Link to click

http://knittinguniverse.com/portal/CEStrick_STSS12/

If you click on the above link you will see what I am teaching at Stitches South. If you send this link to everyone in the world you know and ask them to click on it, then I could possibly win the grand prize which is given to the person who gets the most hits. It's sort of like venereal disease! You're not just giving it to one person; give it to everyone you know!!

Back from a whirlwind trip to Venice, Florida, where the weather was sunny, humid, and in the 80's. I got to enjoy about 1 hour of it. I arrived on Friday night, taught all day Saturday, and flew home on Sunday. But I did eat lunch outside and it was glorious. My hair was so curly!

Why do they always announce on the PA on airplanes to "sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight."
Number 1: You cannot sit back. Do they mean sit back by making your seat "recline" one inch?

Number 2: Who can relax when your flight is late, you are in danger of missing your connection, and you just know they are going to "lose" your luggage.

Number 3: I can't relax when my butt is asleep, I cannot reach under the seat to get anything out of my carry-on, and the guy next to me weighs 300 pounds and is dripping over the armrest into my space. His legs are touching my legs, and he's dying to talk to me, even though I make a huge dramatic show of putting in earplugs (ie: don't talk to me). I usually knit while flying, and in spite of the earplugs, they always ask, "What are you knitting?" I answer with one word, and mercifully, they usually have no comeback and leave me alone.

I wish for once they would just tell it like it is...."Hi Folks, this is the captain from the flight deck (they don't call it the cockpit anymore...too suggestive). Sorry about the filthy condition of the airplane and the cramped uncomfortable seats. Just because you paid $500 for your ticket doesn't mean you're entitled to anything better. You're just gonna have to suck it up and do the best you can. Oh...and there's a good chance you'll miss your connector, but don't worry, they will give you a cot and pillow if you have to sleep in the airport. And don't count on getting your luggage. And too bad if you're feeling a little hungry. Even 5 bags of peanuts won't do it for you. Have a nice day."

Now would't that be a refreshing change of pace!

Lucky me, I get to fly again very soon, and with the airline that has the worst record of lost luggage and delayed/cancelled flights. Wow.

The Worst 4-Letter Word

From a fiber artist's point of view, the worst 4-letter word I can think of, right now, is MOTH.
I have a closet full of sweaters; some of them I haven't touched or worn in over a decade. One morning I put on one of my most treasured sweaters (and I should mention, has been worn on a regular basis), a warm and lovely alpaca blend that was a design for my book Beyond Wool. I came downstairs and my husband casually said, "What's that hole in the back of your sweater?" I dismissed it as, "Oh no, I probably snagged it on something. " And really, at that moment, I was quite calm. I took it off to investigate, and HORROR!! It was a moth hole. I wasn't calm anymore; I was crazed. After investigating my entire closet, I found just 2 more sweaters with moth holes. And interestingly enough, 1 of those 2 was also alpaca. So apparently the moths in Mansfield Center have expensive taste.

This whole episode opened a can of worms, and I went to work at my closet, weeding out sweaters that were antiques, sweaters I would never wear, sweaters that I haven't worn in over a decade, etc. After looking through all of them I have come to the following conclusions:
-I must have thought I was a size 3X when I made these sweaters
-the old fashion of dropped shoulders really isn't all that attractive, albeit easy to design and knit
-now that my hair has turned gray I have no interest in wearing that color

Click here for the video about the whole sordid affair!