Elizabeth Moon's Blog, page 30
March 4, 2012
Sockin' to Myself: More than a Cuff
One sock now has a growing heel flap. Today I photographed it "posing" on its ball of yarn as if that were the foot.
L: Front of sock (a half inch of stockinette below ribbing doesn't show: too curly.
R: Side of sock, with heel flap hanging down behind. Heel flap's on a cable.
Heel flap will be longer soon.
I keep putting my foot through the top of the cuff to check the size..and now, with the heel flap, it has some resemblance to a sock--like a wrist-warmer's relationship to a glove. When this heel flap is done, I'll do the other sock's heel flap, and then...it's 'turning the heel' time. (Note today's "accomplished" mood. This may not last when the heel-turning part is going on!) I was able to knit a couple of rows before choir rehearsal this morning and another between first and second service.
L: Front of sock (a half inch of stockinette below ribbing doesn't show: too curly.
R: Side of sock, with heel flap hanging down behind. Heel flap's on a cable.
Heel flap will be longer soon.
I keep putting my foot through the top of the cuff to check the size..and now, with the heel flap, it has some resemblance to a sock--like a wrist-warmer's relationship to a glove. When this heel flap is done, I'll do the other sock's heel flap, and then...it's 'turning the heel' time. (Note today's "accomplished" mood. This may not last when the heel-turning part is going on!) I was able to knit a couple of rows before choir rehearsal this morning and another between first and second service.
March 3, 2012
Spring and Birthday Party
Today was the "annual when we can manage" multiple birthday party with two friends whose birthdays are almost-nearly within a week of mine: DRW, whose is a week ahead of RLD's, and mine (last out of the gate, though actually not as I'm older than they are. In that we're stairsteps and DRW is youngest. It was the perfect time to inaugurate NewTable for a sizeable crowd. (Well, ten.)
This is actually before everyone was there, and Rancherfriend was about to uncover the pico de gallo. Once we started eating, I wasn't taking pictures.
A couple of days before, looking toward the main garden area, the Mexican plum was in full bloom and the redbuds were strong enough to show:
By the time of the party, the snowy-white plum was turning dusty rose as the white petals fell and the pink stamens showed. You can just see the base of one raised planting base (which has a trellis on which the peas are zooming upward) in the left image.
A week ago, this raised bed's peas had just started blooming; the salad greens in front of them were (are) delicious. Today the salad stuff had grown to almost overflow the bed's edge, and the peas are almost halfway up the top section of trellis. This bed, placed for winter gardening, has the long axis more E/W and thus has more sun exposure. The other beds are at right angles to it, off to the right. We've been enjoying salads from this bed, and the peas are just starting to be ready to eat (edible-pod peas.) At the party we had salad from it, but not peas. (Had to add tomatoes & carrots from store.) The west end has some herbs. Other beds have onions, radishes, and carrots (still very tiny) at this season.
This is actually before everyone was there, and Rancherfriend was about to uncover the pico de gallo. Once we started eating, I wasn't taking pictures.
A couple of days before, looking toward the main garden area, the Mexican plum was in full bloom and the redbuds were strong enough to show:
By the time of the party, the snowy-white plum was turning dusty rose as the white petals fell and the pink stamens showed. You can just see the base of one raised planting base (which has a trellis on which the peas are zooming upward) in the left image.
A week ago, this raised bed's peas had just started blooming; the salad greens in front of them were (are) delicious. Today the salad stuff had grown to almost overflow the bed's edge, and the peas are almost halfway up the top section of trellis. This bed, placed for winter gardening, has the long axis more E/W and thus has more sun exposure. The other beds are at right angles to it, off to the right. We've been enjoying salads from this bed, and the peas are just starting to be ready to eat (edible-pod peas.) At the party we had salad from it, but not peas. (Had to add tomatoes & carrots from store.) The west end has some herbs. Other beds have onions, radishes, and carrots (still very tiny) at this season.
February 28, 2012
Brief Sock Report
Both socks reached their desired cuff-ribbing length tonight. Next comes about an inch of stockinette in the round, then the heel flaps.
Many imperfections (mistakes) are visible in the "upright" picture (flash washed out some of them) but the decision early on to plow ahead and rip out as little as possible has kept the momentum as you can see. Sock One (Left) has had two stitches added to match Sock Two's 64. Should have done it much sooner, but...that happened today. Nobody will ever mistake my socks for theirs, with all the mistakes in the cuffs. However--fewer as I went along. The next pair should be neater yet. Looking at the socks my mother made, with their perfectly even stitches--no mistakes anywhere--I have a ways to go. But the start is here. (Those sacks? Each sock and its ball of yarn lives stays in its sack. Otherwise the loose ends get tangled up.)
Many imperfections (mistakes) are visible in the "upright" picture (flash washed out some of them) but the decision early on to plow ahead and rip out as little as possible has kept the momentum as you can see. Sock One (Left) has had two stitches added to match Sock Two's 64. Should have done it much sooner, but...that happened today. Nobody will ever mistake my socks for theirs, with all the mistakes in the cuffs. However--fewer as I went along. The next pair should be neater yet. Looking at the socks my mother made, with their perfectly even stitches--no mistakes anywhere--I have a ways to go. But the start is here. (Those sacks? Each sock and its ball of yarn lives stays in its sack. Otherwise the loose ends get tangled up.)
February 23, 2012
Don't Blame the Writer When It's Not the Writer's Fault!
Many of the things book-buyers blame writers for are not the writer's fault...in fact the conventionally published writer has no control over the following:
1) The book's cover price. This is set by the publisher after intricate calculations that may allow the publisher to make some money.
2) The book's cover art. Cover art is designed by art departments at the publisher's with input from marketing and editorial, but none to little from writers.
3) The book's publication date: This is set by the publisher in hopes of finding the sweet spot for that book where it will show well against the competition (or to protect a similar book from the same publisher.)
4) The book's actual appearance in a store or as a download. This is decided by the bookseller, who may or may not pay any attention to the publisher's stated release date. For books sold through multiple outlets (most conventionally published books) each bookseller makes the decision when to sell the book.
A) This means that Store A may order half as many copies as Store B, and put them on sale earlier or later than Store B. The writer did not have a conspiracy to make you buy at one store or the other. The stores (or corporations running dozens of stores) made the decision.
B) This also means that a bookseller like Amazon can completely ignore the publisher's release date for paper copies and insist (for whatever purpose who knows?) on withholding downloads to Kindle or other e-readers.
The very talented Seanan McGuire, for instance, is stuck right now in exactly this situation. Amazon decided to deliver the paper copies of her new book to those who'd pre-ordered two whole weeks before the release date...but withheld the e-copies from those who'd preordered it for their Kindle. Naturally, Kindle readers were angry. But they were angry with McGuire, when they should have been angry with Amazon. McGuire didn't even know (until abusive emails started pouring into her inbox) that Amazon had wrongfully shipped the hard copies or refused to release the e-books. Not her fault. Yet...she got piled on, with accusations that she was trying to force people to buy the hard copy out of greed. And she is justifiably upset and hurt that she was blamed for something she didn't do, especially in the abusive terms people used..
She had nothing to do with it. She had nothing to do with Barnes & Noble, who held out for a few days, deciding that they'd sell the books they had in the store (rather than lose more market share to Amazon.) That wasn't her decision; it was B&N's decision. She and her agent and her publisher and the distributor haven't been able to budge Amazon a millimeter from what was a stupid decision on Amazon's part, guaranteed to make customers angry.
So...why aren't these customers angry with Amazon? Why are they angry with McGuire? It makes no sense. It makes no sense that people would automatically blame the writer without even asking who made that decision. It's obvious to other writers that the writer doesn't control Amazon's decisions. And it should--after the number of writers who've taken the time to explain over and over--be obvious to those buying books.
But in case it prevents future abusive attacks on some hapless writer, here are some other things
the writer has no control over:
5) The price at which Amazon or other discounting booksellers sell the book. Some of this is contractual between publisher and bookseller; the writer isn't consulted. Amazon, for its part, claims the right to change the price of self-published books at any time, for any reason. It's not the writer trying to game the market: it's Amazon.
6) The quality of paper, printing, and binding. The publisher chooses the printer and binder and attempts quality control, but it's really the responsibility of printer and binder. If you find a chapter of another book upside down in the middle of one you bought...it's not the writer's fault. If the glue on the binding fails...it's not the writer's fault.
7) The book's overall design (size of font, width of margins, "cramped" or "open" appearance). The publisher designs the book.
8) The book's advertising (or lack of.) There again, the publisher decides how much (if any) advertising budget to spend on a given book.
9) The book's placement in the store or on racks in airports (and anywhere else there are still racks of books on sale.)
Bottom line: If you've got a gripe about a book, think before you trash the writer. If you don't like the cover, the print run, the book's design, the quality of the binding, the price, etc. etc. complain to the publisher. If the book's not in your local store, ask the store manager why it's not carried. If it's not carried in an entire chain, gripe at the CEO. If Amazon's not shipping your book or e-book, complain to Amazon.
Complain to the right person. You might get some satisfaction and you'll avoid hurting the innocent.
1) The book's cover price. This is set by the publisher after intricate calculations that may allow the publisher to make some money.
2) The book's cover art. Cover art is designed by art departments at the publisher's with input from marketing and editorial, but none to little from writers.
3) The book's publication date: This is set by the publisher in hopes of finding the sweet spot for that book where it will show well against the competition (or to protect a similar book from the same publisher.)
4) The book's actual appearance in a store or as a download. This is decided by the bookseller, who may or may not pay any attention to the publisher's stated release date. For books sold through multiple outlets (most conventionally published books) each bookseller makes the decision when to sell the book.
A) This means that Store A may order half as many copies as Store B, and put them on sale earlier or later than Store B. The writer did not have a conspiracy to make you buy at one store or the other. The stores (or corporations running dozens of stores) made the decision.
B) This also means that a bookseller like Amazon can completely ignore the publisher's release date for paper copies and insist (for whatever purpose who knows?) on withholding downloads to Kindle or other e-readers.
The very talented Seanan McGuire, for instance, is stuck right now in exactly this situation. Amazon decided to deliver the paper copies of her new book to those who'd pre-ordered two whole weeks before the release date...but withheld the e-copies from those who'd preordered it for their Kindle. Naturally, Kindle readers were angry. But they were angry with McGuire, when they should have been angry with Amazon. McGuire didn't even know (until abusive emails started pouring into her inbox) that Amazon had wrongfully shipped the hard copies or refused to release the e-books. Not her fault. Yet...she got piled on, with accusations that she was trying to force people to buy the hard copy out of greed. And she is justifiably upset and hurt that she was blamed for something she didn't do, especially in the abusive terms people used..
She had nothing to do with it. She had nothing to do with Barnes & Noble, who held out for a few days, deciding that they'd sell the books they had in the store (rather than lose more market share to Amazon.) That wasn't her decision; it was B&N's decision. She and her agent and her publisher and the distributor haven't been able to budge Amazon a millimeter from what was a stupid decision on Amazon's part, guaranteed to make customers angry.
So...why aren't these customers angry with Amazon? Why are they angry with McGuire? It makes no sense. It makes no sense that people would automatically blame the writer without even asking who made that decision. It's obvious to other writers that the writer doesn't control Amazon's decisions. And it should--after the number of writers who've taken the time to explain over and over--be obvious to those buying books.
But in case it prevents future abusive attacks on some hapless writer, here are some other things
the writer has no control over:
5) The price at which Amazon or other discounting booksellers sell the book. Some of this is contractual between publisher and bookseller; the writer isn't consulted. Amazon, for its part, claims the right to change the price of self-published books at any time, for any reason. It's not the writer trying to game the market: it's Amazon.
6) The quality of paper, printing, and binding. The publisher chooses the printer and binder and attempts quality control, but it's really the responsibility of printer and binder. If you find a chapter of another book upside down in the middle of one you bought...it's not the writer's fault. If the glue on the binding fails...it's not the writer's fault.
7) The book's overall design (size of font, width of margins, "cramped" or "open" appearance). The publisher designs the book.
8) The book's advertising (or lack of.) There again, the publisher decides how much (if any) advertising budget to spend on a given book.
9) The book's placement in the store or on racks in airports (and anywhere else there are still racks of books on sale.)
Bottom line: If you've got a gripe about a book, think before you trash the writer. If you don't like the cover, the print run, the book's design, the quality of the binding, the price, etc. etc. complain to the publisher. If the book's not in your local store, ask the store manager why it's not carried. If it's not carried in an entire chain, gripe at the CEO. If Amazon's not shipping your book or e-book, complain to Amazon.
Complain to the right person. You might get some satisfaction and you'll avoid hurting the innocent.
February 22, 2012
Sock Progress: SockTwo Grows
While at the FYE Conference in San Antonio over the weekend, I had enough waiting time and time between things to knit...and I met some other knitters, too. When I arrived, Sock Two was less than half the length of Sock One. I worked on Sock Two only for the weekend, and now Sock Two's cuff is markedly longer:
Sock Two is on the left in both pictures; Sock One is the same in both pictures.
After a rough start with them (losing stitches off the points), both the steel needles and working in a square and not a triangle are now familiar and comfortable. If I had more sets of the right size, I might be tempted to start yet another pair. The cuff of Sock Two progressed faster and with fewer (not yet no!) mistakes than the cuff of Sock One.
Sock Two is on the left in both pictures; Sock One is the same in both pictures.
After a rough start with them (losing stitches off the points), both the steel needles and working in a square and not a triangle are now familiar and comfortable. If I had more sets of the right size, I might be tempted to start yet another pair. The cuff of Sock Two progressed faster and with fewer (not yet no!) mistakes than the cuff of Sock One.
February 16, 2012
Sockin' It to Myself
I decided to start SockTwo so that I could do the two in tandem, and thus practice (and maybe really learn) all the parts of a sock twice in a row, really close together. By the time the new yarn and needles arrived this week, SockTwo's ribbed cuff was between 2.5 and 3 inches and the messy bits had "healthy" ribbing above and below. Kind of tree-like, the way a tree's bark will show where an old injury was, but around it the bark has the normal pattern.
In the meantime, before starting SockTwo, I moved SockOne from three base needles to four and drove myself crazy for a few rounds trying to figure out how to hold the extra needles with knitting with the fifth. Two days later, I had it, and yes--like the 5-needle version better. However...this means my "free" needle is needed for both projects (OK, since I really can't knit on both simultaneously) as I have one four-needle set and one five-needle set (both US size 5.)
SockTwo is on the left, SockOne on the right, as of the last row knit. The blue needles were inherited from my mother--they're aluminum. The steely looking ones are steel. The yarn is 100% wool, worsted-weight. Both socks were cast on with the long-tail cast-on, on larger needles than they would be worked, and both then had one row of knit stitches into the cast-on row before starting the 2x2 ribbing. When SockTwo catches up with SockOne I'll alternate rows of ribbing until the cuff's the length I want, do one heel flap then the other, then turn the heels one after the other, and so on. The goal is no more than a one day separation between finishing one and the other.
In the meantime, before starting SockTwo, I moved SockOne from three base needles to four and drove myself crazy for a few rounds trying to figure out how to hold the extra needles with knitting with the fifth. Two days later, I had it, and yes--like the 5-needle version better. However...this means my "free" needle is needed for both projects (OK, since I really can't knit on both simultaneously) as I have one four-needle set and one five-needle set (both US size 5.)
SockTwo is on the left, SockOne on the right, as of the last row knit. The blue needles were inherited from my mother--they're aluminum. The steely looking ones are steel. The yarn is 100% wool, worsted-weight. Both socks were cast on with the long-tail cast-on, on larger needles than they would be worked, and both then had one row of knit stitches into the cast-on row before starting the 2x2 ribbing. When SockTwo catches up with SockOne I'll alternate rows of ribbing until the cuff's the length I want, do one heel flap then the other, then turn the heels one after the other, and so on. The goal is no more than a one day separation between finishing one and the other.
February 3, 2012
The Consuming Passion: Yarn
A friend who lives in Washington State and visits Our Lady of the Rock monastery every year mentioned to me that they raise Cotswold sheep and spin it into yarn sold in their gift shop. I now have in my hands (well...beside me as I type this...) one pound of this gorgeous stuff: a beautiful colored-sheep color, sort of taupe, and it feels wonderful.
Right now my double-pointed-needles are full of SockOne, but I'm going to have to knit up at least a square of this to see how it works. And find more double-pointed needles.
Right now my double-pointed-needles are full of SockOne, but I'm going to have to knit up at least a square of this to see how it works. And find more double-pointed needles.
February 2, 2012
It wasn't until the last stitch....
...that I realized something was wrong. Very wrong.
Yes, that's a sock cuff...but wait...why are two of four needles lying there loose? What happened to the nice triangle?
Clearly, I'm not ready to watch TV while knitting sock cuffs. It was getting harder and harder...I thought maybe I was just tired. Um...no. Now I have to figure out how to re-insert the third needle.
And it was all going so well. I thought.
Yes, that's a sock cuff...but wait...why are two of four needles lying there loose? What happened to the nice triangle?
Clearly, I'm not ready to watch TV while knitting sock cuffs. It was getting harder and harder...I thought maybe I was just tired. Um...no. Now I have to figure out how to re-insert the third needle.
And it was all going so well. I thought.
January 28, 2012
Knitting: Revelation & New Project
Friday night I realized that my reluctance to start a new project, specifically a sock, was due as much to my mother's knitting as to my own (and my desire for some hand-knitted socks.) She knit everything (socks, mittens, hats, slacks, amazingly complex sweaters) but scarves. I have knit only scarves except for one baby hat years ago. Other knitting, in my mind, had become like "her kitchen" (where everything was done her way) rather than "my kitchen" (where I'm free to do things my way OR her way.) She died in 1990, and yet...I was afraid to start a sock because I might mess it up and it might not be as good as her socks. (All her knitting was very, very good.)
(The sock, started)In the moment of clarity, I realized I needed to start a sock right away (never mind how late it was, or how busy today, Saturday, was going to be...it was that moment of breakthrough.) I had bought yarn to make socks, but hadn't started any. Of course one should start with a gauge patch. But that, I knew, would delay me and put off starting the actual sock. So I decided that one bad sock would not ruin my life, grabbed the ball of red yarn (a cheerful and confident color) and dove in, knowing it was likely (certain, some would say) that the resulting sock wouldn't fit quite right, would look funny, etc. But when you're breaking a self-imposed curse, the main thing is momentum. Above is how it looks right now. The ribbing is just getting past the stage at which it looks like a ruffle.
The yarn is "Ella rae" worsted-weight 100% wool, a firm yarn that I think will make good hiking socks. If, that is, the sock remotely resembles a sock when it's done, and fits. If it's loose, I'll call it a bed-sock. I have no idea if I have enough for one sock, two socks, or a dozen, but for a learner sock I think it's great. For stretchiness, did a long-tail cast-on with US size 6, then switched to 5*s, And had to look on YouTube to re-learn how to join up the tube. ** Then one row of knit, and then 2 x 2 ribbing. I got it as far as the first row of ribbing last night (after midnight) and worked on it a little more today (in between the other stuff, about another six rows.) I did not take it to the funeral (friend's father) we attended, figuring that knitting on a bright red sock (with clicky metal needles) was probably not the most courteous thing to do. I'm still not smooth with the double-pointed needles (and yes, I know there's a way to do socks on circulars--I cast on, on a big circular and then transferred to the dpns. For one thing I don't have any size 5 points for my cables--6 is the smallest--and I needed to start right away--and for another thing my cables aren't short cables.)
So...on to the new adventure of sock-knitting. I'll be fine until I get down to the known complication of sock-knitting: turning the heel. But there are directions and also videos online. A heel will be turned.
* I usually knit with 7s and up. All the way to the size 35 I used last fall on big fat yarn and it was FUN. However, big fat yarn doesn't make good socks, and big needles make looser stitches, so I was fairly firmly counseled that the conventional size 5 needles for worsted-weight when making thick socks was just about perfect. Books and personal communication both.
** YouTube knitting videos are incredibly useful for kniitters like me, who sortakinda remember how to do things but not quite (after a 40 year hiatus in knitting.) I understand from a friend who crochets that the crochet videos aren't as useful because they go so fast. I actually *had* knitted with double-points in the round years ago, but had forgotten how to join after casting on.
(The sock, started)In the moment of clarity, I realized I needed to start a sock right away (never mind how late it was, or how busy today, Saturday, was going to be...it was that moment of breakthrough.) I had bought yarn to make socks, but hadn't started any. Of course one should start with a gauge patch. But that, I knew, would delay me and put off starting the actual sock. So I decided that one bad sock would not ruin my life, grabbed the ball of red yarn (a cheerful and confident color) and dove in, knowing it was likely (certain, some would say) that the resulting sock wouldn't fit quite right, would look funny, etc. But when you're breaking a self-imposed curse, the main thing is momentum. Above is how it looks right now. The ribbing is just getting past the stage at which it looks like a ruffle. The yarn is "Ella rae" worsted-weight 100% wool, a firm yarn that I think will make good hiking socks. If, that is, the sock remotely resembles a sock when it's done, and fits. If it's loose, I'll call it a bed-sock. I have no idea if I have enough for one sock, two socks, or a dozen, but for a learner sock I think it's great. For stretchiness, did a long-tail cast-on with US size 6, then switched to 5*s, And had to look on YouTube to re-learn how to join up the tube. ** Then one row of knit, and then 2 x 2 ribbing. I got it as far as the first row of ribbing last night (after midnight) and worked on it a little more today (in between the other stuff, about another six rows.) I did not take it to the funeral (friend's father) we attended, figuring that knitting on a bright red sock (with clicky metal needles) was probably not the most courteous thing to do. I'm still not smooth with the double-pointed needles (and yes, I know there's a way to do socks on circulars--I cast on, on a big circular and then transferred to the dpns. For one thing I don't have any size 5 points for my cables--6 is the smallest--and I needed to start right away--and for another thing my cables aren't short cables.)
So...on to the new adventure of sock-knitting. I'll be fine until I get down to the known complication of sock-knitting: turning the heel. But there are directions and also videos online. A heel will be turned.
* I usually knit with 7s and up. All the way to the size 35 I used last fall on big fat yarn and it was FUN. However, big fat yarn doesn't make good socks, and big needles make looser stitches, so I was fairly firmly counseled that the conventional size 5 needles for worsted-weight when making thick socks was just about perfect. Books and personal communication both.
** YouTube knitting videos are incredibly useful for kniitters like me, who sortakinda remember how to do things but not quite (after a 40 year hiatus in knitting.) I understand from a friend who crochets that the crochet videos aren't as useful because they go so fast. I actually *had* knitted with double-points in the round years ago, but had forgotten how to join after casting on.
January 4, 2012
The 12th Day Christmas Snippet
New post up at http://www.paksworld.com/blog/ with 12th and final episode of Sgt. Vardan and her patrol during Pargunese invasion.
The situation in these 12 connected snippets occurs between Kings of the North (already out) and Echoes of Betrayal (coming in late February) and refused to fit neatly into either the end of Kings or the beginning of Echoes. So it languished as a side story until Christmas.
Now I'm working on the next book, with the one beyond it (the last of the Paladin's Legacy group) catching the overspill of Book IV. Book V better not have any overspill. It's end of contract.
The situation in these 12 connected snippets occurs between Kings of the North (already out) and Echoes of Betrayal (coming in late February) and refused to fit neatly into either the end of Kings or the beginning of Echoes. So it languished as a side story until Christmas.
Now I'm working on the next book, with the one beyond it (the last of the Paladin's Legacy group) catching the overspill of Book IV. Book V better not have any overspill. It's end of contract.
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