Procyclicality!?

I have been finding my vocabulary expanding as a result of my job. Today I encountered the word "procyclicality," as follows:

"Comments on the FDIC, OCC and Federal Reserve's joint market risk capital proposal are due April 11. The proposal seeks to better capture positions for which the market risk capital rules are appropriate, reduce procyclicality in market risk capital requirements, enhance the rules' sensitivity to risks that are not adequately captured under the current regulatory measurement methodologies, and increase transparency through enhanced disclosures."

Huh? 

And I'm supposed to sort out whether this affects our company...

A couple of the others I've encountered are:

• Contemporaneously. As in - “The term “joint applicant” refers to someone who applies contemporaneously with the applicant for shared or joint credit."

• Promulgated. As in - "The guidance is being offset by examiners and other regulators in the field who have not followed the policies promulgated by their agencies in Washington but continue to be overly restrictive when evaluating the credit decisions of those they regulate."

Hmmm....

Now I'm just trying to work out how I can slip any of these words into a conversation. Maybe, "My knitting projects are sure showing a procyclicality these days!"

*Sigh*

The Red Hat is Done, a Whole New Challenge

Oh boy, just when you think you've gotten good at something you've done a few times, something new comes along and bites you right in the rear. In this case, it was the design in this really cool hat.  It turns out that when you have a second color that goes all along the main color, the two strands carry along in the back without any problem. I also learned that "intarsia" and "Fair Isle" while similar, are actually two different terms. Fair Isle carries the design along the whole way and intarsia is a block of color design and is typically worked back and forth, not "in the round."

The first hats I made are Fair Isle

The red one has Fair Isle around the bottom and top; intarsia for the main logo and lettering:

Now that I google intarsia images, I see the backs of some designs have ends of yarn dangling on each row - that is an option I had not considered and still would not choose to do. Pulling in all those yarn ends does not seem like fun to me.  :)

The swatch I did ahead of time and showed a picture of on my previous blog entry was my attempt to be "prepared." I altered the edges just a bit as a result and thought I was ready for the real project. After I did the first row of the lettering on the hat, I had a sudden realization: The black yarn was left dangling on the left side of the design while I kept going around with the red background color and then the next time I would reach the design, the black would be on the wrong edge.

I googled: How To Knit Intarsia In The Round. First hit explained that it was not possible to knit intarsia in the round. Hmmm... let's see what else is out there...

Bingo!  The link I referred to: http://scrubberbum.typepad.com/moth_heaven/2008/02/tutorial-intars.html has a great description with plenty of photos to demonstrate what she is talking about. It was still pretty confusing until I just did what she said. Basically, you knit across with only one of the colors, slipping the stitches of the alternate color. At the end, you knit back with the alternate color, slipping the stitches of the ones already completed. Then, you slip all those completed stitches back onto your right hand needle and keep going at that place where you left off. Note: stitch markers come in incredibly handy because I kept forgetting exactly at which stitch I had started and stopped. Now the secondary color is waiting on the right hand side and is ready for you to do both colors on the next row, then the one after that, alternate the colors again.

Whew! I need a glass of wine...

Look what I got in the mail yesterday!

Yep, it's a ball winder. So last night I had to sit and wind some of my partial skeins that were used enough to now be "floppy" and thus were worth re-winding.

Over the past few days, I began work on the red earflapper hat Aidan has requested. He wants a certain popular sports logo as the design, so after having him draw it on graph paper and translating it into x's, I knit a swatch. Yep, not my favorite thing to do as I seldom see a direct relation to the final product. I'm really trying to turn a new leaf however, so it seemed a prudent thing to do.

I think it turned out pretty well, and it was decidedly worth doing a swatch. The "I" turned out too heavy so it'll be easy to make that adjustment in the hat itself.

As of tonight, I've made this much progress:

But... I may rather go wind more yarn balls...   :)



The Hat is Done!

It's done!

I got Aidan, my 16-year old to take the photo for me... and I like the hat!

Note the supernatural phenomena on the bathroom wall. It's rather freaking Aidan and me out as it is not there except in photos on that wall. We've taken quite a few now, and sometimes it's not showing up on that wall. Other photos show the "spots" but in slightly different positions. We emailed a few to Aidan's big brother Jonas since he's got actual Paranormal Investigator Equipment. I thought it would be far more efficient for Jonas to just bring his stuff over to check it out. But, I suppose it was more efficient for him to not drive over here.  He's got some theory about it being a reflection off of something... Yeah. Tell that to Aidan...

So take a look at the pic of just the hat and you might be able to see why I had such angst about it:

Oh well. Some things are just better tried on.

Caitlin's hat is almost done!

I love this kind of Saturday, where I get to wake up without an alarm, then spend several hours "puttering." Today I exercised the Flylady technique of setting the timer for 15 minutes to do a chore, then 15 minutes playing (read: knitting), back and forth for as long as you want.  When my brother called, I ended up talking to him for about an hour and a half. Thank goodness for headphones, I was able to keep knitting and get SO MUCH DONE!! I also cooked up the yellow beets I got this week from Rogue Valley Local Foods. It's way cool that they are linking up local farmers' items for sale with buyers - like an on-line farmer's market, and it's open year round!  I had never heard of yellow beets before so I wanted to give them a try. I find that cooking things like this ahead of time, then keeping it in the fridge to use for meals in the next couple of days makes way more sense for me than cooking everything at the time of the meal it's intended for. Here's a picture of the beets. They taste just like red ones...  and they didn't stain my hands while peeling them!

So, I did have time to get quite a bit done on the hat today. When it was almost up to the top, the insecurities set in:

Hmmm, these ridges are poofier than I thought they'd be; what if Caitlin doesn't like it; after all, it's not exactly like the one she saw in the picture; yeah but the one in the picture was decidedly masculine so this one is more "girlie"; this one looks so big; well it fits me just fine - must be the horizontal stripes! but what if she doesn't like it; well they're the colors she chose; I know how picky teenagers are - especially if their friends might not think something's cool; what if she hates it??

The thing is, I'm well aware of how some hand made gifts can be. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, check out this blog: http://uglyknittingpatterns.blogspot.com/ It's good for a laugh. And like my sister Marji says, "Wouldn't it be horrible if you make something you think is really cool and see it like this:

And the person receiving it sees this:

Well... I'm hoping if Caitlin doesn't love the hat, she keeps it to herself.

...Or else tells me, so I can make the fair isle design even if it makes her head sweat. I do happen to know that some people will in fact endure a fair amount of discomfort for the sake of a "coolness" factor.  Aidan totally fits into this category in case anyone is wondering.

Tonight Rich is out of town and Aidan is out with friends so I'm settled in to watch Julie & Julia and finish up Caitlin's hat.



Okay... just need to finish pulling in ends and make the cord thingys that hang off the earflaps... should be easy to finish tomorrow.  Good night!

Afghan Project Block 1: October

So Marji and I each completed our first blocks by the end of October. Turns out I just never blogged about it...

I was sitting at Sunshine Natural Foods in Grants Pass as I finished mine up, enjoying a fabulous fruit smoothy (blueberries, apple, banana, and juice) - Yum!

Here is my finished block:

I noticed it wasn't very square so I tried "blocking" it. Worked pretty well I'd say:

Here is Marji's block:

Now that I think about it, I'm thinking she must have blocked hers to begin with. Note it's laid out on a towel...

Working on Caitlin's earflapper hat...

Since I'm making up the design element as I go, I found I needed to "frog" the blue heather yarn and start again because I realized I can make interesting stitch patterns even though I'm not doing a fair isle design like I did on the others. The multiple strands of using multiple colors, while nice and cozy in the North would be far too hot for her.  

I told Aidan when I was getting started: "Caitlin lives in San Diego so I'm not going to put the colored design in her hat..."

Before I could continue he responds: "She can't have a design in her hat because she lives in San Diego??"



Example of Stockinette Stitch - all knit stitches



I'm trying to hurry because this is clearly the only time of the year it would even be a little bit comfortable to wear.  It may be this hurrying up business which is making me start to think this may be a bit of an evil hat. I have knitted almost two inches around the perimeter... about three times now. The first time, I realized I could be knitting a pattern into each color just by changing the stitches. Since I'd done about an inch and a half of stockinette stitch before trying a strip of purls, I took it all out and started again. I am including a picture showing stockinette stitches for the benefit of my non-knitting friends.




Example of Garter Stitch - knits and purls



The next time, for some unexplained reason, I thought it would turn out too large for a full-size female head, so I reduced it by a couple of stitches. After all, I am using a larger needle size than the last time I knitted the "women's" size (which is the one that went to my three year old niece Zoe). After a couple of inches, I came across Aidan's (larger size) hat and popped it onto my own head. Gadzooks! It just barely fits me... pretty much like all the other times I've tried it on.  What was I thinking!? I really don't know.  I figure Caitlin's head must be close to my size. I ripped it out and began again, once again in the same size as Aidan's.

This afternoon, I noticed something very strange. Wait a minute... those earflaps are backwards. What in the world...? Took me a few minutes to figure out what had happened. Sometime this morning, maybe when I first woke up, maybe when I got out of the shower, not quite sure which time when I picked it up to put in a few stitches (yes I'm kind of weird. I carry my knitting around the house with me. After all, there are those few moments... waiting to really wake up... waiting for the water to get hot in the shower... waiting to... well, you get the idea) I started knitting backwards. Yep, it was during the strips of purl rows, and when I picked it up backwards, I continued backwards in the opposite stitch. I know - it's even weirder because it's being knit on circulars. Well this wouldn't do. I ripped it out again. This time I didn't have to go to that bottom edge though, I was able to catch it where I had turned by mistake. 

I am now knitting this hat with a great deal of respect. After all, I can't send an evil hat to Caitlin, she's a sweet girl! And I think it's paying off...

Last night I had the bug to knit up a little heart. So I took some of the remainder of the red cotton yarn and worked this up, based on a pattern I found online, but changed the shape a little to make it wider than they showed. I added a thin silver cord for a hanging loop and a turquoise shell that came off a necklace (there were shells all across the necklace and when one broke off one side, I removed the one on the opposite side so I could keep wearing it and would still be even. Yes, I'm a little "Monk-like" that way. I like things even.)

I'm fastening it onto a purple index card with a safety pin as a birthday card for my sister Sylvia whose birthday was yesterday and now all I have to do is wrap her gift with this card and get it down to the post office! I did alert her on facebook she'd probably get it next week. 

After that I did cast on for Caitlin's hat, getting the first earflap complete in this yummy purple color. It is worked in garter stitch.

Oh. I just noticed that the camera is not capturing the actual color. Well, this will just have to do until later... :)

Okay, another washcloth.

Okay, another washcloth. This one's for Kathy who is meeting me for lunch tomorrow and I haven't seen her since prior to Christmas so this seemed like a good thing to do. I'm not too worried about her seeing it ahead of time as she's not a reader, therefore she won't read my blog. Even though I've told her how cool it is and for sure I thought I'd hook her when I told her I wrote about her pink tools in an earlier entry (the one about compost). But even that didn't pique her interest. I'm afraid there's not much hope for her.

After listening to Kelley Petkun on the Knit Picks podcasts say that she has very few hand-knit scarves even though she's an avid knitter and lives in Vancouver, WA so clearly she has need of keeping her neck warm this time of year. She says it's sort of embarrasing to have to admit to knitting a scarf  while knitting in public when she does so many more complicated things.

All I can say is, "Kelley, try knitting a washcloth in public and see what kind of reaction you get!"

One day I was sitting in the waiting area of Tehama Tire, waiting for my car tires to be rotated and I cast on for a washcloth. I'm not sure now what made the pattern so tricky exactly, but I found myself pulling it all out and starting again... a couple of times. Eventually the young man behind the counter asked, "What are you making?" The look on his face when I answered, "a washcloth!" was a mixture of horror and looking faintly impressed.  He countered with, "I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone work so hard for a washcloth before..."  Uh, me either.  :)

Anyway, here's a picture from earlier this evening:

Yep, the skein burped out a whole wodge of yarn when I gave it a tug...
I'm using Knit Pics nickle-plated circulars that are interchangable - I love them!

Here's the final product wrapped around a bar of lavendar scented soap:

Hmmm... there's still some evening left. I think I'll cast on for Caitlin's earflapper hat.  Stay tuned.

Washcloths!

As I was preparing to go back to work today after being off work the last two weeks (gotta use up the rest of that vacation time!) I realized I had two more little Christmas gifts to finish up for my co-workers...

Washcloths!

These are fun little fast projects with such a simple pattern, one can keep going and going without continually having to stop to check the pattern.  I folded each one in half, wrapped it around a bar of soap, and tied with a pretty ribbon. Thanks to Yvonne for the idea, and for the pattern!

Dishrag Pattern for Beginners

REQUIREMENTS

   1 ball of knit worsted weight cotton (Sugar N’ Cream) 50 gm size

   Size 9 to 10 1/2 needles

DIRECTIONS

Cast on 4 sts.
Row 1: Knit one row.
Row 2: K2, YO, knit to the end of the row.
Repeat row 2 until there are 40 sts (for dish scrubber) or 50 sts (for face-cloth).
Next row: K1, K2tog, YO, K2tog, knit to the end of the row.
Continue decreasing until 4 sts left.
Cast off.

Then I just crochet around the dish rag with a different color....just to add a little something-something!

Biscuits!

So I made biscuits for dinner tonight to go with our soup.  I hadn't picked up any rolls or flatbread, and rather than run down to the store, I looked for a recipe. Sheesh, less than 5 minutes to get the batter ready and about 11 minutes in the oven: it would have taken longer to get to the market and back!

Okay, so they turned out a bit flat - probably because I don't have double-acting baking powder. Also I used whole wheat pastry flour, which is the only type I tend to keep on hand. But hey, with some butter slathered on, they were a hit! 

So here's the recipe for Quick Drop Biscuits...

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Sift the following into a bowl:
   2 cups flour
   3 teaspoons double acting baking powder
   1 teaspoon salt

Pour the following over the top:
   1/3 cup vegetable oil
   2/3 cup milk

Stir together until the mixture easily leaves the sides of the bowl. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 - 12 minutes.

I may have to try one of the leftovers with apple butter in the morning, mmmm.....

Knitted Earflapper Hat(s) & Bracelet Purse

This story begins in October when I made this little pink purse for my niece Isabel:

Isn't it great? It's felted and uses bracelets for the handles. So I wanted to make something for Zoe as well and with the onset of winter, a hat seemed appropriate. I found a pattern for a child's earflapper hat and made one in black, intending to put cat ears on the top.  About the time I figured out I really don't know how to do cat ears, it occurred to me that the hat would be too small for this three year old. I crocheted a pink edging...

...and found another taker.

 

In the meantime, Aidan saw me knitting this. "Hey! Can you make me one of those??"

What!? My really picky teenage son wants me to make him something to wear? Alrighty then, moms can't let such an opportunity go by...

I found another pattern for adults. There was no gauge shown, so as he has a smallish head, I chose the "woman's" size and went for it. This one was in black with a silver fair isle pattern. Before I was done, it was clear this would in no way fit Aidan's head. But hey, it would probably fit Zoe! I added tassels to the cords and Marji assured me she could sew some embellishments so it would look a bit more feminine.  Still waiting for a photo of the finished product... but here it is the way I sent it:

Shucks, the tassels aren't showing in the picture. Go ahead and take a look at the pink ones above and imagine them in silver here... 

Well then, on with the "man's" size. This one was black with grey and fit much better, however still a bit snug on me. I tried again with the next size larger needles and swapped the colors. By now I pretty much know this pattern fairly well.

For Christmas, wrapped the black one for Aidan which was the color he'd requested, and the grey one for Rich (not that I expect him to wear it!) As soon as they were unwrapped and Aidan discovered the grey one is not as tight, he promptly commandeered the one he wanted.

It gives me a warm fuzzy to see him wearing it. He hasn't worn anything I've made since the button-down shirt in jungle print when he was six. He loved that one and wore it for a long time.


January 6 update: I got a picture!!