I am addicted

Addendum 5/17 - Looks like the BBC and the author of the “Adipose” pattern have made peace.  It’s a happy ending as the BBC is negotiating a deal that includes a licensing for the pattern (which hopefully will be provided for fans on the BBC website). Plus Mazzmatazz may get to make Adipose babies for the BBC team and meet the Dr. Who crew.

See hostility just doesn’t pay. Now just about everyone is happy… the fans, the pattern maker, and the BBC.

Article posted here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7400000/newsid_7406200/7406217.stm

If you haven’t heard anything about this, there’s been argument over some knitting patterns developed by a Dr. Who fan. In a nutshell, the fan created doll patterns of certain creatures from the popular BBC Series and made them available for free. In a rush to preserve the Dr. Who brand, the BBC has forced her to take the patterns now. Here’s a full version of the story.

I believe that many knitters are naturally creative people, and knitting is a powerful skill to have, because you can create all sorts of objects. When we like things or find them appealing, sometimes we want to recreate them for ourselves. It’s human to want to own things or have them in our possession. I collected Star Wars bubble gum cards and action figures when I was a kid because I loved re-living the scenes from the first three movies. I wanted to re-live the story because I liked it so much. Mazmataz recreated the Ood, the Adipose Babies, and the Tardis perhaps because of similar sentiments towards the Dr. Who series and its characters. I get it.

But the BBC doesn’t get it and from their point of view as a business that owns the intellectual property rights of Dr. Who they probably won’t.

I came of age (in the business world) in a large corporation who was ever so paranoid about loosing it’s brand. I suppose this is a law of nature that once on top, you become paranoid of others taking you down. It’s probably a king of the hill type syndrome. The company I worked for was so afraid of brand violation, they had numerous face to face course about how to protect their brand.

Now, I’m torn about this issue, because from a completely business point of view, I can understand why companies want to and need to protect their brand. However, from a historical view, I think that over-zealous protection of copyright or brand can only harm the rest of us or the general public who can benefit from the proliferation of new ideas and products.

New things… objects, ideas, concepts… do not just generate themselves out of nothingness. New things often come from older things. The gasoline combustion engine that drives cars was born from the ideas and objects developed by other tinkerers. The Model T Ford was developed from prototypes developed by others. If Henry Ford wasn’t able to pull the work created by others he wouldn’t have developed the automobile that made his company what it is today (probably someone else would do it). There are very few ideas or concepts that come from ‘thin air.’ They are usually based on another idea or concept or at least inspired by something else.

On the other hand, because we all live within a grid of monetary value where products from ideas can be exchanged for money. There will always be those people who take what’s offered for free and make money off it. Such was the case for mazmataz’s Dr. Who Patterns. Apparently people were knitting the patterns and selling the toys on e-Bay. That’s just pure opportunism. On one hand I think those people have violated a request not to use the patterns for profit. On the other hand, they were simply responding to the demand/value created by our system of demand/perceived need or desire for the said item.

In my mind this whole debate again raises the question whether intellectual properties should or are changing/evolving because of the advent of the Internet. It much easier to share information, instructions, ideas, objects and products on the web. They don’t have to be isolated or hidden from other people who may build upon them, improve them or even create something new.

I believe that some of the greatest creative and productive eras from history occurred when information was shared between cultures, peoples, or individuals. On a smaller scale, I have to say, the sharing of patterns both free and paid on social networking sites like Ravelry seems to encourage creativity amongst the population of knitters and participants. It also, encourages commerce. For example, a knitter might see a pattern knit in a different yarn and actually seek out and purchase that yarn. Or another knitter may have a stash of a particular yarn and need inspiration for how to use it. She/he might actually review the projects made by other knitters in this yarn and purchase a pattern made by a designer who advertises or posts information on their available patterns on Ravelry.

I know it will take some time and probably some ugly wrangling to get the intellectual property and copyright laws ironed out, but hopefully we will still be able to reap the benefits of the sharing and collaboration that takes place via the Net. In my head I’m still trying to think up a scenario that explains how all this sharing can be bad for us, because it’s good to think of things from more than one perspective.

Images from audreyem’s occasional blog. The original Adipose doll knitted pattern toy is on the right. A crochet version of the doll is on the left.

I finished a pretty nice scarf (made with Rowan Lurex Shimmer and Elizabeth Austen’s Yang). I like how the ribbon with the glittery thread knitted up into a sort of scaly pattern with some nice drape. I originally made it for my mother, but I don’t think she’ll like the shades of color.

But I did finish making chocolates over at my friend Pete’s house. This was an all day affair, but well worth it. And you get to try all the ‘mistakes.’ Several of us get together every year before Mother’s day to make several kinds of hand made chocolates. It took a little longer today because there were less folks helping out than last year. Oh well, more for us. Sorry the picture’s a little blurry. This year we made the following:

Dark chocolates:

• Half pipes with almonds with almond filling and orange chocolate ganache
• Espresso ganache
• Lemon cremes
• Huckleberry cordials
• Smoked almonds with coconut fllling
• Dipped caramels with a touch of grey sea salt
• Cointreau truffles

Milk chocolate

• Macadamia nut
• Blueberry cordials
• Coconut creme ( I think I didn’t make these ones so I’m not sure)

I need more good movies and shows to knit by. Sometimes I think knitters are the only crafters who build their entertainment around their craft. We want our entertainment to accommodate our need to knit simultaneously.

I got really sick of those “High School Reunion” ads on TV Land that ran for the last few months. “God!” I thought. “Most of us really couldn’t stand these dics when we were in high school. Why would we want to watch a show about them.” So what if they’re just actors… even tuning in to watch these people humiliate themselves by exposing their lackluster lives replete with petty obsessions and retarded vanities… is JUST NOT SO INTERESTING ANYMORE. We all know that reality television is a misnomer… and that even virtual reality (manipulated by real people at least) has more of a foothold in reality than this garbage.

I want stories… good stories… not more of this reality garbage.  I know that many of the good BBC tv shows come from radio shows… Nathan Barley, Mighty Boosh…etc. Maybe what we need are more good radio shows a la podcasts.  Eric and I actually found a cool series of 1970’s thrillers from the BBC called Beasts. There was a particularly harrowing story about rats taking over the English countryside.  Also my favorite was the episode called “Baby” about this couple who finds this wizened mummy-like creature in a jar in the wall plaster of their old cottage. Eric felt that the rat story would make a good onstage drama. I think that most of the stories in this series could actually be converted into great radio plays.

*We have a mysterious hole in our back yard in the middle of the lawn… it’s too big for a rat and too small for a cat… I always joke to Eric… that’s were “The Baby” lives.

This has nothing to do with knitting.

This has been in the works for a few weeks, but this weekend I took my Dad out with me to get a pug puppy. It was my gift to him. His dear dog Duke had passed away, and Dad was feeling pretty lonely. We are a pug family all around, so I contacted Otto’s breeder. This weekend we kept the puppy overnight while my Dad made sure his house was puppy-proofed as much as possible. It was really hard to let go of the little guy. He has such a wonderful, curious personality. Eric was pretty convinced that he was ‘top notch’ as puppies go.. super smart, fully of energy, ‘into things,’ and a good study.

At first Dad seemed pretty set on calling him Duke… again. But then in the car on the way home from the breeder… I said, “He looks like a Japanese filmstar to me … how about Toshiro (Mifune)… or Akira… or…”

“How about Ichiro, like the baseball player,” my Dad said.

So Ichiro it was. When we were buying the supplies at the pet store. I actually had the tag made then and there, just to make sure he wouldn’t waffle. I know he could always get a new tag, but I feel very strongly about giving pets names that are unique to them. It did occur to me that maybe my dad needed to mourn Duke a little more, but you know it just seemed that it would be good for him to have ’someone’ like an ani-pal there in the house with him to keep him on his toes.

I haven’t seen my Dad that pleased or happy in a long time. Even though part of me didn’t want to let go of the dog, it seemed worth it after I saw the look in my Dad’s face.

My husband has this habit (a bit irritating to me) of watching foreign movies without the subtitles. He’s perfectly happy enjoying the movie by watching and interpreting facial impressions and physical gestures. Sometimes he just likes to sit back and enjoy the cinematography or art direction. I realized the other day that I should be a little more tolerant and sypathetic of this habit of his because I’ve been known to buy books and magazines in foreign language because I simply enjoy the designs, the artwork and photography. Any item that has clearly drawn and organized symbolic instructions just leaves me in awe and appreciation. Perhaps it because these instructions effectively transgress any language barriers and effectively present the task or material in a truly universal language.  Even though Japanese knitting patterns have elements that are indecipherable to me, I still think that a non-Japanese speaking individual can glean more from the design of the object than one could from patterns written in English.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I bought a few knitting pattern books as well as a stitch dictionary (for both knitting and crochet) in San Francisco’s Japantown a two weeks ago. I am planning to attempt one of the hat patterns soon with the help of some of the translation resources (see below) and the stitch dictionary. If I attempt to work on any of the garments in these books, I’ll have to strategically place darts or increases in the patterns to accommodate the ‘curviness’ of my figure.

The cute little hat, I’d love to make (it’s crochet)

Resources for using Japanese Patterns:

A helpful PDF guide that walks you through the process of understanding and using Japanese Patterns. There are also several web resources on the subject listed at the end of this document.

http://www.needleartsbookshop.com/InterpretingJapaneseKnittingPatterns.pdf

Wonderful Guide including translations of needle sizes and common terms:

http://www.tata-tatao.to/knit/japanese/e-index.html

Legend for Stitches:

http://www.tata-tatao.to/knit/stitches/e-index.html

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/04/knitting_and_crochet_onli.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890

I love Ravelry because it’s really the best example of how people in a community of craft can work together to learn and enrich their craft. I have to say, I have learned so much from the Ravelry community and I’ve only been on it for a few weeks.

On the way down to San Francisco, I listed to the Y Knit (Episode 4) where the Y-Knit team interviews Jess and Casey. They mentioned that the restricted membership was a turn off to some. I have to admit that I was one of those people. I felt that peoples’ membership to the site was promoting an exclusive culture (most likely unintentionally). People would talk about Ravelry, but then you’d realize that you couldn’t get in. It seemed like only “Ravelry People” were ‘in the know.’ In fact, I was so turned off by this that I didn’t even bother trying to sign up until a month or so ago.

I’m really glad I did.

Nothing to do with Knitting, but…

The Marlon Brando scene at the end is classic.

I had this fantasy at my old job (which I did not really like) that the day I went nuts or quit… I would suddenly break into song in my cubicle and start singing the Spongebob Squarepants theme as loud as I could. “Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?!”

Of course, I never got to do it. I quit while I was on medical leave.

I finished this scarf over the weekend to wear at the wedding I never attended. It’s the Lala scarf in the Greetings from Knit Cafe book. It was a pretty quick knit until I got to the ruffle, but knitting picot after picot actually put me into a meditative state. It was sort of like knitting an endless Rosary.

I’m actually, really enjoying the Knit Cafe book. In order to be set for mid Spring, I intend to finish the Kat Coyle “Lacey Skirt with Bows.”

I went to SF to attend a wedding, unfortunately, I drank some chai tea drink this morning that had bad milk in it. I spent a good part of the afternoon being ’sick.’ I don’t think I’ll ever be able to drink chai again. So I was too sick to attend the wedding, and I’m sitting in the Hotel room recuperating, watching BBC comedies and drinking Genmai-cha (green tea with brown rice).

Though I did have a great time yesterday. I’ve scored yarn, books, and a few Samurai videos. We’re staying in Japan Town at the Kabuki Hotel, and it’s quite a lovely spot. I highly recommend it for anyone who wishes to stay in SF and be pampered at a reasonable price. Each hotel room has a traditional Japanese bath. I was able to scrub up and relax in the tub before curled up and fell asleep yesterday… complete heaven - near Nirvana. The Hotel also has a lovely little garden to sit and knit in for a moment or two.

The hotel is part of the Japan Town complex that includes a mall complete with several Japanese restaurants, a huge bookstore and a number shops with Japanese goods. On Thursday night, I spent a few hours pouring over the books in the Kinokuniya bookstore. There are so many wonderful inspirations and designs in these books.  I wanted to pull out my notebook and jot some of them down, but I felt a little self-conscious. I do think that I’ve noticed that many Japanese styles featured in some of the books didn’t seem fitted. It must be a style adaption that comes from Japanese fashion history. Clothing in Japanese culture wasn’t really fitted until they adopted styles from Westerners.

I did buy a knitting stitch pattern book which was a little spendy, but well worth it because all the stitches were diagrammed in charts. I absolutely hate reading instructions to lace and cables line by line. The Japanese really understand how to explain things visually and with symbols. The only thing I get more joy from is the instructions for some IKEA products. There’s something comforting about not having to use too many words to explain things.

Yesterday I visited Art Fibers for the first time. What a joy! They have the most wondrous array of fibers and yarns. I bought a few things including a silk and mohair blend yarn called Tsuki that knits into an absolutely dreamy cloud. I’ve never knit a mohair lace shawl before, so I opted for something very simple: a triangular shawl with daisies. I started it yesterday and I’m about a third of the way done. I’m really quite pleased with the look and feel of this yarn. The silk catches the light beautifully.

Artfibers is a wonderful place, they actually allow you to ‘taste’ the yarns in house by swatching them yourself. Also, Kira Dulaney was there to offer advice and guidance on the yarns. She even helped me design a custom pattern for a tank top. If you have a chance, do check out her pattern site as her work is absolutely gorgeous. My only regret is that I don’t live close enough to frequent the shop regularly. Here are a few of my scores from the store: Mozambique, more Tsuki (in bright teal), Baccarat, and Golden Chai …

Addendum 4/1 - the scarf/shawl in Tsuki is nearly finished. It took only 40 grams and at $14 for a shawlette, that’s quite a bargain.

When I was shut in in bed in February the cold inspired me to finish my first seamless yoke sweater. I love this sweater, but again, I knit the body in Knitpicks Swish Superwash, so it’s piling and balling up something awful. I really need to buy a new “fuzz buster.” Maybe Target carries one.

This month I was able to finish the Peasant Blouse from Interweave Knits - Spring ‘08. This was actually super fun to knit, especially the bands for the neckline and the sleeves.

Again, it’s a one piece knitted item so I could avoid seaming.  I’ve worn this sweater twice and I’ve come to the conclusion that it is the most comfortable thing I’ve knit.  I’d like to try another version of this style in a lighter weight cotton/linen/silk blend or even hemp.

My only complaint about this pattern is Garter stitch edging. Even when you use a needle of a smaller size than the body gauge, you still get that floppy, hangy edge. I’ve come to the conclusion that I will never knit a garter stitch edge for any garment again.  If I do a slightly different version of this garment again, I’d probably use a nice picot edge.