06 February, 2013
30 December, 2012
Beautifully BASIC
I don't do a lot of book reading so no surprise that I read even fewer book reviews. Yet strangely, doing just that sent me headlong down an interesting path a few weeks ago. Testing out my new tablet (a Christmas gift I've defiantly been using since the end of November) I came across Slate's book review for 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10. It set off a chain reaction.
First, I fell in love with the pattern output from this simple line of BASIC code. Look, it's gorgeous!
Then I felt compelled to read the book, right away. The entire text is available online for free so I got right to it (I purchased a copy too since the royalties support PLAYPOWER). About 30 pages in I realized I wanted to chart and knit the pattern. I can't remember the last time I felt so driven to do something; it was very exciting. I'll spare you all the tedious details of that excitement and jump to the first installment of the charts, a 12-page PDF version of the screenshot below (taken from my computer running the lovely Hoxs64 C64 emulator):
I left off the border and the line below the cursor but I'm confident you could figure out how to add either if you were so inclined. So without further ado I give you:
10 Print Charts version 1.1
You can find me on Flickr as gab-fab. If you make anything from these, take some pictures and tag them "10 print" so I can find them. I'm planning on setting up a group as soon as I upload pictures of my current needlepoint project so leave a comment with your Flickr ID if you want me to invite you to the group.
Nerds unite!
First, I fell in love with the pattern output from this simple line of BASIC code. Look, it's gorgeous!
Then I felt compelled to read the book, right away. The entire text is available online for free so I got right to it (I purchased a copy too since the royalties support PLAYPOWER). About 30 pages in I realized I wanted to chart and knit the pattern. I can't remember the last time I felt so driven to do something; it was very exciting. I'll spare you all the tedious details of that excitement and jump to the first installment of the charts, a 12-page PDF version of the screenshot below (taken from my computer running the lovely Hoxs64 C64 emulator):
10 Print Charts version 1.1
Keep the love going...
I'll be updating this page with additional charts in spreadsheet (.ods) and .pdf formats. These are also listed in Ravelry here.You can find me on Flickr as gab-fab. If you make anything from these, take some pictures and tag them "10 print" so I can find them. I'm planning on setting up a group as soon as I upload pictures of my current needlepoint project so leave a comment with your Flickr ID if you want me to invite you to the group.
Nerds unite!
21 November, 2012
Giving thanks and sharing the love
One of my favorite projects ever was the Liberty throw I made for my sister-in-law's grandparents. So I was pretty excited when someone from WEBS contacted me to see if they could include the project in one of their Valley Yarns on Ravelry posts (of course!). I kept a look out but never saw it and thought maybe they changed their minds about including mine. Lo & behold when trying to find something to do with all this Stockbridge I have in my stash, I came across this - mine's lucky #3!
Seems an appropriate season for me to give you the back story.
My first trip to Poland was in Fall 2008 just after my brother got married. The three of us went together to visit extended family that wasn't able to get to the states for the ceremony. We stayed a week in the city on our own in the grandparents' apartment and then a week in the country with them at their summer cottage. They were lovely. Especially Babcia (that's Polish for grandmother). She cooked around the clock for us and walked with us for hours in the forest each day teaching us which mushrooms were good.
I fell in love with Poland and with Babcia. When I got home I kept remembering all the good food I ate and how much fun I had mushrooming. For weeks I'd see mushrooms on the forest floor whenever I closed my eyes - really! I knew I needed to go back and I wanted to be able to bring something special with me for my hosts. Knitting was a given and I had wanted to make Liberty every since I bought Mason-Dixon Knitting so I had the pattern set. I decided on red and white to match the cottage decor and as a nod to Poland's colors. All systems go!
My first steek (don't fear the steek!), my first two-handed, stranded colorwork (so fun!) and my first thing so big I needed to soak it in the bathtub. The only real problem I had was packing everything in a single, carry-on bag (another success!) when we visited again the following year. After months of excitedly waiting to present it to them, I couldn't have been happier about how it was received
Seems an appropriate season for me to give you the back story.
My first trip to Poland was in Fall 2008 just after my brother got married. The three of us went together to visit extended family that wasn't able to get to the states for the ceremony. We stayed a week in the city on our own in the grandparents' apartment and then a week in the country with them at their summer cottage. They were lovely. Especially Babcia (that's Polish for grandmother). She cooked around the clock for us and walked with us for hours in the forest each day teaching us which mushrooms were good.
I fell in love with Poland and with Babcia. When I got home I kept remembering all the good food I ate and how much fun I had mushrooming. For weeks I'd see mushrooms on the forest floor whenever I closed my eyes - really! I knew I needed to go back and I wanted to be able to bring something special with me for my hosts. Knitting was a given and I had wanted to make Liberty every since I bought Mason-Dixon Knitting so I had the pattern set. I decided on red and white to match the cottage decor and as a nod to Poland's colors. All systems go!
My first steek (don't fear the steek!), my first two-handed, stranded colorwork (so fun!) and my first thing so big I needed to soak it in the bathtub. The only real problem I had was packing everything in a single, carry-on bag (another success!) when we visited again the following year. After months of excitedly waiting to present it to them, I couldn't have been happier about how it was received
It's Thanksgiving Eve here and I'm once again reminded of my thankfulness for family. But more than that, I'm thankful for the extensible nature of family and the underlying love and graciousness that make people with whom I share no genetic ties feel as though I do. I'm also thankful for each (both?) of you; a very happy Thanksgiving to you, one and all!!
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