One Clapotis Finished; Another Clapotis Begun

Silk and wool, a 50/50 blend from Lorna's Laces, was used to complete the Clapotis Scarf begun in August. I added a crocheted edging, and the scarf/shawl finished off in an 18" x 70" size. 

Since the clapotis pattern was a fun one to knit, I started another one, decreasing the width.  This time I'm using the very affordable Hand Dyed Knit Picks Lace Weight Shimmer Yarn (70% baby alpaca wool/30% silk) and will add beads to the perimeter of the scarf.  This is what Knit Picks says about the lace weight Shimmer yarn:

From subtle to striking, Shimmer takes lace knitting to the top of the statement-making meter. The silk adds a luxurious sheen to the softest baby alpaca, and the hand dyed colors are a visual treat. The alpaca and silk blend provides a level of warmth that disregards the feather light quality of the finished garment. A scarf in Shimmer will add a punch of color to your outfit, but a shawl could be the dramatic focal point of any ensemble.

This is the first lace weight yarn I've purchased. I am using two strands of the yarn while knitting, increasing the diameter of the yarn by 100% with this method, but the stitches are still light weight. The baby alpaca wool and silk blend has a nice feel to it: very soft!  The beads shown in the picture are 8 mm seed beads in blues, lavender and turquoise and will be added as a finishing embellishment.

The Clapotis Scarf pattern can be found by clicking on the highlighted text.

Why I Oppose the Current Health Care Reform Bill

Generally, this blog has been a stage for writing about things that are important to me. Obvious topics have been arts, crafts, eclectic writings and things I would like to keep categorized and saved on the web for ready accessibility.

Because I spent over twenty years in the business of health care administration and was the first Executive Director for a managed care plan in Denver in 1982, I believe it is time to put down a few personal thoughts on what our government may be doing to change the way in which health care will be delivered in the future to its citizens. I have the credibility of also having obtained a Master's Degree from the University of Colorado in Health Administration.  I have also owned and operated a private business for physical therapists statewide in the administration of services to clients. (With all those "I" pronouns, it sounds like our current President expounding, doesn't it?)

In researching a bit on health care reform under the Democratic plan, I came across a few interesting tidbits of political talk regarding health coverage for the disabled, quoted at this site from an August address by President Obama in Montana:

If you currently qualify for Medicaid — your son currently qualifies for Medicaid, he would continue to qualify for Medicaid. So it would not have an impact on his benefit levels and his ability to get the care that he needs.

My response to this comment, with the encounter glowingly reported by Easter Seals, was something like "what is said and what is accomplished are two different things; wait for it in writing."

Credit goes to The National Ledger and US Senator Kyl (AZ) who said it well today:
National Ledger - How Much Will Government Health Care Cost? Meet Dr. Government

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Making a Yarn Cake, Courtesy of Gnat

Because part of my reason for blogging is to keep things readily organized while doing craft projects, here is one idea I am cataloguing for the next time I make a ball of yarn from a purchased skein.  This quick process is called a center pull yarn cake, and allows you to pull yarn from the center of the ball rather than from the outside.  This will eliminate that pesky ball from rolling around on the floor and creating chaos, and resulting in a dog or cat toy when you really just wanted to knit!

This website, hosted by Gnat, has an excellent tutorial worth a read;  I am keeping it handy on my blog because it looks a lot easier than how I have been laboriously performing the maneuver of getting yarn skeins ready for knitting.

At this same website, you can listen to her podcast (I just downloaded it to iTunes for listening on my walk today).  The podcast is called BarknKnit.  She likes dogs, can you tell from the title of her podcast?  I might let Libby and Mercy listen to her on the computer today while she barks and knits and I play internet Scrabble.  woof!