Thursday, September 01, 2005

Trying too hard?

OK, before I get to the knitting content (which I promise there is!), I want to mention something Taz and I witnessed last weekend and ask you all what you think about it. We were outside the best brunch place in town waiting for a table when we noticed a lone guy wearing a t-shirt that said "Feminist" in big letters, and I found myself kind of turned off by it. Now before everyone jumps to this poor man's defense, let me make clear that any man who truly views women as equals worthy of respect, and treats them as such, is to be valued and adored. And even more kudos to the man who is not repelled by the taboo many people (women included) feel toward the word "feminist." What turned me off here was the strong feeling I got that this particular guy was only wearing the t-shirt so he could pick up women or something (though when I mentioned this to Conker, he joked that maybe the guy just lost a bet). I mean, one who is truly grounded and confident in the truth of one's convictions probably doesn't feel the need to broadcast them to the world. OK, well maybe during a march on Washington or something, but not while reading the Times at a sidewalk café table on a Sunday morning. Right? Now if you want to get into a drawn-out discussion of what "feminist" really means, we can do that, but what I'm asking here is more about his intentions. Do you think my interpretation was correct, or am I way off base?

Now for the knitting content!! You may recall that I had vowed not to start any new projects until I was done with the baby sweater. Well, I must admit that there is still a little bit left to do on the sweater--sew on the ribbon plaquette and the buttons--but I'll be doing that tonight at SnB. Meanwhile, I decided that the perfect thing to be doing on the train would be to get started on Jessie's wrist warmers. So I cast on and started them using the magic loop. They're so soft I keep pausing to stick my fingers inside them to "test them out." But despite the frequent pauses, they're going quite fast. In 5 more rows, I'm going to have to start the increases. This might seem like a dumb question, but does anyone have hints on how to do increases on a purl stitch? Sounds crazy, but despite having done both socks and sweaters, I have always managed to work it so the increases landed right before a knit stitch. So, any hints about doing one before a purl?

Finally, I have to leave you all with this hilarious quote that Cate shared with us all today: "I've sucked at lots of things before and managed to become mediocre at them with a little time and effort. We all have our aspirations." I can't tell you how much I identify with that sometimes!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there! Popped over here after reading your comment on "You Knit What?"

LOVE LOVE LOVE your progress graphics! Did you design them yourself?

claudia said...

Hey there sneaksleep. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a WOOT!

Zarzuela said...

Hmmm...well without having seen the guy myself it's hard to say, but something tells me that it was just a way of twisting the fact that he likes women. But, who knows?

The wrist warmers look great so far! I think the only way I know how to increase in a purl stitch is to purl into the front and back loops, just the same as if you were doing it for a knit stitch. I'm sure you can google around and find a better explanation.

Jessica
http://zarzuela.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

George Carlin identifies the man who claims to be "feminist" is a man who wants to get laid no matter what social norms become.

You and even he may be right.