Best Quote I Heard All Day
If no one ever took risks, Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor. -- Neil Simon

From my August 14, 2002 entry:
The blogs represent all that is innovative on the internet knitting scene today, in my opinion. My greatest fear is that the K-Dweebs find out about blogs and we start seeing "My Knitted Warshcloths" blogs and "Kathie's Kute Kool-Aid Knits" blog......but nah. To do a blog means you need to be technical...and then the K-Dweebs would have to start a list that would answer such questions as "What is HTML?" and "when I click 'Publish,' I can't find my website." But forewarned is forearmed. This could happen.

What I wrote three years ago has to a large extent come true, unfortunately. However, the innovative blogs still exist and continue to multiply, perhaps not at the pace of the "FO! FO!" blogs. (There is in fact a list for knitting bloggers.)

Now along comes a new innovation, the podcast. Brenda Dayne, a Wales-based American writer who often contributes to Interweave Knits, has started Cast-On: A Podcast for Knitters, an audio knitting magazine.

Brenda is a born broadcaster with a voice that doesn't grate but is low-key and pleasant. I found her podcasts just the right length, just the right modulation. She plays unusual yet compelling music--thanks for turning me on to The Lascivious Biddies, Brenda--and still keeps the focus on knitting with essays on knitting by knitters and her own thoughts and views on knitting. Intelligent talk in an innovative medium. I must say, though, that I'm glad she salvaged her Clapotis and made it into something potentially far more useful.

You'll have to listen to understand that last sentence.

Franklin's going to be doing an essay for Cast-On soon. Can't fault Brenda for her taste. I'll be listening. And I hope you'll give it a shot too. (Be patient, these mp3 files are big and take a while to download, so do something else while you're waiting.)

In Lieu of Fiber Pictures

This picture made the rounds when I worked at The Chubb Institute. We all had a copy. When my boss left the company, I gave him a framed copy as a going-away gift. (He had a great sense of humor.)

Whether you work, whether you're at home with the kids or retired, it's a good one to keep at hand.

Obligatory Knitting Shit
Several projects--the Diamusee socks, the Melanie shawl and my weaving sampler--aren't yet finished so I'm not going to bother putting up photos this entry. Perhaps the next one. I did ply and skein some more of the Starry Night so I might take a photo of that because it's been a while.

Merry Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice!
Here's Your Handknit Felted Water Bottle Cover
I'm not the one to knit holiday presents so that I can make the holidays even more insane than they already are. I tend to knit socks as adjunctive presents but I never make a trumpeted announcement to the intended recipients beforehand. That way lies disaster.

Besides, my family likes getting my socks so I know ahead of time that they are worthy handknitted gifts. I never did get the general KnitDweeb frenzy of forcing a horrific knitting deadline on oneself, only to be frantically finishing Susie's WoolEase hoodie at 2 a.m. Christmas morning.

I'm usually wrapping presents at that hour, myself.

Take a Music Bath
Oliver Wendell Holmes was exactly right. He said: Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons. You will find it is to the soul what a water bath is to the body.

Franklin's entry of yesterday, while funny as always, points to a larger topic, as does Brenda's podcasts. Music and knitting go hand in hand, rhythm to rhythm. Spinning too. I have music playing almost constantly, music of all types, when I knit, write, spin, weave.

Here's a sample of what I'm listening to this week: The Boston Camerata's album A Renaissance Christmas. This is a wonderful early music ensemble.

And then there's this: Lou Reed at his finest.

I listen to opera, rock, classical, punk, folk, reggae, jazz, even the occasional Patsy Cline song. No rap. Can't do rap. If I can't sing or whistle the tune, it's not music to my ears.

I might add that William Shatner could be one of my favorite male singers. What a rare and handy crooner.