Surprise

This is on the sly...


Because my mother doesn't have internet access right now, I can post these pictures of her birthday present without too much fear that she'll see them.



The pattern, which I adjusted a little bit, comes from Stephanie Japel's wonderfully hip book Fitted Knits. Stephanie's blog, Glampyre, is also amazing. She's not only an inspiring pattern designer, but a geologist, a custom yarn dyer, a seamstress and a mom. A girl after my own heart.

We opened The Foreigner last Thursday (that link is to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's website; there are a few production photos up now). It seems to have been received well, but I made a vow a couple of years back not to read reviews until after closing. Although a bad review is only one person's opinion, it's amazing how much it can unravel your self esteem. So...while I have a hunch that the buzz might be good, I'll just stay away to be safe. In any case, we are having the time of our lives with this comedy, and I'm so grateful to be here doing it.

On other fronts, it's looking like upon my return to Ashland I will be trying to downsize from my lovely Jetta, Horace, into an older Benz that I can hopefully pay off in full up front. We'll see how it goes. But if I do end up in a vintage Mercedes, it will be a new and slightly different world of biodiesel use (I may have to change hoses from rubber to synthetic, etc.), with more careful attention and DIY repairs on my part. But Janis will be proud.

SPRING IS SPRUNG! June will be busting out all over before we know it. Where does the time go?

--Nell

MOM'S BAG...finally

Things are settling back into their slow Oregon pace. My parents left this morning after a whirlwind week of fun that went by much too quickly.

Here, finally, are pictures of the plastic knit shopping bag by my mom. It's very big and wide and as with weaving, the process of knitting here takes an otherwise flimsy material and turns it into a very strong fabric. It's done in garter stitch. Spiral-cut the bags into one or two-inch wide strips (you can tie them together as you go...it's pretty free-form).  Use your instinct with needle size and do a gauge swatch if you like...because this is for fun and recycling purposes, I think it would be acceptable to omit the sacred swatch and just take a stab in the dark.  You don't want it too lacy and loose, but then again, you don't want it too tight, which will make it even more difficult to work.  Knit two big matching rectangles and one long skinny one. The long skinny one becomes the (width) sides and bottom -- you keep measuring as you go, and when it's long enough to span down the side, across the bottom, and up the other side of the rectangles (between them), you cast off. Crochet (or sew) it all together, and then sew on straps. She used canvas strap material from a fabric store -- my elaboration would be to use belts or cut the straps from old purses at Goodwill. The straps should go completely around the bag, as this gives extra strength.  

If and when I make one myself, I will include pictures of each step and more explicit directions, but just looking at it, I think you can see what was done.  Of course she also made the sweater she's wearing in the picture.  

Ooh, the hemp bag is still in process -- it is very difficult to work with, but I am not giving up yet.  It's just going to take a bit longer, and I'll need to figure out a way to make it easier to handle.  Crocheting might be the ticket.

In other news, or news hitherto neglected by me, on January 7th, Continental Airlines successfully completed the first test flight by a North American airline using a biofuel blend. Here's the story in Biofuels Digest. A combo of jatropha and algael oil-based jet fuel was used, and the test came off beautifully. The alternative fuels that made the blend were provided by in house companies Terra Sol (for the jatropha) and Sapphire for, you guessed it, that pretty green algae. The next similar test of note will happen in Tokyo on the 30th, so stay tuned. Some major airlines are predicting for themselves a 10% biofuel use by the years 2012 and 2013, variously. In the article linked above, the value of "drop in" alternative fuel is stated. For airlines, I suppose that solar technology is still relatively a long way off (*note to self: RESEARCH).  But there are those companies that want to do something now about reducing certain emissions, and they need a fuel that will pose no problems to the existing infrastructure.  Bio, when outfitted as jet fuel, seems to fit the bill so far. The test was conducted at George Bush International in Houston...

--Nellamity

The Knitting Corner

...yes, here it is. It's a deeply unorganized space. But it serves.

For me, knitting is many things. But the deepest point of my connection to it touches some self-sufficiency/survival instinct lingering in my genes. One of the most fundamental human instincts -- besides providing ourselves with food -- is keeping ourselves and our loved ones warm and protected, which a handknit garment usually accomplishes beautifully. When I knit, I drop off into imaginative reveries. I won't bore you with the content of those. Suffice it to say, it's an ancient tradition, and I find it very therapeutic.

The garment on the pink chair is a from-the-top-down vest based on Barbara Walker's method for a sleeveless sweater in Knitting from the Top. I love knitting in this way -- in fact, I rarely work from the bottom up anymore. Whenever I fall in love with a conventionally-knit pattern, I always find myself thinking how I'd do it from the top. You can try the garment on as you're working (yes, you really can!) to be sure of a perfect fit, which is important for me, because I often don't look well in normal patterns. Also, if you're making something for somebody else, you can break into their home, steal their favorite t-shirt or sweater and copy the proportions exactly. You can do that with bottom-up styles, too, I just think top down is more fun, damn it.

Pictures to follow when it's completed.

Also, I began a knitted hemp bag today -- usually I don't knit bags, because I am too rough with them. I know I would slam one in the car door or step on it or mutilate it in some other way, and when you knit something and then have to see it destroyed...it's a recipe for a broken heart. But hemp is SO so strong, and I had some of it sitting around. I am forcing myself to write it down as I go (which I always give up on halfway through any creation), so the pattern and pictures will be up hopefully within a few days.

Let me know if you knit with cool stuff -- my mom does it with old plastic bags (it makes a terrifically strong fabric, but is hard on the hands as you're working). I thought I'd try something with old t-shirts...cutting them up spiral-wise into long strips, and knitting with those. I'd like to branch out from always shopping for yarn. Until I can get my hands on a living sheep or an alpaca, I vow to quest for recycled, nouveau (cheap) yarnstuffs.

--Nellamity

Thank you!

Friends,

Thank you for the outpouring of support for the new blog. It meant a lot to me that so many of you are passionate about this subject.

Dave asked some great questions in an email, and I'd like to begin to talk about those, and open up the discussion -- if you know more (or more accurate) information, I gladly accept corrections or additions.

First, are some harmful biodiesel emissions more abundant than those of even the oldest crustiest diesel?

I checked with the National Biodiesel Board's website and with the EPA's section about Biodiesel emissions (click on the link, and then scroll down to the bullet entitled "Draft Technical Report, A Comprehensive Analysis of Biodiesel Impacts on Exhaust Emissions, October 2002 (PDF)" -- the findings are mixed, although there is a general consensus that CO2 emissions were unidentifiably different from those of Diesel (looking at a B20 blend), and that NOx emissions were actually a bit higher (again specifically for a B20 blend):

Emission impacts of 20 vol% biodiesel
for soybean-based biodiesel added to an average base fuel
Percent change in emissions
NOx.........................................+2.0%
PM...........................................-10.1%
HC...........................................-21.1%
CO...........................................-11.0%

So, as the volume of biodiesel increases, several toxic emissions are reduced, and at least one (NOx -- which is a generic term for a group of gases made up of both Nitrogen and Oxygen in different concentrations) rises. The in-depth report also points out that emission impacts varied depending on the type of biodiesel (animal fat, soy bean, rapeseed were the tested types), as well as the type of conventional fuel to which the biodiesel was added.

Again, this is just an opening of the discussion -- there is much more to be said and debated. For instance, in areas like San Pedro, where the cancer rate is astronomically high, would it really be beneficial to implement a new fuel that puts out more NOx? Maybe not...there.

"So, how can we get off foreign oil AND prevent more accumulation of toxic gases?" Dave queried.

Clearly, Biodiesel is not the cleanest alternative -- but for those of us who can't afford to go electric yet, it's a good start (in my opinion), if only because, as the National Biodiesel Board points out:

"Biodiesel is the first and only alternative fuel to have a complete evaluation of emission results and potential health effects submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Air Act...These programs include the most stringent emissions testing protocols ever required by EPA for certification of fuels and fuel additives."

And again, I think it would be wrong to put faith in biodiesel as the 'magic solution.' But at least we know what we're getting into -- we have the numbers, and at this point we can work to offset (I don't necessarily see the practicality or definite measureability of offsetting, but I think it's a principled notion) Biodiesel emissions if we wish.

Damn, I've written a lot, and left little room for knitting news. Chris, up at the top is a picture of some baby booties that I made up to sell in a local children's shop. My "company" (haha) is called Nettell -- and I will post information about the genesis of that whole shebang soon. The pattern is modified from a Debbie Bliss creation called "Snowflake Booties" in the Debbie Bliss book Baby Style.

Hope you'll comment!

Best,
Nellamity