Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Fresh Watermelon From Fresh Isle Fibers


With the completion of the Lilacs socks (which I might give to a certain daughter) and in need of a mindless sort of pattern as I sit during tonight's Town Council meeting (more on that later), it was fortunate indeed that my single-ply mixed-breed yarn from Fresh Isle Fibers came yesterday. The luscious cake of yarn will knit into these: Socks that have slices of watermelon on them! I love watermelon, eagerly anticipate the first one hitting the market each summer. It's my preferred dessert during the steam-bath we call weather right now. Simple stickinette st will turn itself into slices of melon, complete with seeds, how clever! The pattern is here; scroll down for the single-ply apttern for the one at top is for the worsted-weight yarn. Marian from Fresh Isles is very nice to deal with; spinning and dyeing are a passion of hers. As before, I did the unjoined cast-on, knitting for 1 rows then joining to work in the round. For this sock, I casted on the 2x2 rib in K-P cast-on, but did it as K-K-P-P cast-on. Seemed to work out from what I can see. And I'm trying out my new Inox Prym needles, since Addis don't come in 2.75 mm and these do. So far I like them, maybe not as much as Addis (certainly not as much as Addi Gold), but much more than the stretchy needles. When the socks are done, I'll wear them with this sweater and this pin
Town Council meeting tonight is in the town east of me; I don't want it spreading west so I'm taking an interest and showing up. The Council will discuss a proposed ordinance to ban all tethering of dogs. Lest you think this is a good thing, just listen to the owner (moi) of 2 large-breed dogs. Even Collies, those near-geniuses of the canine world, do not come equipped knowing every rule of the house. They need training, they need discipline (until they pay the mortgage and household expenses, yes they do). Tethering on a long lead while working in the garden was a method I used to train each dog the boundary of the property; to leave joggers and walkers passing by alone; to ignore cars (and hence not give chase to them). Most towns have dozens of ordinances preventing homeowners from fencing in property. You read that right. I was lucky; my backyard was all fenced in before I bought it years ago, before the ordinances restricting fencing were passed. Nowadays, a homeowner around here needs a variance to put a fence in to protect children - and dogs. Makes a lot of sense, right? You pay over $10,000/year in property taxes (I pay considerably more), yet your property is not your property to protect. The benighted ordinance, moreover, requires a kennel with floor of 10 by 15 feet per dog and with fence of 8 feet high. In a town with a fence ordinance that decrees fences shall be no more than 5 feet high. You don't have to be a lawyer to see that there is a problem here. Kennel with floor- ever put something on your grass for even a day? Ever notice how quickly grass underneath dies? Everybody will want to kill lawns, I'm betting. 10 x 15 feet per dog, that's 150 sq ft, that's over 10% of my total property including house footprint per dog. And renters will be able to do, what? They rent houses in part to own dogs. How many landlords be willing to comply with dead lawns, unsightly kennels, and the rest? Better to enforce existing anti-cruelty laws and go after negligent owners who tether their dogs all day while at work. That's wrong, that's illegal, that's enforceable. And that's why I'll be there, knitting my watermelon sock during the discussion of the ordinance.

2 comments:

Sus said...

Look at all that watermelon-y goodness! That yarn knits up really wonderfully. I love it!

fleegle said...

Those a fabulous! Yum!