Monday, January 14, 2008

Unrealistic Beauty Standards Part I:




I admit I’m a Bowl Game junkie. I knitted these two hats during the bowl games. I know this is terrible to write, but I am glad Michigan’s retiring Coach Carr won the Citrus Bowl. Personally, as an OSU grad, I wanted to go to the Rose Bowl. Call it Rose Bowl nostalgia or that I’m just showing my age, but to me if you win the Big Ten you should go to the Rose Bowl. I think this pretend college Super Bowl game is just a money maker. When was the last time a Southern team played in Madison during a freezing rain storm in November? If we want to see who the best is; let’s go to a college playoff schedule like the Pros.


Back to the hats – both hats were knitted on 10 ½” needles with double yarn. The yarn was again from my church’s yard sale. I made the patterns up based on previous hats that I have done. The flower is easier than it looks. You again ask where I got the pattern – I don’t remember but it is written on a slip of paper. Here are the instructions.


Materials:8” straight needles and yellow yarn.


Instructions: Cast on two stitches. Knit first row. Second row increase in first stitch and knit across. Third through twelfth row – continue to increase in the first stitch and knit across until you have twelve stitches. Break yarn. Repeat this 4 more times until you have 5 triangles. Don’t break the yarn on the final triangle.


I don’t know about you, but I hate this time of year. It seems to give me the urge to look into the mirror and scrutinize my body. I find that the television is blasting with multiple ads on how we can lose the holiday weight gain fast with “X” diet or some gizmo that will turn the fat into muscles. Admit it, you have seen the advertisements and wondered: “will it really work?” How can you miss them? I’ve stood in line at the grocery store and the cover stories on popular women’s magazines showcase how famous actress(fill in the blank) lost all that weight and now you can see her pelvis bone. One doesn’t have to wonder why 80% of US women are dissatisfied with their appearance.


Years ago, my Uncle Bob gave me pictures of my Great Grandmother. Talk about a big thump in the head. Naomi Griggs Herrick, on the right with her three sisters had the body shape like me – same breasts, same broad shoulders and square jaw line with thick glasses. She lived until her seventies. It made me wonder how my body can ever get to be like those rail thin models based on my genetic make-up without starving, going under the knife or having a liposuction needle (needle gage that has been compared to a size 10 knitting needle) plunged into my body.


What is healthy weight? According the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and assessment of being overweight includes three measures: 1) body mass index (BMI), 2) waist circumference (risk increases with a waist measurement of over 40 inches in men and over 35 inches in women), and 3) risk factors for disease and conditions associated with obesity such as heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes. You can calculate your BMI using this http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm


Flower Instructions continued: Place all 5 triangles on one needle. Join together by knitting across. Knit two more rows. On the fourth row knit K2tog: repeat to the last stitch. Fifth row: K2tog: repeat to the last stitch. Sixth row: K2tog: repeat to the last stitch. You should have about 6 stitches. Break yarn and thread it through. Sew seams and weak threads.

Note: For those Buckeye fans, we still get our Rose Bowl game. OSU will play USC in LA on September 13th. Go Bucks.

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