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July 8, 2005

Post-Holiday Fluff

This entry was to have been posted yesterday with apologies for the lack of knitting content and assurances that I will be posting lots of pictures and status updates very soon. Turning on the news in the morning, I decided that yesterday wasn't a day for such frivolous things -- so I held off until today.

If Jason is catching up on his blog reads and suddenly bursts into laughter, I know there's a 50% chance he's reading Skot's Izzle pfaff!. (The other half of the time, he's reading dooce.) So when he forwarded me a link to an Izzle pfaff! entry the other day, I made sure that I wasn't eating or drinking anything and headed over to read it. Here's the story: Skot's wife is performing in a play, and she's been looking for a hobby to keep her occupied backstage during rehersals. She tried a few things, but none of them really seemed suited to situation.

And then a friend turned her on to . . . knitting. Which is possibly the most disturbing one yet, at least from my perspective. Because while I know it works for her situation--it's quiet, productive, passes the time, etc.--it is really sort of disturbing to be sitting around the home, I'm watching SportsCenter, and then to look over at my wife . . . knitting. My breathing becomes shallow, and the adrenal glands go juicy. Oh, God! I think. My wife is seventy years old! Because, I'm sorry, I do associate knitting with the elderly. Inept scarves and ill-fitting scratchy sweaters and all that, those lovingly-made gifts that have ruined countless Christmases for children.

Read the rest of the hysterical -- and gleefully profane -- entry here.

Not long after Jason passed on Skot's entry, he also pointed me to an August 2004 newspaper story out of Port Townsend, WA. One minute a woman was riding in a car, happily knitting on a sweater and the next she was sporting a bruised finger and this:

ExplodingNeedle.jpg
Photo from the original newspaper story

No warning, no explanation... her needle just exploded. I haven't felt safe picking up my metal needles since!

Posted by shannon at July 8, 2005 9:29 AM | For related posts:

Comments

Yikes. Do you know if those were ye olde Boyle alumes or Addis or Susan Bates or...?

Posted by: Zabet at July 8, 2005 9:58 AM

Both are great links - thanks for sharing!

Posted by: Cara at July 8, 2005 10:05 AM

I think the article says it was caused from a build up of static electricity from plastic and aluminum rubbing together. That would be arcylic yarn and aluminum needles. Susan Bates and Boye make them, lots of people sell them. They wouldn't be Addi Turbos. Those are made of nickle-plated brass. I am no scientist, but I would think any metal needle would be capable of causing static electricity though. Wow, it makes me love my bamboos even more!

Posted by: Amy Lu at July 8, 2005 2:27 PM