Urban legend? Wishful thinking? or “true, like in the news”…

(Via the Minneapollis Star Tribune)

Off the hook: “LACE AND RED LIGHTS
Ever wonder how the term ‘hooker’ originated as a synonym for prostitute? It seems that during the 1800s, a lace manufacturer admitted that he expected his workers to turn a few tricks on the side to make up for his not paying them a living wage.

Soon lace, including crocheted lace, began to be seen as morally tainted — made by prostitutes. And that’s likely how the word ‘hooker’ came to have such wayward connotations.

Source: ‘Stitch ‘N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker’”

Note–according to Etymology Online: “hooker
“prostitute,” often traced to the disreputable morals of the Army of the Potomac (American Civil War) under the tenure of Gen. “Fighting Joe” Hooker (1863), and the word probably was popularized by this association at that time. But it is said to have been in use in North Carolina c.1845 (”If he comes by way of Norfolk he will find any number of pretty Hookers in the Brick row not far from French’s hotel.”). One theory traces it to Corlear’s Hook, a disreputable section of New York City. Perhaps related to hooker “thief, pickpocket” (1567), but most likely an allusion to prostitutes hooking or snaring clients. Hook in the figurative sense of “that by which anyone is attracted or caught” is recorded from 1430; and hook (v.) in the figurative sense of “catch hold of and draw in” is attested from 1577; in reference to “fishing” for a husband or a wife, it was in common use from c.1800. All of which makes the modern sense seem a natural step. The family name Hooker (attested from c.975 C.E.) would mean “maker of hooks,” or else refer to an agricultural laborer who used a hook (cf. O.E. weodhoc “weed-hook”). “

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Selma, her friend Elise and I did an experiment today with Kool-aid dyeing. Using some Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool and red (Fruit Punch) yellow (pineapple and mango) and blue (blue raspberry lemonade). We wanted to compare dyeing in the microwave to the “sun tea” method.

Following the general guidlines of Kristi’s Knitty article, we used ziploc bags for the “sun tea” dyes and glass dishes for the microwave… (a side note–after a cuple of hours, the baggies started to leak at the corners–maybe because of excessive inspection by the girls.) We twisted the yarn tightly to try and achieve a “tie-dye” effect, and used 1 packet of color for each small 25g skein. (The tie-dye worked better on some colors than others–overall we liked the effect, but decided we should twist the yarn more tightly next time.)

The results for microwave v. sun tea were suprisingly similar, with the exception of the Fruit Punch flavor. Each flavor took at least 10 minutes (2 minute intervals with time in between) in the microwave–we were amazed to watch the water turn clear. With all the microwaving and waiting and switching the colors, two of the sun tea colors (yellow and blue) were ready by the time we were done (maybe 90 minutes after they started “steeping”) as I write this, many hours later, the red water never turned clear. I may microwave it in the morning to see what happens. The depth of color was about the same for the yellow and the blue (we’ll have to wait and see about the red).

After the flavors cooled, we rinsed them and then washed them with a mild shampoo–all the colors were completely colorfast–I was surprised since I have hold many stories to the contrary from others–but perhaps it takes time for the color to start to run.

Elise and Selma and I want to try handpainting and striping next–today’s experiment was easy, fun and not even very messy (’tho I would wear gloves next time–my fingers are still pink.)

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My feather and fan knitting students finished up tonight with great results, and then we walked over to knitting at the Savory Cafe. I worked a little on my April Project Spectrum submission, (look–even my needles are yellow!) and a little on my May one–the Alien washcloth from Purple Duckie.

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My Middle School Knitters kicked off a new session by making a slew of preemie caps to donate… (um, I don’t know why honey is so fascinated with the hat, but she clearly has some sort of obsession with knitwear–last night when I was up waaay to late knitting, she was howling like she had caught a mouse, and when she came into the living room, she was carrying one of Selma’s knitted gloves.) We based the hat on Stephanie’s Scarf Rescue hat recipe. (I love how Knitting Rules has “recipes” instead of patterns.)

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…with my alpaca cardi a–couple more rows, weaving in ends, blocking–and then it’s on too other deadlines, but here’s what I’d like to be knitting right now…

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Historian Anthony Grayling has a new book that puts forth the notion that perhaps the Allied forces also committed war crimes during WWII. What in the world does this have to do with crochet, you ask?

Well, I heard him on the radio the other day, and he quoted Mao Tse Tung as saying “War is Not Crochet.” OK–this made me stop in my tracks. It wasn’t the quote, per se… Just the notion of Mao having anything to do with crochet. What did Mao know about crochet? Did his mother crochet? Did he? Was crochet popular enough in China during Mao’s reign to warrant such a cultural reference? Google has been no luck in this respect, unfortunately, the only references to the quote I’ve found are in articles about Graylings book. I’ve searched wikipedia and online copies of “The Little Red Book” to know avail… So if you’re a crocheter and a Mao expert, and you can enlighten us, please do!

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Kat posted a contest recently: list 5 places other than your house and a yarn shop where you’ve knit:

1) An airplane
2) The National Mall in D.C. (O.K., yes, it was knitout so I wasn’t knitting alone.)
3) Deep in Wisconsin’s North Woods, by a lake, on a screened in porch, during a early-morning rainshower–perhaps my all-time favorite knitting scenario.
4) In the car, in the dark, wearing a hiker’s headlamp
5) At a baseball game

Many know already that my favorite fashion magazine is Teen Vogue. I’m not ashamed. Really. I like it because the designs are fresh, and often seem more wearable than those in “adult” fashion magazines. I often find inspiration for crochet designs from ready-to-wear fashions I see in the mag. Also, the format is small and portable–it’s great for reading on the plane or carrying around in your knitting bag. So I was pleased to see that the current issue has crochet on the cover! The sweater is from Moschino Jeans (but i couldn’t find it on their web site or any other). It’s a cute cap-sleeve shell cardigan. I like the rust-brown color combination. And from the position of the shells, it looks like maybe the bodice is crocheted from side-to-side. Anyone seen this in a store?

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My kids knitting class begins tomorrow and I just spent the evening winding small balls of yarn (I never knew how useful the winder was until I had it!) and casting on 8 or 10 little swatches for the kids to work with. (They’ll learn the cast on next week.) Some of these girls took my crochet class last session, but I’m hoping for some new faces as well.

I got back from Seattle last night–Jay was amazingly calm on the plane, but nonetheless, I didn’t crochet or knit. Instead, I watched Jennifer Aniston’s silly, but entertaining sequel to The Graduate, called, I think Rumor Has it, and I almost finished reading Knitting Rules! : The Yarn Harlot’s Bag of Knitting Tricks.I haven’t read Stephanie’s other books, but this one makes me think I should–tho’ her knitting tips are fun, I like the essay parts best.

At any rate, after finishing the camo skully on the plane ride to Seattle, (which did it’s job keeping me warm in the chilly Seattle spring), the matching scarf languished, and I didn’t work on my real project–a sweater for Blue Sky Alpacas to be unveiled in June. It’s nearly done, and while I can’t show pictures, I will say that working with the sport weight alpaca has been very nice. I like the alpaca more than the alpaca silk because it has more bounce, and actually, feels softer to me.

OK, even though my body is still on West Coast Time, Jay will be waking up in a few short hours and I must go to sleep. I still need to type up class materials for the Feather and Fan intro I’m teaching tomorrow evening. Eeek! Well, hopefully, I’ll be awake enough to do that in the morning.

I met Ann and Kay back in January in San Diego (we won’t mention how before that, I was the last person to know about their super famous blog.) At any rate, I’ve loved their book ever since I cracked it open on the plane-ride home in January, (especially the dishcloths!) and I was looking forward to seeing them on their book tour–they’re in DC tonight at one of the best bookstores in town–Politics and Prose. I, however, am in Seattle, after spending the day on the plane with a helpful six-year-old and a not quite as helpful sixteen-month-old. I did, somehow manage to do some mindless knitting and try out my new stash of camouflage yarn. This is our gracious host, Hans, modeling the result.

To make your own Camo Skully for your battles in the urban jungle, you’ll need about 1/2 a skein of Red Heart Grande yarn, and size 13 needles. (Add four hours of intermittent knitting, holding fussy babies, passing out snacks, crawling around on airplane floors looking for lost toys and marker caps, and you’re done!)

CO 48. Work in k2p2 ribbing for about 5 inches (or longer, if you want a longer hat.)
Begin crown decreases:
Row 1: (k2, p2tog) rep across the row
Row 2: (k2, p1) rep across
Row 3: (k2tog, p1) rep across
Row 4: k1p1 across
Row 5: (k2tog, k1, p1) rep across

Thread yarn through remaining stitches and draw together. Fasten off. Sew up side seam. Weave in ends.

The hat will look very small. Never fear. It stretches. A lot. Let me know if you try this out!