Knit Blue

The New Millennium

2008-11-05T17:09:00.001-08:00

The elections are finally over. Like many of you, I'm a news junkie and have been parked in front of the TV late every night for months and I've got dark circles under my eyes to show it! I'll be tracking the new Obama administration's transition, of course, but now I can get a life.

I'm so pleased that we may re-engage the rest of the world now and I know many people around the world feel the same. If you have time and if you're inclined, read this Washington Post article about reactions around the world. It astounds me that the world still looks up to us as the embodiment of possibility and craves - needs - a better relationship with us. We need them too.

Washington should be an interesting place for a while. I've been here through a few administrations, but this one feels different already. Washington usually feels like the city described in The Jungle (I think?), in which the characters live largely in anonymity, unseen by others. I found this disturbing at first, but I've gotten used to it. I can be plenty self-absorbed too, especially on my way to work in the morning or speeding home at night. But something odd has happened over the last 24 hours - people see me. In my encounters at the grocery store last night with the clerk and another customer, and with a bookstore cashier and at Starbucks this morning, people have found an excuse to talk to me and look me in eye longer than they usually do. It's nice to be seen.

I've thought about moving at least once a month since I moved here 20 years ago, but I'm glad I'm here now. I've watched all those other inaugurations on TV, but I'll attend this one. I want to be bathed in this positive energy for as long as it lasts.

Though I expect that Washington will return to being Washington again as we settle into addressing our devastating problems, right now it finally feels like the 21st century has really begun.

Yes We Can!!!

2008-11-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

here in blue Colorado (at long last!!), at 9:15 p.m. nearly speachless with the amazing news

I never in my wildest dreams thought I would see this in my life time

I have no illusions that everything will be instantly better -- that every soldier will be home tomorrow, that the economy will be fixed, that our health care system will actually be about health and not profit

but I have hope --

hope that after the last 8 years of mistakes and the deliberate misleading of the country that we can look forward to listening to a man that will tell us the truth -- even when the truth is hard

that we can make the change we need happen

yes, we can

It's Time

2008-11-04T14:17:00.001-08:00

I saw Obama at the rally in Manassas, VA via simulcast at Market Square in Old Town last night. It was inspiring, to say the least. There were 100,000 people at the Prince William Fairgrounds last night. Many waited all day - and his plane was late coming in to Dulles by over an hour. I have great hope that Virginia will go blue this election. Hope with me.

I voted. I hope you did too.

It's time!

2008-10-21T07:17:00.001-07:00

Go thou and do likewise!

Yesterday was the first day of early voting here in Colorado and we went and cast our ballots.

We have the dubious distinction of having one of the longest ballots in the country this year (largely because it is WAY too easy to get initiatives on the ballot that just end up being fought in court and tossed out), and there was a line, but I'm sure it was a shorter line than there will be on election day.

Now I can just hope that the rest of the nation sees the wisdom of my thinking and votes with me!

It's so laughable and painful at the same time...

2008-10-04T22:43:00.001-07:00

Katie Couric: Why isn't it better, Gov. Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families who are struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries; allow them to spend more and put more money into the economy instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?

Gov. Sarah Palin: That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, we're ill about this position that we have been put in where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health-care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the -- it's got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health-care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today, we've got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.

2008-10-04T11:48:00.001-07:00

I've been a little surprised at the lack of posting here, too, but I suspect it also has to do with all the political discussions going on on Ravelry. I have to admit, I love lurking on the McCain/Palin discussions, but only with a glass of wine in hand. Otherwise my blood pressure would rise and my head might explode.

It's always good to keep an eye on the opposition, and from what I've seen in the last few days, the opposition is starting to sweat. And that makes me happy.

Is this thing on?

2008-10-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

No traffic and we've got a Veep who can't answer questions in complete sentences trying to talk her way into the White House? Let's be "maverick" like everyone! : )

Biden is the other half of the parenthesis

2008-08-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

as I watched The Ticket stand together on Saturday, I was struck by the almost perfect symmetry that I was seeing

they stand shoulder to shoulder, almost the same height

black/white
younger/older
cool and measured/fiery and passionate

its almost yin/yang

and Biden has long been "different", and he's perfect for the one true job of the Vice President -- he's the president of the Senate -- where Biden knows people and knows how it is supposed to work -- not just the forever "us vs them" version the neocons have given us the past 8 years

let us now pray that we were all looking at the future on Saturday in Illinois

tap, tap, tap -- any body there?

2008-07-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

Have we all just lost interest now that we know who the nominee will be?

I'm curious if anyone actually had the right answer about who the two nominees would be in the contest -- can't remember if we were supposed to guess the VP name too

just asking------

A sign of our times.....

2008-06-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

See this?

This is a sign of our times.

It is the sign of thousands of people who have lost everything.

It is the sign of ever increasing food prices.

It is the sign of corporate greed.

It is the sign of decades of government that was busy giving tax breaks to the rich while ignoring the need to maintain and improve our infrastructure.

Are we going to be strong enough to do something about it?

Is today the day?

2008-06-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

I know its officially the last day of primaries.

Are we finally going to start focusing on the General and making sure we don't have 4 years of "McSame"?!

I for one am ready for that!!

Who ARE these people?

2008-04-23T16:22:00.000-07:00

Anyone else watch Obama's speech last night and become overly distracted by the three guys wearing Abercrombi & Fitch T-shirts right behind him? It was so odd, and today there are theories all over the Internet ranging from a marketing ploy perpetrated by the clothing company to the Obama campaign's bid to win the gay vote.

So bizarre.

actual blue knitting!

2008-04-23T08:33:00.001-07:00

I know my usual posting here is of the political type, but just now I'm having "election fatigue"!

I have been knitting in blue however.

Thanks to a very generous sister, I have wool yarn to make up into things that are going to a couple of charities.

this cute little sweater vest will be going to Warm Woolies, a charity group that sends wool vests and hats and socks to kids in cold places, especially orphanages and Indian reservations

this was my first sweater vest (I've made several hats, just none of them blue!)

and these (from the same yarn) are for a challenge that Ann over at Sheep Shots is running. If you go to her post for March 23, 2008, she explains the "Mittnz Roolz", and this has been a lot of fun too

Happy knittin' y'all

What Obama and I have in common

2008-03-24T08:22:00.001-07:00

I know, you’re all thinking – “what, are you nuts?” and I understand that train of thought. After all, I’m a white woman over 50 with no college degree. He’s a younger bi-racial man with a law degree. So just what could we possibly have in common?

Well, let’s consider some of the things he said in his speech the other day. He said “I have…nieces, nephews…cousins, of every race and every hue”, and we share that heritage. In my extended family between my husband and I there are cousins, nieces and nephews who are Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Mexican (as in born in Mexico, not just of Hispanic background), Black, Eskimo, and American Indian. My husband is a first generation American; his parents were from England and the Netherlands. My family (or at least part of it) has been here since the days of the founding fathers. We are as a family perhaps as “melting pot” as it gets. My daughter says she needs a T-shirt that says she’s “Western European Mutt!”

He said “…we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.” And here I say a rousing “Amen, brother!”

Obama speaks of the blacks of the generation before him that grew up in a Jim Crow environment. As a white woman I can not possibly know the ultimate humiliation that that generation of blacks endured because they simply looked different. Surely that kind of humiliation is an explanation for some of the frustration and suspicion that they look at whites with. I have had the rare opportunity of hearing the bigots on both sides, from whites that had never actually known a black person and from blacks that had never actually known a white person. As Obama says “this nation is more than the sum of its parts – that out of many, we are truly one.”

He speaks of the idea that a lot of “working class…white Americans don’t feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. …They’ve worked hard all their lives…they are anxious about their futures…your dreams come at my expense.”

We continue to deal with others as if they are either “one of us” or “one of them” without understanding that those of us who are simply the everyday folks, ordinary Americans with concerns about our families, we are all “US”. The big “THEM” are the presidents and CEOs of the big corporations that are using us all like so much expendable machinery that can be easily replaced. “THEY” live in their $16 million mansions and sit in the board rooms and decided that your little family is costing them too much to pay you a living wage or keep your pension or your health insurance or to even work for them when they can get it cheaper elsewhere.

Do I think that Obama will be the magician that will make all of this instantly better the day he takes office? No. Nobody can do that. But he has a vision of a better America for his children and my grandchildren that at least tries to heal some of the wounds. He speaks of hope.

We need hope to recover from all that has been done to us everyday folks by “THEM”, and we need to learn that no matter what color our skin is or where we worship on Friday or Saturday or Sunday or where we were born, we are all the same. “THEY” have successfully used divide and conquer to make us fight each other and not see the real cause of our misery.

I hope he succeeds in redirecting our vision as a country and turning us again to hope.

Thoughts about ugly political email

2008-03-08T08:52:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I received an email from someone I've known for a number of years that shocked me. It came from an educated person, someone that before retiring taught school.

It was ugly.

I'm sure that many of you have seen the anti-Obama stuff that is floating about on the net.

I will not give the whole thing a repeat display, but there are a couple of parts that I want to address (just so I'll quit "stewing" about this)

Here then are the parts that bothered me the most:

Item #1: "we are AT WAR with the Muslim Nation"

There is no such thing as "the Muslim Nation”. The individuals that were responsible for the terrorism committed on our soil in 2001 just happened to be part of a radical Muslim group.

We are in a war of aggression in a country that had NOTHING to do with 9/11 even though that is constantly referred to as the reason we are there. As a result of this we have totally forgotten what it was we were supposed to be doing in that part of the world and along the way we have sacrificed the lives of thousands of young soldiers and their families and totally wrecked our own economy.

Item #2: ”when he was sworn into office he DID NOT use the Holy Bible, but instead the Koran”

This is a flat out lie. There has been only one person that has ever done this. His name is Keith Ellison (D, Minn).

It strikes me that part of the reason that all of this raw hate is circulating is that we are standing on the threshold of new and unknown territory. Remember how much uproar there was about JFK being Catholic? Now we have a black man with a dream and there seems to be a lot of fear about the idea that he might actually become president.

Are we going to just keep going in the same wrong headed direction we have gone the past few years, watching our jobs dwindle away because of NAFTA, watching another generation of young people have their lives destroyed by an unjust, unwarranted war?

Remember – without hope the people perish – if ever we needed hope it is now

Anne Coulter would support Hillary over McCain?!

2008-02-03T09:16:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I heard this, but yes, its true!

Kay Dennison over at Kay's Thinking Cap, put up a clip of a Hannity & Colmes segment where Coulter is talking about it. Use this link and scroll down to the bottom of the post to check it out.

YIKES!!!

Getting Ready for Super Tuesday!

2008-02-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

Kitteh sez "Vote Blue!"

Cat Sweater (or a small dog)
Yarn: Encore Plymoth
Needle: Size 8 Addi
Pattern: my own

Almost Here

2008-02-02T20:18:00.000-08:00

So are we excited about Super Tuesday yet?

Today in Tulsa there was a whole mess of Huckabee supporters out waving signs at the biggest intersection in town. Well, a whole mess of Huckabee supporters and two Obama supporters. We gave the thumbs-down to the Hucks and honked and waved to the Obamas. That was kind of fun.

I can't figure out how to link to my post about the Contest, so search the archives for "contest" or look through the posts from June, 2007, to find the rules. I've had only a couple of guesses, and there's still time to get in there and make a guess. Sock yarn is on the line here, people!

Also, let's see some blue projects!

Oh please....

2008-02-02T16:56:00.000-08:00

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963954/posts

Just when you thought things couldn't get any crazier.

Funny (but Scary) Video

2008-01-29T13:14:00.000-08:00

http://blip.tv/file/520347

something blue

2008-01-08T15:33:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!!

I picked up a little something blue while in Canada over the holidays.
Thought I would share. It is destined to be a lacy scarf, even if you can't tell that from this picture:

some new, blue knits...

2008-01-07T14:38:00.001-08:00

Elizabeth Zimmermann's Ganomy Hat! Made to perfection(?) with Peace Fleece in BLUEBERRY BORSCHT.

-Deborah

I can't believe that

2008-01-05T08:52:00.000-08:00

we're 4 days out of the Iowa caucus and there has been no comment here.....

Maybe none of us were surprised by the outcome, tho' I was a bit -- after all of the media hype that Hillary was inevitable (fed by her saying so by running against Bush right out of the gate), her 3rd place was a bit of an eye opener

And now, I must say that I have changed my mind too, and when we attend our caucus on Feb 5 I'm going to stand for John Edwards. After reading the web sites with all their position papers, his views on health care, education, gay marriage and corporate greed are the closest to mine. Also his whole "we're mad as hell and we aren't going to take it any more" attitude matches mine too. I don't think the Republicans are going to just lay down to a reasoned, intellectual approach, we're going to be scrapping it out to the finish, and Edwards seems to be willing to do that.

On the other side, who could have thought that Huckabee could be the winner in Iowa? (In fact, who thought he would even be in the top 3?) Quite interesting on that front as well. Could it be that the Republicans are having a change of heart too -- one can hope, but I doubt it

The most encouraging thing of all tho' is the huge number of folks that turned out. Lets hope that trend continues and the voice of the people is actually heard

Blue Christmas ... er, Birthday!

2007-12-16T15:58:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I forgot to post about this! This is a felted bag I recently completed, and just wrapped up today to send to one of my nieces for her birthday, which also happens to be on Christmas day.

The pattern and yarn are part of a kit from Dancing Leaf Farm, which is one of the best places for colorful yarns. This yarn is primarily Peace Fleece, with the accent yarns being one called Oh-La-La, and the other Aloha, from Dancing Leaf. I made a few modifications a la the Sophie bag from MagKnits. It was a relatively easy, and a very enjoyable, knit.

This morning my husband and I were listening to NPR, since we enjoy the Sunday puzzle word game, and after it came on, there was a piece about a website run by The St. Petersburg Times (Florida), and the Congressional Quarterly, called PolitiFact. The site applies a Truth-o-Meter to the various statements by the presidential candidates, both those about what they would/could do, and those about their opponents. It's worth a look, if you haven't heard of it.

At this point, I am not sure who I want to be the nominee, but it is interesting to see how things seem to be changing daily!

Blue Knitting for Christmas

2007-12-15T16:04:00.001-08:00

I just finished a pretty blue hat for my future sister in law as a Christmas present. It's Hannah from the latest Magknits.com.

It's knit up in Knitpicks.com Wool of the Andes in Cerulean; I held the yarn doubled to get correct gauge and used US10s. The yarn is actually a little darker of a blue than shows up in the picture. I'm super happy with the way it came out and I really think the recipient will like it.