100th Post

I don’t know if your One Hundredth entry is a mile stone or not on a blog. Still, I am going to celebrate it as if it is. It is my blog after all.

Well in honor of my hundredth entry I have decided to make a button for my blog. If I understand the photo bucket thing all one would need would be the following. I will email the html to anyone that want to use it. Email me or post something here

Well let me know if you think this thing useful or not. I imagine it is one of the first steps to my greater empire of knitting that is in my head.

Onto other subjects I would like to encourage anyone reading this blog who has a knitting group to tell me about it. If it is in Western Pennsylvania they should let the good people at http://www.pittsburghknitting.com/ know. Unless of course it is a private group (that is why my basement knitting group is not listed). Either way I would love to hear about your group. And if it is not listed and is open to the public I may drop by on my world tour.

One of the things that I have noted on my world tour is that each group does meet the particular needs of those knitter. That may sound like an obvious thing to say. That is simply not true of many other groups that I have observed. It is one of the odd things about traveling a great deal. You get to see a lot of people in their home towns. Some people get together for something simply because they are supposed to. Church, parties and schools are just a few examples of some places that people sometimes go only because they think they are supposed to.

I ran into someone that who went to my high school’s most recent reunion that I did not attend. He was talking about how wonderful it was to go there and lord his success over the people he thought did not like him years ago. Even a group full of yarn snobs and knit fascists are doing something productive when they get together. That most certainly could not be said for the average high school reunion. And no I am not the bitter outsider that avoids their high school reunions. I was living in another state for one of them and at a disaster for the other. Besides I have Stephen Hawking in my knitting group what do any of them have? But, I digress.

Also on my hundredth entry I would like to ask for suggestions. Is there anything I should do to improve things? Oh and by the way here are a couple random pictures of Sean Connery to keep my wife interested. I have one in a kilt and shirtless with a spear gun. Well at least I can make someone’s day.

I thank everyone for stopping by. It is nice to know that other people share my passion and can tolerate my strangeness. You have all been an inspiration and I thank you for the time you have taken to read my ramblings and post about them. Please continue, it makes up for the love that I do not get my wife’s dog.

I am sorry Sally. I did not mean to disparage you on my blog.

Hey stop barking. No, it was a joke, don’t be so sensitive. No one reads this thing any way.

Alright here is a picture of Rin Tin Tin to keep Sally Happy. And she wants me to ask if there are any other dogs that read this.

And I bet you thought I forget that today is Rabbit Day, Yay. By the way Yay is a reference to the Purling Puppies that say Yay. I wonder if that is like the Knights that say “Ni”. Any way here is this Rabbit Day’s rabbit of note. And it is none other than Basil the immortal bunny of the Mark Wilson television series. Here he is posing with his co stars Mark and Nani. By the way note he is being held by the scruff of his neck. I can tell you many rabbits not only tolerate this but love it. It is odd but what can you do? So no messages about pulling on rabbit ears. The only rabbit ears I have pulled on were attached to a TV.

Well actually there was not a lot of knitting in this entry. I am still knitting and maybe this monumental mile stone just inspired me to be even more inane than usual. Well be safe out there and keep you stick on the ice.

I knew a guy that thought he would turn into an end table if he did not eat a certain cracker every day.

The Good the Bad the Rude

The World Tour continued tonight with two stops. Both were dramatically different stops.

The first stop was a at the 61c café in Squirrel Hill. Normally when I enter a café and begin knitting the people in the knitting group come over and ask me to join their group. That was not the case at this group. The two people that I surmised were members of the group were engrossed in a vivid conversation about the shortcomings of the people they work with. Since it was such an animated conversation I figured I would wait till there was a lull before I would ask them if this was the knitting group. I was fifteen minutes early so I figured it would only be polite not to interrupt. Well the conversation continued and a sat and knit at the table six inches from them. As the third person arrived and it was time for the group to start they moved their table away from me.

When I did get the opportunity to ask if this was the knitting group they stated they were a group that knit. I then asked if it was the group advertised. They said they did not advertise and they were just a group of friends that got together. As additional people showed up during this conversation they moved their chairs so they were facing away from me.

Now I have received some strange reactions to my knitting before. I once visited a group that told me I was not welcome because they were going to be girl talk and they would feel funny if I was there. I can understand if a group has a way they like things and men do not figure into it. I personally like women. I married a woman. So a do not mind sharing knitting with a group of women that I do not know. I have gotten used to it because well, men are chickens and do not knit publicly in the way they should.

Well I figured that this could just be a mistake. The post did say that they attended another café in Shady Side in the off weeks. The post did not say which week was where. So I figured there was a chance this was a private thing and the real group was in Shady Side. So I did what any inquisitive guy with a rolling fishing tackle box of yarn would do. I went to Shady Side. There indeed was another group in Shady Side.

This group welcomed me off the bat. Invited me to join them and said they were pleased that I was there. Even though I was very late everyone was welcoming and did not flinch at me presence. Well I asked them if any of them were the 61C group. They told me no. They are the Shady Side Stitch and Complain that meets there every week. The other group did indeed go there on the off weeks and sat separate from them.

I would whole heartedly recommend the weekly Coffee Tree Roasters group in Shady Side. They are nice bunch of people and appear to have been going strong since their inception in the spring. Go there have fun. The café is well lit and has a descent assortment of beverages and snacks. The prices are not that bad. They are too uppity to have a soda fountain, a personal pet peeve. Well it is Shady Side and a lovely neighborhood otherwise. I can always go to Wendy’s to support my rather pedestrian habits if I can spend some time in the company of such friendly people. And the furniture is comfortable and well lit.

The 61C café on the other hand is a hippy purgatory that has given up all that is tasty in favor of healthy. What kind of crack head thinks that there should be granola in a smoothie? Are you insane smoothies are suppose to be yummy and tasty, NOT TASTE LIKE CARDBOARD. There is no excuse for turning something that is supposed to be bad for you into something healthy. Especially if strawberry tastes like ground up sheet rock in pink water. Cafes are supposed to be decadent and bad for you. Even the Hippy loving, pot smoking, hemp wearing, veggie eating counter culture back water the Quiet Storm has SODA POP. By the way the Quiet Storm would not bother me if they could serve a little dead animal. And the place is poorly lit and the furniture is uncomfortable.

Maybe the 61C group was once public and has drifted away from that over time. If they were even the slightest bit polite they should drop a line to Pittsburgh Knitting and tell them no one is welcome. I have nothing against private knitting groups. I regularly have private knitting groups in my basement. There is nothing wrong with just doing something with your buddies. By the way my private knitting groups include myself, Aaron Sorkin, Gore Vidal, William Buckley, Stephen Hawking, Juan Carlos II King of Spain, and an android reconstruction of Pope Urban II. We keep the group secret because Bill Buckley is embarrassed that he cannot purl and will not admit that he needs help. And incase you were wondering Pope Urban II is all about Intarsia and Fair Isle.

Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

No comment

Ah well nothing is burning down this evening, yet. By the way everyone stop playing with matches I don’t want to have to get up and give some people some donuts. Well I digress.

Here is a picture of the scarf I am working on. I described it earlier and it is coming together nicely. By the way if anyone has a free pattern they would not mind people using for a charity knitting booklet I am still looking for some. They have to be fairly simple and could be knit or crochet.

Ah Law and Order is on again it is like the gift that keeps on giving. Oh and by the way there is now a fire in the hill district someone is not listening. I am going to continue blogging through it. By the way since I am on the subject of law and order I am going to post this picture of Detective Ray Curtis. My wife thinks he is hot and this is how I get her to read my blog.

As for stash news I am redoing some of the shelving in my basement to make more room for yarn. My little subterranean habitat is coming along nicely. There should be a maniacal laugh in there somewhere. I am also clearing out part of the basement for the next step in experimenting with wooden needles. My new little workshop should be up to producing the prototype needles soon.

Chris Noth gets attacked by fire fighters and Jerry Lewis is on SVU next week. How could life be any better? I could have more yarn. Still, when couldn’t I have more yarn.

By the way I now have the Royal Standard of Scotland hanging in my International Head Quarters (my basement). By the way that is the yellow and red flag with the lion on in the center of that picture. By the way that brings me to another thought that I have had. I need to pander to other nations more. If any one has a nation they think I should pander to let me know. I would be happy to pander to also any nation. I just feel the need to for some reason that I do not understand.

You can also see a basket that is almost filled with yarn and the red milk crate will have a net on the front of it and it should also be filled with yarn. Well it is time for an oatmeal break. I will be back in a moment to say who was the first person with the correct entry to the Lance Lawson cartoon.

I am back now.

By the way Craftybernie was the first to post the correct answer to the Lance Lawson comic. I know it is not that challenging, still, it is audience participation. Someday I want to have four or five people reading my blog a day. Well a boy can dream can’t he.

Well I think it is time to go. Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

Rule Britannia & Hive Knitting

We have a great evening at Hive Knitting. We had all the usual suspects and a new person (you know who you are). We went to 11:30 and much knitting fun was had by all. I put another foot or so on the charity knitting scarf and worked on a pink one. I am seriously considering putting the black bag away for a while.

It is not that I am uninterested in it. It is just that I have sweaters and more interesting thing to do. I suppose I will be stuck with the fishing tackle box for a while longer. Well I will post some pictures tomorrow when I have some more time. We have a Unit out and I go back from Hive Knitting later then I normally do.

By the way I felt the need to pander to the Brits out there. I just got some lovely tea biscuts. Not only do they do tea they have a really great clock we stole it's name for a quarterback. Thank you United Kingdom. If it were not for you we would be French.

Well be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

Sorry Peoples

It is late and I did not have time to get an entry out today. I am a very bad person.

New Ring, Wooden Needles, a Desperate cry for Opinions and Other Madness

I did a little more sprucing up on the blog today. Fixed a couple links, added a fish and a new blog that I contribute to. By the way please stop by my wife’s new blog. Even though she is Crotcheter, I still love her regardless. We are still working on the blog, it will come together over the next week or two. And if you like watching something come together this is an opportunity to do so. By the way she opted for a cat. I must admit the cat is a little more exciting than my fish.

Stephieface has got me thinking. Do I need a button thing for my blog. I have put together a couple for other blogs and even entered one in Steph’s contest. If anyone would actually want one I would probably have to make one. I am sure it would be something dignified and reserved. Well, maybe not.

Charity knitting, at Knit 1, was nice today as well. I began a reddish scarf done in super bulky on 15s. It has a knit boarder with a checked interior. I think I may put it in the booklet as well depending on what it looks like. I have about a foot done on it and will probably post when I have finished some more.

By the way if anyone is available Sunday’s between 1 and 4 PM stop by Knit 1. It is a good time and there is free yarn for projects benefiting The Salvation Army’s Family Shelter. There is also coffee and witty conversation.

Onto other fun things tomorrow is Hive Knitting at 7:00 PM at the Bee Hive on the South Side. The not so subtle Advert on my side bar is also a link to our blog. When we have a couple members of the group with blogs we will even have a web ring. We are getting all connected with the internet and technology type things. As always if anyone has an idea of what we should do next let me know.

Knit 1 Blog Too has allowed me to join their net ring. You can see they are posted on the side bar to the side. They are getting close to having 30 members. According to their page I am the first male knitter. If you are looking for a new ring to join this appears to be an up and coming one. They also have a blog to post on if you are interested.

I am also curious about people who use wooden needles. I did a good bit of carpentry in the circus and I have been experimenting with wooden knitting needles. I think I have settled on a nice tip for the needles. It is not pointed like a Turbo knitting needle. It has a slightly beveled point that catches the yarn very nicely. I have not seen a great many needles with this type of point. I do not know if that is because it is new or unpopular. I am having the most thoughts about the type of wood that it should be. Pine and the soft wood are out because they are too soft to reliable hold their points. Oak is too hard to work with in the smaller needles. So I am thinking poplar, cherry, birch or walnut. Birch does appear to be the most popular wood for knitting needles out there. At the moment I am considering different finished. For experimenting I am using birch because it is easy to get. Rosewood is hard to find in dowels.

Well I am also thinking about ways to finish the needles. Several people are suggesting to use acrylic paint and then waxing the needles. I think I am going to experiment with spar varnish. If it is good enough to preserve wood on an ocean going vessel it should be strong enough for knitting needles. In another month I should have a good plan for making a good and durable set of wooden needles.

So everyone say hello to my fish, and come to Hive Knitting Tomorrow. The first person to get the Lance Lawson Cartoon will get their name mentioned on the blog.

Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

Well I just couldn't resist. These are so bad they are good. Can you figure out how Lance Lawson knows it was murder.

This has always been one of my deep fears.

Early Morning Savage Chicken

It is early morning and I am up again. So what can I do but put up some Savage Chicken. The late night snack that doesn't give you heart burn.

Viewer Mail 1 and a Black Bag Picture

Well I delved into another aspect of the whole internet knitting today. I started my own knitting ring on the Ring Surf type thing. Clown Knitting, well I bet you saw that coming. After six hours of having my very own ring surf net ring thing I am still not famous and powerful. Well I didn’t think it would go that fast. I will give it till tomorrow afternoon. So if you are a clown out there and knit, stop at the ring surf thing and or on the button gizmo on my side bar.

As I sit here I am watching the Red Green on the television. As always there are tools and men who do not know how to use them. Remember the right tool for the job may be efficient. But beating something to death with a hammer is more fun. By the way if you are from Canada you have a great country. I loved living there and had much fun. As David Foley once said Canadians are just like American just with fewer guns. By the way I have spent some time in rural Manitoba so that is not entirely true. And you know who you are.

I wanted to take some time to answer some question from emails.

Yes, No, No, Blue, 12, large Mouth Bass. Well I hope you remembered your questions.

I am sorry, just kidding. Someone wanted to know what my sign off meant at the end of my entries. Well, “Keep your Stick on the Ice” is something that little kids are told in hockey all the time. It is against the rules so making people do it is telling them to be fair. Also it is the sign off from the Red Green Show. Before the Red Green show an old clown I know used to tell his apprentices to keep their stick on the Ice. This is also super Canadian. The first part of it is from Sgt. Phil Esterhaus from Hill Street Blue. Possible my favorite television show. He would also finish the morning briefing with “Let’s be safe out there.”

The second question was what makes me so great. Actually it was not that flattering. They were referring to my email and instant messenger names Zeeppo_the_great. Well as a Master Clown my rank is Master. Well Master Zeeppo just does not sound right. And there is also the obvious white guy going around with the title Master. Any way when I had my Troop rather then call our Masters, Master on paper we put the great after their names. It has a show biz ring and does not offend anyone.

Some one also asked what my church is. Well I am a member of The Salvation Army. My individual church is The Salvation Army Steel Valley Corps. By the way being an Army we do not call our churches churches was call them Corps like in an Army.

If you have questions feel free to email me. Some months it is the only contact with the outside world I have.

As for actual knitting stuff I have a picture of the Black bag creeping along.

Be safe out there and keep you stick on the ice.

?Dondes esta mi Photographias?

I have noticed that a lot of people state what book they are reading on their side bar. Does anyone care what book I am reading?

I wonder why people are interested in this. It is some ploy developed by the intelligencia? Perhaps it is a voyeuristic curiosity. Maybe it is just small talk for blogs. As always I am open to opinions. Oh and in case you are curious I am reading Sea Change by Robert B. Parker. I good read if you are into detective stories.

The Black Bag got another row or two today. I am glad to note my wife’s crocheted blanket is coming along well. I will post pictures of it when I have them.

Gorillaz is on the Yahoo Radio. I always thought they were a neat group. They have combined such different styles into a single piece of music. And their videos are something else as well. Any way I degrees. I could probably spend the entire evening saying what I think about the pieces of music that is playing on the radio.

Oh Oh Soraya is singing Solo Por Ti. I have always liked here as well. She has a great vocal range and sings with a soul that is uncommon in popular music Spanish or English. By the way I was walking around the South Side down near the tenth street bridge and a guy came up to me. He was pointing at a bus ticket and saying “Donde”.

My Spanish may not be perfect but I told him it was across the bridge and to the left. He thanked me and went on his way. An older gentleman suggested that I was encouraging them. I asked him how he was sure that I was not one of them. I suppose he meant someone that spoke Spanish or I guess Mexican.

I am a white male, which I suppose gives me the right to decide who them is. The older gentlemen was also a white male and it would appear that he was exercising his right to decide who them is as well. Why is it that anyone we do not feel is a part of us is them. When I last checked there was no official language in this country. So until there is we should not grumble about them not wanting to speak English. Even thought it is the language of Shakespeare it is not that great. It is one of the few word order languages and large numbers of it’s words were stolen from other languages. It does not sound as nice as Spanish. And by the way Spanish was the language of Cervantes. If it is that important take a lesson from Canada and put your language into law.

Interesting La Tortura by Shakira and Horatio what’s his name is on now. Hmmmmmm, a lot of Spanish tonight. I suppose it is the mystical power of the internet telling me that I am right. Sanz I think his last name is Sanz. He has a pretty good voice as well. He did a really cool song with Nelly Furtado. According to her bio she grew up in B.C. (British Columbia for the non Canadian knowing people) and her parents were Portuguese. I wonder where she picked up Spanish well enough to sound that good singing it. I bet the Spanish speakin folks were not them or they in her household growing up.

It looks as if I have not talked about knitting that much. If this is your first time visiting my blog I do talk about knitting, sometimes. Just look down the other entries there is talk about knitting. I just tend to wonder around when I have keyboard in front of me. I suppose it is good thing it is attached to my computer or I would physically wonder around as well.

Any ways Knit One Blog Too was accepted me as a member of their Web Ring. My never ending journey to get to know the knitting on the web takes another step forward. There should be an evil laugh at this point but I do not know how to type that. I have a good deep voice so don’t give me a girly maniacal laugh. If anyone has a ring they think I should join let me know.

And what is wrong with Blogger. I know it is free service, still, I should be able to post some pictures and not have to go through tons of aggravation to do it. By the way that is a really cool Sawzall cutting pipe bellow. I know you all agree with me. Stephieface posted about piping a while ago. I am all about the plumbing. I have a torch, Sawzall and even a big old pipe threader type tool. If you are into tools I know you are jealous. And don’t’ get me started on wrenches.

Well I have wasted enough Cyber space this evening. Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

I like Barry White alot more then a male should. Any way I had always wanted to be barry White. But every man wanted to be Barry White at one point or another.

Blogger didn't like me Yesterday

Dag nabbit this Thing did not let me post my pictures. This is a picture of one of my favorite tools. The cordless Sawzall. And here is after just cutting pipes. Nothing says manly like power tools.



And bellow is yesterdays Savage Chicken. We have bee talking about kilts alot so this one spoke to me.

Sawzall and Open Knitters

Today has been very cathartic for me and my blog. I spent a couple hours fixing a few of the links to my web rings. I also added a few links and created a couple new problems that I will fix later when I get around to it. By the way if anyone has a web ring they think I should join let me know. I am surprise by the number of people that stop by this blog.

I was wondering if people came to this blog through web rings or the Pittsburgh Knitting site. Maybe they are coming from the other blogs I submit to. Or perhaps there are some people out there that put some really strange stuff into the search engines and they came up with my blog. Either way I am not sure why I am curious about it.

I would like to understand the dynamic of the knitting cyberworld. There are a lot of creepy things out in the virtual world. The knitting virtual world appears to be untouched by that. I find that interesting.

I wonder what has moved so many people that they have the need to share. Maybe it is because I come from a world that there are so many secrets. There is an openness in the knitting world that does not exist in many other places. Like the Circus there is an odd mix of functionality and artistic talent. I had though that openness was due to the fact that there were not many people making a buck off of knitting. I suppose the truth is there are more people making a living off of yarn than face paint and juggling. So profit is involved in both.

I suppose there is not the ego that is common elsewhere. I don’t know I will have to consider this more.

By the way I think the next stop on my world tour will be the 61C Café next Wednesday. That would be for the Material Girl’s Knitting group. I have not found an email for a person in charge so I will have to go unannounced. Well except for stating it here. Since there are only two people that read this that probably does not count as an announcement. And if you are either of my avid readers I thank you for your attention. It makes up for the pony I did not get as a child. So the good knitters of Squirrel Hill be warned. I and my olive green tote will be visiting you. Perhaps, I should not say that ahead of time. They might cancel.

The Police just went off the Yahoo radio and now it is Stan Getz. I love the internet. Since I do not have the money to program my own radio station it is nice to have the internet version. I wonder if there is a way to pipe that good music into my blog. That would be nice. It would be like experinceing part of my single window subterranean world for yourself. Why you ask would you want to. I don’t know, I like it.

I have ranged far and wide without talking about what I am knitting. The black bag was worked on today and much was accomplished with the fixing of the blog and adding new gizmos. I wonder if I can get tee shirts printed for the world tour. That would be cool.

By the way I do read everyone’s comments and I too tear up at plumbing supplies and lumber. Oh Oh and a new Makita Sawzall, especially a Sawzall cutting pipe. I have to go and find a hanky.

Bellow is some Savage Chicken. Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice. And happy Rabbit Day.

Rabbit Day Yay!!!!!!!

I have spent the better part of the evening tweaking the Blog. Wow five years ago that would have been a really blue comment. Any way I have decided to add a new feature to my blog. So from now on Thursday will be Rabbit Day. Every Thursday I will show a picture of a famous Rabbit or a rabbit that I have worked with. And no magicians and clowns do not pull rabbit out of their hats by there ears. Even a well trained rabbit will bite you if you do that.

This young lad is Ruppert. He was one of the best little bunnies I trained.

No Time Tonight

I do not have much time the evening. I busy with the thing in East Liberty and cannot post a decent post tonight. I have a plan for the next two stops on my world tour and will talk about them next time. I have made my first button gizmo thing. I am going to enter in Stephieface's contest. This is it bellow. It is simple but I think it is good for a first try.



Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

I want to see this movie.

I need to fix a couple things around this Blog & More on the the new Knitting Culture

Any way as it was pointed out to me some of the picture button clicking gizmos are missing from some of my links. I never did get around to loading up a few of them. So here are the ones that I did not load up.


Webrings are something that I have not done alot of. Some Blogs you visit and they have links to literally dozens of Web Rings. It is another part of this new knitting culture That I would like to understand better.

As I have been noticing the internet has shaped or maybe simply been used as a tool by this new knitting culture. As I am occasionally told, some of my views are the views that an old time knitter might hold. I suppose that may be because those who taught me to knit made Zimmerman look like a left wing knitter crazy. Although I still think they had good reason to shun circular needles and natural fibers because of what they were doing.

Oh sure there are still the Yarn Snobs and Knitting Nazis that there have always been. With the internet added to the mix the smaller groups in the knitting world are able to look out and find others like them. I am still looking for a clown knitting ring but I digress. Groups are doing new and innovative things that were once considered wrong by the knitting establishment. And groups are so specialized that some things that were once neglected are being experimented with in depth.

I have found dozens of people that are working on those fingerless gloves on the internet. And now when there were once a few patterns there are dozens freely being shared. The same is true for many other things in this knitting cyberworld that has breached the convention that some may have though stagnated the knitting world.

I friend of mine was telling me that there is an internet group that is trying to get the old British Sci Fi series the Tomorrow People on DVD (and if you have heard of this you are a huge nerd). Similar groups have probably saved series like Dr. Who and made Sci Fi in general more main stream. At one point the major networks would only dabble with Sci Fi once and while. Now for five or six years there have been several offerings of various degrees of quality.

I have been lamenting that this current trend in popular knitting is probably doomed like all the other rises and falls in Knitting History. Perhaps this new element of cyberspace is what is needed to stabilize that trend. Oh am sure that ten years from now we will not be getting the newspaper coverage that we are now. Still, even if this bubble of popularity slows down I have hope that the internet will keep innovation and maybe even a chunk of that knitting community going through the next slow time. Maybe even hold off the next slow time all together.

Be safe out there and keep you stick on the ice.

Knitting Today

I am used to being stopped on the bus or in public while I am knitting. It has come to the point that it does not bother me when people ask me silly questions about knitting. Today I was sitting on the bus and a young man looked over to me and asked if I like what I was doing. The thing was that I was not knitting, I was reading a book. Well, I suppose there is one on every bus.

Knitting is going on as always. The black bag is creeping along.

I am also working on a juggling sweater. I do not know where my old one is and winter is coming around again. It is just like any button up Mr. Roger’s type sweater. I am not sure what color it should be. I am leaning toward red hear mexicana. The ones I had were acrylic. Just warm enough to take the chill off but not enough to make one sweaty while juggling. This sweater also has very large ribbed cuffs. They are made so the sweater is tight around the forearms. It may not be a fashion statement, still, it is helpful for juggling.

The sweater also has shoulder loops. I am not sure if I am going to do the rank thing with my troop yet. If we do then we will need them. Other wise they are not much of a fashion statement. Although, tradition may win out even if they are not needed.

It is nice working on making something that will need a pattern. I have not written a pattern in a while. With the black bag, scarves and the odd little project I have not really made anything that complicated recently. It will be nice to do something like this.

The booklets for the knitting church knitting is also coming along slowly. I have been working on the section about how to knit. I have a little more typing on the section on knitting equipment and then that should be out of the way. All and all it is shaping up nicely. I think it should be thrown together in no time.

Well I don’t have much to report this evening. Tomorrow is another knitting group. I have not decided what knitting group to go to on my world tour next. When I do I will post.

Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

Savage Chicken and Other Cool Stuff

Someone sent me this on the electronic mail thingy. It is cartoon sort well I will let you look at it.

<http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=M6ZjMWLqJvM>

My Punk Rock quetionaire Again

My questionaire rolled off my page so I am posting is again

1) How long have you been spinning/Knitting/Crocheting? 18 years

2) Do you consider yourself a beginner, novice, or experienced Yarn Artist? experinced

3) What type of fibers have you worked with? Acrylic, mohair, wool, llama, wire, all kinds of stuff

4) What types are you dying to try? I've already worked with most stuff

5) Are you allergic to anything, (Fibers, Food, Smells that make you want to puke, etc.)? Just bees

6) Do you have any Disorders, ex: Diabetes? Arthritis

7) What is your Favorite Time/Style period, ex: Romatic, Grecian,Metal, Goth,etc? Colonial America, 1940's

8) What fibers do you dislike? Do not really have a dislike.

9) Name some of your favorite Artist, Movie wise, Television if you watch it ex: I heart Keanu, some things cant be helped, and Rachel loves Mike Ness !? Judy Dench, Liam Neeson, Helen Hunt, Harrison Ford,

10) Whos your favorite Character ex: Jack or Cpt Jack? Horatio Hornblower

11) Do you prefer natural colored fibers, or handpainted/dyed fiber? I like artifical fibers.

12) What are you favorite colors? reds, blues, pruple

13) What colors do you dislike? Flurecent

14) What projects are you currently working on? Knitting bag, Pink scarf, todler sweater, kilt socks

15) Do you have a wishlist?

16) Do you have any other favorite hobbies? Carpentry, juggling, canoeing17) Whens your birthday?(mm/dd) Thanks Rach' june 19

18) What is your favorite food, candy, scents that you love!! Etc.? Fetuccini Alfredo, Stash licorish spice tea, rock candy, root beer logs,

19) Are you pierced at all? Any tattoos? Can you/would you wear jewelry that real? I only wear my wedding rings. Don't wear jewelry because of my proffession. Working on my first tatoo that would give away my identity.

20) What do you like Culturally, ex: Celtic, African, Devil Worshiping, Kidding!? Scotland,

21) What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? hand made wrap, rolling tote for classes, boxes, fishing tacle boxes, on the computer table. In the rafters in my basement and a couple other places

22) What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) My computer can play MP3 and I like rock, bag pipes, old school rap, clasical, techno. all kinds of stuff

23) What's your favorite season and why? winter I like snow

24) What season do you abhor? Summer I don't like heat and there is no snow

25) How about Sports, any that you just cant get enough of or do they make you throw up in your mouth just a little? I played soccer, cricket, baseball I don't like watching sports.

26) What is your family situation Do you live alone? I live with my significant othrer and various animals

27) Do you have any pets? Yes

28) Do you like handmade gifts? not really

29) What’s your favorite thing to make, knit/crochet or other craft wise? hats, scarves, vests

30) Do you prefer straight or circular needles? strait

31) Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? yes

32) Tell us how you learned to knit/crochet? I learned as part of my training for my job

33) Do you enjoy getting helpful hints from others or does it just piss you off? I like advice

34) How old is your oldest UFO? 14 years old

35) Is there anything that you collect? books, balls, tools

36) Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? Squirrel & Yarn Red Heart Mexicana

37) What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have if any? Knit 1, Rebbecca, Vogue Knitting

38) Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? i just need to practice what i know

39) Do you enjoy knitting socks? How big are yer boats (feet)? My boats are really big.Yes I like knitting socks

40) Deleted

Blue Blanket

This is the blue blanket I could not picture yesterday. I am going to try and sleep tonight so I will not be saying much except for several unimporetant things.

Well Hive Knitting was nice this evening. Someone from the wednesday group came to visit it. It is also most like baseball teams trading players except nothing like that.

Anyway my kilt has been the topic of conversation recently so this is the Savage Chicken for this evening.

Well there is a call coming in that I may have to dispatch. I have to go. I might be back .

Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

Knitting Heritage

Charity Knitting was nice today. A lady and her daughter who had attended Hive Knitting showed up today. In addition to her daughter her son also knits but refuses to in public. I finished a blue blanket that was working on for Charity Knitting made from Galaxy super bulky yarn. It is a nice little acrylic that is soft and knits up fast. And with a stockinet center and a garter boarder I think it is a nice effect. I have a couple ends to weave in. Blogger is not letting me load the picture I will put it up when I can.

As I think about the generations of knitter I am forced to think about the line of people who taught me to knit. My clown mentor Beeppo (yeah that is where the name came from) learned from his mentor Beepko (and you can see where his name came from). Both were male and had come from hard lives. They had joined the circus both victims of the injustices of their time. B (Beeppo), was the son of a rather unenlightened Pentecostal Minister in Ohio who used his family as a punching bag. As a young teen in the 20’s he decided this was no way to live and ran off and joined the circus.

After he secured a place as an apprentice it became apparent that he had inherited some of his father’s racist tendencies. To cure him of that they assigned him to Beepko. John Smyth was also a young man in an untenable situation when he joined the circus. It was shortly before the Civil War and the Circus had gone to Richmond for their first tour of the South. Since the Clown troop was about a third black they figured the time was wrong for the Southern Tour and headed back to Philadelphia. As they were in the Richmond area young John Smyth took his opportunity to escape. He was what they called a house boy. He entertained his master and fetched things. As he was reaching his twelfth birthday he could see that his next stop would soon be their fields.

He hid in the Circus slop wagon eating the food waste on his trip north and when in Philadelphia he went to the local abolitionist society and told them his story. They said great, get a job kid. Well he went back to Circus and became a clown. Apparently one of the things his did as part of his duties on the plantation was to knit. I was told that he made one of my old Circus’ first long scarves and long sweaters and was one of the early pioneers in those routines.

Well I didn’t come from a family that knit. My mother sewed as do I. Someone was talking today about their great family heritage of knitting. Until I was thinking about John and B I never really thought I have a knitting heritage. B would tell me about John and the fact he learned to knit from his mother who encouraged him to escape when he could.

John was afforded a certain amount of protection because of his skill with the needles as was his mother and grandmother who he knew. I suppose that is as nice a knitting heritage as anyone has.

Well onto other subjects Hive Knitting is tomorrow on the South Side at 7:00 PM anyone that would like to join us please. Great fund will be had by all.

Well be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

Zeeppo's World Knitting Tour :South Hill's Village Barnes and Nobles.

My world tour started yesterday at the Barnes and Nobles at South Hills Village. Not to go off on a tangent but this store is not in the mall. I am alright with stores that stand alone in the parking lot. This is good for fast food stores that need a drive through. This store is surrounded on three sides by the mall and is not connected. This is not right on many levels. Why can’t it have an entrance near the food court. No a person that has never been there before just wonders around aimlessly looking for the entrance and it is not there. An angry letter the Simon people is sure to follow.

Moving along The South Hills group is a nice little group that meets every other Friday some where in the disconnected book store. They have a space reserved for them with a little sign. No one at the Bee Hive reserves us a space. We have to fight the wanna be Goth kids for a space. Fortunately Clowns scare them. The space they are seated at is one of those book store over stuffed chair enclaves that are popular these days in book stores. Which island of over stuffed chair changes from week to week. So it is like a little knitting safari to find them. Don’t shoot any one when you find them. I am told that does not go over well.

Unknown to me I had met one of the ladies at the Knitting in Public event at the Point a few months back. The group is friendly and made up of mostly mothers and grandmothers. There was a teen age girl who dragged her boy friend along who browsed the stacks as the rest of us knit. As I have found with most Pittsburgh groups diversity was the rule, except for men. Several faiths were represented and coexisted in a way that the middle east should take note of.

The Knitting projects ranged from a prayer shawl, a new knitter swatch, a scarf and socks that are part of the sock wars going on the internet. I have always found that the better groups have people knitting on multiple levels. It is not just that they are teaching new people to knit, which they are. It is good for even seasoned knitter who gets to learn about something that they may not have known a great deal about. Even the finest knitters have not mastered every knitting skill. Eve though it is relatively simple the combination to create new things are endless. This aspect of knitting flourished best in the sort of environment that exists at this group.

And most importantly there were no fiber Nazis. This is not one of those groups that will turn their nose up at what you are doing because it is not alpha shaved by monks, spun by teen age girls under the management of a five hundred year old spinning master and transported to your local yarn store one skein at a time by camel train. I suppose that was a run on sentence. Still, this is a blog and if you expect editing you are assuming I have a budget or am capable of editing.

Well I don’t have a camera that can be disconnected from my computer so there are no pictures. In addition I am not sure if people would appreciate having the picture plastered on the internet. All and all a very nice group the meets in a geographically easy area to get to. Even for those of is who travel by mass transit.

This groups meet as 7:30 PM at the South Hills Barnes and Nobles. There next meeting will be two fridays from now.

If you have a group you think I should visit let me know. For now I am going down the list on Pittsburgh Knitting. And if you are not on that site go over and see it. From what I have gleaned it is the most popular internet resource for knitting in Pittsburgh area.

On other subjects I actually put a couple inches on the black bag yesterday and hope to do the same today. I think I may start calling it my retirement knitting bag.

For anyone that wants me to visit their group I will never say anything bad about your group in writing. That is just uncool. Every group has it’s merits and usually serves the needs of the people that attend them well. Although, there was that one group in Cleveland that was full of Fiber Nazis. And they were in Cleveland it goes not get any worse then that.

Well I will not say anything bad except for that group in Cleveland. Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

Time after Time

I bet H.G. Wells didn't think of this.

A New Book and The Knitting Comunity at Large

Another day of knitting is coming to an end. I picked up a copy of “Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns”. It is published by Sterling Press. It has dozens of patterns and is brightly colored. It is a neat little book. In addition to the color pictures of there are charts and written patterns. There is also a legend for each of the charts directly next to it. I haven’t seen many books with all four of these elements together. And it’s only fifteen bucks. Most of the patterns are in Vogue Knitting Stitch books. Well there are not many books with over five hundred patterns in it.

On other subjects my projects continue to come along slowly.

I do think I am going to try and go to one knitting group that I have not been to every other week. I am traveling by bus so I imagine some of the groups will be harder to get to then others. I am not sure why I think this is a good idea. The Knitting Community at large is more active then I can ever recall it being.

What worries me is that it has definitely gone through cycles. With the exception of the Circus I cannot think of any group (apart from the Amish) that need to knit. I hate to think that this outpouring of excitement is a passing fad. Unfortunately, history would say otherwise.

I was talking with a woman in her fifties who noticed I was knitting. She stated that she knit in the late sixties and gave it up when it was not longer popular. I suppose there will always be ebbs and flows. I suppose I learned to knit at a low point in it’s popularity. So I figure I will continue to do it regardless. And it certainly it is not as popular among men as it once one.

Well I just wonder how long this current high will last. I suppose all I can do is just be part of it while it lasts. And when I am telling an apprentice they have to knit ten or fifteen years from now I can tell them this was once popular. And that if they are luck they will get to be a trend setter when it is popular again.

Well I am not sure where that ramble was going. Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

This reminds me of some missionaries I knew who did not know how to preach to the group they were preaching to.

My Young Apprentice and Mexicana

A lovely day was had at knitting at the Water Front. My young apprentice is casting off and on, knit and purl stitches all the things a good knitter should be doing. He is currently working on a checked swatch, life is good. After this swatch he should be starting his first project. I am not sure he wants to do. Still, I am sure it will be good no matter what it is.

The black bag creeps along at it’s snail like pace. I still, hope to live long enough to see is completed.

On the up side I did find some mexicana colored yarn today. I did not see it on the Red Heart web site and it had not been in stores for a while. This is good I need to make a new clown sweater and this is the yarn you do it with. Well it is a yarn you can do it with. the ghost of Joseph Grimaldi will not come in kill me in my sleep if I use the wrong yarn. Well at least I don’t think it will. I suppose it is better to be on the safe side.

Another mile stone for an apprentice clown was met today as he bought his first set of make up. This is heart wrenching touching stuff if you are into clowning. I would be crying right now if I were not such a manly man.

On other knitting fronts my yarn stash continues to grow. My yarn is stored in milk crates. Over the next week I think I am going to have to add a couple more milk crates for yarn storage. I am going to stock pile as much mexicana as I can because it appears to be a seasonal yarn even though I have no proof of that. I am sure I will be filling at least one milk crate with it so that I can have an adequate stock of it for the next year. I will probably also start to stock some navy blue as well. Even though this is common I am beginning to form an idea of a uniform sweater and it will probably have blue in it. I will begin playing around with it when I have a couple more UFOs out of the way.

OBK is playing on the launchcast. it is a Spanish techno group I recently discovered. They are cool and have a great sound. I have not found out if they have done an English album yet. If their popularity has anything to do with their talent then they will cross the pond soon. Well Kidney Stew by Count Basie is coming on and I think this entry is beginning to wind down. Letterman will be on soon and all is right with the world, except for everything that is wrong.

Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

I feel like the Pet rock some days

Fire Stuff & Kniting Stuff

The last couple days have been very busy. With September 11 one of the Fire Associations I attend moved their meeting back a week. So both associations met within a couple days of each other. The nice thing is that this is my second or third year attending these meetings. They already know I am nuts so they do not mind knitting. At the County Volunteers meeting my wife worked on her red yellow and blue blanket the entire way through the meeting.

I am sure this has nothing to do with knitting, still, there is a lot of legislation out there that has been shelved. Any one will to write their local politicos email me.

Onto actual knitting. I finished a blue baby blanket out of Super Chunky for knitting for charity. I will be putting in the booklet. By the way the Booklet is up to ten patterns. I figure there should be about thirty. As always anyone with a cute pattern for babies, children or adults that could be done by a beginner please email me. And it must be able to be published.

I am backing up my case for knitting at the waterfront. The black bag creeps along. I am hoping to have it done before I retire in thirty years. I am still debating what to put on the flap. Since I am a good long while from that part of the bag I will have time to mull it over.

I am sure I will post again today. So both of my fans do not despair. Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day

Kntting Tonight

Tonight was a good night for knitting. It has been along day and I am sleepy. Will post when awake.

Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.

HELP!!!!!!!

I thought this was cute.

The Many Colors of Squirrel & and a 12 Step Program for Sheep

Unlike silly sheep that only come in three colors the squirrel come in many colors. From gray to black to brown to red and stripped.

Someone somewhere should be knitting with squirrel. As Monty Python might say they are cute and cuddly and ready to please.

People make paint brushes out of squirrel hair so why not yarn. It may not be very soft still it would be really cool. "What is your sweater made from?"

"Why it is made from squirrel." I would say.

"That is so cool, I want to be just like you Zeeppo."

I was at knit 1 in Squirrel Hill today I should have asked if they had any squirrel. They probably did not. Still, I should have asked.

I think this black one is dancing. I never really thought that a squirrel could bust a move. Just another example of how much we have underestimated them.

They are all nature's all terrain vehicle. They can swim run up tree and some can even fly over short distances. Can you say that about sheep? I think not. Sheep are truely slackers. They lay about and wait for a hair cut. It doesn't get any lazier than that. Squirrels even feed themselves. The average sheep has to have food brought to them.

This is yet another reason I think we should not knit with wool. We are enabeling sheep. They are like alcoholics that need a twelve step program.

Step One: admit you have a problem.

Step Two: get off your furry little buts.

Step Three: feed and take care of your little slacker selves.

Well I guesse it is only a three step program. If we truely love our sheep we would love them enough to tell them they have a problem. Once again this is something we do not have to tell the petrolium based acrylic yarns. Petrolium runs industry and almost everything produced today has some plastic in it. Have you ever heard of a lazy barrel of oil. I think not.

Well I am not sure where I was going with all of this but there it is. And if you are one of the two people that is reading my blog you are used to it.

I did finish a blue baby blanket for Charity Knitting. I think it will go in the booklette

Be safe out there and keep you stick on the ice.

Road Crossing Chickens

Well this is one they had to tackle. You cannot do a chicken cartoon with out this one.

Fire Legislation and Super Squirrels

I was a t a fire association meeting this evening. I did not get a lot of knitting done. I would imagine we do not have very many fire fighters reading this. Any way there is some very important legislation that would help volunteer fire fighters that is tied up in committee. If you are interested in writing you state rep or senator email me and I will send you a list of legislation that should be passed.

Well I got home really late and need to go to bed. Make sure you brush your squirrels and keep the fur. If you brush sixty squirrels daily for an entire month you can make yourself a dandy scarf. And if you are living in the Midwest you have grey, brown, black and red squirrels to brush. natural color how can it get any better. There is nothing more super than squirrels.

Be safe out there and keep your stick on the ice.