Let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him. (Oswalt Chambers)

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Sky and Questions


I woke up this morning to thunder, lightening, rain, and a big black dog who doesn't like thunderstorms panting in my face.

This is a three day weekend, Memorial Day weekend, billed as the beginning of summer in SW Michigan. So, I feel for all the working people who were looking forward to a beautiful day off outdoors.

We need the rain, though. I'm happy to see it and so are all the plants.

Now for some questions I've recently received.


Sister Carrie who is blogless and doesn't knit but is nice enough to read this blog anyway asked . . .
Don't mourning doves mate for life?

There are banding studies that show Mourning Doves do mate for life, however their life is not very long.

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission - State Wildlife Management Agency:
Life expectancy: 70-80 percent of all newly-hatched doves do not live one year (i.e., for every 100 hatched in a summer, only 20-30 will live to breed the following summer). If a juvenile survives its first year, the attrition slows: adults have a 50 percent mortality rate. Average annual mortality for a stable population is estimated at 60 percent.



Observant Shelly who blogs at Knitting and Praying asked . . .
Hmmm....your left/right brain dominance results only covered 88% of your brain. I wonder what the other 12% is?

I've been wondering the same thing.


Theresa who blogs at Stitches of Grace asked . . .
I did get very excited when I saw your hummingbird moth. Would you mind taking a look at my May 13 post? I think it might be the same thing.

It sure is! Check out the terrific picture Theresa has of a hummingbird moth here.


Sister Doris who is blogless and doesn't knit but is nice enough to read this blog anyway asked . . .
What is a gansey? It looks red to me. What's with the white?

Gansey sweaters were standard wear for 19th century British fishermen. They are wool with intricate knit-purl patterns, dropped shoulders, and easy fit in a tight gauge. Traditionally they were knit with dense, dark yarn.

The book I'm knitting from is called "Knitting Ganseys" by Beth Brown-Reinsel. It details all the traditional ways and techniques of making the various gansey parts.

One of the patterns at the end of the book is unimaginatively named "White Gansey" because it's knit in white yarn. I'm (mostly) following that pattern in red and so have unimaginatively named my sweater the Red White Gansey.

For those readers who haven't been here recently, the Red White Gansey project is here.


Alicia sent an email and asked . . .
Amazed at how you whip out socks. Would you consider sharing on your blog (surely I am not the only one who needs help with speed) some tips and how you do it? What length of circulars do you use? My inquiring mind also wonders if you knit English or Continental, do you work in large blocks of time or in snippets of times during the day, etc

I knit Continental at a moderate speed.

What appears to be knit with speed has taken me just as long as an average knitter.

My kids are grown, I'm retired from a full time job, and have time to knit everyday.

I like to relax with my knitting for large blocks of time. Instead of watching TV in the evening, I listen to audio books from the library and knit away, often for hours.

When knitting in public or knitting in snippets of time, I have to knit simple things or I frequently end up frogging.

As for the circulars, 24 inches work best for me. My knitting style doesn't work well with the shorter metal part of the 16 inch needles, and 32 inches takes too much work to shift the sock from one end to the other.

I can knit socks just as quick, maybe even quicker, with double points. I use the circulars because they're less likely to stab a little dog who unexpectedly jumps into my lap.

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