I. T. News

As many of you know, Google Reader will soon no longer exist.  You know the gig - you no sooner  find the colour lipstick you like and they discontinue making it.  Same with Google.

Initially, when I  discovered blog reading, I simply 'bookmarked' the blog.  But that is cumbersome.  One needs to  look up the bookmarked pages then click on the blog to see IF there has been a posting since the last time the blog was read.  Too much work for a  person like me that reads several blogs daily.  Research, don't you know.  I needed a one-step approach.

Then I discovered Google's Reader.  Talk about enlightment!  You simply put the url (whatever the heck that stands for) or in other words,  the www. address  of the blog you want to track,  into the blank space and it captures that blog for future reading.  When the blogger has posted, the blog name is highlighted.  At a glance you can see where the recent, current postings are, making the reading of those blogs just one, easy click away. Then they announced it will no longer exist as of this summer.

I began  doing  research  asking other blog readers and bloggers what system they intended to switch to once Reader was gone.  I got a few suggestions but mostly I got groans and "I have no idea" statements.

That is until fellow blogger Jan emailed to say she had already switched to The Old Reader.  (Sorry, I cannot seem to link to that without directing you to my personnal Old Reader page.  But the url is www.theoldreader.com)  Jan's comment was that is was the most like Google's Reader that she had found.  I checked it out.  True - almost identical to Google's Reader and from what I read, developed in response to the need  created by the impending void that Reader's closing will leave.

In big bold print on the left side of their page it says +subsription.  All you do is put the www. address of the blog you want to follow in that spot, click  '+'  and you are there.  Put the 'theoldreader' site in your tool bar for easing clicking and vioila!  -  easy reading.

Thanks, Jan.

Fun With My Kntting Machine.

Still on a mission to improve my knitting machine skills, I waste a lot of time  do a lot of research on ravelry and other web sites that focus on machine knitting.  It was on one of those sites that I recently came across a simple pattern for a machine knit Tee.  T Time.

A  bodice  knit sideways and a body knit in the normal direction give this Tee it's distinctive look.  Sideways knitting, my research suggests, is common in machine-knitted garments.  Is it easier??  Fancier??  Simpler??  I am not sure, but to me it seems as if that style crops up more often in machine knit patterns than  it does in hand knits.

I am happy with my T Time.  Just a few hours on the machine and I am wearing a new top.

 

Details.

Pattern:  T Time

Yarn: Cotton Tweed by Cabin Fever

Tension:  Stitch Dial -  4,  Upper Tension -7.

Modifications:  I shortened  the sleeves from the suggested 3/4 length to elbow length.   More appropriate for summer wear, I thought. And, I lengthened the lower portion so my overall Tee is 22 inches long.

What Did I Learn?  

Sideways knitting looks quite attractive - especially when offset by contrasting,  vertical knitting. 

The sideways knit with it's boat neck shaping required no edging.  The slight, under curl at the neck provides just the right amount of neck shaping to make the Tee comfortable to wear.  

 

The pattern of 5 needles working, one needle not working creates a 'rib' like look and also means no curling at the lower edges. 

The combination of  using a DKweight yarn (22 sts) instead of a KW weight (20sts) suggested by the pattern, coupled with  the seam that joins the  horizontal section to the vertical portion  makes for a bit of a tight band across the chest.  My yarn, a cotton/acrylic blend will stretch with wear  - and has already done so - but next time I would sew a much looser seam and knit with yarn that comes closer to pattern gauge.

 

T Time would make a lovely winter pullover.  Knit in wool, with the longer sleeves, it would be a perfect candidate for self striping yarns, like Noro, Marble or any sock yarn.  And - it is done before dinner.  My favourite thing.

The May Long Weekend

Whatever you might call it - The May 2-4,   The May Long Weekend,  The First Long Weekend Of Summer,   The Victoria Day Weekend,  it is happening now.

Named after Queen Victoria, a lady who didn't have to do dishes, cook, clean or transport kids.  So do exactly none of those things yourself, this weekend.  Just enjoy the time and the weather.

Happy long weekend everyone - and thanks for reading.