Latvian Braid and other adventures

Sometimes I find Audiobooks a struggle. I love the Great Courses but there are so few on non-Western history. I like the courses because they are generally long and I can listen to them through a weekend as I knit, tidy, and generally space out. Subconsciously ruminating on what to listen to next, The Forsyte Saga suddenly popped into my mind on the way home Friday. I’d read the books when I was 17 or 18 and had a vague recollection of them being hard going. The reviews on Audible were glowing. It took me about an hour to get used to the narrator but he really does capture not just the characters but also the tone of the underlying themes of the books.

Last week I perused Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2013 featuring a hat with Latvian Braid. In my continual stash busting, I’d bought some KP Telemark yarn when it was being discontinued to make gloves. Needing another pair of fingerless convertibles, (they really are SO useful in the winter). I decided to conquer Latvian Braid. A five-minute You Tube video and I was off and knitting. It really is so easy and creates such a stunning effect. I used Ann Budd’s The Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns for the gauge cast on numbers and the thumb gusset.

 

Gloves with Latvian Braid knit to match jacket

 

Toupie had a fit of litter rejection this week. How do I explain that his normal litter was not in stock and the litter I bought was the only one available in a size I could carry from the store. After scooping it out of the box a few times only to see it swept up and returned, he got the message.

Deaths and Taxes

A great many words will be written and spoken about the “march” today in Washington, Not much about last night’s powerful and poignant silent protest. A little background. Since the grand jury verdicts on police involved deaths, there have been daily peaceful protests in Washington. Some organized with large numbers of participants. Some with just a handful people. I happen to see these because they are occurring near where I work.

 

Friday night during rush hour, a silent vigil with candles and signs the length of 16^th street (which runs some 8 miles from Lafayette Square at the back of the White House to the Maryland DC line and beyond.) There were no speeches or chanting. Just people standing singly or in groups, some with signs, most with candles, torches, or oil lamps. Luminarias lined the pavements north of where I live. It belied the cheer of the holiday season lights twinkling from windows, balconies and house fronts and accompanied by drivers honking their support and the ringing of bells from supporting houses of worship.

On January 1^st, a new EU VAT regulation will go into effect from small digital service and content providers. This law will require them to collect, pay, and retain transaction records for all sales to EU countries regardless of local sales or VAT regulation. For example, if I sell to an EU country, I would be required to collect and pay the tax required in that country. This will affect all small traders selling digital products like patterns, e-books and e-courses as well as small web hosting businesses.

Here are some links for more information:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/25/eus-new-vatmoss-rules-could-create-a-vatmess-for-startups/
http://euvataction.org/2014/12/12/vat-a-mess-new-eu-tax-rules-set-to-close-small-businesses/

Please sign the petition:

https://www.change.org/p/pierre-moscovici-a-unilateral-suspension-of-the-introduction-of-the-new-eu-vat-laws-for-micro-businesses-and-sole-traders

 

Quiet Week

It’s been a quiet week as I worked on the second Gansey Leg Warmer. This and the She’s Electric skirt are the first projects where I really understand the rhythm or music of the knitting. 

My goal is to finish the legwarmers this week and to start knitting the second glove. Speaking of goals, I’m way behind on my yardage knit goal for the year. 

Toupie has recovered from the excitement of the new neighbors moving in. But the barking jags of various dogs in the building keep him intrigued when he’s not escaping into the hallway to see people.