moonfrog –

“Ten on Tuesday” is a blog-along by Carole Knits that has been around for quite a while, and I’ve decided to join in the fun.
This week the topic is headlines from the year you were born. Boy! is this one going to take us back to the dark ages – but it was a golden year, including some arches that have proven to be tarnished gold.

• My favorite event of 1955 (besides my birth, of course) was when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, becoming a major symbol of the Civil Rights movement.
• The Salk polio vaccine was introduced, lessening the incidents of polio. We went from the injections to the sugar cubes in the 60s.
• On the entertainment front, Disneyland ® (click for video) opened in Southern California. My first trip there was when I was five years old and in our photos I look totally frightened. At thirteen it was a much pleasanter experience –with me and my sister in our matching, homemade dresses. This really shaped our view of the world, yes?
• Along the same lines, The Mickey Mouse Club and Captain Kangaroo joined the TV lineups. I loved the Captain, although I find that a bit creepy nowadays. Frank Zappa even wrote a song (instrumental only) called Mr. Green Genes and shares his feelings about this show when introducing it. And we all know about Knitty’s lovely pattern for Mr. Greenjeans, right? It’s on my long list of things to knit.
• The first edition of the Guinness Book of World Records was published.
  It’s an amazing compilation of weird feats, to say the least.
• Scrabble™ was introduced, which is fortunate for me as I’m using the game on my iPod to ward off dementia. I play it while waiting and before I go to sleep. Oh, and the computer player cheats, just saying. *

A few unfortunate headlines also happened in 1955.

• McDonald’s ninth restaurant was opened by the man who would take it viral. How about Mickey D’s oatmeal?
• Microwave ovens were introduced, although not used by households until a smaller version was available in the mid-60s. I don’t know if this is unfortunate or not, the jury is still out.
• Polyester cloth was introduced, which I believe is unfortunate, along with a lot of other plastics that have become all too common.
•  Albert Einstein died. The pathologist at the hospital removed and preserved his brain for study, with some interesting studies being done on it.

I also want to share a project that was finished a couple Tuesdays ago.

It’s the Storm Cloud Shawlette in Alchemy Haiku. I started this pattern a couple months ago (during World Wide Knit in Public Day) with a lovely Indigo Moon sock yarn that eventually became this scarf. The yarn was just too busy and I really had my heart set on a fuzzy lace mohair scarf like the blue one in the pattern pictures.

I was waiting until I found the right yarn, and then it hit me. The Haiku (which was a recently acquired yarn pet) would work well. And the scarf would put this lovely yarn in just the right place for petting and cuddling. So I cast on and didn’t look back. Actually, I didn’t look at much of anything while I knit this. The fuzzy lace-weight took all my concentration in order not to drop stitches (lots of yarn overs!) because this mohair doesn’t frog. I’m so happy with this little scarf that I’m going to make another one. Actually, maybe I’ll sign off right now and cast on!

*  (You can play Scrabble on Pogo.com without an iPod.)