Flagel Knitting Files

Knitting for those of us so lucky is a hobby, a habit, something done with the extra time and money we have floating around.  And we lucky souls seem to dominate all the coverage knitting gets.  We all look well fed, reasonably well adjusted and content to just have needles and yarn in our hands. That's why it can be jarring to have a story about how knitting turned around someone's life.  The person I am about to write about is Gregory Patrick. Gregory Patrick (all photos in this post attributed to him) In 2010 Patrick found himself without a job, living in a woods penniless.  A friend reminded him he could knit and with the support of family members he began creating little teddy bears like the ones pictured below. He'd knit a bear from start to finish in about five hours and sold them on Etsy.   To his amazement the bears would sell within hours of being listed.  In two years his knitting skills helped him earn enough to afford an apartment. Since then Pat

I finished the second Dummy Clap last evening and blocked it early this morning.  Apparently either the wool is very light weight or the air in the condo is not humid or both, because within hours it was completely dry.  But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. This Dummy Clap Shawl by Anna Maliszewski can be found on Ravelry.  As I mentioned the first time I made it, this shawl was inspired by the much more complicated Clapotis.  Personally, I find it packs as much punch as the Clapotis only it is so much easier to knit.  My second version uses Isager Hojlandsgarn fingerling weight yarn in the color of Thistle (although it looks like a light-coloured gray, there are also the tiniest flecks of blue, yellow, and red in it as well).  It took two 50 gram skeins or 560 meter or about 613 yards to complete.  Since this was a finer yarn than my first version I cast on 80 stitches and used a U.S. #4 or 3.5 mm needles. I have to say using a true wool, which has its own stickiness

We all have our things.  Some have wonderfully groomed flower gardens, others have the latest designs in their home, others are raising well-rounded children, some knit and others spend lots of time on their pets.  I embrace all of these options and today want to focus on dressing one's dog to fit into a hipster culture. Google, Hipster Dog Images and hundreds of photos appear.  Add memes and you get options like these: So imagine my satisfaction when a former colleague started posting these photos of her own hipster dog, Jamie: Here she's a hipster due to the handmade bandaid.  She was put under in order to get her teeth cleaned. Or how about this bespectacled Jamie: She has a lot in common with the first photo above.  She looks very well read to me not nerdy at all. But my favorite is this one (although, the knit bandaid is pretty cool). This is Jamie balancing a cupcake I knit on her head.  Apparently acting boss-like is hipster as well. Alth

I have already been in Minneapolis over two months and have about a month left.   (I am travelling out of the U.S. for a couple of weeks in August, so that's how it seems my math might be off.  Thanks for asking, though.). How can that be?  When I first got here it seemed as though I had lots and lots of time, now it seems a bit cramped. There has been a fair amount of furniture buying online meaning a fair amount of (@$!?&) assembling being done.  I do love the satisfaction of looking at a piece and thinking, hey, I put that together, but during the process relying on those not so helpful pictographs, leads to dissatisfaction as I put together, take apart and reconstruct a piece.  Here's photos of the desk, buffet, bookcase and stools I managed to put together and have used without any collapses. My glass desk where the writing takes place The buffet which holds my glasses as well as wine and liquour under those orchid paintings The bookcase with some famil

So I missed congratulating Canada on its birthday which was celebrated on July 1.  Happy Belated Birthday, Canada.  I have been searching around to find something knitting related to Canada Day and found this written by Sylvia Olsen.   Syvlia is the Cowichan knitter whose class I took earlier this year.  She also happens to be a Ph.D. student studying housing problems for First Nations people in Canada.  The post is a reminder to all of us who have relatives who immigrated to North America that our celebrations might not ring so true for everyone. And the U.S. is taking today off, July 3, to get ready for its birthday celebrations tomorrow, July 4.  I thought this photo I took was appropriate to congratulate the U.S. I have joined a knitting group here in Minneapolis and it is regularly held at Cornelia's place.  She is the individual who knit up this version of the Statue of Liberty, without a pattern.  The proportions are perfect with the draping of the sheath