Snoutbreak and Strangulation

Does anyone else love the fact that John Stewart over at The Daily Show is calling the Swine Flu pandemic ‘Snoutbreak ‘09’?

Well, I made it home safe and sound from Portuguese knitting. Upon reading yesterday’s entry, a friend urged me to make sure that I wasn’t the only one in the class that The Ear was encouraging to put yarn around their neck, that said yarn didn’t just happen to have some kind of a slip knot in it, and that it was actual yarn and not piano wire. So I checked it out thoroughly before I even picked up the needles. It was legit. I call it ‘Opposite Knitting’ because it’s just backwards from how I, as a 'thrower' (Say it loud and say it proud , Sister!) knit. The yarn is around the back of your neck for tension and is all controlled by the left thumb. Therefore, the purls are wicked easy and the knits are a little more complicated-just opposite of throwing with my right hand. I really liked it though and can see two distinct advantages:

*If you are knitting something with a lot of purls in a row(for instance the back side of a lace piece), the purls would go faster this way. You could knit ‘the regular way’ for knits and then Portuguese back.

*For us folks headed down the carpel tunnel road, your wrist stays pretty straight, particularly the right one, so there is less stress. Not sure what the repetitive left thumb motion will reveal, but I’ve never been one to plan ahead on these things, Lord knows....hence the Carpel Tunnel in the right hand!

I used the $20 gift card that I won at the last Knit Night to purchase some decadent sock needles from Lantern Moon. Rosewood shorts. Positively sumptious!I wouldn’t normally do that, but it was free money! It was a difficult choice though as there are so many luscious yarns too. I fondled one made of sugar cane for quite some time before reluctantly putting it down. I’m not sure that knitting with a yarn that is potentially edible is the right path for me.

Speaking of fondling (we were weren’t we?) Heather brought in her ADORABLE fur baby, Beatrice for us to meet. She’s a 4 month old Japanese Chin and is the CUTEST. PUPPY. EVER. I think she is about 4# and is the softest, sweetest little thing I’ve ever seen. Plus she is housebroken and has manners…at 4 months, Y'all! (This makes me realize now that there really is no hope for three year old Mr. Ben! ) Plus I love the fact that they surreptitiously named her after me (they call her ‘Bee’) because as we all know, every dog on the planet, belongs to me. I just keep them in different places because I only live in a one bedroom place.

So to recap:
I made it home safely and without being strangled and garroted in any way.
I liked the new technique.
New sock needles=good.
Sugar Cane yarn=possibly edible? Check Wikipedia.
Beatrice=most scrumptious, delicious, huggablest, softest, best puppy EVER!