Best Quote I Heard All Day
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. --Hunter S. Thompson


Fear and Loathing in New Jersey. Nine to ten hours a day of work. And knit those rows when you can, under the desk but not in the car. I’m writing this early in the morning in my office, just so’s I can actually get something up on the blog. Hey, it beats doing the Student Support Satisfaction Survey report.

Cotton Deadlies
I’ve barely had enough time to read the collective mags with their preponderance of heavy cotton objets but it’s no loss, based on the photos I’ve seen. I did not buy Knitter’s. In fact, I don’t think I’ve purchased a copy in a year.

I have an abhorrence to putting my money in the X-men’s pockets, you know?

Actually, this issue’s cover was the best they’ve had in a long time; however, I can’t say much for the garments within. Very blah, as usual. Have you noticed that other than Kathy Zimmerman, most of the designers are relatively unknown? I wonder how much the Drag-goon has pissed off the famous designers? No Tiny Diva in this issue, haven’t seen Meg’s name in ages, nothing from Deborah Newton or Kristin Nicholas. Even the ubiquitous Nicky Epstein and Norah Gaughan are missing in action.

Very Odds and Ends
The Ran tunic is almost done and with that, I leave the world of other people’s designs and head into my own fresh design hell. I figure I need to do some designs for the book, based on my outline. One of my planned projects is a fitted short jacket, knit in linen stitch, which will use about 8 shades of Koigu, from light to dark, in varying shades of light blue to darker blue to magenta. You have to see the shades to get the picture. Since Kathy has all the KPPPM numbers memorized, perhaps I can just give those to you and she can say yea or nay. Heh.

One chapter will be devoted to an anatomy of a sweater’s creation, and I think this will be the one to document it.

There will be no warshcloths or felted bottle covers in the book. Forewarned is forearmed.

Annie’s Book
I got Annie Modesitt’s book, Knitting Heretic, last week and it’s been a good read. There’s some really good info in it besides the combined knitting—excellent sections on the use of I-cord, cabling without needles, etc. I personally have not been inclined to learn combined knitting because I’m perfectly happy with the way I knit; however, it’s always good to know about it. There may come a time when I might want to use it.

It’s really hard to criticize a friend’s work. I love Annie dearly. However, I would hope she will view my book with her eagle eye when it comes out, too. The book format needs to be larger than digest size and the type needs to be larger because I’m fucking blind. Those are my two main criticisms of the book.

I also hope there aren’t as many people who think they knit incorrectly as Annie seems to think there are. Jesus. Telling someone they hold their needles incorrectly and create their stitches wrong is like telling them they aren’t using proper sexual techniques. Everyone does both in their own way.

Hey, if you make the fabric, you’re knitting correctly, eh? I wouldn’t deign to tell you if you’re having sex correctly. I hope you are.

And with that, I must publish this to the blog, get myself some caffeine, and hie me to the conference room by 9 a.m.

Ah, this corporate life I live. So rare and so fucking unhandy. But it pays the bills.