At Leisure

As I prepare to go back to work, I look back at my year plus of housewifery and really wonder why I hated it so much. I got to do whatever I wanted to do, whenever I wanted to. I think it was that lurking feeling that I should be doing something about this. The giant dust bunnies, the mountain of laundry, the sinkful of dirty dishes, the crusty bits on the refrigerator shelf, that pile of wrinkly things... And I did do something about it, but grudgingly, with a frown in my heart. Which doesn't make sense, because I love my home, when the power is on. As a nurse, you always have another task to do the very next second. The procrastinating part of one's character (a very large part, in my case!) has absolutely no scope for expression in a hospital. Everything there is right now. But here, I can always do the laundry tomorrow. And so it grows, along with my resentment of it. Maybe I would be better off as a that wandering hippie I always wanted to grow up to be in childhood. No comfy chairs to knit in, however, is a chilling thought for the middle aged!

I Am A Bunny Ears Genius

I've always known that I'm smart, but I never suspected I was in the genius class until yesterday. Yes, it's true. I invented a new knitting decrease. It’s a single decrease which makes 2 stitches out of 3. I was trying to find a symmetrical way of going from an odd to an even number of stitches as I charted “Corona” (See Barbara Walker #2 ). I crave symmetry, and so my brain responded to that need by giving me one of my best ideas ever: The Bunny Ears Decrease. (The eyelets shown here are for photographic purposes and added 2 rows later.)

Here’s how it’s done over 3 stitches:
Knit 1rst and 2nd stitch together, but leave 2nd stitch on L needle. Reorient the loop of this stitch, then knit 2nd and 3rd stitch together through the back loops. (Which will now actually be the front loop of 2nd stitch.) See? Bunny Ears!

I asked so many boards on ravelry if anyone had heard of this, I was accused of spamming by a stern doily-making Norsewoman. (I just didn't want to take credit if someone else had thought up Bunny Ears first.) But no one had heard of it, and I mean lace knitters who've been decreasing for the last 100 years. So. I may be a genius, but I'm rotten at explaining things. Here's a (Continental-style) video on YouTube djinnj of ravelry "just threw together" to try to help herself understand my garble:

And then, because I'm can't let well enough alone, I started messing around more and came up with the version I like best. Note how the "slipped" middle stitch disappears instead of elongates? I'll use this version more! Version 2: Ssk stitches 1 & 2, reorient 2nd loop onto L needle, then k2tog this 2nd loop & stitch 3. Slipped middle stitch disappears! Simple and beautiful, So why don’t more knitters know about it? (Frothing at the mouth….)



This decrease may well revolutionize the world of knitting pattern stitches. Here's another video about The Bunny Ears Experience from the amazing djinnj of ravelry:

I find it really hard to believe I invented a new technique in the venerable world of knitting. So if anyone else has seen or heard of this, do tell, so my head can deflate a little!

Update: Okay, my head can get through the door again! There is nothing new under the knitting sun! A raveler pointed me to a link which explains Robert Powell's 3 to 2 decrease. The final outcome looks basically the same as the 2nd version of Bunny Ears though it's somehow bulkier, though I'd need stronger glasses to see why. I suspect it's because he slips the 1rst, not the 2nd, stitch. "Our" way of doing it is faster, once you get the hang of it, if I do say so myself! And why not? It's my freaking egomaniacal blog, ennit?

Sea Drift Shawl

I love to knit lace shawls for a number of reasons, the chief being that you can't buy them. Plus they are so much fun to knit, especially when you make up your own design. (Like I did for this Sea Drift Shawl.) The only sweaters I wear are super-fine gauge cotton ones that would take about ten long boring years to knit in my least favorite fiber to handle. What's the point of knitting a thicker sweater I'll never wear? I love wearing shawls. Shawls can be dressy or granny or whatever you want them to be. Plus, they are always flattering. End rant.

Joyous Eastertide

These postcards were all in the 25¢ bin at a recent postcard show. Easter isn't nearly as popular as Halloween, at least amongst postcard collectors. I saw a Halloween postcard for $125!!! I also saw a linen Curt Teich from the 40s advertising tires, for $95. The postcard cost $95, not the tires. Dang! I love the first card shown here, with its floating Crown of Thorns and cyclamens. Spooky! Then more crosses and cyclamens: evidently a popular Victorian pairing. Flower postcards with butterflies are also cheap and plentiful.

Not Me!

Nope, not me. I'm just sitting out here on the balcony in my bentwood rocker knitting. It's a little chilly yet for the bikini, but a girl likes to look good while she's being crafty. Why don't I like to crochet anymore? These are the questions that keep me up nights. I suppose it must be its lack of rhythm. Knitting really does seem to have the power to shape all one's tangly cares and woes into a smooth swatch of calm. There's just so much great, soothing yarn out there! My current favorite is this Elvincraft Homegrown Yarn from the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It smells like a windswept island, the colors are fantastic, and it's spun from the fleece of a rare seaweed eating breed of sheep called Ronaldsay. The yarn has a lovely soft handle and a subtle natural sheen. It makes last year's favorite Noro seem crass! But pretty much I like all yarn except super crunchy ones like acrylic, soy, and cotton. I'm not buying anymore until the power goes out again next winter, and even then I'll have too much to knit with in one lifetime. Yarn is like an idea, and so your stash is like your brain. Crammed full and sometimes a little disorganized. Oh yeah!

Springing Spring

Remember the Scorched Earth of three weeks ago? It's turning green! The middle photo is of my favorite flower, the Pale Purple Coneflower, Echinacea pallida. The spiky leaves belong to the best-named plant in my garden, Rattlesnake Master, Eryngium yuccifolium. I don't have any idea what all the wee little teensy leaves are going to sprout into. Stay tuned!