"I have come to kill in the name of God"

So said Yishai Schlisel on June 30th of last year when he began indiscriminately stabbing people in the gay pride parade that went through Jerusalem.

There Are Civilized People in the Middle East
Fortunately, he was only able to stab three people before he was subdued. More fortunately, none of the stab victims died. Even more fortunately, Mr. Schlisel will be spending the next 12 years in Israeli jail.

Despite all the numerous examples, I find it hard to fathom that anything, especially religious fervor, could incite someone to forget the humanity of another.

Current Knitting
I've completed another couple of rounds on the border of the Accidental Shawl, but any picture of it would look pretty similar to the last two. Perhaps I'll try to get another picture of this shawl tomorrow.

Other Fiber Activity
I finally finished the first bobbin of singles on the Blueface Leicester. If all of the bobbins weigh the same, then I spun 9.5 ounces of singles onto that first bobbin.



I also just barely got started on the second bobbin. Since I'll be triple-plying this yarn, I've got a lot of work to do on the singles. Fortunately, I'll have some time to spend on this endeavor over the next couple of weeks.

Vacation
Some of you know that Thaddeus and I usually take a February vacation in Cancun, Mexico. The annual vacation was scheduled to have us travelling there next week. Unfortunately, we were notified at the beginning of the year that the hotel where we stay won't be repaired from the hurricane damage until May.

So, we cancelled our trip to Cancun this year.

Instead, we'll be taking day trips and relaxing around the house for a couple of weeks. We're looking forward to it.

One of the day trips planned is to see a play in New York City, called Jump/Cut. Knitting pal, Lisa, is part of the Women's Project, and helped bring this production to the stage. We'll be going to the Wednesday matinee on the 22nd of this month.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Regarding the lousy magazine designs, Marilyn notes, "As long as the yarn companies dictate to the knitting magazines, you're going to keep seeing crap."

I'm glad she mentioned this, because I forgot the how much the influence of yarn-pushers on the bad designs in the magazines. Most of what it seems the yarn stores are selling is the crap that's being shown in the magazines too.

Last time I went shopping for yarn, I was looking for a superwash, DK weight yarn in a vibrant color, like red or purple or even an interesting blue. After looking in four yarn stores, I could easily have bought enough novelty yarn to knit a poncho that would have made up for the missing ozone layer, but I couldn't find enough superwash DK weight yarn to make a baby blanket.

So sad.

Allen's also right...I just shouldn't buy them. If I had even a modicum of self-control, I wouldn't...I promise to stop buying them until they have at least three good designs.