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If anybody is looking for a nice gift, my Mom is selling another Amish quilt. (She didn’t make this one; she bought it at an auction.)

What. The. Hell? Train stations closed and mobile phones jammed? That’s gonna suck.

Thanks to a nice Sydneysider named Barbara, I now have a copy of the crochet article I was interviewed for a few weeks ago. It was in this past weekend’s “Home on Sunday” supplement in the Sun-Herald. It’s a pretty good article, actually, and I don’t sound too idiotic. (They did run a full page photo of a woman knitting – as opposed to crocheting – but what are you gonna do? The muggles always get it mixed up.)

Tired.
This guy is trying to break the world’s record for going without sleep. It’s ELEVEN DAYS. I find this particularly gruesome to contemplate, especially as I’m sucking down coffee and hating life after a mere seven hours of sleep. It also reminds me of the time Eileen and I pulled a Mega-All-Nighter before a freshman bio exam and then, upon getting our second wind, decided to see just how long we could keep going. I don’t have a lot of memories of that night, but I do remember the two of us traipsing across campus to the computer lab and then there was something about us sitting in a tree and then we decided that we needed shirts that said “Roomate” and “Roomater” (like Dumb and Dumber) and oh god, we’re so tired… To this day, I’m not sure how much if it I imagined. We still both call each other Roomater (or “RT”) to this day though.

The Freakonomics guys ask: “Isn’t it puzzling that so many middle-aged Americans are spending so much of their time and money performing menial labors when they don’t have to? ” And by “menial labor,” they mean knitting, cooking, and gardening. I have to tell you, that stuck in my craw a little bit. It seems so… belittling. The related article is more even-handed though, so I’ll chalk it up to an unfortunate turn of phrase. And besides, this is an issue that seems to amaze non-knitters. Why would you spend twenty hours and $100 in wool to make a sweater when you can buy one at Target right now for $25? For me, it all comes down to making art, creating something beautiful and useful and tangible. I live in my head so much of the day – meaning all the hours I spend staring at a computer – that it’s a joy to really make something.* And it’s funny how the money issue comes into it. I’ve found in the past that when I did works for hire – scarves, sock monkeys – it really was harder than when I make things for myself. I guess I’m also a special case in this whole debate, given that I work in a knitting shop. As I admitted to Andrew at SSK last weekend, sometimes I just get a little “knitted out” over the course of the week. I guess it’s hard to maintain your interest in anything if you’re surrounded by it 24-7…

* I’m proud to say that our new meal plan is also having a big difference in how I view cooking. Now that I know which nights I’m responsible, I find that I’m more interested in making an effort. Tonight it was grilled lamb sausages from the butcher alongside Creamed Cabbage, Carrot, and Cauliflower. (I also threw in a leek. Go creativity!)

Cool business card designs. Wow. I wish I had business cards. (Link courtesy of kottke.)

How do you ‘go’ in space? I will confirm that this was definitely something our Space Camp team wanted to know about.

Hmm. I gave an interview to a journalist about the resurgence in crochet a week or two again, and apparently it was published in one of the weekend papers. I haven’t been able to find it online. Anybody seen it?

Wow. Crocheted high heels. Those are, like, my kryptonite.