Monday, June 2, 2008

Stanley Cup

I am not a "by the pattern" knitter. I tend to make it up as I go. I tried my best to create a pattern. Feel free to manipulate to your needs.


Knitted Stanley Cup:

Size: about 8 inches.
Yarn: Worsted Weight Acrylic.
Needles: I used size 7 dpns.


Cast on 40 sts. Join work in the round.

Rounds 1-30:
*Knit 5 Rounds, Purl 1 Round* 5 times creating 5 bands.

Rounds 31-37
Decrease 2 sts each of the next 7 rounds. 26 sts remain. I would recommend not making the decreases in the same position each round. Scatter the decreases.

Round 38
Purl all sts.

Rounds 39-53
*Knit 4 Rounds, Purl 1 Round* 3 times

Rounds 54-58
Decrease 3 sts each round for 5 rounds. 11 sts remaining.

Round 59
Purl all sts.

Round 60-62
Knit all sts

Round 63
kfb k1 *kfb, k2* 3 times (15 sts)

Round 64
*kfb, k2* 5 times (20 sts)

Round 65
kfb k1 *kfb, k2* 5 times (25 sts)

Rounds 66-70
Knit all sts

Round 71
Bind off

I put rolled up paper to help the Cup keep its form. You could put fiber fill in it also.

If you notice any errors please let me know. I was writing this as I was watching Game 5 of the Penguins vs Red Wings series that went into triple overtime.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

envy of all those who write

I am not a writer. I might have been one many years ago but college ruined it. I have some super funny stories from when I was younger. I was a story teller. Being an only child, I had a very active imagination. I had an imaginary grandmother and my grandpa was Phil Collins (I think in recent years he married someone my age. Also, Phil if you are reading, I was never implying that you were old, I just loved Genesis). I miss my imagination.

Well, back to the present. I am currently working on some project specs for my job. I sat down at my computer and opened up the template. I realized that I haven't had to write anything beyond code in such a long time and now I was being asked to write a document that the end user would have to understand. When I read the rough draft for this document, I was mortified. The grammar was horrible. Also you could hear "me" in my writing. It was hard to take what I consider my language out of the document.

I believe that the internet has to be partially blamed for my professional writing taking such a horrible turn. Instant messaging made LOL a common part of our vocabulary. The social networking sites emphasize "individuality", so their common slang comes through on their pages, message, tags, etc. I really am considering taking a writing 101 class because this could be a big problem down the line.

I still envy those who are able to make their blogs sound professional while still being able to hear their voice. Hopefully with practice I can become one of those writers.