Category Archives: Thoughts

“There’s an app for that…”

19 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by in Favorite Things, Learning to Blog, Reading, Review, Technology, Thoughts, Writing

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One must be an inventor to read well.
There is then creative reading
as well as creative writing.
[Ralph Waldo Emerson]

iPad-apps

Since I live in relative solitude, my blog gives me a place to share things that one would normally share with a person in the same room. This is a, “You’ve just gotta see this…” post. The thought has crossed my mind that I’m likely the last to learn all of this, but I’ll share it anyhow. I’ll make bullet points of my disjointed thoughts.

  • The image is a screen shot of one of my iPad folders.
    • I’ve never seen non-Apple devices, but am confident that they have reasonable counterparts to this.
    • It is worth the effort to learn how to organize apps in folders so you can find your stuff easily on one screen.
    • The desktop image is either (a) my backyard or (b) a tourist stop near Cardiff, Wales (UK). HINT: I have no backyard.
  • About the first row of apps in the image—these are primarily text readers. iBooks reads books from the Apple store, Nook reads Barnes & Noble books, and Kindle reads Amazon books. The apps are free and many books can be obtained without cost as well. There are also sale priced books available from such sources as BookBub.
  • The second row of apps in the image—these are specialized readers. Audible (an Amazon company) is an audio book reader and not only reads books from Audible.com, but also reads non-Amazon books from iTunes. Overdrive accesses the local public library. Using my library card, I check out both text and audio books using Overdrive. GoodReader could also be called Knitter’sHelper. I use this for my PDF knitting patterns because it allows me to easily mark my place and make notes.
  • The third row shows apps from Blackstone. These audio books are well produced and are now available with a built-in player as apps—one book per app. I bought these in the App Store for reasonable prices. There are many choices. One of my favorite mystery writers is Louise Penny. Her books, set in Quebec, present characters in such depth and with such sensitivity, that they make me want to jump into my little roadster and drive to Canada in search of imaginary friends.

Christmas & Mothers

16 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by in Favorite Things, Thoughts, Writing

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But Mary kept all these things,
and pondered them in her heart.
[Luke 2:19]

Christmas 2013

At Christmas time, my thoughts always turn to Mary. My first child was born close to Christmas and, while we were stalled at a rail crossing on the way to the hospital, I thought of Mary. I was so thankful I wasn’t riding a donkey. While I was admitted to the hospital, I thought of Mary being cold and hungry with no place to rest in comfort. I cringed at the thought of going through labor and delivery in the conditions described in the Bible. Mary was made of sterner stuff than I am. Ever since then, motherhood and Christmas have been inextricably linked in my mind.

Speaking of mothers, the rocker in the photo was my mother’s. I bought it for her as a Christmas gift with my first Navy paycheck 50 years ago. Sitting in Mama’s chair is Maisey, my grandmother’s doll. Grandma got her for Christmas 130 years ago (here’s a link to that story). As I decorated the tree last weekend (and shoveled snow), I thought of Mary and Mama and Grandma.

Pearl Harbor

07 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by in History, Technology, Thoughts

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… a date which will live in infamy.
[Franklin D. Roosevelt]

audible

Today, I have been listening to the audio book version of Pearl Harbor by Steven M. Gillion. This is my way of remembering.

The thought struck me that my blog readers might not know about the Audible daily deal nor the Audible app—two pieces of technology that bring me hours of pleasure. I knit (or clean, or cook) while I listen and I’m put in mind of the radio as it was when I was a child. The Audible website offers a service where by they email an offer at a greatly reduced price. Many of their offers don’t interest me. but this one did. I use the Audible app on my iPad and a Bluetooth speaker to listen to the books.

Fond Farewell: JoLene Treace

12 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Knitting, Thoughts

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It is easy to say how we love new friends,
and what we think of them,
but words can never trace out
all the fibers that knit us to the old.
[George Eliot]


shall-never-lose

I shared my website, A Time to Knit, with JoLene for over a decade. I’d met her when she started designing and was so impressed with her talent that I was delighted to support her growth as a knitting designer in whatever way I could. She was a fast learner and was very organized in her approach to the design process. I used to tease her about her swatch notebooks. While lots of knitters dread knitting a swatch, JoLene thrived on it. Her lovely work is a tribute to her. I am thankful for her friendship and inspiration all of these years—the fibers that will knit her to my memory even though she is gone.

Veteran’s Day 2013: Two Old Salts

11 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by in Thoughts

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Lord, bid war’s trumpet cease;
Fold the whole earth in peace.
[Oliver Wendell Holmes]

Katherine Misegades, Michael Smith

Veteran’s Day, 2013—The photo on the left was taken in Albany, GA in 1968. The photo on the right was taken a couple of weeks ago in Savannah, GA. There are 45 years, three children and a number of pounds between the two photos.

Grief Helps: a labor of joy

01 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in Review, Thoughts, Writing

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It’s the great mystery of human life that
old grief passes gradually into quiet tender joy.
[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]

Grief Helps blogIt has been my good fortune that I have been able to spend my working life doing what I enjoy. My career has not only been fun, but it has also been enlightening, enriching and rewarding. Most of that is due to my clients. As an independent designer, every project I finish puts me out of a job. Fortunately, projects have materialized in adequate supply for the past twenty-eight years. This post is about one of my favorites.

I’ve produced print publications, electronic publications, and web-site work for Willowgreen, Inc., a publishing company, for over a decade. This company specializes in inspirational materials to help with illness, caregiving, transitions, and grief. Two of the greatest assets with Willowgreen offerings are Jim Miller’s writing skill and his magnificent photography. Recently, his publications have focused on helping folks who are experiencing grief.

Today, Jim will release a new blog called Grief Helps. It is designed especially for grieving individuals and families. It is simple to navigate, easy to read, and beautiful to view. Jim writes:

Grief Helps includes only fresh resources that are found nowhere else. Only Willowgreen’s own resources—not a copy of anyone else’s work. And the new blog provides an unusually wide variety of resources, unlike what you’ll find on any other blog: lovely mini-videos, bright mini-books, and meaningful PhotoThoughts, all absolutely free. In addition there are the more customary posts you’ve come to expect on blogs everywhere. A section also is provided for individuals to share with others their own “grief helps”—acts or practices or approaches that have assisted them personally on their journey through loss.

Working on Grief Helps has been such a healing experience for me that I wanted to share it with you.

Brothers

18 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by in History, Thoughts, Writing

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To the outside world we all grow old.
But not to brothers and sisters.
We know each other as we always were.
We know each others hearts.
We share private family jokes.
We remember family feuds and secrets,
family griefs and joys.
We live outside the touch of time.
[Clara Ortega]

c.1950 - [back row] Irene and Emerson Hoffman [front row] sons: Ray, Bobby and Melvin

c.1950 – [back row] Irene and Emerson Hoffman
[front row] sons: Ray, Bobby and Melvin

2013 - Melvin, Ray and Bobby Hoffman

2013 – Melvin, Ray and Bobby Hoffman

The 2013 snapshot of the three Hoffman lads came in the mail this morning and reminded me that I had the 1950 photo scanned into my computer. Ray, editor of The Heritage Eagle for the J.I. Case Heritage Foundation, had his 730 John Deere over near his hometown of Sabetha, Kansas for a tractor drive. This photo was taken at an ice cream social following the drive. I think that you can’t get any more Kansas than that.

I only know one of these gentleman, but even I can see the lad in each of them. Some things haven’t changed in the intervening sixty years—the tip of Melvin’s head, Bobby’s grin and the impish expression on Ray’s face (and maybe even his overalls—I think he just lengthened the straps). I’ll bet a three-volume family saga could be written about those sixty years.

There is something universal in family photos—even photos of folks we don’t know. I was struck by the great good fortune these three brothers enjoy by being able to stand shoulder to shoulder and grin all these years later.

Summer Stuff Revisited

14 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in Thoughts

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Summer afternoon — summer afternoon;
to me those have always been
the two most beautiful words
in the English language.
[Henry James]

Saturn sky

I love summer. What you see in the photo is a summer-winter romance. Instead of a younger man, I traded for a summer car. I haven’t figured out what I’ll do when there is a foot of snow in my driveway but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. Meanwhile, I wish I could give you a ride with the top down in this breezy, blue and green world. This is a Saturn Sky and it is only by chance that it matches my outfit. I may be a bit flaky, but I’m not that extreme.

I posted that in 2008—five years ago. I still love my little car and have driven it summer and winter, in snow or sunshine, far and near. Its best feature? It makes me grin. It also makes other folks grin when they see me in it with my white hair and 70-year old face.

This was the last model Saturn built before GM discontinued the product line. Recently someone told me I should put it in a garage unused in order to preserve it since it might be a classic some day. I don’t think so. I’d rather drive and grin, and then let someone else preserve it after I’m gone. After all, they can honestly say it was owned by a little old lady who only got two speeding tickets (so far). Grin.

Winter Class: Argyle Vest

02 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by in Free Pattern, Knitting, Knitting Sites, Pattern, teaching classes, Thoughts

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Design is not just
what it looks like
and feels like.
Design is how it works.
[Steve Jobs]

autumn argyle supplies

Teaching classes is an asset for a knitting-pattern designer. At least it is for me. Not only do my students inspire me by their requests and enthusiasm, but they help me clarify the pattern details and how to word the instructions. I have been composing a basic vest pattern in multiple sizes and gauges for an argyle technique class. Here are details of the fun parts of the pattern and how the design works:

  • Each of the eight students selected yarn colors in DK or light worsted weight from their favorite brands (Cascade 220, Berroco Ultra Alpaca, Brown Sheep Nature Spun, Rowan Creative Focus). I customized color charts (shown above) for each student to use with her written pattern.
  • The lower edge is ribbing that is knit in the round so it lays nicely on the hips.
  • The body is knit in two parts (back which is plain and front which is argyle) but the seam starts above the ribbing. Two stitches are added at the beginning and end of each piece as a seam allowance to produce an easy to sew, tidy seam.
  • The armholes are finished with applied iCord and the V-neck is finished with ribbing and an invisible bind off.
  • Attention is paid to smoothness of the fabric. Yarn joins and wraps follow the suggestions in the book shown below.
  • The accent lines are worked in duplicate stitch.

argyle-workshop-swatchAn excellent source for refining intarsia technique is Intarsia—A Workshop for Hand & Machine Knitting from the studio of Sealed with a Kiss (Sherry and Keely Stuever). Select this LINK to download a sample swatch pattern for argyle intarsia.