Gails Yarns, Hooks & Needles

This is not store yarn, but Ravelry isn’t taking my photos for whatever reason. I think it’s only that the Code Monkey is out of town. So here we go.

I finished a lace scarf, and will be sending it off as a comfort scarf. Wonderful yarn, wonderful pattern. See Ravelry for more details.

The pattern is At Home in the Beehive, from The Buzz About Lace, a set of patterns from Queenie Sister Designs. The yarn is Ocean, from Creatively Dyed Yarns, and I’m sorry to have to admit I can’t remember if Ocean is the name of the yarn or the colorway. I’ll go with both, for now.

Now for the baby blanket, which is almost finished. I began with the Ondas pattern, by Dizzy Blonde Studios. It’s a free pattern on Ravelry, and goes from the center to the wide yellow band. Then I switched to a simple Old Shale pattern for the rest of the blanket. The bind-off is applied i-cord, and that’s the thing I never tried before.

The yarn is Vanna’s Choice Baby, colors Lamb, Duckie, Cheery Cherry, and Mint. When the blanket got big enough, I started the i-cord. One more side to go and I can see what size it really is.

…and they are running a contest. The one with the most comments wins! Comment on Facebook. The video is too large to upload here, I tried.

Disclosure: OK Go sent me (and at least 100 other people) a link to download for the express purpose of spreading the video around. No copyrights are violated. Watch the video, they are excited to share.

OK Go is the group with the great sound and all the viral videos. “A Million Ways,” with the dance on the patio; “Here it Goes Again,” the treadmill video; “This Too Shall Pass,” with the Rube Goldberg machine, or the high school marching band version (both are worth seeing). “End Love” will be no different, with time lapse photography, and those colorful outfits. Once you get to YouTube, it will be easy to see them all.

Laura Snider at BigGreenBoulder (Colorado) posted a story a few days ago about how the oil might spread from the Gulf of Mexico to the entire Atlantic seaboard. It’s only a computer simulation, but it is not pretty.

Link to BigGreenBoulder, a news website; separate link to the larger article, also by Laura Snider; link to YouTube video of the Spread of the Oil Spill.

North Carolina beaches have been busier this season, with tourists wanting a beach NOT overlooking the spill. That won’t continue, if the oil gets this far. Or should I say when?

Dear Laura: This is really bad news, but we needed to know, so thanks. Love, Aunty Gail

Over on Ravelry I help mod a Sleep Disorder group, Knitting in our Sleep.  (I know nothing about most sleep disorders, but I live with sleep apnea.)

janknitz from the Ravelry group has started a blog of her own, MASK ARRAYED, in order, she says, to have space to rant. (I won’t tell you how long it took me to ‘get’ the name.)

Personally, I find Mask Arrayed funny, entertaining, and most of all, informative. As I said in my last comment, janknitz has a way with words. Mask Arrayed is a blog I wanted to write but knew I lacked skillz for research and entertainment.

In the post titled “What if Fish Designed Beds,” there’s a link to a talk given by a prominent sleep apnea doctor and researcher, and he describes the first CPAP machine – made from a vacuum cleaner and a mask that was glued to the face of the subject. It worked so well the subject refused to leave the clinic without getting a machine and mask of his own. Manufacturers did not believe anyone would be willing to hook themselves up to a mask and machine every night, but they were wrong. (The alternative was a permanent hole in your trachea so you could breathe while asleep.)

Those of us with sleep apnea do better when we know and discuss issues with our peers.

This morning I got an email from Ridan Publishing, here it is plus all the links:

Thank you for registering for notification on the release of Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell. Ridan is please to have this talented author and we’re excited to be able to announce that Quarter Share is now on press and books will be delivered to Nathan in the next few days. You can buy copies direct which will provide the highest revenue to Nathan by using [this link] for ordering.

Nathan’s official release party will be during Balticon at the end of May. To mark Nathan’s first release with Ridan we have produced special T-shirts. For those that will not be able to attend the show you can order your own from the link provided.

P.S. We’ve not told Nathan about the T-shirts and are hoping to surprise him – so if you happen to speak with Nathan through email, twitter, or other social sites – we’d appreciate you not mentioning them until after Balticon.  Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

We thank you for supporting Nathan. He is a fine writer that we’re proud to be able to bring to you in the printed form.

You can get a Limited Edition Hardcover Version, Signed & Numbered—Only 250 Available! OR you can get a softcover, signed or unsigned. I really wanted a Limited Edition, but remembered in time that I will want at least one of each as they roll out. I got two softcovers.

The most exciting thing about the published edition is that Nathan is so pleased with the editing process. Working with his editor produced hard copy that sounded more like what he wanted it to be. (I heard this in a podcast interview, probably The Dead Robots’ Society episode 74 or 85. Both were late last year, both were great shows.)

Then the tee-shirts. How cool will it be for Nathan to get to Balticon and see people wearing his Quarter Share tee-shirt? This is going to be extreme fun.

So there you are. If you’re not a fan yet, visit Podiobooks. Also linked in the sidebar, under Splendid Podiobooks, Nathan Lowell’s Quarter Share.