Tropical Rains and Other Learnings from Guangdong, China

My departure date is nigh, and I have been reflecting on my experiences and lessons in a strange and foreign land. This was my first trip off of Continental North America and to a country where I knew nothing of the language. As such, I went through periods of culture shock, isolation, frustration, curiousness, fear, enjoyment, and so forth. I've been trying to pare down my learnings to a few short quips because, honestly, what's more consumable than a saying? China has millions of them.

Learnings of a White Girl in China

1. One person's corruption is another person's legitimacy
2. Living to work is a stupid idea, and most likely propaganda. Be prepared to compete with people who believe in it whole-heartedly
3. Teenagers should not grow up quickly, they should be teenagers
4. The "One Child Policy" sounds like a crazy law that directly intrudes on a person's reproductive rights. That is, until you've been in a country with 1.6 billion people and you can spot 12 pregnant women in a 1 block radius.
5. English is not that great
6. Capitalism in China is unchallenged, there's just no voting or downing on the Communist Party
7. News is biased, irrelevant and sensational crap in countries with or without free speech.
8. You're white. Face it, get over it and start realising that we are a SIGNIFICANT minority that has managed to convince the world of our superiority.
9. Massive economic growth means massive environmental destruction. Sustainability takes too long and its too expensive for people who used to have food stamps and relocation programs
10. Being required to have a permit to live in a city is an odd idea to any person from the west.
11. Children can be annoying no matter where you are.
12. Don't spoil your child, everyone will hate them, they will have no friends and they might end up narcissistic bastards who feel entitled to everything.
13. A fishing village can turn into a city overnight.
    

Market Research (A.K.A. Momma gots herself some Mohair)

My trip to Guangzhou yesterday yielded a whole slew of new treasures, including 1 kg of these two beautifully coloured yarns made of mohair and cashmere. I used to have this wonderful mohair cardigan that I loved so much that I wore holes into the fabric. I ended up cutting the fabric of the cardigan and making some small sachels out of it, but I was so sad that I couldn't feel it's silky goodness against my skin anymore...

Normally, mohair is quite an expensive material to buy. Especially in North America where DIY crafting has led to a number of companies making copious amounts of cash on their "high quality" items targeted specifically at hobbyists. Well, if they're not getting it in China for a fraction of the price, I'll eat my hat. In fact, I'll eat my lime green mohair sweater that I am going to whip up when I return home. I have seen products "Made in Italy", "Made in France" and made in just about every corner of the world turning out of Chinese factories. The materials may come from another part of the world, but China is the world's assembly factory and I'm looking to pick up the run-off.

So, it's my new goal to use my Chinese connections to bring a small business back to my hometown. I want to provide affordable, quality materials to the people I craft with. I don't even need to make a monstrous profit like everyone else. Hell, it won't even be my day job!

I think it might work out, I just need to work at it.

In Other News...

I've been knitting my yoga mat bag like crazy. I've had to restart it about 4 times because I couldn't get the pattern right. Out of immense frustration, I finally went over every little detail, even rechecking how to do the different techniques. My universe almost exploding during this process, as I was struck by the fact that I've been performing yarn overs wrong for about a year. Everything clicked, every pattern that gave me difficulty and every stitch count that didn't add up. So I restarted for the last time, isolated a slight quirk in round 4 (one yarn over at the end is a tricky little devil), and everything has been going peachy. Now I just need to train myself to stop wasting time on the internet and learn how to read and knit at the same time. Learning how to read, knit and do yoga would make my life robotically efficient.

Anyone that interested in fine yarn from China, let me know. I can get wool, cotton, acrylic, mohair, angora rabbit, chenille, cashmere, and many more that I haven't researched yet.

fals/i/ness

The petition criticising "The Colbert Report" from moveon.org has recently entered another realm of free speech and legislation. As reported on chillingeffects.org, the authors of the parody short hosted at the falsiness website have filed suit agains media giant Viacom for demanding that YouTube remove the offending video with a DMCA claim, when the authors were clearly within their rights with self-evident fair use.

All the more power to them. Hopefully they will put a kink in Viacom's rampage of illegal DMCA takedown notices AND expose Stephen Colbert for what he really is. My test of truth: if you haven't been banned by the Chinese Government then you are either irrelevant or lying.

Get banned, Stephen, I dare you.

A Vine Lace Tank Pattern, for your consumption pleasure!

I received a bag of yarn (yes, a bag) from a family member here in Shenzhen. It was this wonderful sport weight, 100% wool stuff that had a cream/green colouring. At the time, the weather was beginning to warm here in the tropics, so I decided to start on something summery so I could wear it in China, and then reuse it when I returned to Vancouver in the summer.

I put together what I like to call a "frankenstein" pattern. Mostly bits and pieces from other patterns in books and on the internet. In the end, I ended up with a tube shape, knit from the top down. I had references for the patterns I "snipped", but since then my harddrive took a nose dive and I lost my bookmarks. I'll go searching for them, but until then, if you see something that might look like a part of a pattern you made, I give you credit!

All my patterns are creative commons material. Use them as you will, for whatever purpose, as long as you give attribution. Thanks!

Vine Lace Tank Pattern:

Materials
5 mm 29" circular needles
Sport weight yarn, I used about 300 yards for a small.
1 " ribbon, colour of choice, around 65" in quantity
*note: the vine lace tends to make this pattern use less yarn than other tank patterns

Gauge:
5 stitches x 6 rows = 1 x 1 inch swatch

Vine Lace (multiple of 9 stitches)
Rnd 1 & 3: k all stitches
Rnd 2: *k1, yo, ssk, k2tog, k2, yo* rep from * until end of rnd
Rnd 4: *yo, k2, ssk, k2tog, k2, yo, k1* rep from * until end of rnd

Pattern:
With 5mm 29" circular needles, CO 81 stitches, pm, CO 81 stitches, pm.
Work in Vine Lace for 1 pattern repeat
Work 1 eyelet rnd: *yo, k2tog* rep from * until end of rnd
k 3 rnds
k 7 rnds

**This next round will be a pair of short rows**
k to first marker, wrap and turn
k to initial marker, wrap and turn

k 10 rnds

**This next round will be a pair of short rows**
k to first marker, wrap and turn
k to initial marker, wrap and turn

k 9 rnds
Work 9 rnds in 2x2 rib

BEGIN LACE PATTERN
10 Pattern Repeats for shorter top
13 Pattern Repeats for longer top
BO loosely

Shaping the bottom: you can switch to larger circular needles around the hips to give the shirt more of a curvy shape. I will also decreased for the last 3 pattern repeats on the longer top version to create the "tucked under" look that is so popular now.

Finishing:
Weave in ends
Wash and block piece, this makes the lace look really defined.
Thread ribbon through the eyelet row on top and tie in front.
Sew ribbon to either side of the top as straps.

In gear

Entering the blogosphere is a rather nerveracking experience. Really, am I so conceited as to believe that what I think and do is important enough to waste the time of other human beings? Perhaps I am. This, however, is no big deal, as pretty much every other person in the universe believes this about themselves as well. In the end, majority wins.

I promise things will get more interesting.