What worries? surprises? me about this clip

7 1/2 minutes Sean Bean swearing is how many of the various episodes I recognised.

Oh, and definitely, NSFW ;-)

Found via Strong Language.

July 2016

Read:

Shorts:

- The Vampire's New Clothes by Martin L. Shoemaker (http://www.galaxysedge.com/n1.htm)

- The Boy in the Giant Robot by Michael Thomas McCormick (DSF)

- Interrogation Cupcakes by Alexander Burns (http://everydayfiction.com/interrogation-cupcakes-by-alexander-burns/)

- Blind Side by Peter Wood (http://everydayfiction.com/blind-side-by-peter-wood/)

- Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast by Eugie Foster (http://www.apex-magazine.com/sinner-baker-fabulist-priest-red-mask-black-mask-gentleman-beast/)

- Beautiful Winter by Eugie Foster (http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com/cgi-bin/mag.cgi?do=issue&vol=isample&article=_013)

- Companion Trilogy: Companion by Mike Buckley (DSF)

- Companion Trilogy: Companionless by Mike Buckley (DSF)

- Companion Trilogy: Bareheaded by Mike Buckley (DSF)

- Drink Me by H. Victory (DSF)

- Useless Things by Maureen McHugh (http://www.apex-magazine.com/useless-things/)

- Dragon Slaying by Proxy by Mark Wolf (http://everydayfiction.com/dragon-slaying-by-proxy-by-mark-wolf/)

- Leeland and Dunce, On the Case by Amy Sisson (http://everydayfiction.com/leeland-and-dunce-on-the-case-by-amy-sisson/)

- The Big Hack by Reeves Wiedeman (http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/06/the-hack-that-could-take-down-nyc.html)

- A Piece of her Self by Liz Walker (http://everydayfiction.com/a-piece-of-her-self-by-liz-walker/)

- Writing Advice by James Van Pelt (DSF)

- Greetings from Earth! by Jon Wheeler (DSF)

- Under She Who Devours Suns by Benjanun Sriduangkaew (http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/under-she- -devours-suns/)

- Careers for Magical Creatures: A Fairy Godmother's Guide to Conduct with Clients by Sarina Dorie (DSF)

- Teenage Cosmonaut Suicide Love Song and Time Dilation Club by William Squirrell (DSF)

- On Impulse by Rita A. Popp (http://everydayfiction.com/on-impulse-by-rita-a-popp/)

- Expendable by Katherine Toran (http://everydayfiction.com/expendable-by-katherine-toran/)

- Company for the Holidays by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (DSF)

- Something Happened Here, But We’re Not Quite Sure What It Was by Paul McAuley (http://www.tor.com/2016/07/20/something-happened-here-but-were-not-quite-sure-what-it-was/)

- Stan by Rosalie Kempthorne (http://everydayfiction.com/stan-by-rosalie-kempthorne/)

- Vent Act by Graham Brand (http://everydayfiction.com/vent-act-by-graham-brand/)

- Repeat One by Andrew Neil McDonald (DSF)

- The Passing of the Book by Gerald Warfield (http://everydayfiction.com/the-passing-of-the-book-by-gerald-warfield/)

Novels:

- The Skeleton Road by Val MacDiarmid

- The King's Justice by Stephen Donaldson (K)

- The Secret Agent by Joseh Conrad (PG)

Non-fiction:

- Is Solitude the Secret to Unlocking Our Creativity? by Jory MacKay (http://observer.com/2016/06/is-solitude-the-secret-to-unlocking-our-creativity/)

- The Golden Age of Teaching Yourself Anything by Carlin Flora (https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201607/the-golden-age-teaching-yourself-anything)

- How technology disrupted the truth by Katharine Viner (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/12/how-technology-disrupted-the-truth)

- I’m With The Banned by Laurie Penny (medium.com/welcome-to-the-scream-room/im-with-the-banned-8d1b6e0b2932#.7w7dviglx)

- Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook by Carol Ekarius and Deborah Robson

SPUN:

- 25g Shetland (white)

- 25g Falkland (white)

- 18g BFL (white)

- 19g Romney Marsh (carded), 5g Romney Marsh (uncarded)

- c35g "candy cane"

- 50g fine wool with slubs

- ?? dyed alpaca

And various bits of sewing/alterations...

Thoughts on spinning and knitting with the results

For Tour de Fleece 2016, I created 50g and around 175m of something mostly approaching fingering weight, think slightly skinny sock yarn. However, there are stretches that are thread and some chunkier runs, too. There was one knot, since cut off and the ends spliced during knitting. There were definitely two areas where one strand on the 2-ply broke but the yarn itself remained intact. There are also some patches of overtwistedness where little spikes of highly-twisted thread stick out. They're not much more obtrusive than the odd hair--sheep or added cat--and disappear mostly into the knitted fabric.

I'm giving myself a generous 6/10 for it.

Knitting up, it's like a Shetland yarn, grippy. It's also very forgiving: I've pulled or knit back several rows and it's not broken or tangled and has knit up again quite happily. It's a little splitty in places, but not horrendously so. And the big test, the nupps with the make 5 from one and purl 5 together on the next row, is fine. Possibly the easiest experience I've had with that particular technique.

Maybe 6 1/2 out of ten for the quality of the yarn.

As for the pattern I chose: "Crunchy Leaves". (I called the yarn "Parsnip" so I suppose my project is "Crunchy Parsnip".) It's a long narrow lace scarf with nupps. I worried that the lace and texture would not work with a more than slightly irregular yarn with flecks of colour in it. But, the irregularities are mostly evening out and the nupps and coloured nepps are hamonising nicely with one another. "Crunchy Leaves" is a first for me in that it's a lace pattern with a changing stitch count going from row to row. I've always fought shy of that particular complication. I like my rectangles or regular patterns of increases or decreases. But it's fine. I had, admittedly, worked out the stitch count for each row and I check pretty much every row. The first time it was off, I unpicked a couple of rows until I trusted things to be right and recommenced. The second time, I saw the problem and fixed it on the next row so it doesn't show.

I'm three-and-a-half repeats (of a suggested nineteen) in and the slightly stiff beginnings to the fabric are now loosening of as it develops some length. The lace pattern is clear (if place on a dark background) and it doesn't feel too prickly. Washing and blocking is going to be necessary to produce the wavy-edged shape and soften the fabric a little more.

I have no worries about continuing with this successfully. It's a comfortable yarn to knit with. And a pattern that's crunchy without being too hard. (I happily carried on with it whilst watching "The Secret Agent" on TV, and even Beck where I have to read the subtitles.)

So, fairly soon, I'll have a new scarf for the Autumn. Cue a heatwave? (I bought a new coat on sale in May and the sun cracked the rocks for the next week or more. So I wouldn't be surprised.)

And plans after this? Spinning-wise, more practice. I'd like to produce 100g of something knittable with a more consistent thickness. I want to do this both fingering (or finer) weight and something chunkier. I find thicker harder and scarier. A slow spindle is less trustworthy than a fast one. I'd also like to extend the project: go from fleece (I have some) right through to a knitted up pattern (one I design myself, maybe).

Before that, however, I have a red camisole top to sew up and the lace edgings to knit. I have a shawl to pull back--yet again--and restart. Third time lucky. This time without failing to read the bit that says all wrong side rows are purled. (No, the all-knit rows version is not showing the lace up well enough for me to continue with the error.) This latter project needs tackling soon: I find I can only see what I'm doing with it in very bright natural light, i.e. outdoors in the sunshine. If it's not done by sometime in September I guess I'm putting it away again until next year. (I put it by previously because the elderly white cat pee-ed on the bag and made it all stink. The smell, like the cat, is now gone.)