31 July 2009

two things

Two interesting, unrelated, yet similar things-probably because they happened within moments of each other:
One, from an audiobook I listened to called "The End of Overeating" by David A. Kessler. The reason food manufacturers use several different kinds of sugars in one product (cane syrup, dextrose, high fructose corn syrup, honey, etc.) is so they can use A LOT of sugar. It often would be the main ingredient if listed by weight in the nutritional panel. But because they are using a variety of sugars the ingredients are listed separately and it doesn't appear that sugar is a main ingredient. Same thing for a variety of oils. Excellent book by the way.
Second is a tip learned from watching Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Workshop on DVD. The original benefit of patterned sweaters (gloves, hats, etc.) where two or more colored yarns are used to create a repetitive motif, was to make the garment double thick. Brilliant! By creating a design that uses more yarn, the knitter is able to make the garment thicker and warmer for the wearer. The unused yarns are carried behind the working yarn, creating another layer.

6 comments:

Herbatka said...

I've heard that Aran patterns had the same original purpose as colorful patterns - they're bautiful and sophisticated, but require a lot more of yarn and usually are thicker and warmer than "regular" sweaters.
And also - knitting in colors is a great way to pracitce awareness - for me at least ;-) You really have to be present here and now to knit a decent intarsia. If you're to stressed out the tension seems to go through the yarn - the yarn behind the working yarn becomes too thight and everything looks awful, if you're too sloppy and knit with thoughts wandering somewhere else - everything becomes a loose, tangled mess.

Amber said...

Part of me is a little bowled over that you just talked about EZ, I've met other knitting dancers, I just didn't realize you were one of them =)

Elizabeth said...

well you know I love Elizabeth Zimmerman, Knitting without tears was such a monumental book for me. Not even for the knitting information but just for the experience of encountering a knitter that actually thought about her craft as well as practicing it. I have been reading A History of Handknitting, it's very interesting.
An other interesting knitting writer is Barbara Walker, she is actually one in the same the writer of The Womens Encyclopedia of Myths & Secrets and all those stitch dictionaries!

Amy said...

This reminds me, I've been neglecting my knitting. There are several forthcoming November dancer babies that will need cute sweaters!

lionmml said...

I am half way through "The End of Overeating." It is so good and is filling me with so many emotions. Wow.

Kinda makes you not want to eat out again. Unless it is a local place that prepares local food.

Unknown said...

That's funny, I wrote about the "Overeating" book in my blog, too - even though my blog is about animal training. Fascinating book! I really do hope that it encourages many people to stop eating industrial foods!

(http://stacy-wagntrain.livejournal.com/#entry_18810)