Speed traps

A guy wrote a letter to the local newspaper complaining about a speed trap near an elementary school. Three things wrong with his protest: the speed limit is the same it has always been, it doesn't change for the entire length of the road, and if you aren't speeding, no problem. Fact is, speeders have been a chronic irritant in front of Austin Elementary School; not too long ago, in Lithonia, a mom on a cell phone struck and killed a child in a crosswalk WITH A CROSSING GUARD IN THE MIDDLE. So I really can't empathize with Mr. "Don't Give Me A Ticket Just Because I'm Speeding In Front Of A School."

Speed is an inherent part of the American culture. We want to get to school, career, wealth, kids, retirement faster and earlier. Slow and steady are for plodders. The early bird gets the worm. Problem is, with everyone trying to get there faster, no one wins. I like what a fellow blogger (Hi, Pattie) said about driving the speed limit on North Peachtree Road (another speeders' delight). As more cars fell behind her, she found herself leading a longer line of otherwise-speeding drivers - happily, since she was doing her "small part" to slow everyone down.

I do it. I've been late to an appointment, en route to the emergency room, rushing from carpool line to music lesson and pushed it just a bit too much. But I've been consciously working on planning ahead and driving steadily. You'd think that would cause more stress. The contrary is true. I'm feeling much more relaxed and in control. Amazing.

Of course, since I'm a knitter, I also think about speed knitting. There are people who knit lightning-fast (I'm not one of them), their hands and fingers a blur of dexterity and focus. They often perform this feat without looking at their work.

Part of the pleasure of knitting is the process, the leisurely art of working with cashmere and silk, wool and cotton and sharing it with kindred spirits. So is there a place for speed in this craft?

I asked one of these speed-divas, "do you make a lot of mistakes doing that?" Nope. The knitting was wonderfully consistent in gauge, with nary a dropped stitch in sight. So I watched her technique and realized that the whole tossing versus throwing yarn was at the root of her fast Knits Per Minute. (Want to see what it looked like? Check out the "World's Fastest Knitter"

The continental knitting technique has definitely increased my speed, though I'm having to adjust some tension and gauge issues (much looser). It has also improved tension in my hands and reduced finger cramping. So while I really don't care about increasing knitting speed dramatically, it is nice to have an alternate method to give my muscles a rest.

Remnants of a busy week

Guess what.

The tone of voice I use when my kids are on "my last nerve" should NOT be the same tone I use at any time, for any reason, with my mom. Got my ears figuratively pulled with that one.

If you walk to Wal-Mart from Dunwoody Village, you may think you're somewhat anonymous, but at least three friends will have driven past that day and will comment with some amazement that you're WALKING ON ASHFORD-DUNWOODY ROAD.

In order to tour a prospective apartment, you have to turn over your driver's license. This is purportedly to keep undesirables out of a gated community, but it's really to log in you into some master database. My mom is now on someone's "hit list" after one tour.

Guys in kilts are really, really attractive, knobby knees and wrinkles notwithstanding.

The Chicken Whisperer is coming to Dunwoody Nature Center. How cool is that?

The Amtrak Crescent that travels from New York to Atlanta is putrid beyond measure. The bathrooms are awash in human waste, the seats are stained, the train makes "smoking stops" for its addicted passengers, and the staff is AWOL most of the night. Good luck with that as alternative transportation.

On the other hand, the Acela Express from New York to Baltimore is timely, speedy, fairly clean, and well run. Same company. Way different scenario.

Just because a knitting pattern says you need just five skeins, go ahead and buy the 6th. I need the 6th. And don't have it.

The same kid who, just a month before couldn't keep a thought in his head can overnight turn into someone with initiative and self-reliance. Joy.

The Georgia State Legislature is paving the way for local school systems to create four-day school weeks by lengthening the school day (hours of learning, not weeks). On one hand, that means an even more brutal homework load for high school students. On the other hand, three-day weekends!

I pooh-poohed the iPod as yet another unnecessary bit of indulgence, but my kids got one and now I want one, too. I want to hear Norah Jones, Patsy Cline, Nat King Cole, favorite big-hair-and-shoulder-pads 80's tunes, bits from Fiddler on the Roof and Grease and O Brother Where Art Thou?, toss in Rhapsody in Blue and the Brandenburg Concertos, and maybe a few Shaker melodies. I'm nothing if not eclectic, and there isn't a radio station out there that hits all the right notes for me. So why not?

To get one simple hand x-ray to establish bone age for the endocrinologist, we have to admit our son into Children's Healthcare/Scottish Rite outpatient clinic (a one-hour plus process), head to x-ray, get triaged behind patients who really do need to go first, finally get the x-ray, then get "released." I asked why, last time. "The insurance company requires it, and we have liability issues." Yet another reason healthcare costs are way higher than they need to be.

Food smells and tastes really good when someone else makes it.

Continental knitting is wicked fast. I can't believe I haven't used the technique before. I knitted two scarves with the working yarn twined through my left hand and churned out the rows. However, it's a much looser knit, so I can't switch techniques in the same sweater. The Piedmont Park Hoodie will have to creep along at throwing pace. But I'm lovin' the design. The back is lovely and I've cast on the two front sections (to be knit at the same time).

The new "Welcome to Dunwoody" sign expresses our Williamsburg personna. Tidily nostalgic, clean and simple, it's a good fit.

I learned something new.

I can't believe I haven't been knitting continental style. I just watched this video, and it made the miles and miles of ribbing on the recently completed Hanover jacket an impetus to do things quite differently.

When I learned to knit, it was with the "throwing" technique, and I have happily tossed yarn from right hand, over and around the left hand needle, and shifted needles from row to row.

One time, I was knitting in the waiting room of a train station. An elegant woman dressed in beautiful Indian raiment waved her hands at me, shook her head, and mimed taking the needles from me. I let her (the knitting community is amazingly receptive to such incursions) and she showed me how much FASTER her continental technique was. I tried a few stitches, and fumbled. Back to throwing. (She smiled, shook her head at me, and moved on to her train.)

So Continental knitting seemed too exotic, even cumbersome. But it's not. I just hadn't seen the technique up close and personal. Thanks to this handy dandy video and amazingly simple instructions, I want to invest some time in learning a new technique, with its requisite fumbling and miscues until my my muscle memory is up to speed.

I'll post pix of Hanover tomorrow. I'm delighted with the finished sweater and look forward to wearing it for the rest of this winter. It's going to be a mainstay for years to come, thanks to its classic lines and understated texture.

It's a new year, and time to learn a few new things. Continental style knitting, square foot gardening, and table loom weaving . . . this is FUN!