
Finished my Endpaper Mitts! Of course, now it’s too hot to wear them at work. Just call me the Untimely Knitter. (more…)
Endpaper Mittens-ish
Links of interest for April 7th through May 5th
Feminism / Sexism
- Why Guys Really Hate Being Called ‘Creepy’
At the heart of the "anti-creep shaming campaign" is a concerted effort to discourage women from relying on their instincts to protect themselves from harm. Laying aside its likely etymology, calling a dude an "asshole" is a way of labeling him a jerk. Plenty of people can be jerks without being predatory. On the other hand, calling a dude "creepy" labels him as a potential threat; a creep may not be imminently violent, but there's almost always a sense that he shows consistent disregard for a woman's physical or psychological space. This is why, as Wakeman wrote, "it's a really freaking dangerous idea to twist a woman's open, honest communication about her boundaries/expectations into ‘creep shaming' that victimizes men." - Rape culture in up to 140 characters · londonfeminist
"Yesterday, Ched Evans, a footballer, was sentenced to five years in prison for raping a nineteen year old woman. This is what some people on Twitter had to say. [...] This is rape culture in 140 characters or less. A culture in which after the defendant is convicted by a jury on the higher standard of proof, the woman is accused of being a liar, a money grabber, a gold digger, a ho, a drunk, a promiscuous, publicity-seeking bitch, while the "poor" rapist has had his life ruined." - Ways for men to respond to harassment of women | Geek Feminism Blog
Soccer
- The Definitive Footy Blog Guide on How to Pick a Football Club | The Footy Blog
"I’ll begin by saying this is an old, controversial topic in North American circles, and the subject of bitter cultural debate. Each approach comes with their advantages and their weaknesses. Before we get into them, let’s agree on the Two Principle Commandments of supporting a football club.
I. Thou Shalt Not Support More Than One Club Not Separated by a Domestic League or at Least Three Divisions.
II. Thou Shalt Not Switch Teams, Ever. You Are X Until You Die." - Women United F.C.: A Launch of Its Own – NYTimes.com
"Colvin parlayed her burgeoning passion for soccer into a fledgling business, Women United F.C., an online soccer community for women that launched March 13. The site is committed to two central goals: building M.L.S.’s female fan base and providing women with a safe haven to discuss soccer on their terms." - Major League Soccer Blowhard Says Female Superfans Are Totally Not Hot
While I agree that this guy is clearly a douche, I'm confused by some of the fan reaction. People are rightly objecting to Borg acting as if female fans should exist to please men… and then turn around and make CafePress t-shirts that also objectify female fans.
Miscellaneous
- How to: make a knitting needle roll
- Sewn Fabric Resume | Melissa Makes Things
Still deciding if this would make it past my rigorous resume scrutinizing. - Type Connection
A typographic dating game. - The Modernist Nerd: Vintage Science Ads from the 1950s and 1960s | Brain Pickings
[insert "Fuck Off, Chelsea FC" song here, despite it being three days too late]

Not to take the shine off a nice win, but this seems a touch too late. But no matter! (more…)
as he lay in the battlefield dying (dying, dying)

This picture makes it look like the result was better than it was. Alas. (more…)
I don’t know how to sleep in on weekends anymore
I’ve managed to make significant progress while simultaneously significantly screwing up my Endpaper Mittens. Things of note thus far:
- Oh my god, do I ever hate 1×1 ribbing, which the cuff requires. People who do not knit but have a very basic understanding know that “knit 1, purl 1″ is a thing but they do not understand the fresh hell it presents to ye olde knitter. It’s so goddamned tedious. I dislike ribbing in the round to begin with since it takes so long for the rib to actually become noticeable, but 1×1 is quite possibly the worst of all ribs. I thought about doing a 2×2 on the second mitten but once I finished the cuff I realised that the 1×1 is the right scale for the project.
- My intense screw up where the pattern starts should be fairly noticeable. I was going along all fine and good until I realised that at some point I’d started a new round before finishing the previous one so I was about 14 stitches off in the pattern. Oops. I couldn’t figure out where I’d messed up so I just finished the round incorrectly and then started anew. It creates some awkward non-patterning but that’s fine, I have a second mitten to do correctly from the get go.
- I’m not minding the colour work thus far. I think I’m probably knitting too tightly, but I’m a tight knitter to begin with so I like to pretend this is beyond my control. I tried following a couple of tutorials for doing colour working while knitting with both hands but I couldn’t get used to using my left hand, so I’m just alternating colours in my right.
- I ordered bamboo knitting needles and am really liking them thus far. As the internet vouched for, they’re less slippery than the metal ones I used for my socks and they have a nice bendy give to them that makes it easier to make each stitches.
sometimes I have trouble liking things

Long after it stopped mattering, we decided we have interest in the league again! Oh I see! (more…)
I missed Velociraptor Awareness Day this year, oops
After finishing my socks I was going to go back to working on a quilt that I put away in January but the prospect of having to iron a zillion and a half seams was somewhat unappealing, so I decided to take on an out-of-season project: the Endpaper Mittens (Ravelry). My desk at work has some lovely large windows that allow for horrendously poor temperature control, and so I found my hands freezing to death more times than I could count this winter. Fingerless gloves to the rescue!
I picked this pattern because the scale was small (quick to make, easy to transport) and because I haven’t done any colour work yet and the pattern claims to be a good project for beginners. I’m using Knit Picks’ Palette yarn in Navy and Claypso Heather. so far the only thing I don’t like about it is that it’s only two ply, but I’m sure I’ll get over that as the colours are so pretty. (More details on my Ravelry project page.)
The yarn came yesterday and my new bamboo needles came today, which as perfect timing because I had the afternoon off to watch the second leg of the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, which Bayern Munich ultimately won on penalties to advance to the final thanks to the combined brilliance of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Manuel Neuer. GLORIOUS! It’s awkward to scream alone in your apartment.
fulfilling a dream I didn’t know I had until today
I am happy to report that of all the random Twitter accounts that follow me, the Bavarian sausage house that started following me yesterday is by far my new favourite. Bratwursthaus, Freunde, ein Bratwursthaus!!
They claim to be taking the time-honoured values of the original Nürnberg sausage and modernizing it, which is great because there is nothing I dislike more than antiquated meat products.
The End Is Near

The one good thing about today’s match is that it brings us one match closer to the end of the season, right? Right. (more…)
so they put him in a Highland division, sent him off to a far foreign land

[Insert Bob Paisley joke about how they should charge Liverpool rent at Wembley.] (more…)


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