Decision 2008:

When I listen to knitting podcasts, I'm very much a 'one podcaster at a time' kind of gal. When I found Lime & Violet's, I ate them up entirely until I had depleted my stock. I did that with the KnitPicks one and David Reidy's as well.

Of course, it helps that I didn't get on the podcast bandwagon until (in some cases) years after they'd started their shows - thus giving me a slew of material to gobble up from start to finish.

David Reidy's was the latest I'd devoured and was the one I thought I would have the least interest in. I dunno - him being a dude, and foreign . . . and a dude. I just didn't think I was going to find him interesting.

Holy cats was I dead wrong on that one. He is probably my favorite of all so far (and I've listened to a fair bit of the podcasters out there). To start off with, his voice is very nice to have nestled in my ear (I wear headphones so as not to be annoyed with tv noises). He loves the process and structure of knitting and he communicates very well his thoughts and ideas and interests. The last few of his podcasts, he's lamented the lack of knitting items 'for blokes' in the knitting magazines.

Which brings me to my title. I never thought of the compilation of a knitting magazine from any other viewpoint than 'oh, lets see what they have that I'm never going to knit but just love the pretty pictures' angle, 'cuz . . . that's the angle I view them.

Sometimes I notice some baby-related item and breeze on by because I don't (yet) knit stuff for kids. Sometimes I notice there is a pattern for a men's vest or (gasp) tie, but again, I don't knit for dudes either, so I keep on truck'n. The Mike would rather stick a spinnerbait hook in his eye than be caught dead in some vest-like garment so why would I even pay attention?

Everything else is geared towards the ladies, and I love looking at it all. I don't plan on wearing any of it myself, but I do love the idea of knitting pretty things and pretty things are CHICK things - not dude and kid things.

So there I was last night, trying to find the right childs/kids sweater garment. All of a sudden I realized . . . there aren't too many kid things to knit in the Vogue or IK magazines!!! When I thought there was such a plethora (because I wasn't interested at the time) it now feels like quite a drought (desperately looking for something decent!).

I pulled out the two remotely possible pattern books I have (Something Something Knitting Something for the Pampered Baby Something and Knitting Something Year Round Something - [aren't you impressed with my mad memorization skills? Me either, LOL]). Absolutely zero appealed to me. I ravelled my little fingers off and still . . . nothing.

Today though, I hit paydirt.



Elann's Pinwheel Jacket by Shelley Mackie

Cute ain't it? Knit in the round and no seams. Hell, I could knit that in my sleep! I've made probably 15 felted purses just like that. The armhole part will be new to me, and thus enough of a challenge that I'm not cheating in any way (yeah, I know I'd only be *cheating* myself, but it matters to me).

So that's the news on the sweater front (but not the front of the sweater! HA! I slay me.)

Totally off topic: Ever since I went to Stitches West with KnittingSuzanne, I don't like Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

Sorry. I know some people just gasped out loud right there, but that's how I feel. It's not their yarn, or anything important. I was seriously NON-impressed with the way they ran their booth, and the icy attitude I felt when there. That's all. Because of that, even though I have gotten to touch Real. Live. Socks That Rock yarn and it's nice . . . I ain't interested. Let me rephrase. I *wasn't* interested. Until I just saw their latest colorway in honor of Stephanie Pearl-McFee's Doctor's without Borders charity cause.

It's called Knitters without Borders and I think I swooned slightly when I caught sight of it on Lime & Violet's Daily Chum today.



Get me a spoon because I want to eat this UP!