Best Quote I Heard All Day
If we don't change direction soon, we'll end up where we're going.--Professor Irwin Corey

And that's the topic of the entry, mostly.

Ch-ch-ch-change
I've been doing a considerable amount of thinking about the blog lately. It occurred to me that I'm boring myself. And that's not good.

I have to admit, over the last year and a half, I've said all I feel like saying about KnitDweebs, Knitter's, the X-men, the Tiny Diva, et al.

After all, what else is there to say about any or all of them? Not much. Until something new and moronic shows up on the scene.

I take my writing seriously. It's something that I've been doing since I was eight years old and I know intuitively when I need to stop. If I have nothing to say, then I don't say it, in person or on the page. That does not mean I intend to cease and desist writing the blog. What it means is that I need to take a different tack. And I'm not yet sure what that is.

My intention, when I first started writing the blog, was to sound off on what irked me in the knitting world. And so I did and have. And didn't much give a shit whether anyone read what I wrote or not. I still feel that way. If I had wanted fame and fortune from knitting, it sure as shit wouldn't have been through this blog, God knows. I would have kissed ass and probably written stupid little articles and designed stupid little garments and worked the magazine editors. But these days, I find myself perhaps more interested in being a solution rather than yapping about the problems. Independent bitch that I am, I will have to figure out exactly how to do that on my own terms.

So what I am saying is this: I will continue to write what I want and if that goes off into another realm, so be it. You may be reading more about what I like and less about what I don't. You may see more of my design work and less crabbing about other people's stuff.

Who knows? Of course, you are always welcome to voice your opinions. I might just listen.

Compute This
I can always get enthusiastic about computer applications, especially those that make my knitting life easier. When Cochenille first came out with their Stitch Painter program, I owned a Mac G4 and was totally enthralled with creating my own charts, some of which I even used.

Alas, the G4 was long ago consigned to some computer landfill place and I was forced to PC myself. So I bought Stitch and Motif Maker, Version 2 from Knitting Software, the company owned by knitter and programmer Carole Wulster. I found it to be not as "robust" a program, as they say in corporate America. To put it mildly, Stitch and Motif Maker lacked a lot of Stitch Painter's versatility.

Version 3 is now out. And finally, here's a charting program to be reckoned with, if the advance info is on the money. I just ordered my upgrade. And I can't wait. Hey, a 50-page Help manual, well-written and concise, is available to read on Carole's site, as is a free downloadable demo. Check it out.

December's Bizarro Link
I'm already getting some submissions from readers, but I'm going to issue a challenge: Find a bizarro link in keeping with the holiday spirit. Be it Christmas, Chanukah, K'waanza (hope I spelled that right). You know what I'm looking for. Or you should.

If you've sent in a link, I'll be checking it out. I may not use it this month. I may not use it at all. But I'll look at it.

Thanksgiving Weekend
Thursday I cook for the family. Friday I'm going with John and his daughter to Saratoga Springs to visit some friends of his. The Lavold vest goes with me and I expect it will be totally finished by Sunday. Hope you all have a good holiday. If you don't live in the US, then it's just another Thursday, isn't it?

A four-day weekend is way too rare but nonetheless handy.