WOTN Wednesday

What's on the needles Wednesday?

I'm still working on my Channel Tee and need to cast on the Chevron baby blanket.  But I have half a finished project.  Yay!

I finally picked up and finished an owl mitt for Alisa. She requested a pair about a month and a half ago.  We choose a pattern and I got started.  I just neglected to read the pattern.  I began knitting in the round and was through the cuff before I realized it was a pattern knit flat and seamed.  Who wants a seam on the side of their hand?  Not me.  And I'm not going to give something away that I wouldn't use.

So I charted the pattern and re-wrote it to be worked in the round.  And I added thumbs.  The pattern just had slits for the thumb to stick out of and I didn't like that.  I finished one mitten and hated it.  The owl was hinky.  He listed to the left.  It was not an operator error, it was more a pattern issue.  I also had problems with the look of my thumb and would have frogged it anyway.  But it gave me the opportunity to find another pattern that I liked better,

I settled on the Who's owl mitts by Mareike Neumann.  And then started the cuff and set them aside.  I finally picked up the mitts again last night and finished one mitt.  Owl mitts and I are just not getting along.  It's mainly my fault.  Once again I ignored the pattern.  This pattern asks you to continue the k3 p1 rib pattern throughout the mitt, except for the owl portion.  I missed that and did a one by one rib.  And to compensate just left the non owl portion of the mitt in a stockinette.  They fit my hands and I hope they fit Alisa.  They may be a bit snug.  If they are I will just re-knit them and gift the smaller pair to someone else.

I really like the thumb gusset.  No big holes where the thumb stitches are separated and picked up again.  You should be able to finish a pair in under 4 hours.

Here's the final mitt:

My hand looks like it's about to crush the tiny cars below.

What's on your needles this week?

Common Courtesy

Sometimes I wonder where common courtesy has gone.  I think that the Internet is a wonderful thing and it's brought so many wonderful things and resources into our lives.  I really don't know how we would go back to pay phones, phone books, and maps.  (I love GPS).  But it has also brought some bad things into our lives.  I feel that too many people have forgotten how to be courteous to others.  I think that behind the shield of anonymity of the Internet people have forgotten to be kind and to mind their manners.

This week I've been shown true courtesy and kindness from strangers and true rudeness and lack of manners.  The courtesy and kindness was given to me this week as I traveled home from work.  I live in Orange County and work in Los Angeles.  I take the train into Union station and the subway from there to work.  One night this week the subway was severely delayed/basically stopped running do to a problem at another station.

As I walked down the stairs towards the subway a few strangers stopped me and told me the train was stopped.  They suggested I run to catch the bus waiting at the curb as an alternative.  I have never taken the bus in LA and did not know the route.  But being able to handle change, I ran as suggested and jumped on the bus heading away from the station.  Once on the bus I took a look around and tried to figure out if I was on the correct bus and where were we headed.

Another group of strangers asked me if I needed help.  I explained that it was my first bus trip here and was trying to make a train at Union Station.  These kind people explained to me how to transfer to the next bus in order to get to Union Station in time for my train.  They did not need to.  They had no obligation.  But they choose to be courteous and kind and helped a stranger in need.  They even pointed out the next bus stop as we passed the intersection before I departed.  I am really truly grateful to these strangers.

I do not want to give the person whose behavior I found rude and lacking in manners any time.  But do want to say that even on the Internet, even when you are a part of a group of strangers online and have that shield, we should all remember our manners.  When something is done for you, say thank you.  It does not matter if something is not exactly what you wanted.  A gracious person says Thank You.

I am going to strive to remember my manners.  I will do better at remembering to be courteous to others (and not take things personally).  I would like to challenge you to do the same.  Perhaps if enough of us remember and change our behavior it will become like a virus and spread through the world, both in real life and online.

What's On The Needles Wednesday

It's Wednesday.  That famous hump day.  If you can make it through Wednesday you're almost to the weekend.  This week has been crawling.  Made worse by last week's visit of strep throat and an ear infection.

I've been knitting, but have no progress to show you.  Just look back to last Wednesday and add a few rows in your imagination.

I did want to share some shots I took with my phone of the park outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse downtown Los Angeles.  There were a few people having a tae kwon do class.  It was a gorgeous morning, way too nice to run back to the office.  And because my train was running a few minutes late, I took the opportunity to spend a few minutes watching them and enjoying the beautiful day.

I hope you can take a few minutes to enjoy a beautiful day too.