Recycling t-shirts

After reading "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" by Walter Rodney, I'm feeling guilty again about the ways underdeveloped labor is exploited for our benefit. Nowhere does this happen as badly as clothing (well, and food... and toys). I have terrible pangs of conscience whenever I buy a new item of clothing now. Was the cotton genetically modified, requiring more irrigation water and chemicals to grow, and driving cotton farmers into debt-related suicide? Were the workers in the mills that turned the raw cotton into yarn exposed to terrible working conditions and underpaid? Who made the shirts - were they paid a fair wage?

I just feel better recycling old shirts. Salvation Army is becoming my best friend. I feel like it doesn't count if I get it used.

I found a great book on treating t-shirts (or any cotton clothing, really) to make it more decorative. One of the techniques is called "Discharge Dyeing". You use a bleach solution to remove color from a dark colored shirt instead of dyeing a white shirt. For the one in the picture I used a solution of 1 cup bleach to 3 cups water. If you worry about the bleach/dioxin thing you can try the RIT decoloring stuff instead. I laid the shirt out flat then spider walked my fingers to scrunch it into mountains and then used some rubber bands and cotton yarn to tie it into a tight bundle. I submerged it in the bleach solution until it got the shade I wanted then put it in a deactivating solution I had ready - 1/4 cup vinegar to 1 quart (4 cups) water.

The cool thing about discharge dyeing is that you can use shirts with stains, bleach spots, whatever, and they'll look great when you're done!

Knitting Activists Needed!

Help spread the word - Code Pink is seeking donation of pink or green 4" X 4" squares for a giant quilt as part of their demonstration for peace in the Middle East at the White House on Mother's Day. For more information see their website.

Anna Baltzer Wings of Peace Shawl

This shawl is dedicated to Anna Baltzer, a peace advocate for Palestine. Interestingly to me, she is Jewish and is advocating on behalf of the Palestinians and she is not alone. You can see the video she has made here. You can buy it here.

One of the startling things to me is the almost complete media blackout in America of what is really happening in Palestine, which she covers in her video. Anna's colleague Kara was traveling between the U.S. and Palestine when she came across two conflicting Newsweek issues. The international version had a sympathetic article about the "Plight of the Palestinians" at the top. The same article was not only absent from the corresponding U.S. Newsweek cover (see the top line)... it was omitted from the entire magazine! How can we exercise our democratic responsibilities and make informed choices when we are being blocked from getting important information?

Yes, and I just found out about the Campbell-Bennerman report, it is jaw-dropping, eye bugging important toward understanding the politics of this thing.

This was knit on #10 needles using Peace Fleece's worsted weight "Negotiation Grey" - it took three skeins and about 10 feet more - a total of around 603 yards. I love that the color is negotiation grey. It reminds me of the efforts of Beyond War - where they say that part of the roadblock to peace is a culture that sees things in black and white - either a good guy or a bad guy, rather than shades of grey - we all have good and bad in us really and anyone can change.

Wings of Peace Shawl


This pattern looks very long but it is repetitive, especially once you get to the long feathers, it's easy but looks complicated. Really. You may find you can knit long stretches without even looking at the pattern.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you download a .pdf of this pattern to print out, the formatting below is messy. download now.

Abbreviations:
K - Knit
YO - yarn over
SSK - slip, slip, knit slipped stitches tog.
SSSK - slip, slip, slip, knit three slipped stitches together.
K2 TOG - knit two stitches as if they were one.
K3 TOG - knit three stitches as if they were one.
KFB - knit front and back of loop - making two stitches from one.
K3 INTO 1 - knit, yo, knit in the same stitch - making three stitches from one.
S2KP2– centered double decrease. sl2, k1, p2sso is an abbreviation for slip two, knit one, pass two over. Slip two stitches together as if to knit, knit one stitch, then pass the two slipped stitches over the stitch you just knit. This results in a centered double decrease.
PPSO - pass previous stitch over.
BO - bind off. When it says how many to bind off, count by the number of finished stitch loops you’ve done. When binding off to the next feather - on the purl side the stitch left on the needle should be the first feather stitch you come to. On the knit side you bind off to the last stitch BEFORE the first feather stitch. You’ll see when you get there. In order to keep the edges from curling outward, bind off VERY LOOSELY!

CO 77
Row 1: knit
Row 2: purl
Row 3: knit
Row 4: purl
Row 5: K1, YO, K7, YO, K1,
(YO, K1, YO, K7)X3, (YO, K1)X2, YO, K7, YO, K1,
(YO, K1, YO, K7)X3, (YO, K1)X2, YO, K7, YO, K1
Row 6: purl
Row 7: K2, YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG, YO, K2,
(YO, K3, YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG)X3, YO, K2,
YO, K3, YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG, YO, K2,
(YO, K3, YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG)X3, YO, K2,
YO, K3, YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG, YO, K2
Row 8: purl
Row 9: K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K, K2TOG, YO, SSK, K3 INTO 1, K, YO K,
(K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK)X3, K3 INTO 1, K, YO, K,
K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K3 INTO 1, K, YO, K,
(K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK)X3, K3 INTO 1, K, YO, K,
K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K3 INTO 1
Row 10: purl
Row 11: K, K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K, K3 INTO 1, K2, YO, K, YO, K2,
(K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K)X3, K3 INTO 1, K2, YO, K, YO, K2,
K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K, K3 INTO 1, K2, YO, K, YO, K2,
(K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K)X3, K3 INTO 1, K2, YO, K, YO, K2,
K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K, K3 INTO 1, K
Row 12: purl
Row 13: KFB,
K, K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO, SSK,
(K, K3 INTO 1, K, K3 TOG, YO, K, YO, SSSK)X4,
K, K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO, SSK,
K, K3 INTO 1, K, K3 TOG, YO, K, YO, SSSK,
K, K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO, SSK,
(K, K3 INTO 1, K, K3 TOG, YO, K, YO, SSSK)X4,
K, K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO, SSK,
K, K3 INTO 1, K, KFB
Row 14: purl
Row 15: K2, YO, K4, K2 TOG,
YO, K2, (YO, K3, YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG)X5,
YO, K2, (YO, K3, YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG)X2,
YO, K2, (YO, K3, YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG)X5,
YO, K2, YO, K3, YO, SSK, K4, YO, K2
Row 16: purl
Row 17: KFB, K2TOG, YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K3 INTO 1, K, YO, K,
(K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK)X5, K3 INTO 1, K, YO, K,
(K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK)X2, K3 INTO 1, K, YO, K,
(K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK)X5, K3 INTO 1, K, YO, K,
K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, KFB
Row 18: purl
Row 19: KFB, K2, YO, K, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K, K3 INTO 1, K2, YO, K, YO, K2,
(K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K)X5,
K3 INTO 1, K2, YO, K, YO, K2,
(K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K)X2,
K3 INTO 1, K2, YO, K, YO, K2,
(K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K)X5,
K3 INTO 1, K2, YO, K, YO, K2,
K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, K, YO, K2, KFB
Row 20: purl
Row 21: KFB, K, K2 TOG, YO, K2, YO, K3, YO, SSK,
(K, K3 INTO 1, K, K3 TOG, YO, K, YO, SSSK)X6,
K, K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO, SSK
(K, K3 INTO 1, K, K3 TOG, YO, K, YO, SSSK)X2,
K, K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO, SSK
(K, K3 INTO 1, K, K3 TOG, YO, K, YO, SSSK)X6,
K, K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO, K2, YO, SSK, K, KFB
Row 22: purl
Row 23: K2, K3 TOG, YO, K3, YO, K2, K2 TOG,
(YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG, YO, K3)X7, YO, K2,
(YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG, YO, K3)X2,
YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG, YO, K2, YO, K3
(YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG, YO, K3)X6,
YO, SSK, K3, K3 TOG, YO, K3, YO, K3, YO, SSSK, K2
Row 24: purl
Row 25: K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K3 INTO 1, K,
(YO, SSK, K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG)X7,
YO, SSK, K3 INTO 1, K, YO, K, K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG,
(YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG)X2,
YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K3 INTO 1, K, YO, K,
(K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK)X7
K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG, YO, K, K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K
Row 26: purl
Row 27: K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K, K3 INTO 1, K2, YO, K, YO, K2
(K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K)X7, K3 INTO 1, K2, YO, K, YO, K2
(K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K)X3, K3 INTO 1, K2, YO, K, YO, K2,
(K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K)X7, K3 INTO 1, K2, YO, K, YO, K2,
K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK
Row 28: purl
Row 29: (K, YO, SSSK, K, K3 INTO 1, K, K3 TOG, YO)X22, K
Row 30: purl
Row 31: K2, YO, (SSK, K3, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO)X21, SSK, K3, K2 TOG, YO, K2
Row 32: purl
Row 33: K3 INTO 1, K2,
(YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, K3 INTO 1, K2, K2 TOG)X10,
YO, SSK, K, K2TOG, YO, SSK, K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG,
(YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K2, K3 INTO 1)X10,
YO, SSK, K, K2 TOG, YO, K2, K3 INTO 1
Row 34: purl
Row 35: K, K3 INTO 1, K2, (K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K3 INTO 1, K3)X10,
K2 TOG, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K, K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG,
(YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K3, K3 INTO 1, K2 TOG)X10, YO, S2KP2, YO, SSK, K2, K3 INTO 1, K
Row 36: purl
Row 37: K2, K3 INTO 1, K4, SSK, (YO, SSK, K, K3 INTO 1, K4, K3 TOG)X10, YO, SSK, K2,
K3 INTO 1, K2, K2 TOG, (YO, SSSK, K4, K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG)X10, YO, K2 TOG, K4,
K3 INTO 1, K2
Row 38: purl
Row 39: SSK, K, K3 INTO 1, K4, K3 TOG, (YO, K3, K3 INTO 1, K4, K3 TOG)X10,
YO, K4, K3 INTO 1, K4, YO, (SSSK, K4, K3 INTO 1, K3, YO)X10,
SSSK, K4, K3 INTO 1, K, K2 TOG
Row 40: purl
Row 41: K3, (K3 INTO 1, K4, K3 TOG, YO, SSK, K2)X10,
K3 INTO 1, K4, K2 TOG, YO, SSSK, K3, K3 INTO 1, K3, K3 TOG, YO, SSK,
(K4, K3 INTO 1, K2, K2 TOG, YO, SSSK)X10, K4, K3 INTO 1, K3
Row 42: purl
Row 43: (SSK, K2, K3 INTO 1, K4, K3 TOG, YO)X11, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5,
(YO, SSSK, K4, K3 INTO 1, K2, K2 TOG)X11
Row 44: purl
Row 45: (SSK, K2, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG, YO)X11, SSK, K4, K3 INTO 1, K4, K2 TOG,
(YO, SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K2, K2 TOG)X11
Row 46: purl
Row 47: (SSK, K2, K3 INTO 1, K5, K3 TOG, YO)X11, SSK, K4, K3 INTO 1, K4, K2 TOG,
(YO, SSSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K2, K2 TOG)X11
Row 48: purl
Row 49: SAME AS ROW 47
Row 50: purl
Row 51: (K4, K3 INTO 1, K5, K3 TOG, YO)X11, SSK, K4, K3 INTO 1, K4, K2 TOG,
(YO, SSSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K4)X11
Row 52: purl
Row 53: (SSK, K3, K3 INTO 1, K5, K3 TOG, YO)X11, SSK, K4, K3INTO 1, K4, K2 TOG,
(YO, SSSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K3, K2 TOG)X11
Row 54: purl
Row 55: SAME AS ROW 53
Row 56: purl
Row 57: (K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K3 TOG, YO)X11, K6, K3 INTO 1, K6,
(YO, SSSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5)X11
Row 58: purl
Row 59: (SSK, K4, K3 INTO 1, K5, K3 TOG, YO)X11, SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG,
(YO, SSSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K4, K2 TOG)X11
Row 60: purl
Row 61: SAME AS ROW 59
Row 62: purl
Row 63: (K6, K3 INTO 1, K5, K3 TOG, YO)X11, SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG,
(YO, SSSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K6)X11
Row 64: purl
Row 65: (SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K3 TOG, YO)X4,, SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG,
(YO, K, YO, SSK, K11, K2 TOG)X4, YO, K, (YO, SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K3 TOG)X2, YO, SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG, (YO, SSSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG)X2, (YO, K, YO, SSK, K11, K2 TOG)X4, YO, K, YO, SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG, (YO, SSSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG)X4
Row 66: purl
Row 66: purl
Row 67: (SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K3 TOG, YO)X3, SSK, K, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG, YO, K, YO, SSK, K11, K2 TOG, (YO, K3, YO, SSK, K9, K2 TOG)X4, YO, K2, YO, SSSK,
(K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K3 TOG, YO, SSK)X2, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG, YO, SSSK,
K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG, YO, SSSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K3 TOG, YO, K2, YO,
(SSK, K9, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO)X4, SSK, K11, K2 TOG, YO, K,
YO, SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG, (YO, SSSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG)X3
Row 68: purl
Row 69: (SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K6, K2 TOG, YO)X2, SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG, YO, K, YO
SSK, K11, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO, SSK, K9, K2 TOG, (YO, K5, YO, SSK, K7, K2 TOG)X4,
YO, K4, YO, SSK, K11, K2 TOG, YO, K, YO, SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K6, K2 TOG, YO,
SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG, YO, SSK, K6, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG, YO, K, YO
SSK, K11, K2 TOG, YO, K4, YO, (SSK, K7, K2 TOG, YO, K5, YO)X4, SSK, K9, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO, SSK, K11, K2 TOG, YO, K, YO, SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG, (YO, SSK, K6, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG)X2
Row 70: purl
Row 71: (SSK, K12, K2 TOG, YO, K, YO)X2, SSK, K11, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO
SSK, K9, K2 TOG, YO, K5, YO, SSK, K7, K2 TOG, (YO, K7, YO, SSK, K5, K2 TOG)X4
YO, K6, YO, SSK, K9, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO, SSK, K12, K2 TOG,
YO, K, YO, SSK, K5, K3 INTO 1, K5, K2 TOG, YO, K, YO, SSK, K12, K2 TOG,
YO, K3, YO, SSK, K9, K2 TOG, YO, K6, YO, (SSK, K5, K2 TOG, YO, K7, YO)X4
SSK, K7, K2 TOG, YO, K5, YO, SSK, K9, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO,
SSK, K11, K2 TOG, (YO, K, YO, SSK, K12, K2 TOG)X2
Row 72: purl
Row 73: (SSK, K10, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO)X2, SSK, K9, K2 TOG, YO, K5, YO
SSK, K7, K2 TOG, YO, K7, YO, SSK, K5, K2 TOG, BO 71, SSK, PPSO,
K7, K2 TOG, YO, K5, YO, SSK, K10, K2 TOG, YO, K3, YO
K7, K3 INTO 1, K7, YO, K3, YO, SSK, K10, K2 TOG, YO, K5, YO,
SSK, K7, K2 TOG, BO 71, SSK, PPSO, K5, K2 TOG, YO, K7, YO
SSK, K9, K2 TOG, (YO, K3, YO, SSK, K10, K2 TOG)X2
Row 74a: purl to first section of bound-off stitches
Row 75a: BO 15, SSK, PPSO, K5, K2 TOG, YO, K7, YO, SSK, K7, K2 TOG, (YO, K5, YO, SSK, K8, K2 TOG)X2
Row 76a: purl to first section of bound-off stitches
Row 77a: SSK, K3, K2 TOG, YO, K9, YO, SSK, K5, K2 TOG, (YO, K7, YO, SSK, K6, K2 TOG)X2
Row 78a: purl to first section of bound-off stitches
Row 79a: BO 15, SSK, PPSO, K3, K2 TOG, (YO, K9, YO, SSK, K4, K2 TOG)X2
Row 80a: purl to first section of bound-off stitches
Row 81a: Bind off to end (I did last two K2 TOG to round it more).


Row 74b: attach yarn to middle section so first row will be purl and purl to next bound off section.
Row 75b: SSK, K5, K2 TOG,YO, K7, YO, SSK, K8, K2 TOG, YO, K5, YO, SSK, K6, K3 INTO 1, K6, K2 TOG, YO, K5, YO, SSK, K8, K2 TOG, YO, K7, YO, SSK, K5, K2 TOG
Row 76b: purl
Row 77b: SSK, K3, K2 TOG, YO, K9, YO, SSK, K6, K2 TOG, YO, K7, YO, SSK, K13, K2 TOG, YO, K7, YO, SSK, K6, K2 TOG, YO, K9, YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG
Row 78b: BO 16, purl the rest
Row 79b: BO 15, SSK, PPSO, K4, K2 TOG, YO, K9, YO, SSK, K11, K2 TOG, YO, K9, YO, SSK, K4, K2 TOG
Row 80b: BO 17, purl the rest
Row 81b: BO 16, SSK, PPSO, K9, K2 TOG
Row 82b: purl
Row 83b: SSK, K7, K2 TOG
Row 84b: purl
Row 85b: SSK, K5, K2 TOG
Row 86b: purl
Row 87b: SSSK, K, K3 TOG
Row 88b: purl 3 together, pass end through.

Row 74c: tie yarn on so next row is purl. BO 16, purl the rest.
Row 75c: (SSK, K8, K2 TOG, YO, K5, YO)X2, SSK, K7, K2 TOG, YO, K7, YO, SSK, K5, K2 TOG
Row 76c: purl
Row 77c: (SSK, K6, K2 TOG, YO, K7, YO)X2, SSK, K5, K2 TOG, YO, K9, YO, SSK, K3, K2 TOG
Row 78c: BO 16, purl the rest.
Row 79c: (SSK, K4, K2 TOG, YO, K9, YO)X2, SSK, K3, K2 TOG
Row 80c: bind off the rest.

Anna Baltzer Wings of Peace

The next shawl, which I'm designing now, will be called the Anna Baltzer Wings of Peace Shawl. It's going to look like the outstretched wings of a... hmmm... dove? angel? condor? firebird? I guess you can decide.


The Eagle and Condor Prophecy

as told by John Perkins, author Confessions of an Economic Hitman

Nearly every culture I know prophesies that in the late 1990's we entered a period of remarkable transition. At monasteries in the Himalayas, ceremonial sites in Indonesia, and indigenous reservations in North America, from the depths of the Amazon to the peaks of the Andes, and into the ancient Mayan cities of Central America, I have heard that ours is a special moment in human history, and that each of us was born at this time because we have a mission to accomplish.

The titles and the words of the prophecies differ slightly. They tell variously of a New Age, the Third Millennium, the Age of Aquarius, the Beginning of the Fifth Sun, or the end of old calendars and the commencement of new ones. Despite the varying terminologies, however, they have a great deal in common, and “The Prophecy of the Condor and Eagle” is typical. It states that back in the mists of history, human societies divided and took different paths: that of the condor (representing the heart, intuitive and mystical) and that of the eagle (representing the brain, rational and material). In the 1490's, the prophecy said, the two paths would converge and the eagle would drive the condor to the verge of extinction. Then, five hundred years later, in the 1990's a new epoch would begin, one in which the condor and the eagle will have the opportunity to reunite and fly together in the same sky, along the same path. If the condor and eagle accept this opportunity, they will create a most remarkable offspring, unlike any seen before.

“The Prophecy of the Condor and Eagle” can be taken at many levels — the standard interpretation is that it foretells the sharing of indigenous knowledge with the technologies of science, the balancing of yin and yang, and the bridging of northern and southern cultures. However, most powerful is the message it offers about consciousness; it says the we have entered a time when we can benefit from the many diverse ways of seeing ourselves and the world, and that we can use these as a springboard to higher levels of awareness. As human beings we can truly wake up and evolve into a more conscious species.

Heartstones

Saying Peter was given that name to signify "The Rock" - that is, that he was steadfast and immovable reminds me of this little rustic craft - heartstones. Like God's immovable and steadfast love for us.

If you find yourself sitting outside enjoying the beautiful spring weather and see some roughly heart shaped stones lying at your feet, why not pick some up and rub them against other rocks to see if they can be filed down a bit to a heart shape? I like to make some and leave them for other people to find. Playing at God's game of whimsical surprises when you least expect it.

Not being a rock person since I was around 6, I can't tell you what kind of rocks I used, the kids and I just tested rocks near a stream to see which were happy to be filed into heart shapes against a nice piece of granite from the parking lot.

Porphyrios Slippers

The chest of prayer shawls at church is still full, a disincentive to knit another shawl just yet. But someone on one of the lists was brainstorming other projects for a prayer shawl ministry, and thought warm slippers might be nice, especially for men who are sick. The key to good knit slippers is to make them from wool and to full them, which means purposely wash them and make them shrink. It blends and lightens the colors, and makes them like a very good thick felt, but still with a tad of stitch definition.

One good thing about a smaller fulled project is you can use up the remains of other wool knitting projects. The slippers in these photos are all made from remnants of sweaters, shawls, and from yarn I got then didn't like for the purpose I'd bought it for. Most of them are stranded, 2 strands of different colors of worsted weight yarn knit on size 10's to get the gauge of 12 - 14 stitches/4 inches.

Wool shrinks about 25% when washed on my long cycle and then dried on high heat. That gives a good smooth sole to the slipper and a nice fuzziness too. It does shrink a little more on the length than the width, so before they're shrunk they may seem too long and narrow. Don't worry, it gets worked out in the wash. If you want to be really careful, knit a test swatch then run it through a wash cycle and see how much it shrinks.

These slippers are dedicated to a man, Elder Porphyrios, a saint in the Greek Orthodox tradition. A friend told me about his book, "Wounded by Love" which is about the best book I've ever read on spirituality. It changed my outlook and I imagine I'll remember this book for years to come. I belive reading this would be a great comfort to someone going through a rough time, as Elder Porphyrios really epitomized someone who "gets" God's love.

This pattern comes out in a women's size 8/9, but it could depend on how much you wash it. I've played around making them larger and smaller proportionately to make children's sizes and it works well. Once you wear the slipper, it kind of adjusts to the size/shape of your foot, and if it's too big just wash it again. Click on the image below to see it larger. NOTE: YOU MUST USE WOOL!! (or some other animal fiber)


To finish, the seam will come up the top of the slipper but first you have to sew across the toe. You also need to sew up the heel of the slipper. How much you wash/dry depends on your machine and what size you are trying to achieve. It will continue to shrink if you wash it again (so handwash once you get it to the perfect size!)

For a child's size 3/4 (woman's size 5/6), I started with 19 stitches, increased the center stitches until I had 9; knit 12 "ridges" of garter, bound off 2 stitches each side, then did stockinette for 24 rows after that, starting the toe decrease at row 18 (after the decrease) and following the same toe decrease style as in the chart - row 18 one decrease each side of the sole, then on rows 20 and 22, a double decrease on each side.

If it's not for a child who likes to slide on wood floors, and traction is an issue, you can make a design on the bottom (after you shrink them!) using fabric puff paint for traction. Let it dry completely before walking in the slippers to avoid unfortunate stains on the floor.

The White Man's Burden

Or "Why did World Vision Stop Returning My Calls?"

My mind is troubled today and this is why. I've got some questions for a charity I've been supporting for 8 years and they don't answer me. The answers are vitally important to my clear conscience in continuing to support the charity and I don't know what to do.

The questions are, when they give food assistance, do they give donated genetically modified plant seeds, like GM corn, rice, and wheat?

When they give food assistance, do they give powdered milk donated out of the US commodities system?

When they vaccinate the children, do they use donated vaccines that have been withdrawn from the US because of safety issues?

See, the US has a problem of over-production of certain foods, like corn, soy, and milk. Nobody wants the farms to go out of business due to failure to sell their product and inability to repay the loans they've taken out so the US government has a commodities program where they buy up the excess that won't sell in order to keep the farms going in case there is a bad year and their product is needed. So the government commodities program has a huge glut of corn, soy, and dairy products that they sell to the poor out of food distribution centers and give to charity in other countries.

Here's the problem: With the corn, it's all been mixed together. About 30% of the corn grown in the United States is genetically modified. So if clever poor get whole grain corn as a food donation (which lasts longer than milled corn without nutrient loss or spoilage) then they may plant it instead of eating it all. That has happened, and the corn they've planted has wind-pollinated other fields of corn. Monsanto has managed to get most countries to sign on to intellectual property laws that entitle them to take posession of any plant that has genetically altered genes for which they hold the patent. Anyone caught in posession of those plants must either let Monsanto destroy their entire crop, as happened to Percy Schmeiser when his family's strain of canola got wind-pollinated by Monsanto's GM canola (100% of canola is GM these days because of how far the wind carries the pollen) or they must pay a fee to Monsanto every time they plant the seed they've saved from the previous season to use their patented genes (which they don't want in the first place!).

Also as more suspicion about the safety of consuming GM foods grows in light of manipulation of studies on safety, as happened to Arpad Puztai, more countries are being pushed by educated consumers to not import foods containing GM ingredients, so now the farmers of countries where GM contamination has happened are less able to sell their crops on the world market.

The milk is a concern because, for one thing, powdered milk doesn't contain the nutrients of fresh milk, nor the digestive enyzmes and protective probiotics of raw milk that a baby would get from nursing from its mother. But once powdered milk becomes available all kinds of problems ensue - mothers aren't told to boil the water and use contaminated water, especially in disaster areas, and the babies die of diarrhea. Not just babies, diarrhea is one of the worst problems of disaster areas that are trying to get back on their feet, due to lack of clean drinking water. But because we have so much of it, it is often pushed on charities so the government can get "credit" for giving disaster aid.

The last concern arose after I read Robert F. Kennedy's statement before Congress on the use of mercury-containing preservatives in vaccines. Their decision was to let the manufacturers continue to use the vaccines for over a year while they looked for an alternative preservative, and then did not stop them from continuing to sell the vaccines overseas. It got me reading up on vaccine safety and I found some groups saying that different batches of vaccine had much higher rates of adverse effects than others. I started worrying that the contaminated vaccines and the ones containing mercury were being donated overseas instead of thrown out - for tax-credit, refunds, whatever benefit the companies might get from giving them to charity. I have no proof this is happening, but wanted to ask World Vision about the source of their vaccines and whether they tried to only use vaccines that met US safety requirements.

Nobody will answer me. I managed to get on the phone with an Executive Director, who said they were good questions, and he asked me to put them in writing and email them to him so he could forward them to the people within the organization who would know the answers. Then he stopped returning my phone calls and emails and I'm not even sure if he has his job anymore as I can't reach him. He was supposed to be a speaker at an event I organized and he didn't show up nor return my emails and phone call about that. I fear I've gotten him fired.

I don't mis-trust the motives of World Vision, but do worry that they've fallen into the trap of taking the "easy" way instead of continuing to act on conscience. I hate to think ill of them as they seem to want to do good for the poor, but sometimes when organizations get too big they get too bureaucratic to function well anymore. Assuming the worst, I would want to stop contributing to that sort of error and unintended spread of misery. I recently heard of a book, "White Man's Burden" that is supposed to talk about this issue, of us Westerners trying to help but from a top-down "let me tell you what's good for you" kind of way that makes the problems worse. I'm going to read it.