Craft Monkey

blur

+ we're in San Francisco

-I can't figure out how to rotate that photo

+we took Logan to WonderCon. I think he liked it

+there's been a really good balance of making and adventuring

+I made a new bag, start to finish, since we landed.

+I took a train down to Stiches West, by myself

+I made friends there

+Project Spectrum has begun

+its green week

swap progress

Finishing up the last of the mushrooms for the swap.

 

I bought a train ticket down to Stitches this Saturday, and am hoping to meet the swap organizer sometime that day as well.

I still need to get some kind of sealant, and figure out a way to tag them; its way too late to get moo cards or anything like that...

denver airport

So. We're on our way to California for a couple of weeks, and our connecting flight is delayed by a couple of hours. Live-bloggng the airport!

They've got these murals that don't make any sense unless you go up a floor.

 

At which point they become reasonably clever.

 
Bradley was the one who noticed, and found the totally uncrowded seating area above the gate...

Blogging instead of knitting in order to give my hands a rest. When we landed we were up to hour 6 of travel time, and I've pretty much been knitting on this sock straight through it. It was begun back around Thanksgiving, worked through the heel turn, then put away around Christmas for the sweater for Logan. I'm using the basic toe-up pattern on magic loop from Laura Chau's completely awesome book, Teach Yourself Visually Sock Knitting, which I won in her blog giveaway late last year.   Pulled it back out this morning and have put at least 4 inches on it. For plain socks I could probably call it good about here and begin the second one, but I want this to be kneehigh with calf shaping. About halfway through the flight, I realized that the visual progress was slowing down because the rows were getting so much bigger than this morning. So far I've increased my stitch count by 50%, and will need to get up to twice the original number at the widest point. That topmost blue stripe? took me the entire 2.5hr flight to get through. The giant chunk of various greens? mostly done on the 2hr drive to the airport.
Colors are of course more awesomely Noro when not being photographed in an airport terminal.

Boarding time!

throat coat

sweater slaughter

scrap pile

 
100% chance of rain all day. I may not be able to sew, but I can cut out pieces of things to be stitched later.

So i'm cutting out hot water bottle cozies from the giant bag of thrifted sweaters that's been taking up space, and a couple of them were yellow.

cupcake!

It's too cloudy to get a decent picture today, but I found this one from Logan's birthday last month...

There's a lot of yellow around here that I hadn't noticed before.

yellow ~ day 1

on the playground in mississippi

in mississippi

Yay! there's a postponement  on the CPSC nonsense.

Visiting my mom again... The drive down gave me enough time to knit an entire sleeve for Logan's sweater. Both front and back are completed, so there's just one more sleeve, seaming, and a neckband. It'll probably be done before we get home. Kid's clothes are quick!

more CPSIA info

The following has been excerpted from Jenny at allsorts. She says it well, as always, and has compiled a ton of info. Thanks!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When congress passed the CPSIA (the Consumer Product Safety Inspection Act) in August 2008, they were intending to protect companies from selling harmful products. All products intended for children under 12 years old must go through thorough and stringent testing. The CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in children’s products, mandates third party testing and certification, and requires manufacturers of all goods for children under the age of 12 to permanently label each item with a date and batch number.

Most people know someone who will be affected because most people know people who have children, will buy something for a child within their lifetime, or have children themselves. Most small businesses and crafters who sell children’s products care about this. They will be put out of business by this law due to the prohibitive testing costs. Their products might be safe, but they can’t afford to “prove” it. Many parents care about this, their choices for their children could be significantly limited if the mid-size, small, and micro manufacturers all go out of business due to this.

Who should be concerned?

To the Parents of Young Students:
Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren’t originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader:
Due to the new law, all children’s books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there’s always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.
Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:
Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it’s passed testing. It won’t even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.

To the Environmentalist:
Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can’t sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can’t even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper:
Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children’s items all together to avoid future lawsuits.

To the Entrepreneur:
Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you’ll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector:
Due to the new law, you’d better start buying now because it’s all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren’t certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy:
Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Global Economy:
Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

Click here for a recent article from Forbes

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law.

What can I do to help?
Call your Congressman (the time for letters and emails has passed), ask them to call for a hearing from the Energy and Commerce Committee to discuss this new law. Find out their position on this important issue. It has become a rather partisan issue, and that helps NO ONE. Encourage them to take a bipartisan look at the big picture here.

i especially loved the absence of the word terrrorism

"Praise song for the day.

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."

We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know there's something better down the road."

We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light."

[presented by Elizabeth Alexander @ inauguration 01.20.09]