Hooray for New Yarn!

[crysthewolf]

So for the first time in evar and evar, I ACTUALLY have a bit of extra cash. I decided I want to spend a teeeeeeensy bit of it, on this site: http://www.knitpicks.com . The self-striping sock yarn makes me go oooo and aaaaaaaah. I’m so excited. I haven’t decided what I want to get yet tho. Here’s the self-striping sock-yarn section… any suggestions?

For the time being I’ve been working on the ever-elusive afghan project (no, it’s not a suicide bomber.  Elana already beat you to that joke, sorry.)  I picked a color, picked a pattern from “Beginner’s Guide - Knit Stitches and Easy Projects“, and this is what I’ve got so far:

From knitting

It makes me happy. I like the horshoe stitch in particular…

From knitting

it just feels very, flow-ey. Is that a word? And if so, am I butchering it? =)

Been mostly working it while Chris and I get caught up on Battlestar Galactica (DO NOT spoil me. I’m only just starting season 3. If you aren’t sure what you’ve seen in which season, JUST DON’T TALK ABOUT IT. I am SERIOUSLY sick of being spoiled on this show, and I WILL eat you.) I’m hoping to be caught up by the finale… and I’m equally hopeful that someone will throw a finale party.

It’s nice to be making an afghan but it’s definitely an exercise in patience. The therapist suggests DO NOT PULL OUT THE PROJECT AND START OVER.

So NOW the question becomes… do I stick with a solid color, or do I vary??? Hmmmm, decisions decisions…

Love,
Crystal

Originally published at Crystal Knits. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[libation.livejournal.com]

BSG!!!!

No spoilers except I can tell you that it does not take a dive, it has remained consistently good and I imagine will be until the last drop of the final episode. This show amazes me. The most recent episode was probably the best of season 4 and easily one of the better ones of the whole show. The writing and acting and the well-thought-out character arcs just blow me away every time.

[echoweaver.livejournal.com]

Wow. I've stopped watching 1/3 of the way into Season 4 b/c I'm so frustrated. I should push myself to start watching again and see if I can recover my sense of enchantment in seasons 1-3.

[mycybertuffet.livejournal.com]

1)That looks gorgeous.

2)I just hope the internet doesn't think I'm racist now. ;-)

3) I envy you getting to discover BSG for the first time ... wish I could do it again. Libation's right - show is frakkin' ROCKING THE HOUSE this half-season. Enjoy Season 3 - most of my favorite eps are in there.

[crysthewolf.livejournal.com]

Eep, didn't think about that, lol. Sorry. ;)

[mycybertuffet.livejournal.com]

Lol - j/k.

(I AM racist!)

[crysthewolf.livejournal.com]

I'm not.

'Course nobody BELIEVES that, 'cause I'm white, and all white people are racist.

Which I find terribly ironic.

[mycybertuffet.livejournal.com]

Well, my personal belief is *everybody's* racist, at least to some degree:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbwNSNLPIfw&feature=related

[crysthewolf.livejournal.com]

While I understand the idea behind that sentiment, I don't really believe it. Of course I suppose it depends on how you define "racist", but considering it's such a loaded word (with good reason), I chose to define it more narrowly than some:

*a person with a prejudiced belief that one race is superior to others
*discriminatory especially on the basis of race or religion

I think that what people often call racism is really cultural ignorance and/or social clumsiness. I'll admit that I'm sometimes culturally ignorant, and sometimes I'm clumsy, but I'm not racist.

[crysthewolf.livejournal.com]

That's not to say that I'm never socio-culturally ignorant (or clumsy), but there's a distinct difference.

[mycybertuffet.livejournal.com]

I don't think we can really prevent ourselves from having subconscious reactions to people based on both social representations and prior experiences.

For example: I've been harassed by a lot of black men in the past. There are a lot of sociocultural reasons related to their history of oppression that contribute to this dynamic, but I can't pretend it's not there (though I've tried). This, coupled with constant exposure to gangsta rap that is deeply disrespectful and exploitative of women (again, there are a lot of other factors that contribute to this being such a continuously perpetuated image of black men in our society), has led to me feeling generally nervous and on guard when I'm around young black men who dress and speak in certain ways.

Do I *like* the fact that I have this reaction? Not at all.

Is it racist? You bet.

[crysthewolf.livejournal.com]

See, that's where I think I a) define racism differently and b) perhaps have more command of my reactions (it's not noble or anything, just something that's a part of who I am.)

I think that racism is a belief, whereas your subconscious reaction isn't necessarily controllable. Now, what you chose to DO with that is up to you (ie, whether or not you're willing to take responsibility for it, and whether or not you allow your actions to be dictated by it), but I still wouldn't call it racism. If racism is a belief that your culture is superior to others, that's rather different than associating a particular appearance or characteristic to a need for self-preservation.

[mycybertuffet.livejournal.com]

But subconscious beliefs are just as much beliefs as conscious ones. If anything, they effect us *more*.

And it's hard to draw the line between racism and not-racism. For example, at what does recognizing a problem within a culture different from our own become racism? And if you immediately find yourself internally preparing to respond to someone from that culture as though they have the same traits, is that racism, or just an intelligent way to deal with people from different backgrounds? Or both?

[mycybertuffet.livejournal.com]

At the same time, we can't rake ourselves over the coals too much - our brains are hard-wired to create heuristics for reacting to and dealing with the world based on available information. Stereotyping is normal, and even, often, helpful. Stereotypes help us hone our instincts and make rapid decisions of vital importance. So I feel like the answer isn't to deny that it's happening, but to be extra aware of it in ourselves so we can effectively combat it with other means of decision-making when our subconscious, knee-jerk reactions are inappropriate to the circumstances.

[crysthewolf.livejournal.com]

Which is again why I wouldn't call it racism. Stereotyping I might accept, by a very, very basic definition. But I still find it important to draw a distinction. I don't know that I really think "racist" is a word that should be treated casually.

[mobobocita.livejournal.com]

STARBUCK IS A GIRL.

Yeah, that's all the BSG I know. :P

I like it in one color and you've passed me in Skillz. I can't do anything but straight Knit.

[crysthewolf.livejournal.com]

SKILLZ!!!! ...I haz dem. =D

[libation.livejournal.com]

But I still have a crush on Starbuck even though I'm a girl too! She's that hot.

[crysthewolf.livejournal.com]

I do too!!!! Um, but I'm bi. ;)

[libation.livejournal.com]

I'm not! That's the power of Starbuck! ;)

[cori-chronicles.livejournal.com]

*giggles*

[mobobocita.livejournal.com]

*snort*

If only you knew me....

[libation.livejournal.com]

?

[pixilated0725.livejournal.com]

Love the knitting! :) Beautiful! I like the one color look too.

[pixilated0725.livejournal.com]

BTW, I might be screwed as far as SPA events for Who's Yer Con. I missed the deadline on table reg. and there aren't any tables left...at all. lol Oops! Oh, well...

[crysthewolf.livejournal.com]

Awwwwww. Well I guess the gamer-widows'll just have to jump in. ;)

I think I thought you were doing the events for GenCon itself... are you doing that too or were you just doing it for Who's Yer Con?