History -- (HERstory)

History was made twice yesterday: once locally and once nationally. 

Yesterday, Fermilab here in IL appointed its 7th director: the first woman to run the lab. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is located in Batavia, and it's the leading particle physics lab in the US. It was established in 1967. Lia Merminga is a physicist and will assume her duties this month. 

And yesterday, women all across the United States celebrated the confirmation of the newest Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson. She will be sworn in this summer. She is the first black female justice on the court. She is incredibly qualified, which means the GQP had a stroke during her confirmation hearings and acted like a squad of petulant two-year-olds who were constipated and deprived of naps for several days. 

I didn't watch the hearings (I've got to watch my blood pressure), but I followed things in the Chicago Tribune, hardly the bastion of the liberal press (if such a thing actually exists anymore, anyway, what with all the news congolmerates). That was enough to keep me sleepless, if I wasn't already suffering from insomnia. 

Ted (Cancun) Cruz is living proof, by the way, of "the bottom of the class." He and Justice Brown Jackson were classmates at Harvard. And Ted, being...Ted... asked some of the most incredibly stupid questions ever. The entire process, to quote Susan Collins (yeah, I know, right?) "is broken." It was all about scoring points and demeaning her, waiting for her to break, kind of like Frat Boy "I Like Beer" Brett K... Of course, if she'd have shown one scintilla of emotion, they'd have all crowed, "Oh, look, such a snowflake - she has NO JUDICIAL TEMPERAMENT."

And yet, Frat Boy, literally screamed during his hearings. Hmmmm. I wonder what's different about THIS nominee? Any guesses?

And I was thinking about this last night... I read somewhere where someone called her "Notorious KBJ" and while that's perhaps a nice tribute to "Notorious RBG" and it's almost as alliterative, I would suggest to NOT call her that. 

Allow her the dignity of her own tenure, and her own moniker. She will be forging a path that Justices O'Connor and Ginsburg started to pave, and Justice Brown Jackson will put her own spin on it. So let her acquire her own appellation on her own merit. 

The Knitting...

The Secret Project proceeds apace. Zooming along (as much as one can zoom along) with Seed Stitch, on the final bit of this piece. 

I can't remember if I showed you this one, so if I did, I'm sorry... This is a cowl, crocheted in Urchin Stitch (I've also seen it called "Star," but my book called it the other name). I love that stitch; it's easy to memorize, and has a lovely rhythm to it. You can truly buzz along with this. I did crochet this flat, and wove the ends in. It's a Lion Brand Mandala cake, the color called "Sprite." 

I like this cowl; it can be worn several ways, and it's washable acrylic - but cozy. It makes a fairly drapey fabric for crochet (which to me is usually always a bit stiffer than knitting). 

I could be wrong on that; I haven't done any fine crochet. I know my grandma did doilies with what was called "crochet cotton," and she must have crocheted them because she didn't knit much. She could -- she taught me. But I always remember her crocheting. She did knit some booties in very fine yarn, but they were never completed. For all I know, she was playing with a pattern. She never knitted or crocheted to a written pattern. I remember asking her about one once, and she said, "I have no idea - I can't read those..." She was taught visually and orally. I still can't figure out her waffle stitch, no matter how much I've researched and tried to "read" her crochet. 

I have a close-up of the stitch so you can see it. I seriously think this is such a cool one to use in just about anything: baby stuff to adult
accessories. I haven't used it with a really busy yarn, though. I suppose it would obscure the detail a bit, depending on the yarn. 

This colorway is a pastel rainbow and I normally prefer a softer blend from one color to the other, but in this case, the straight line demarcation works. One could wear each color in the front as the color fits the outfit. Or it wouldn't matter -- either way. 

I probably would do another one. This is a DK weight yarn, and it worked up super-quick. I have plenty of it in stash, too. It's a nice, mindless project that can be put in the gift-stash for a person who's worth it. 

Knit-Worthy...

Let's discuss "knit-worthy." We all know what that means, and I've heard non-knitting friends use it too. One of my quilter friends uses the term to decide who gets one of her works of art. 

I have a few friends who are knit-worthy. Others, even though they admire the knitting, I can tell that they would be all, "Oh, isn't this nice?" with that tone of voice which suggested "how can I get rid of this and never wear it?" 

Those of us who craft a lot know that tone. I learned the hard way. I spent a lot of time on a wedding announcement that I had cross-stitched for a couple. They opened it up at the shower, and the bride looked at me, blinked a couple times, and said, "Oh. That's nice." 

Now, I didn't expect a brass band, or a parade, but even my MOTHER leaned over and said, "Well, that's not exactly a ringing thank you, is it?" 

I've become picky in who gets my knitting or my needlework. It's a lot of time and a lot of money, quite frankly. Especially the needlework, which is often framed. Framing isn't cheap. 

But so far, now that I'm more discerning, my heart gets broken a little less. 

Random Picture...

We got new awnings! After about 8 years, the awnings on our building were looking a bit shabby. So the landlord decided to replace all of them. In December, we had some pretty horrid wind storms and the few awnings which were intact ended up being torn. Then February and March -- sideways winds of 60 mph+ - it was pretty scary! 

One morning, the parking lot was filled with trucks, and there was a flatbed rumbling next to the rear exit. Guys on ladders took down all the awnings...which was kind of funny - had to tell my students to "tune in to your breathing and draw your attention inward" while workmen were clambering up and down ladders with power wrenches taking down the metal awning frames!

A few weeks later, these beauties were installed. The whole plaza looks so neat and spiffy. 

It's so nice to have a great landlord! 

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