First impressions: Aeropress Premium Review

Aeropress Premium - Glass and Metal

 I love coffee, and one method of brewing that I fell in love with years ago was the Aeropress, which is an oddball brewer that is basically a giant syringe, but the plunger pushes concentrated coffee through a filter instead of a needle.

It's an incredibly flexible way to brew, and there are thousands of recipes out there. I've created my very best cups of coffee using the Aeropress.

The only problem? It's made of plastic, and I don't like brewing in plastic, because plastic absorbs off-flavors, and I don't believe that even BPA-free plastic isn't leaching something into my coffee.  I do use plastic for food storage, but I try to limit its use to things that are room temperature and below, as chemical leaching happens far more at hot temperatures than cold.

But that means that I decided not to use the Aeropress as an every-day brewer, and limited its use to traveling (it's lightweight and nearly unbreakable), and for a few days each month to mix it up with other methods of brewing.  I've wanted a glass or metal version ever since.

Alan Adler, the inventor (incidentally, he also invented the Aerobie frisbee), resisted the call for a glass or metal version for nearly two decades because he thought it was a terrible idea.  And, to be fair to Mr. Adler, there really are significant downsides. Glass and metal get hot, and are heat sinks, expensive, breakable and heavy.   The AP was also beloved because not only did it make excellent coffee, it was also cheap. They were originally sold for $20 back in 2005. Even today, the basic versions retail for $30-$40. 

But, eventually, Mr. Adler got old and sold the company, and the investment firm that bought the business started releasing new versions left and right (Adler was notoriously cautious about implementing new ideas), but most didn't interest me. But a year and a half ago, they teased coffee lovers with a glimpse of a glass and metal version, which DID, and a few weeks ago (finally!) they released the Aeropress Premium, made of double-walled borosilicate glass, steel, aluminum, and silicon (the plunger disk/seal).  It came with a premium price tag, too, one that rather shocked the world of specialty coffee: $150. Even I think it should have been priced in the $80-$100 range.  I had a coupon, so I got mine for $120, but still.    

I decided to skip the new stand/caddy they were offering to go with the Premium, because it too was shockingly expensive; $100 for the caddy. No thanks. I just hoped my existing stand might work.

The packaging was well-designed to protect the glass

Besides the price tag, am I happy with it? Yes and no, but mostly yes. I can get delicious cups of coffee with the thing, just as good as with the plastic one. But the damn thing feels a bit like a showpiece (it is undeniably attractive) rather than a convenient, practical, everyday piece of equipment for one reason: IT IS NOT DISHWASHER SAFE. What the hell were they thinking?  

The plunger and (I think) also the collar at the bottom of the brew chamber are made out of coated aluminum, and aluminum does ugly things in the dishwasher. Even the brew cap filter holder is made of coated stainless steel, and the coating isn't dishwasher safe.    And in the end, if the coatings aren't safe in the dishwasher, are they safe for coffee brewing?  Hopefully.

So, it is not exactly what I was looking for. I would have preferred they not use aluminum or coat the stainless (which don't need coatings anyway), and make the collar that holds the brew chamber and the plunger out of heavy-duty plastic or hollow stainless steel. I'd have been fine with plastic parts as long as they don't touch the coffee.  We called for a metal/glass version not because we wanted something fancy but because we wanted something that couldn't leach unwanted chemicals into our coffee.

Now, handwashing aside - I'm happy with the fact that they used double-walled borosilicate glass.  The outer diameter is the same as before, so existing accessories might still work.  But the double-walls are MUCH thicker than in the Original, which means they had to make the Premium significantly taller in order to keep the capacity the same (both hold about 320 ml if you are curious). That also means the plunger and stirrer had to be longer as well. So my existing Aeropress caddy only sort of works with the Premium. 

Here it is first with the Original AP, then with the new Premium:

Existing after-market stand holding plastic AP Original.

Premium AP in the existing stand.
Note how the brew chamber extends down over the funnel

Note the changes in shape between the tools.

The stand accommodated the plastic funnel that came with the AP Original, though the AP Premium ditched the funnel entirely. I actually use the funnel and will keep using it.

The new scoop doesn't fit in the scoop spot, but DOES fit in the existing stirrer slot, though I pretty much never use the scoop much anyway (I brew by weight).  The new stirrer is too fat to fit in the stirrer slot, but it can be suspended inside the plunger instead.  The only true problem is the way the funnel is enclosed inside the bottom of the brew chamber. I don't just use the funnel for the AP, but also when I'm brewing with the Stagg dripper - the funnel works way better than the one Fellow included with the dripper.  So the inconvenient access to the funnel (you have to use two hands, one to lift the brew chamber out of the way, and one to grab the funnel) is annoying.

AP Original funnel in use with Fellow's Stagg dripper.

Then it occurred to me that the stand is held together with screws and that we could "just" replace the legs with taller ones.  I talked to my husband who disassembled it, and after spending $11 at Menards, he replaced the legs with 12" (30 cm) threaded steel rods, a few nuts, and 4 plastic feet, and voilà:

$11 worth of materials and
my old stand now fits nicely.

As for how it works ... well, about the same as the original. You have to be a little gentler with the glass, and pre-heating the brewer is a must to avoid dropping the temperature of the water too much.  The new stainless filter cap isn't valved, so I may have to go back to inverted brewing, which is a little annoying (I hope they add a metal valved filter cap later).

Inverted brewing (left), and normal (right)

When using the brewer as intended, you set it on a mug or carafe, and because the filter cap has holes in it, coffee drains slowly out while brewing except when the plunger is in place, and then the liquid stays in the brewer for the same reason it does when you cover the end of a straw: capillary action, surface tension, and air pressure (and yes, I just looked that up).  When you push on the plunger, pressure builds in the chamber as you force the coffee through the grounds and the filter, and into the mug.

Because baristas wanted the coffee to stay in the brew chamber during brewing, they invented the inverted method, brewing upside-down; then when you are ready to plunge, you put the filter/filter cap on, flip it, and plunge. It takes some practice, but it can be done without making a mess.  But it's still a hassle, and I loved my valved filter holder that held the coffee inside even when brewing right-side up.  But it, like the rest of the AP, was plastic, so now that I have a glass brewer, I probably won't use it anymore.

The diameter of the flanged end of the plunger is very slightly wider (maybe 2 or 3 mm?) than on the Original and between that and the added weight, the Premium is actually a little more stable in the inverted position which is a Very Good Thing.  

Between the added height in both the brew chamber and the plunger, it's nearly 4" (10cm) taller when inverted, which puts it roughly even with my breast-bone (I'm on the short side, at about 5'3"/1.6m), which is decidedly less convenient (I prefer to pour 200F/93C liquids into vessels that are a little lower than that). But, it is not the end of the world by any means, and it is probably a non-issue for folks who are taller than I am.  

Most people who have an AP have knocked over an inverted brewer at least once, and I'd hate to do that with this expensive (and breakable!) version, and right now I'm thinking I'm just not going to use inverted brewing anymore, and I'll modify my inverted recipes to work right-side up.

Inverted brewing height:
Original (L) and Premium (R) 

How does it brew?  Fine.  My first brewing was delicious, and there isn't that much difference in quality between what comes from the Premium vs. from the Original, but I didn't really expect it to, as the brewer is essentially the same. Because plastic can absorb odors and flavors, the Premium should remain more neutral-smelling over time. And if you are careful to preheat the brewer, the glass being a heat sink should become a non-issue, with the temperature remaining steady during brewing. I preheat all of my brewers anyway, so it doesn't even represent a change in my brewing habits.

I never upgraded to the AP Clear that the company released a year or so ago, so this was the first time I could actually see the coffee brewing in the brew chamber, and that was really neat.  

The filter cap is easier to screw onto the brewer than with the plastic version, and that is quite nice.

All in all, it is a pleasure to use and felt nice in my hands. It's not perfect due to the ergonomics and lack of a metal flow control filter cap, but really, really nice.  And yes, I think it'll be worth the handwashing hassle, though I hope the company releases a dishwasher-safe version at some point.

I do plan to continue using my Aeropress Original while traveling through. 

An act of petty cruelty

 I witnessed an act of petty cruelty today that has left me rather shaken. 

I was at Jay Cooke State Park, walking down to the swinging bridge to get my weekly photo, when I saw two teenage girls watching the tiniest snake I’ve ever seen sunning itself on the sidewalk. From where I was, about 10-15 feet away, it looked like an earthworm.  Suddenly, a woman returning from the bridge walked right up to the girls, looked down, and deliberately stomped on the baby snake. I looked right into her face and noticed three things: she had dark hair, she was wearing a black sundress, and she was grinning as she walked away.

"Oh, I think she might’ve just killed it!" one of the teenagers exclaimed in dismay. 

"Is it a snake?" I asked when I reached them a couple of seconds later.  The proportions were all wrong for an earthworm. Far too slender and quick-moving to be a worm.  

"Yes," the girl answered as she walked slowly away.  

The snake, which was no more than 4" long and maybe 1/4" wide, didn't appear badly damaged. I didn't see any blood, but it flipped momentarily onto its back, exposing its red belly, which is not the behavior of a healthy snake.   I spent a few moments moving the snake off the sidewalk - it was so tiny I couldn't get ahold of it on the cement, so I scooted it off the sidewalk and into the grass where I was finally able to pick it up and place it in the shade, where it could either recover or die unmolested.  

That woman's actions harmed and probably painfully killed a tiny harmless snake (her behavior may well have been illegal, too - killing wildlife in a state park?), but horrified three other people who aren't going to forget her vicious act.  

I will be honest: I wanted to assault that woman. And call her obscene names.  But I did neither because I was just frozen.

... In which the family makes mixed media postcards together

Reverse side (modified rubber stamp)

My family is fortunate enough to live near my favorite place in the world: Lake Superior.  Chris and I have been coming up to Duluth since before we got married (and in fact, when we got stressed out from wedding planning, we escaped up here the weekend before the wedding).

Then, almost 2 years ago, I started a photography project, taking a weekly photo at Minnesota Point, a park/neighborhood in Duluth that separates Lake Superior from Superior Bay.  At the end of the year, I created a slide show that puts a year of the stark beauty of the place on display:

A big social outlet for me is a group on Ravelry (a site for knitters/crocheters) called Remrants, and they do a "RAK" (Random Act of Kindness) postcard exchange every summer.  On a whim, I decided to sign up, and I had the great idea to make our own postcards. I wanted it to be modeled after the photos in the slide show, and I wanted to incorporate sand collected from that beach, and paint it using watercolors moistened with actual lake water collected from that spot. I had also wanted to use leaves from that bush, but that didn't work out.  

Kivi's block and initial print.

But somewhere along the way, my daughter joined in the planning. She had taken a print-making class her senior year at University, and and I don't know if it was her idea or mine, but she hand-carved a block depicting the bush (without leaves) and a few wisps of beach grass. I LOVED it.   She also hand-carved a tiny ore-carrier ship out of an eraser, which I loved, too.  

Samples of paint, print, and sand.

We made a trip out to the point to collect some sand and water, and ... Kivi and I made a few test samples, and ... then I trouble getting it going. 

Finally, we got set up and had set aside weekend time to knock them out.  I went for a walk, and when I returned, I found that Kivi had gotten started with the water colors (and yes, she used lake water to moisten the paint), and invited her dad to join her, and between the two of them, they'd finished half of the 32 I needed (31 for the exchange, and one extra). And to my delight, no two were alike. They'd experimented with the (lake) watercolors, seeing what kind of sky/water/beach effects worked best.   

The next day, I did the remaining 16, continuing their experimentation.  Once everything was dry, Kivi did the printing, continuing to experiment and hone her skills.  After the ink had dried for 24 hours, Chris and I did the leaves using acrylic paints and dotting tools in one evening.  Then in two more evenings, I spread glue and sprinkled sand on the beach.  

It's funny - I can see where each of us brought our own talents to the table. Chris was clearly the bolder leaf-maker, willing to push the technique in dramatic ways. I got some good ones myself, but mostly because I emulated what he was doing.  The watercolors had moments of beauty from each of us (but it's often hard to identify which were done by a specific person) and of course, there's Kivi's print.  It ended up being fun, kind of a pain in the ass, but satisfying, too.

Here are all 32 (click to enlarge):

The time Chris jumped over a cliff in pursuit of a bear

Chris and I got married in April of 1997, and two weeks later, we went on a pretty awesome honeymoon - a 17-day 6700 mile (10,800 km) road trip from our home in central Missouri, to Los Angeles, then up the Pacific Coast (Highway 1/101) to Vancouver, then home again. We stopped at national parks or forests in Colorado, Utah, California, Oregon and Wyoming.

Somewhere in the Pacific Northwest in the early evening, when I was sleepily gazing out the window at the lovely views, Chris suddenly screeched to a halt and pulled over.  

"What are you doing?" I asked, feeling a bit more awake.

Chris had already unbuckled and was on his knees facing backward, grabbing for his camera in the back seat. "Bear," he muttered, and was out the door, which he didn't even bother to close, leaving it hanging open.

I watched him sprint across the road, put one hand on the guard rail, and vault over it, dropping straight down, and out of sight.  

My heart skipped a beat. Did Chris just jump off a cliff? 

Hoping I wasn't a widow after only two weeks of marriage, I got out, walked around the car and closed his door. Then I walked across the road and peered over the guard rail.   

Fortunately, the drop wasn't nearly as precipitous as it'd appeared from the car - only dropping four or five feet, then forming a steep slope that, with care, a person could pretty easily traverse. Chris - clearly in one piece - was already at the bottom of the slope, and was scurrying toward the woods.  

I watched him disappear into the woods, and waited for him to come back.  It was probably only a couple of minutes, but it felt like forever, but he emerged from the woods, and picked his way back up to me.

"Did you see the bear again?  Did you get any photos?" I asked, relieved he was safe.

"Yeah, I saw him. I took a couple. Don't know if they'll turn out." 

I shook my head, and ruefully told him how it looked like he'd jumped off a cliff, and we laughed together.

Alas, the photos didn't turn out. The bear was nothing more than a dark blur - not even recognizable as a bear. Chris was disappointed.  

We moved to New Jersey in 1999, and sometime in the early 2000s we heard there was a bear in our rural area, but we never saw it.  We moved to Minnesota in 2004, but bears tended to avoid the Minneapolis suburbs, and the only wildlife we ever saw were the stray cats, possums, and raccoons that enjoyed our compost pile. 

When we moved to northern Minnesota in 2020, we knew that bears were more common up here than near the Twin Cities, so Chris's hopes were renewed, and finally, last summer, when he was driving through the lovely Cloquet Forestry Center on his way home from town, Chris saw a bear on the road. There was no traffic, so Chris stopped in the middle of the road, held up his phone, and snapped three photos before the bear ambled off into the woods. This time (probably because the photos turned out), he didn't bother following the bear into the woods and simply continued on his way. 

Chris's first successful photo of a bear in the wild.
Black bear in the Cloquet Forestry Center in July 2023

However, this summer our next-door neighbors have been seeing a young bear in their yard and even captured a few videos, much to our (good-natured) jealousy. We very much hoped it would make its way into our yard, too, and yesterday, it did!  I was enjoying my morning coffee when movement near the compost pile just outside my coffeehouse window caught my eye; at first, I thought it was a black dog, but I didn't know of any black dogs in our neighborhood. I leaned over to get a better vantage and ... 

"Oh! Bear!" I whispered and fumbled for my phone. The young bear, which was maybe the size of a German shepherd, heard me through the open window, and by the time I'd located my phone, the startled (and very shy) bear was running away, and I got only one good look at it before it disappeared into the woods on the other side of the gravel road. I didn't even have time to launch the camera app.

I went outside and across our driveway into the house to tell my husband what I'd seen, and he immediately followed me and looked around the area.  

"Next time, be quiet," he lectured me, "and get a picture!" 

"You could set up a game camera," I suggested.  

"That's a good idea," he answered, and set one up in the arbor vitae next to the compost pile.

No bear pics yet, but I'll update this article if we do get one.  For now, you can read up on Ursus americanus.

Knitting Pattern: The Riveter

Note: Click on any image below to enlarge it.

Me, modeling the kerchief

Inspired by the famous Rosie-the-Riveter "We Can Do It!" poster from World War 2, I designed a knitted version of the red-and-white polka-dotted kerchief worn by Rosie:

J. Howard Miller, 1942
Public Domain

During WW2, millions of men were sent overseas to fight the Nazis, leaving labor shortages stateside, and American women rose to the occasion and and began doing traditionally-male jobs. Even women who didn't work outside the home entered the workforce (some for the first time), making massive contributions to the American economy and the war effort, helping the Allies win the war. 

Rosie the Riveter (Vultee), 1943.
Public Domain

Besides Miller's 1942 "We Can Do It!" propaganda poster, there were other posters and ads released encouraging women to join the workforce. Much of the propaganda assumed that it was temporary - that once our men came back from the war, the Rosies would leave the workforce and return to the home:

Monsanto Ad, 1943.
Public Domain.

And many were forced out of the workforce, but in the end, only temporarily (today, women make up 58% of the American workforce).

There was even a song about Rosie:

Today Rosie is a feminist icon representing the women who strive not just to get by, but their efforts to create a world in which we are *equal* partners to the men in our lives, that we can do anything we set our minds to ... even holding the highest office in our land. 

I am using this pattern as a fundraiser for Kamala Harris. Between now and election day (November 5, 2024), I am giving the pattern away for free to incentivize people to donate the difference (or whatever you can afford) to the Kamala Harris campaign.

Here is how to donate:

1. Send a donation directly to her campaign (here’s one place you can send money: https://kamalaharris.com/ ).
2. Optional: Send me a message telling me about your donation so I can squeal in excitement. <3

Be careful where and how you donate so you don't inadvertently donate to a scammer. Act Blue is handling donations for Vice President Harris's website at https://kamalaharris.com. If you prefer to type it yourself, it's https: // Kamala Harris. com but without spaces. However, you MUST spell her name correctly. If you misspell it, a fake anti-Harris page loads.

If you have any questions about the pattern, ask your question in a comment at the bottom of this post, along with your email address. I have comment moderation turned on, and will reach out to you privately via email, then I'll delete your comment without publishing it, to avoid exposing your email address to spammers.  If you are on Ravelry, you may also choose to reach out to me via PM.

You may (of course!) also choose to simply download the pattern without donating. Here is the link to download it (after Election Day, I'm raising the price to $7):  download from Ravelry for free.

Liberty Ship Scaler, 1943. You can see a scarf peaking out
from under her hard hat. Public Domain

Women at work on a bomber, 1942
Public Domain

About the pattern:

Note: This pattern has not been tech-edited (yet!) and has only been partially tested. I'm a tech writer by trade, so it's in good (if not perfect) shape. If you find an error, I'd LOVE it if you'd let me know, so I can fix it sooner rather than later.

The headscarf is knitted flat from the bottom up, and is intended to be custom-fit to the wearer as you knit it (and so I recommend you use a 24" (70cm) circular needles rather than long straights). 

You can use any yarn weight, from light fingering up to heavy worsted/Aran, and the white polka-dots are represented with beads (I like the white pearlescent ones as a nod to Kamala's pearls, but any color is fine), either pony beads for heavier yarn, or large seed beads for thinner yarn, and the border and ties are knitted in seed stitch to echo the original offset polka-dot design. 

The pattern includes:

• Written and charted instructions.
• Two different very simple lace patterns to choose from (a plain one that looks more like the poster, and a diamond lace pattern that hints at a bandanna design).
• A three-tie version that allows you to tie it at the top of the head as Rosie does, and also at the nape, and a two-tie version that ties only at the nape.
• Blank chart for your own designs.

Techniques used in the pattern:

• Increases
• Beading as you go
• Long-tail cast on (LTCO)
• Cable CO knit / purl

Wearing it like Rosie

There are a couple of ways to tie the kerchief:

Clockwise from upper left.

1. Drape the kerchief around your shoulders, right-side DOWN, bottom tie dangling down your back, top ties draped in front of your shoulders. 
2. Bring the top ties up to the top of your head, and tie them (single cross only) like a headband.
3. Pull the bottom tie up the back of your head, and forward, tucking it under the top ties, and pulling it forward so it drapes in front of your nose.  Neaten and flip the edges so they aren't inside-out.  Tighten the top ties so they are both secure and comfortable
4. Flip the bottom tie from your nose, over the top ties so that it's pointing toward the back of your head
5. Tie the top ties again, this time over the bottom tie.
6. Neaten, tighten, artfully tuck.

Here's a video tutorial. The tying starts at about 27 seconds in, if you want to skip forward:

Another way to get to the same end result:

1. Drape the kerchief on your head right-side UP, with the top ties at your shoulders, and the bottom tie draping down over your face/nose.
2. Pick up the top ties and draw them up to the top of your head, and tie them (single cross only), so that they hold down the bottom tie. Release the top ties so they drape on either side of your head.
3. Pick up the bottom tie from your nose, and flip it back over the top ties, so that it points toward the back of your head.
4. Pick up the top ties again, and tie them in a knot. From there, pick up with step 6 in the first set of instructions

And finally - admire your results!

Anna Bland at work on
USS George Washington Carver, 1943.
Public Domain

Welder works on aircraft parts at
Offutt Air Force Base, NE, 1940s.
Public Domain

All Things Knitting

My Available Designs

• The Riveter (free until Election Day, requesting campaign donation).
• The Argus Hat: Pattern, Custom Fitting the Argus Hat (for sale)
• A Beanie BB-8 (unfinished, not for sale)
• Mighty Marty American Doll and Cat Apron (free, but request a charitable donation)
• The Sherlockian (free, but request a charitable donation)

My Unpublished/Unfinished Designs (must have a Ravelry account for access the links, but there are some select photos at the bottom of this post):

• MVP
• The Wild Rumpus Hat
• The Stegosaurus Shawlette
• The Deathly Hallows Illusion Hat
• The Electric Pool Party Hat
• The Iris Tam

General Knitting Techniques used in my designs:

• Knitting Increases
• Beading as you go
• Long-tail cast on (LTCO)
• Cable CO knit / purl

Miscellaneous Knitting Techniques:

• Periodicity TOC: Variegated Yarn Technique Series (unfinished, but includes good info).
• Gradient yarn blending, and applying it to a pattern
• PomPom Magic - Part I: Stripes
• PomPom Magic - Part II: Going Dotty and Losing Your Marbles

Miscellaneous Knitting Stories and Other Stuff:

• My Knitting Yarn (AKA: how I got into knitting)
• My Yarn Books
• Hats, photos, and my address book
• Knitting is some dark magic

Irrelevant/Outdated Knitting Articles:

• Call for Test knitters: The Riveter Headscarf (you know the one - Rosie's "We Can Do It!" red and white scarf)

A Selection of My Best knits:

The Argus Hat (my design, link above)

The Riveter (my design, link above)

Wild Rumpus Hat (my design, unpublished)

Iris Tam (my design, unpublished)

The Argus Hat (my design, link above)

Sean's Simple Harvest

Chad's Chouette

My Salem Slouch

Norberta Shawlette

A Trio of Jayne Cobb Hats

Paul's R2D2 Hat

Wonder Woman Wrap

Knitting Techniques - Increases

I most often use m1 and kfb increases in my patterns (I'll add to this page when or if I ever use other increases in my patterns.

Make 1 (m1)

First, a pneumonic: "I left through the front door, but I'll be right back." I didn't come up with that - I read it on Ravelry somewhere, but it's a lifesaver. Left-leaning M1s (both M1L and M1PL) are worked by inserting the left needle from front to back.  Right-leaning M1s (both M1R and M1PR) are worked by inserting the left needle from back to front.

Conceptually, all m1s are made the same way: 

• Lifting the top strand of yarn that connects the last stitch knitted (on right needle) to the next stitch to be knitted (on the left needle)
• Placing the strand on the left needle (it looks a little like a tight yarn over at this point)
• Working the strand as if it were a twisted stitch.

Note: to borrow from Debbie Stoller's description of how to twist (or not twist) a stitch:

• When knitting normally, you always knit or purl through the leading leg (ie, the portion of the loop that is farther to the right).  This may or may not help, but to me leading leg appears longer than the trailing leg when doing M1s or working YOs on the next row. When working a normal stitch (not an increase) this is typically described as the front leg.  
• When you wish to twist a stitch, you knit or purl through the trailing (or shorter) leg. When it's a regular stitch, it's often called the back loop (ex: k tbl).

Make 1 Left (M1L) or Make 1 Purl Left (M1PL) - "I left through the front door":

• Lift the top strand connecting the last stitch on the right needle and the first stitch on the left needle by inserting your left needle from FRONT to back under that strand. 
• Knit or Purl as appropriate through the trailing leg, which happens to be the back leg in this case.

Make 1 Right (M1R) or Make 1 Purl Right (M1PR) - "but I'll be right back":

• Lift the top strand connecting the last stitch on the right needle and the first stitch on the left needle by inserting your left needle from BACK to front under that strand.
• Knit or Purl as appropriate through the trailing leg, which happens to be the front leg in this case.

For more info on M1 increases (including pictures) see:

• Knits: https://www.purlsoho.com/create/make-one-right-m1r-make-one-left-m1l/
• Purls: https://blog.tincanknits.com/2024/03/20/m1p-how-to-make-1-purl-stitch/

Knit-Front-Back (kfb)

• Insert the right needle into the front loop (leading leg) of the stitch but, leave the stitch on the left needle.
• Insert the right needle into the back loop (trailing leg) and knit. 
• Slip both stitches to right needle.

As American as Apple Pie - Armchair Critics and Simone Biles

Agência Brasil Fotografias,
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

    There are few things more American than apple pie, but apparently one of them is to criticize others.  (Oddly, the people who seem most likely to say, "You have no right to judge me!" frequently seem to be the same ones who don't hesitate to judge others. But I digress.) But there's a person out there who is being judged, and judged, and judged. Not just on balance beam, but in the court of public opinion.

    I'm talking about a woman whom I idolize just a little bit: Simone Biles, who though she be but little, she is fierce.  She's our very own GOAT (Greatest of All Time for my older readers) gymnast, who at 27 is still winning gold in a sport where people start to wash out by 20.  

    But just in the last several weeks, I've seen people criticize Simone Biles for:

1. Her hair

    Apparently, people think her hair needs to be perfect when she's flying through the air at the Olympics, and at her wedding a year or so ago.   The only appropriate thing to say to a woman at her wedding is, "You look GREAT, and I'm so happy for you!" or as she wins a gold medal at the Paris-freaking-Olympics, it's "You did GREAT, and I'm so proud of you!!!"   And seriously, if people are criticizing her lovely thick hair, what must they think of my unkempt, frizzy, graying, and quite obviously thinning hair? 

2. Her medals

    Holy shit, people are angry because her husband (while wearing her medal) posed for a picture with her. It was cute and funny, and don't you remember that in the 1950s, girls wore their boyfriend's letter jackets? Hell, I came up in the 1980s, and girls were STILL borrowing letter jackets from their dates.  Yeah, it's hers, and yeah, he's wearing it, but honestly, you think people are going to get confused who earned it? That if he puts it on and dreams of winning gold, that it somehow diminishes her win?  Besides, if she had a problem with him wearing it, I doubt she would have happily posed with him, nor posted the picture (which is really cute and fun).

3. Her attitude on the podium

    I kid you not - in the video of her team atop the podium being awarded the gold medal, the women were standing with their hands on their hearts, eyes sparkling, smiling, excited, and happy.  They gazed respectfully at the flag, but instead of feeling pride and joy on their behalf, people online bitched that the American gymnasts were too snobby to sing along with the anthem, like the athletes from other countries. There is no winning, because if they HAD sung, people would have complained they weren't solemn enough.

4. Dropping out of the LAST Olympics

    Jesus, people, maybe we should just trust Simone when she says it was too dangerous for her to compete.  The "twisties" are a real thing, and they are incredibly dangerous.  When someone is tumbling through the air, they need to know where their body is, and she didn't. I'm no gymnast, but I am a pretty good swimmer (not world-class by any means, but I did the swim team and lifeguarding thing), and one time I was once playing in the ocean and got tumbled by a wave, and suddenly, I couldn't tell which way was up, I was running out of air, and for a few terrifying moments, I thought I was going to drown in waist-deep water.  Now imagine yourself flying through the air and not knowing where the ground is.  Or imagine driving a car, and your brakes go out.  You really think it's so unreasonable for someone to refuse to drive the car until the brakes are fixed? Yeah, it's a shame she had to drop out, but better that, than sticking the landing on her neck instead of her feet.  Yet, people claimed she failed her country.  I say her country failed her.  People value loyalty so much... yet where was the loyalty to her, one of our greatest athletes?

5. Bringing down Larry Nassar

    She joined the voices accusing the respected Olympic team doctor of sexual abuse.  I really don't get it, but people -- instead of sympathizing with the victims -- often side with the abuser, assuming the victims are just out to get him.  Simone, due to her popularity and success, gets more notice, has more power to be heard.  For many, however, sexual abuse is still something shameful, something to be hidden, and they just cannot approve of the public discussion.  

    In the end, the real issue is that Simone Biles is an outspoken Black woman. She shares memes of her Black job, she claps back at people criticizing her hair, and she puts people in their place when they cross her very reasonable boundaries.  God forbid a woman tell people how to behave, let alone a Black woman.  

    But you know what? She's setting an excellent example for all women, showing us that we no longer need to suffer in silence, that we shouldn't put up with the jerks, that we should take down the abusers, and that she (and we) can set and enforce boundaries.  I don't just idolize her gymnastic talent, but her fierceness, too.  This out-of-shape, middle-aged woman wants to be just like Simone Biles when I grow up.

    I know that with this post, I've joined the ranks of judgemental folks, and yet here I am, clutching my pearls and saying this: you guys can be real assholes. And maybe now I'm one too for saying this next bit, but you need to sit down, shut up, and mind your own damn business.

    And most of all (and I can't believe this needs to be said but apparently it does), when an athlete wins a gold medal, you should be saying things like: "You did GREAT!" or, "Congratulations!" or, "Thank you for your service to our country!"

Call for Test knitters: The Riveter Headscarf (you know the one - Rosie's "We Can Do It!" red and white scarf)

Looking for some quick help - I designed a headscarf inspired by the Rosie the Riveter headscarf in that famous poster from WW2. I'd like to get the pattern ready to publish as soon as possible, and will send 100% of all sales between the release date and election day to Kamala Harris's campaign.  

Me, in the first one I made
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/CathyWeeks/the-riveter

But before I can release it, I need test knitters to make the scarf using my pattern and ensure there aren't any mistakes before I put it up for sale.  In return, I'll give you the final version of the pattern for free.  

Required:

• Intermediate knitting skill, preferably some experience with beaded knits (though beading experience isn't required - it's very easy)
• One skein (100g) of worsted-weight yarn in the color and fiber of your choice.  Two if you are making an extra roomy version either for long hair, or if the recipient has a bigger head.
• Knitting needles
• Pony beads (color of your choice)
• Crochet hook small enough to fit through the beads (or other beading tool of your choice)
• Send me any mistakes you find ASAP
• Preferably, you'd create a project page on Ravelry.

There is no required gauge, and you can use any weight yarn from fingering up through heavy worsted. If you really want to use fingering-weight yarn, that's fine, but it'll take longer (and you'd need to use a very large seed bead (like #2s) and a teeny-tiny crochet hook to get them onto the yarn). 

I'm looking for 4-8 people to test it, one or two people for each of the variations (I have four variations: it can be made with either two or three ties, and there are two different very simple lace patterns for the body, one plain, one a diamond pattern to mimic a bandanna).

If you are interested and can take this on pretty quickly, leave me a comment with your email address. I have comment moderation turned on, and WILL NOT publish the comment with your email - don't want to open you up for spam.  I'll simply reach out to you via email and delete your comment. Alternatively, you can reach me on Ravelry here, or here.

You can see more pics of the diamond lace version here: https://www.ravelry.com/projects/CathyWeeks/the-riveter

J. Howard Miller's "We Can Do It!"
poster from 1943. Public Domain.

House of the Rising Sun/Le Pénitencier (The Penitentiary)

    I'm really not sure how it happened, but my daughter introduced a new obsession to me: The song House of the Rising Sun.  I mean, what even is a "house of the rising sun"? I would guess it's some sort of euphemism, but for what?

    She first noticed the phrase in the song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" (lyrics): 

    It's a great song about a fiddle duel between Johnny and the Devil.  If Johnny wins, he gets to keep his soul, and the Devil's golden hell-fiddle, but if Satan wins, he gets Johnny's soul (if you ask me, Johnny has more to lose).  Anyway, it was the chorus that caught my daughter's attention:

"Fire on the Mountain." Run, boys, run!

The Devil's in the house of the rising sun;

Chicken in the bread pan picking out dough.

Granny, does your dog bite? No, child, no. 

    She knew the song "House of the Rising Sun" -- which is about a life gone wrong in New Orleans -- the most famous version of which was released in 1964 by the British band The Animals (lyrics below):

    This version of the song has been covered by just about everyone (Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, my beloved Joan Baez, Sinead O'Connor and many more modern bands as well). A group called Five Finger Death Punch released a particularly gravelly version in 2014. There are many others.

    What's funny, is that there is little consensus about what the House of the Rising Sun even is. It might be a brothel, a pub, a prison, a hotel, or even a hospital (for more possible real-life locations in New Orleans, see the Wiki article).  Since it mentions the city in Louisiana, that suggests it's a specifically American folk song (there is evidence that it was sung as early as 1905 by American coal miners in Appalachia), but it seems to have roots from long before that, based on much older ballads from England that also use similar phrasing.  

    But one folklorist has proposed a connection to France: the sunburst/rising sun motif was used as a decorative element in France, dating from the time of Louis XIV, who was also known as the "Sun King" (he styled himself after Apollo). The motif was brought to America in the early 1700s by early French colonists. That makes some amount of sense, given the historically strong French presence in New Orleans. Could the real-life building have had something like this decorating it?

   The song was translated from English into French (and many other languages as well), and the singer Johnny Hallyday released a popular version in France in 1964 called "Le Pénitencier / The Prison" (lyrics below):

    The tune is identical, but the lyrics are not a direct translation, though they are thematically very similar:

Original English lyrics
French lyrics / English Translation of French lyrics 

There is a house in New Orleans
Les portes du pénitencier / The jail's doors
They call the Rising Sun
bientôt vont se fermer / Will shut soon
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
et c’est là que je finirai ma vie / And that's where I end my life,
And God, I know I'm one
comme d’autres gars l’ont finie / Like lots of other men did 

 

My mother was a tailor
Pour moi ma mère a donné / For me, my mother has given away
She sewed my new blue jeans
sa robe de mariée / Her wedding dress
My father was a gamblin' man
Peux-tu jamais me pardonner? / May you ever forgive me?
Down in New Orleans
Je t’ai trop fait pleurer / I made you cry so many times already.

 

Now the only thing a gambler needs
Le soleil n’est pas fait pour nous / The sun isn't made for us
Is a suitcase and trunk
c’est la nuit qu’on peut tricher / (Because) we can cheat only during the night
And the only time he'll be satisfied
Toi qui ce soir a tout perdu / You, who lost everything this evening
Is when he's all drunk
demain tu peux gagner / Tomorrow you can win

 

Oh, mother, tell your children
Ô mères, écoutez-moi / Oh mothers, please hear me
Not to do what I have done
Ne laissez jamais vos garçons / Don't you let your boys
Spend your lives in sin and misery
seuls la nuit traîner dans les rues / Astray at night in the streets
In the House of the Rising Sun
ils iront tout droit en prison / Because they'll end up in jail

 

Well, I got one foot on the platform
Toi, la fille qui m’a aimé / You, my girl who loved me so
The other foot on the train
je t’ai trop fait pleurer / I've made you cry so much already 
I'm goin' back to New Orleans
Les larmes de honte que tu as versées / Those shameful tears you shed
To wear that ball and chain
il faut les oublier / Should be forgotten

 

Well, there is a house in New Orleans
Les portes du pénitencier / The jail's doors
They call the Rising Sun
bientôt vont se fermer / Will shut soon
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
et c’est là que je finirai ma vie / And that's where I end my life
And God, I know I'm one
comme d’autres gars l’ont finie / Like lots of other men did.

    Both versions are about regrets and the hope that your loved ones don't make the same mistakes, a wish for a better life for one's children.  And as I look at the lyrics, I can't help but be reminded of the song, "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys (lyrics):

    I suppose the theme of wanting more for your children, of having regrets for a life not-so-well-lived, is universal across languages, cultures, and even musical genres.  

Four Generations of Writers

    There's an old joke about the rivalry between writers and scientists:

Writer: "Scientists don't know how to write."

Scientist: "Oh, yeah? Well, writers don't know how to think."

     My grandfather seems to have been one of those who could do both.  A petroleum engineer recently told me a funny story - he had recently taken a casing design class from Phil Patillo, who passed out a copy of my grandfather's paper to his students.  He told the class, "when given the choice of what to take with you to a deserted island, Arthur Lubinki's 1962 paper, Helical Buckling of Tubing Sealed in Packers or an attractive movie star ... always chose the paper.  The movie star will age, but the paper will always be beautiful."

    Not being an engineer myself, I'm really not in a position to judge the beauty of that paper, but he always was a good writer, mixing the clarity of his scientific mind with a hint of poetry, bringing his experiences to life.  Consider his description of the Nazi invasion of Western Europe on May 10, 1941, written in his third language prior to being fluent, when he was just practicing the language:

    “What it is?—What is the matter?„ I asked myself half awakened in my bed. A canonnade was heard outside. And suddenly a sorrowful widespread sound of sirenes came to me. The sound was increasing during a few seconds and afterward it was fading to begin presently once more. Every one can understand its dreadful meaning. Alarm! The birds of death are flying over the capital!

    “Is the war there?„ I asked myself anxiously. — “Oh no! „ — Still I was fool enough to hope it was not true “Perhaps a squadron of R.A.F. is coming back from Germany and the Belgian army is shooting in a neutral manner that is to say in trying to do no harm„.

    I got on as swiftly as I can. Five minutes later I was in the street

    In spite of the early time it was already certain that the weather will be fine. There was not a cloud in the sky. The sun rised a few minutes before and its feable beams were awaking the earth to live.

    I looked up, but could not discerne at once the airplanes. However I was hearing de roar of their motors, somewhere far up. And suddenly a whiz tore the air. It lasted not long, a few seconds perhaps. I looked eagerly and perceived four or five meters farther, in the middle of the pavement, a thing beaming like a piece of hot steel which just left a forge to be hammered by a blacksmith. Of cylindric shape, its diameter might have been of 6 centimeters and its length of 30. At one end was fasten a fixed steel helix. A hundred meters further another thing like this one fell and a neighbour was pouring a bucket of water on it. But instead of extinguish it, big flames flashed from it.

    Now it was not possible to doubt any more. Incendiary bombs were pouring down on the town. The war burst on this happy little country.

    There are some minor spelling and grammatical errors, and he uses an older European punctuation style, but his writing was clearer and contains fewer errors than many writing in their first language. I am in awe of it.

    Grandpa's oldest daughter, Lillian Lubinski McCullar was also a gifted writer.  Her writing, as a junior high student in the 1950s far outstripped the best of my students when I was teaching high school English. Hell, she wrote better than I did when I was her age. Here's how the 13-year-old Lilly described immigrating to the United States as an almost seven-year-old:

     We left London on February seventh on a huge trans-atlantic Constellation plane. After a pleasant but short two hour flight the plane was obliged to land in a small Irish town because of bad weather. We spent the night there and took off the next morning. Our next stop was to be none other than New York City.  We had a very pleasant flight until the time when the lights of New York could be seen in the distance. It was then that I began to feel sick, I had a headache, a backache, and worse still an ear ache. The stewardess tried to put drops in my ears to stop the ache but I guess I just didn’t understand because I wouldn’t even let her come near me with that horrid medicine, so I suffered, and I might add not in silence, until we landed.

And here's how her 15-year-old self described her birth:

     May tenth nineteen forty is a dramatic day, embedded forever in the perpetual history of Belgium. It was on this memorable day that the impossible happened. The Germans invaded Belgium. This day marked the beginning of a period when war, with its destruction and heartbreak was the prevailing factor which cruelly ruled every individual's existence.

     Two days previous to this attack a daughter had been born to Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Lubinski. She put in her first appearance in a quiet and dignified private clinic in a suburban district of Brussels. Under these unusual circumstances the story of my life began. I was named Lillian and I may never boast of a middle name. My parents obtained my name from no particular source nor does it have an interesting story behind it. My name seems to be the only uncomplicated item in my early life.

    I also love this description of herself, written with self-deprecating humor and honesty:

    Have you ever wondered how far back you can actually remember? I have. After much thought I believe that I have reached a factual circumstance which I can recall today. I remember two of my many revolting hobbies. The first was finding, imprisoning and later torturing huge snails. The second and more worthwhile hobby was raising rabbits. On a warm afternoon while I was walking through the sunlit fields behind our house, gathering various plants to feed my nine rabbits, I heard a terrible explosion nearby. Upon arriving home in hysterics I was told that a bomb had been dropped a few miles away. We quickly sought shelter underground and before long the attack was over with no harm done in our immediate vicinity.

    I myself became a writer, getting a BA in English Writing and an MA in English Education and taught English to high school students, but it was later that I found my true talent was in technical writing.  I once had a boss describe the SOPs I wrote describing how to perform temperature checks in trucks transporting frozen foods (I was working as a contractor for Schwan Foods at the time) as the best in the industry, which made me feel really good.  That said, technical writing is the bastard stepchild to the kind of writing I value most, so I continue to hone my creative writing skills.  

    And finally, Arthur's oldest great-granddaughter (my daughter Kivi) is also a talented writer.  In high school, she was selected to be an alternate for the Teen Artist in Residence at Isle Royal National Park, and won a county-wide essay contest, and she just graduated cum laude with a BFA in Creative Writing.  

    As much as I wish I'd also inherited my grandfather's scientific skill, I'm grateful that I seem to have inherited his ability to write, and that I passed it on to the next generation.