Am I Getting Old or What?

When did I ever fit all this shit in?

Booked Solid
I never used to understand when folks said they were too busy for something. To me, that always meant whatever they were too busy for, was just less important.

Well, with just work alone, all else seems to be falling by the wayside, and I'm still falling behind in some areas of my work.

It's definitely getting to where I need to retire.

Knitting
I promised a picture of progress on the sweater. I was able to get a little more done.



I've actually finished the left-front, but I didn't have time to take a more updated picture.

JoAnn Yarn
Okay, I know novelty yarns are the epitome of knitdweebishness. And buying said novelty yarn at JoAnn's would indicate I live in a double-wide.

However, when I compare the JoAnn brand of novelty yarn to any of the other brands, I have to say, JoAnn's is better and less expensive.

When I used to purchase any of the more well-known brands, I could usually purchase enough to make a scarf for about $10 worth of yarn, and they were all acrylic.

Whereas with JoAnn's yarns, I can make a bigger scarf for anywhere between $4 and $8, and many of their yarns have some percentage (albeit, small) of natural fiber.

I knit the following three scarves and they look better than most of the earlier novelty scarves I've knitted.



I enjoyed working with the yarns so much, that I actually made three more scarves (well, two and a half, I haven't quite finished the last one).

Thaddeus liked the black one in the picture so much, he's claimed it as his own.

They're backing up the double-wide right now.

Magazine Reviews
I did a brief review and have minimal comments.

INK Knitters is boring as hell and I didn't find any of the technical articles interesting or useful. Others might. The patterns aren't even worth mentioning. They use one pale blonde model throughout the magazine that should be posed in a coffin.

Vogue Knitting had only one thing that I loved and that was Brandon Mably's sweater. His color choices are becoming more and more his own as he does less Kaffe-like color combinations. This one is a spectacular color combination and still perfect for a man to wear.

Also, the Koigu pants are fabulous. Would I make them? No. Would I wear them? No. Do I think they're practical? No. Do I love them? Yes, quite a lot. Again, the colors are phenomenal.

Readers' Comments/Questions
kiki mentions that her knitting with GemStones (the black JoAnn yarn) came out ghastly.

I knit a simple seed stitch on US10.5 needles and it came out like felted cloth with colored thrummings. For the purple scarf, I went up to a US15 and I like the looser fabric.

On Parka zippers, there is a secret to making them work easily.

Making sure both zipper carriages are at the bottom of the zipper, insert the male end of the zipper into the top carriage and pull down on the male side while pulling up on the carriage side. Pull more than you think you need to before guiding the top carriage gently up the zipper. It works every time.

As far as usefulness of a parka zipper...they come in very useful when you're driving. It allows you to unzip up from the bottom to accommodate your lap more easily.