Category Archives: Review

The hurrier I go…

01 Tuesday May 2012

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The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.
[Lewis Carroll]

My April was full of activity, and my to do lists were longer than my time and energy. My blog posts were non-existent. Now that I have taken a long breath, I do want to share several things.

Knitting Retreat

First, the Dayton Knitting Guild annual retreat at Bergamo featured Debbie Wilson as our teacher. The tea pot cozy in the photo above was just one of the projects. She also presented us with the challenge of knitting brioche stitch in the round. Hum-m-m. I got the gist of it but raveled my sample to knit the cozy. Debbie is an accomplished knitting teacher and a lovely person. I also enjoyed the yarn market and, of course, renewing old friendships.

Knitting Book Contest

Next, do subscribe if you don’t want to miss hearing about the contest. I plan to review the new knitting book by Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrott later this week. I’ll be drawing a name from the commenters on that post so that I can mail the winner a copy of their new book.

Train Trip

Third, my account of a trip on the Texas Eagle is coming soon. Instead of the Orient Express, it could have been called the Blue Bonnet Special.

Carried Away

27 Tuesday Mar 2012

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Grace is knowing when to bind off.
[Rachael Herron]

Okay, so I got a bit carried away. This Regia Hand-dye Effect yarn caught my eye not only because of its color, but also for its unusual texture. It has what looks like single-spun wool wrapped with a fine strand of nylon to strengthen it for wear, but it knits up smoothly and felt wonderful when I tried it on.

I am currently working on a toe-up anklet pattern for a workshop in May. I have it adjusted for a variety of stitches, yarn weights and needles. I was trying one more variation with this yarn but failed to stop at the ankle and made it knee high. There are cabled clocks up each side, and increases on the back half to enlarge it for the calf of the leg. It actually stays up.

Keeping Up

06 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in Ongoing Projects, Review, Thoughts, Writing

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Once a new technology rolls over you,
if you’re not part of the steamroller,
you’re part of the road.
[Stewart Brand]

We all have our odd turns of the mind. One of mine is a fear of ending up as road kill on the information super highway. After working more than 25 years in graphic design, I still spend as much time in training as I do designing. Software upgrades are a big part of that, and Lynda.com is my main training resource. One of my favorites there is Anne-Marie Concepcion of Seneca Design and Training, and InDesign Secrets.

Fear of not knowing enough can hold a person back from finishing a job, just like fear of the marketplace (agoraphobia) can keep some folks entrenched in their homes. A thought struck me as I was scrubbing out the toilet bowl this morning. I was doing that chore to procrastinate from working on a design job. I really enjoy my design jobs so why put it off? I realized that I don’t necessarily procrastinate because I’m lazy. I usually procrastinate because I’m not quite sure I have the right solution to a production issue. The question is, how much of my mental block is based on a misperception?

I’ve successfully completed countless design jobs over the years, but I’d just watched a video about advances in the software I’ve used for a decade. There were five more hours of lessons available. What if I missed something that would make a difference in the project? Well, phooey, I thought. If I’d waited to upgrade like other designers I know, I couldn’t even do what I didn’t yet know how to do. I simply finished the job. I’ll watch the other five hours later.

The conclusion to all of this goes back to maintaining a balance (but then I wonder if I can get a life-time membership on the training site?).

When I was hunting a “keeping up with technology” quotation for this post,
I had trouble picking just one. Here is another quote that nudged my funny bone:

If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has,
we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1000 MPG
[Bill Gates]

iBooks Author

20 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in Favorite Things, Review, Thoughts, Writing

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Without the playing with fantasy
no creative work has ever yet come to birth.
The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable.
[Carl Jung]

I’ve been waiting for this since 1961. Back then I had a summer job through an Indiana University research grant. In the study, one group of children sat in a traditional classroom to learn reading skills. The members of the other group received individual instruction using a mechanical device. The device used scrolled paper to lead the student through practice cycles. I was a machine facilitator. On the bus ride home after each session, I dreamed of a science-fiction device that would replace the clunky machine.

I was a nursing instructor in the early 70s when I took a course about developing self-instructional packages. I even wrote a package that focused upon learning how to compose and evaluate a plan in a variety of settings. Since it was non-linear, I realized I needed to have control over the book design process so I went back to school. I studied graphic design and have focused upon publication design ever since.

When I bought my first personal computer in 1982 (4k and no hard drive or software), I taught myself basic programming so I could compose small learning packages. I recall that my first program had something to do with multiplication tables. When it worked, I thought about the twenty years of baby steps I’d taken toward the kind of learning tool I dreamed about in 1961.

Having spent hours formatting eBooks in the past couple of years, and searching for ways to create interactive, enhanced books without having to learn programming, I told myself that we are getting close. Then I read the news on my iPad last night and saw an article about iBooks Author. I fell asleep and dreamed of the science-fiction device I used to think about riding the bus. In the middle of the night, I awoke and knew I’d not go back to sleep until I fired up my computer and installed iBooks Author.

When I opened this software, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I am familiar with the interface because it is similar to other Apple applications so I only have to learn some details. Then I’ll kick start my imagination, and I am on my way to doing what I dreamed about 50 years ago.

Advent Calendar

15 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Review, Thoughts

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If we have no peace,
it is because we have forgotten
that we belong to each other.
[Mother Teresa]

Jacquie Lawson, an artist in the United Kingdom, offers the most charming eCards and eNotes that I’ve encountered. Her drawings are delightful. The image above is a screen shot of one of the Advent calendars she offers. She also offers a version that can be viewed on an iPad. Every day, a new number is highlighted. When it is selected, a charming animation plays along with a seasonal tune. I am enchanted, especially when I look at it at night, and the sky is darkened with the lights sparkling.

My friend, Jane Roberts, sent this to me as a gift and I’ve shared it with other folks. My biggest curiosity is about the technology behind these fascinating presentations. How does she do that?

Band of Brothers

22 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in History, Reading, Review, Thoughts, Writing

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Why do men fight who were born to be brothers?
[James Longstreet
about Ulysses S. Grant]

They were classmates and friends at West Point. They were army buddies and fought together in the Mexican War. Their high opinion of each other never wavered even when they were enemies during the American Civil War. They were friends after the war and then Longstreet paid his ultimate tribute to Grant upon hearing of his death, “General Grant was the truest as well as the bravest man who ever lived.”

I devour all sorts of history books—not only those about the American Civil War. Some books capture my interest enough that I go through them repeatedly. Most of these books are compiled, sorted and examined works by historians of a later generation. In my search for new histories, I came upon the memoirs of Grant and Longstreet at Project Gutenberg . Not only is the content of these books fascinating to me, but the prose is well-formed. These men who were raised without the most advanced of educational opportunities wrote in a clear, cohesive and interesting style.

From Manassas to Appomattox, Memoirs of the Civil War in America was written by James Longstreet and published in 1896. The Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant were written in two volumes and published shortly after Grant’s death in 1885. I am reading them side by side since they discuss events in a chronological order from opposite sides. I’ve noticed interesting details that that give insight into the authors’ ways of thinking. For example, Grant called the northern army, the National Army instead of the Union Army. As I continue my journey through these two books, I grow in gratitude that these authors shared their experiences with us.

Poignant is the word I’d use to describe this reading experience.

The Gentleman from Indiana

05 Monday Sep 2011

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Cherish all your happy moments:
they make a fine cushion for old age.
[Booth Tarkington]

I’ve been scouring Project Gutenberg (source of the bookplate above) in my ongoing quest for free (or really inexpensive) eBooks. I’ve rediscovered an old favorite, Booth Tarkington. As a child, I read Tarkington’s Penrod and Penrod and Sam— stories about the adventures of little boys growing up around 1900. This time, I started with Tarkington’s first book, The Gentleman from Indiana. I enjoyed it and have now launched into reading his two Pulitzer Prize winning novels, The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. I’ll have plenty to read if I simply stick with Hoosier authors. A few of these include:

  • Lloyd C. Douglas, (Magnificent Obsession)
  • Ross Lockridge, Jr (Raintree County)
  • Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe series)
  • Kurt Vonnegut,Jr (Slaughterhouse Five)
  • Jessamyn West (Friendly Persuasion)
  • Lew Wallace (Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ)
  • Gene Stratton-Porter (Girl of the Limberlost)
  • James Whitcomb Riley (children’s poetry)

Crafty Living Show

01 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in Knitting, Knitting Sites, Review, Writing

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As I get older, I just prefer to knit.
[Tracey Ullman]

Lara Neel, writer and photographer for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, interviewed me several weeks ago for a podcast. Last Sunday she published the podcast and blog post with images at this LINK. I was delighted with the interview and with her book review of my CD of knitted socks, …and a time to knit stockings.

The first several minutes of the podcast is about sock heels then the interview follows. Lara includes links to most of the people and places that I mention in my interview which consists of a discussion of publications, design and a number of creative folks I admire. This was a first experience for me, and Ms Neel made it painless.

The Wings of the Morning

18 Saturday Jun 2011

Posted by in Reading, Review, Thoughts, Writing

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Anyone who says they have only one life to live
must not know how to read a book.

After spending my retirement savings (or so it seemed) on eBooks last year, I decided to find free ones this year. Project Gutenberg is a treasure trove. I have downloaded all of the available Louis Tracy books and am enjoying them a lot. They are kind of like Agatha Christy’s books. Tracy wrote at the turn of the last century in Great Britain. I’d never heard of him but am inspired to find more of this sort of book on Gutenberg.

(I wonder if this is the sort of book that was called a “penny dreadful.”)

GoodReader—Good Idea

23 Monday May 2011

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Good ideas are common.
What’s uncommon are
people who’ll work hard enough
to bring them about.
[Ashleigh Brilliant]

I have recently been blessed with an iPad 2 (I should have mailed announcements to explain why I’ve become such a recluse). Actually, my world exploded with interesting things, and endless ideas and opportunities. Not far into this new experience, I started dreaming of ways to put my publication design experience to use on this relatively new media. This past year has been my year of the eBook—reading, researching, producing… Meanwhile, I’ve focused upon layout and design of knitting patterns to publish as printable PDF files.

My friend, Mary in Ann Arbor, emailed me today about reading knitting patterns (in a PDF file format) in the GoodReader App on her new iPad2. She could annotate it with highlighter marks to keep track of where she was on the pattern. I rushed to get the app and experiment. WOW! It works. It also shows me what I need to do to make my patterns GoodReader friendly.

It doesn’t take much to make me happy — yarn, knitting needles and a few well-placed pixels.

This is a shot of the iPad screen showing
a PDF knitting pattern with a highlighted
line to mark the place. The line is easily movable.