Being Exactly As You Are

I believe there is no better gift than presenting yourself to the world as exactly what you are.

Designer Feedback
One of the designers who I critiqued recently (I had favorably things to say about one of her designs and less-than-favorable things to say about a second), e-mailed me to ask what she could have done better with the second design.

I went back to the design I had commented negatively about and sent her an e-mail with more detail on what didn't work (in my opinion).

She was very open to feedback, and was grateful that I took the time to reply to her request. That kind of openness is how I hope readers of this blog view me.

Recent Political Bickering
Michele started a mini firestorm with her comments about the federal government.

I appreciated her comments and actually agree with her that the Federal Government has proven over and over to be lousy administrators of large-scale programs. I disagree when she seems to think that the current administration has a laissez-faire philosophy. Quite the opposite. I think the current Redumblicans give all the power and money to corporations who have been the only entities who have proven less effective than the Federal Government in providing any kind of boost up for underpriveleged Americans.

That being said, I still appreciated her comments.

Kathy and I have never seen eye-to-eye on political issues, but I'm still glad she's a knitting buddy. We need our token conservative in the group to keep us a little honest.

And one last thing on this issue. Michele seemed to indicate that I believed there are no generous, thoughtful Redumblicans who want to be of service to the world. I know there are lots of them out there. I just think their party doesn't represent them when they're in office.

Current Knitting
Okay, well I've gotten up to about 13 inches on the body of the wool/hemp pullover, and I'm getting to the point where I'll have to decide on whether to steek or to knit back and forth.



My original thought was that I wanted the flashing and pooling to stay consistent, so I was initially going to steek both the arm holes and the neck opening. But now that I've worked with this yarn a little, I'm thinking it wouldn't be a very stable steek without sewing down the waste stitches.

I've decided I will take my chances with the pooling and striping, and knit the remainder of the sweater flat.

Blog Presents
The other blog present I had in the mail when I got home Thursday night was a book from the publishers of the Maran Illustrated books.



I got an e-mail early last week from the publishers, and they asked if they could send a free copy of the book for my review. I'm assuming they hoped for a positive review here on my blog.

I have to say this is by far, the most clear, easy to read introduction to knitting and crocheting I have ever seen. Even moreso, it's an excellent reference for those techniques where I have to refresh my memory everytime I do it (e.g., Kitchener stitch)

The pictures are clear and bright and plentiful. The instructions are simple and succinct. And they even have some good starter projects. I am most impressed with how this book is layed out, and the index is substantial, and easy to search. It is honestly, everything I could have wanted in a knitting reference book.

The book retails for US$24.99, and in my opinion, it's well worth it.

To be honest, if the book had sucked, I probably would have just provided the publishers with direct feedback on why I couldn't recommend it. Fortunately, it was as good as expected.

If all their other books are on the same level as this book, I would always use one of their "how-to" books over any other brand if they had one available.

Check it out, if you get a chance to see it.

Readers' Comments/Questions
I didn't hear anything from Franklin on whether he'd be open to the "Franklin Fresh Air Fund", so I'm not sure if he'd be open to it, or even available schedule-wise. I was glad that Selma reminded me, this was her great idea. Have I mentioned what a Selma fan I am (that's one thing Kathy and I do have in common).

If he'd like to come out for Rhinebeck, I will set up a PayPal button for contributions. Perhaps we could make it an annual charity event and bring other "city folk" to the country for fiber intoxication