Best Quote I Heard All Day
Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody thinks of complaining.--Jeff Raskin

If I told you I had to switch to Mozilla because Microsoft IE refuses to load ONLY the Blogger editor, you'd believe me...wouldn't you?

Professions of Knitters
So far, according to what I've read on the KnitList, it would seem that there are a lot of RNs (touchy-feely people) and chemists/engineers (touchy-feely people who stroke test tubes and duct tape). And a shitload of lawyers. Loopy's take on all this? (I do give credit where credit is due, especially when I couldn't have put it better myself.)

I'm a hooker. I knit my very own fishnet stockings. Right now I'm working
on a thong, but Lily keeps trying to steal the pattern for some HYUK thing
(I think it's a lung ailment). Next will be a matching peek-a-boo bra, if I
don't get beat up by my pimp too badly for wasting all my time knitting!
Gotta keep filling the coffers, ya know!

Now you know why Loop is an honorary KC...

I Spit in Your General Direction
So WTF is the latest fixation with the use of bodily fluids to splice yarn? And why are we concerned with the word "spit"? Personally, I prefer to use a #1 dp to dig out ear wax, roll it flat, and conjoin the two yarn ends that way...

To spew a little more--in reality, I never splice, not even on lace. More trouble than it's worth. I simply tie a half-hitch (get out your Girl Scout/Boy Scout manual and read the fucking directions because I'm not going to tell you how to make it), and continue knitting. When the mood strikes me or when I have knitted an inch or twa, I undo said half-hitch and weave ends into the backs of the stitches. And yes, this does work on lace if you know what you're doing. Flinging a lunger onto my yarn is not what any diety intended me to do.

There's nothing worse than spit-drenched fiber...unless my cat Milo has licked it, in which case, cat spit is definitely slimier than human spit.

Am I Knitting or What?
Well, I'm fiddling around with yet another sock design for "varugated" yarn--this time, it's a woven stitch. Yeah, yeah, I'll put the pattern up on the Freebies page but I swear to God, this is the absolute last free pattern I give you guys. I mean it! I really must get back to the Oceania and the Pickpocket and the Grand Avenue vest at some point. But socks give me such instant gratification. And I haven't done a thing about my Rock n Roll Sock Collection since my ulnar nerve went bad this summer.

So the winter will be filled with lots of knitting, if work doesn't get in the way...or a swell shopping trip. For all of you who responded to my poll request, I will absolutely let you know if you're right. In four weeks or so...

How infinitely rare! And indubitably handy (although not always)...

Best Quote I Heard All Day
New York... when civilization falls apart, remember, we were way ahead of you.--David Letterman

Chicago was great...I could live there...or Philadelphia.

Warning: Snotty Knitting Shop In Chi
So while Achim was working the Philips Med Systems area at the Radiological Society of N. America show, I went traipsing all over Chicago. What fun! And one night, when we were walking over to an Irish pub we really liked, I spotted...Tender Buttons! Yes, a branch of the famous Tender Buttons in NYC. Of course, I was there the next day. Lovely shop and superlative vintage buttons...and a very nice woman who pointed me towards a yarn shop around the corner on Oak St.

Now, I'm not one of your knitters who MUST go yarn shopping when I am out of town. Frankly, I have better things to do. And it's been my experience that it's unlikely that I will find anything I haven't already seen. Better bets are farmers' markets for handspun stuff. But what the hell, I went over to this shop, We Keep You In Stitches.

Not much to laugh about there. It's a 4th floor atelier and I guess I didn't make much of an impression on the two aging babes who were minding the till. Because I stood there for 5 minutes looking at last summer's issue of Rebecca and gazing at the woeful selection of Anny Blatt yarn without either of them even flapping their eyelids at me. So fuck it, I said to myself and opened the door to leave. "Can we help you?" one of the gargoyles asked.

"Too late," said I and down the stairs I went. If you're in Chicago, don't bother with this place.

Non-knit Poll
(Loopy is sick of this, I'm sure, but I have to ask absolutely everyone, so bear with this story and then give me your dollah-three-eighty.)

Over some Guinness Wednesday night, Achim held my hand and said, "When I come back from Australia in 5 weeks, you will put on a nice dress and I will put on my suit, and we will go shopping."

"Why the dress? Why the suit?" I didn't have a clue as to what he was talking about.
"Because that is the custom in Germany," he says with a shit-eating grin on his face.
"What are we going to buy?" I couldn't even imagine, especially with yours truly in a dress and Mr. Jeans Guy in a suit.
"Can you keep a secret?"
"Sure." Now I was really curious.
"Good. So can I. So shut up and don't ask me because it's a surprise and I'm not telling you."

And he won't. Despite my pestering him. What do you all think we're going shopping for? I have my thoughts but I'd love to hear yours.

Could it be handy? How rare!

Best Quote I Heard All Day
"It is dangerous to be sincere unless you are also stupid."-- George Bernard Shaw

And I know ever so many sincerely stupid people...

Greetings from Chicago
God, it's cold here...and nasty...and snowy. But having a great time, this is a terrific city. AND there is a Tender Buttons 3 blocks from my hotel. How handy!

And Can You Get Cashmere to Knit With?
Achim asked me that the other day. This was after he was gifted with the socks. Heh. I think perhaps he needs a virtual trip to Patternworks' web site to see exactly how much a sweater hand knitted in cashmere costs. Am I thinking about doing this? Yep. OK, I'm a sucker for him, I admit it. But the opportunity to design and knit a cashmere sweater is very appealing.

Will the finished sweater go on the Freebies page? Will I ever start charging for my patterns?

Film at 11. And yes, I'd better start charging. I need the money. Period.

Knitting on Planes
You can. I did. Are we finished with this now? I hope so.

Staples Commercial
Who gives a rat's ass? Honest to God. Sincerely stupid idiots who worry about commercials, that's who. I know what my "image" as a knitter is. Bite me.

And as the snow comes down, I can only say to you all...

How rare!