November 17th: Everything's falling apart!

Ack! Everything is falling apart! It started a couple of weeks ago when the zipper pull on my Knitpicks Options Case fell off. Just... broke and fell off. Oh well, I thought, I can just move the slider back and forth. Annoying, but still functional. Well! Then, this weekend, the slider just breaks apart. *poof* I can no longer close the zipper.


This is what's left of the slider thingy.

I contact Knitpicks and they are quick to respond and mail me a new one. I was going to wait and mention it once I receive the replacement, but then two (2!) things busted tonight.

First: One of my 40" options cables pulls apart. This is not quite a *poof* moment because I was pulling on the cable from the needle end. Still, I did not appreciate that breaking. I'll be letting knitpicks know what happened, but it's probably more in the realm of user error than defective item. Thankfully I didn't drop any stitches.


Second: One of my favorite stitch markers went poof. This is what they look like:


But this is what one of them now looks like:


The bending is my fault. Inexplicably, the bead portion just fell off! It's still whole, so I tried to force it back on, and cannot. I guess the marker is technically still functional, but it's gonna catch on everything now. :P


I mean, really, what the hey? I understand things break, but this is all going down at the same time. The needle broke on my first row of joining the sleeves of the Amelia cardigan to the body. The stitch marker went sometime in the next couple of hours. Yeesh. Here's to hoping everything stays in one piece tomorrow.

Rant ahead

Photo borrowed without permission of Interweave Knits

What is there, a war against button bands? I see so many adorable cardigans and they're all secured by a single button at the neck, or maybe two or three buttons on the top half, with the bottom part swinging free in the breeze. What is that all about? I like my cardigans to be sweaters with options, not something which is going to flop around and annoy me all day long. I have shawls for flopping around. Below I present to you some cardigans guilty of button miserliness.

Diminishing Ribs Cardigan: No button band.

Coraline: One third buttons.

Moch Cardi: One third buttons.

February Lady Sweater: One third buttons.

Amelia: One third buttons with full button band.

Kingscot: One half buttons with full button band.

Sitcom Chic: Single closure.

Swing Swing: Single closure.

Mr. Greenjeans: Single button on full button band.

Ophicleide cardigan: One fifth buttons and NO SLEEVES! (I don't get non-vest sleeveless sweaters, I just don't.)

Now, I like all of these sweaters, I really do. I pulled them all from my Ravelry queue. But I would need to add buttons to all of them. Which, because this is knitting, should be straight forward enough to do. But seriously, I'm beginning to think there's a conspiracy out there against the button and zipper industry. ...or maybe against me. *glances around wildly and hides behind the cat*

Trends in crafting

So, have you all noticed how weaving is the new quilting is the new spinning is the new knitting? Everyone is gaga for weaving, it seems. Meh, I say. Your woven scarves all look very nice, but meh. I have other ideas for my sock yarn. Mostly socks, actually. Some scarves maybe, but knit, not woven.

You won't see me weaving until I get my grandma's loom someday. And that loom takes up whole room (not my grandma, just some random image). And then I think we're mostly talking rugs and maybe heavy stoles.

Or, you know, maybe I'm just behind the times. I have a drop spindle, and am wheel-curious... so perhaps it's just a matter of time?

But mostly it's still knitting. I'm almost through with my first of two girly socks. I'm doing the main part in some light Wildfoote and using light tan leftovers for the frilly bit. Problem is that I didn't read the pattern when I started knitting it, so I didn't know that I was supposed to switch to ribbing for the last 2" of the leg before the lace cuff. oops. I'm not ripping it out. If it doesn't stay up, I can sew in some elastic. Obstinate, that's me.