Last couple of days have been moderately hectic so not much knitting has gotten done. Well, unless you count the hours I tried out shawl patterns and the ever-growing pile of reject swatches on the table beside me. I got a bit more done on the bag and that’s about it.
Frown…
I guess I’ll stop worrying about that for now and try to decide whether I want a sweater and whether I have any real chance of finishing a sweater project - not just in time for the trip - ever :)
I finally got all my Christmas knitting delivered yesterday. Everyone seemed to like their gift - the mitts, the shawl, etc were all happily received. But the hat (this hat) went over especially well. From my point of view as the maker, it couldn’t have been better- the color was ideal for the recipient, and the fit was perfect. Even better, though, was her reaction which was to immediately put it on, parade around modeling the thing and then come back to pout that it was too warm to wear indoors but she didn’t want to take it off. As an unbiased observer (cough!) it was utterly adorable on her too. Ahhh - that was fun :)
I do understand that a lot of people out there are more than happy to let others do the work for them. But I also know how confusing issues like gauge, sts/inch, weight and length (of the yarn in the ball) can be to someone. It took me a while to get comfortable with these things; I think very few people get it immediately. To a new knitter, or someone not very mathematically adept, these things can seem quite intimidating.
Last week on one of the e-mail lists, someone asked the perennial favorite question about how to figure out substitutions between one yarn and another. The question was answered, rather nastily (I can’t imagine why they even bothered since it obviously pissed them off no end) by someone who clearly felt that the asker was being lazy by not looking up the particulars herself .
What made all this particularly stand out in my mind is the many times recently that I’ve seen knitters referred to as exceptional, caring people, both on the web and on the lists. What does that mean? We’re willing to throw a few bucks at our favorite charity but we can’t take the time to answer a question without being all snide about it?
One of the things that makes winter tolerable (maybe even desirable) for me is the availability of fresh, affordable citrus, mainly oranges and grapefruits. This year, things haven’t gone so well with the citrus crops so availability is limited and prices are high (at least in New England). But, to my surprise, two different chains had sales this week, one on oranges and one on red grapefruit.
I haven’t tried the grapefruit yet (though I plan to almost as soon as I finish this post!) but the oranges are sensational! Peeling and eating an orange is such a sense-involving experience that I was really feeling bad about the possibility that there might not be any at casa de wolfandturtle this year. The market had both Florida and California oranges. I have no idea whether there’s a difference, but I asked Myria and she suggested the Californias. They certainly are awesome!
And I’m afraid you’ll all have to excuse me now, I need my second cup of coffee - and I’ve made myself hungry!
No trackbacks yet.
the texas citrus crops didn’t take such a weather beating this past growing season and the texas red grapefruit is very good this year- (shameless plug for texas!!)
i think a lot of people get snarky about answering quetions when they see the same ones coming up again and again- i think they don’t realize lists get new members frequently and an ‘old ?’ to some is brand new for others- i’m sure that checking past messages might help but with subject lines never saying much that’s hard to do- anyway, i abhor rudeness and agree that silence is better than a condescending reply-
yes, you *will* make a sweater *if* you really want to- and we won’t even discuss a certain shawl that is still unmade will we?
stay happy-
I admit that under extreme circumstances I can be as rude and impatient as the next person but I try really hard not to be. This really snarky response got to me because I could just see the poser of the question deciding that she could never ask another without getting her head bitten off. And I kept wondering if she was new and if some friend had told her how wonderfully helpful the list was. Made me very unhappy…
I guess we’ll see about the sweater; I’m going to play around with that idea this afternoon :) Got some nice, Spotlight cotton to play with!
Awwwwww, I want those oranges. I adore oranges. We can’t grow them in England so they’re always imported :(
Pam - I assume that means they have to be imported and are therefore expensive? You have my sincere sympathies :( Believe me, I feel lucky enough to have them here this year.
Hey somewhere (and I’ll be totally irresponsible and quote without remembering my source) I heard that the difference between Florida and California oranges is this: Florida oranges are the incredibly juicy ones because it’s so much wetter there, and California oranges are dry, but the flavor is more intense. So they recommend Florida oranges for juice and California oranges for eating. Did that make sense?
I positively love the mathematical aspect of knitting and other crafts. As a seamstress by trade, I use math constantly. And it can be confusing at first. I remember teaching a fabrication class about pattern repeats on fabric and even in person with actual examples in front of us, it was difficult to explain.
So I hope that newbie knitter wasn’t turned off by one person’s comments. And I know I’m rude and impatient, so I apologize to knitters out there for my past or future offenses.
Hey Laura - Thanks for the info about the California vs Florida oranges. The ones I have seem to bear that out.
Welcome to the Rude and Impatient club. Our motto is “We try not to be” :).
The Florida citrus crop, especially grapefruit, took it in the ear in 2004 due to the hurricase. We have crap available in the stores here, and they are already raising prices of juice to what Floridians think are astronomical amounts!! From what previous comments say, I am wishing for TX fruit now!!
Kim - You have my sympathies :( When Floridians can’t get reasonably priced citrus fruit or juice, things are way out of kilter.
I also don’t understand why a person would give a snippy answer to a question posted on an email list. Of course you here similar questions and answers over and over, it’s a list. People ask their questions when they need the information. Sure, you can sometimes google. But, honestly, it’s not *that* easy to find reliable answers to certain types of questions by googling.
Lucia - I agree. For some questions, a human answer is far more preferable to a web page definition.
