Kinetic Art

Ever since the day we started playing Mousetrap, I've had a fascination with Rube Goldberg-type contraptions.

Right in Philadelphia Airport

Who would have believed that one of my favorite contraptions would be right outside baggage claims in Terminal C at Philadelphia International Airport?



Yes, this delightful piece of art looks out onto the waiting area for offsite parking vans, so I used to get to see this performance art every week.

Next time you fly into Philadelphi, try finding this, it's worth it...much better than the video would indicate.

Current Knitting

I am glad to say that the body of the Icelandic wool pullover is complete.

I even decided to try it on to make sure the basic size was good.

A couple of things.  You'll note I've grafted the shoulders (I use three-needle bindoff) and I've picked up the stitches for the collar.  One of the things I noticed is that the stitch pattern I'm using is slightly less defined when I knit it flat than when I knit it in the round.  I'm thinking that perhaps I'm slipping the stitch differently, but I only do that on the front-facing row in both methods.  Perhaps my purling is tighter than my knitting...hmmm...who knew.

Readers' Comments/Questions

I never realized so many of the readers here are such recipe whores.  Ted writes, "And can we have the recipe for Cuban Bread, please and thank-you?"

I contacted Thaddeus' sister, and this is the recipe she uses for Cuban bread (and she never uses the optional sesame or poppy seeds, and if I remember correctly, she used to put boiling water in a pan at the bottom of the oven).  Suffice it to say, we used to eat the crust on this bread and throw away the doughy insides.  Here's a photo scavenged from the web that best looks like I remember it.

Ron writes, " I second Ted's request. However, I must say the photos of your bread are great."

Looks are VERY deceiving...I can make a bread look rustic and tasty, even when its devoid of flavor.  Really.

Ron goes on to write, "I am also interested in how others do set-in sleeves from the top down. Do you follow Walker or Righetti? Or have you developed your own system?"

I'm not sure what method I'll use...I have books by both Walker (Knitting from the Top) and Righetti (Knitting in Plain English)on top-down knitting, so I'll check them out before I start the sleeves.  I was planning on doing a short-row shaping at the shoulder, but that limits the amount of excess fabric I can add to the top of the sleeve.