat in the audience. It’s because this first one will be in a relatively small venue, and they want to make sure they get a good cross-section of area residents. I filled out the online application immediately. I hope I get chosen!

About TEDxRockford, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

TedXRockford is about telling stories that build a sustainable community.

via TEDxRockford.

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Farewell to a Clown

By on July 28, 2012 in TV & Movies

I feel compelled to write a tribute to an icon of my childhood—Chris Wedes, better known as JP Patches. He died on Sunday, July 22, at the age of 84. (obituary)

JP Patches

“JP Patches” was a live, unrehearsed show that ran on local Seattle television from 1958 to 1981.

My family moved to a suburb of Seattle when I was four, and I must have quickly become a “Patches Pal.” Mom tells me (and how I wish I could remember this myself!) that when we went to one of his public appearances, I got so excited while standing in line that by the time I got up to JP, I was jumping up & down. He took both my hands and started jumping up and down with me.

His show ran on weekday mornings. It started earlier than Mom usually got me up. From time to time I would decide to get up early enough to see the beginning—it was so fun! I can see it in my mind’s eye to this day. JP always started the show snoring under the Grandfather Clock at the back of the set, to peaceful morning music… until Grandfather Clock cuckooed, culminating in an explosion and water dumped on JP’s face and JP tumbling off his bench and starting the show.

Full-on goofball from start to finish. Of course there were the occasional admonitions such as mind your parents and drink your milk—and “Don’t be a Boris Buddy!” referring to his arch-nemesis, Boris S. Wort, “the second-meanest man in the world.”

JP Patches kept on making public appearances despite the cancellation of his show, right up until less than a year before his death. In 2011, Patches Pals packed a city square for the dedication of a bronze statue of JP and Gertrude, “Late for the Interurban.”

What did JP Patches mean to me? I’d like to get all profound, but it was just that his show was wonderful and he felt like a friend. His sound effects and his voice became part of the soundtrack of my childhood. Plus, he didn’t do anything later on to tarnish his image. As far as anyone could ever tell, there wasn’t a cynical bone in his body. He just liked entertaining children (even after they grew up).

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The frog says…

By on July 25, 2012 in knit / crochet

I’m knitting a pair of baby booties for my nephew who’s due in November. The pattern uses two colors of yarn and I needed to cast on the colors in the same order on the second bootie for it to match the first. I made a note when I cast on the first one–but for some reason, I got it backwards. I got about three rows into the second bootie before I realized it. What else could I do? I ripped it out and started over.

When I make a mistake in knitting or crocheting, I’ve been learning to suck it up and “tink” or “frog.” Tink = knit backwards (that is, undo the stitches one by one); frog = rip it, rip it.

For a long time I didn’t want to have to go back and redo what I’d already done, so I’d try to figure out a way to fudge it. I could usually make it work somehow. But there are problems with that approach.

For one, it usually results in a spot that doesn’t look quite right–maybe isn’t even shaped quite right. Even if the casual observer doesn’t notice, I know it’s there. Which is another way of saying: I know I didn’t do it RIGHT. And I didn’t even really try to fix it.

It occurs to me I’ve done the same thing in real life, far too often. Mess up… and quietly try to go on as if it hadn’t happened, without actually admitting it, saying anything, or making any kind of amends. Hoping nobody noticed.

And yet there’s a bump, a twist, a bit that just won’t lie smooth.

Maybe… just maybe… life would be less painful if I would go ahead and frog when I make a mistake.

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