snuffy models this autumn’s sweater. modified fair isle pattern in a merino blend. i will never, ever knit fair isle again.

there are problems with this sweater that i’ll keep an eye out for in future patterns. it’s knit in the round, so it’s essentially a cone with holes on one side for the sleeves - this means it hangs down on his underside and presents a pulling danger (he’s already accidentally pulled threads on the belly); plus, because it’s fair isle, the wrong side (inside) is essentially a sweater mine of long yarn loops - an even greater pulling hazard. also - and i’ve noticed this on commercial dog sweaters as well as hand-knit ones - it doesn’t take into account the dog’s basic shape, so the neck winds up getting pulleddown the back instead of sitting up where it’s supposed to. i think knitting some short rows on the back would have helped with the problems there. also, ribbing the belly would probably take care of some of the sag issues.

last year’s sweater (shown below) has been consigned to the rag heap of history. it was a nasty polyester blend. overall a better dog pattern, though.

would someone please remind me why i went to law school?

the governmental nannyism suggested by this article, or the fact that CNN puts up bullet points of “story highlights” so you don’t actually have to read the articles?

i must admit, i’m hard-pressed to answer my own question. i wouldn’t mind the ban with two modifications:

1) that it only apply to minors (a child labor law, essentially); and
2) that the determination not be of “abnormally thin” based on BMI, but rather a case-by-case determination of the health of any given model.

and as to the CNN bullet points — is this further evidence of a shortening attention span of the general public, or evidence that CNN thinks its readers don’t, well, want to actually read… ?

… but she’s awfully good-looking, too. elyse sewell, that is — the gamine pre-med from the first season (or what is it, “cycle”? god, tyra banks is annoying) of america’s next top model. in a fit of “what ever happened to,” i googled her and found (years after everyone else, i suppose) her livejournal. this has got to be my favorite post.

update: yeah, and she’s not blogging anymore. i’ve jumped on a stalled bandwagon!

would someone who isn’t paying $5 for 15 minutes of internet access please do me a favor and check this:

is topless sunbathing illegal in saint lucia?

i’ve been unable to confirm. one of the hotel staff says yes, but i think she was just trying to get me to put my top back on. hmmm.

if it is, remind me to research possible resort destinations more thoroughly in the future. no going topless? mon dieu!

Or close the wall up with our brain cells dead!

before i start my final push toward The Bar, i just have to share this: i have bought a bikini. the bikini bottom is — i kid you not — smaller than my ortho evra patch. muah!

or not presented in a terribly flattering manner. but wapo’s style section laments the lack of interest in the senate wives’ e-bay charity auction of 100 dresses for katrina victims.

i’ve looked through them. godawful things they are, for the most part. remind me never to become a senator’s wife, if frumpy clothes are a requirement. or a senator, for that matter — the clothes donated by them aren’t much better.

if someone held a gun to my head, i suppose i could bid on this 1950s number from nancy wyden.

update: the thumbnails of the dresses can all be seen together. gosh, but those hill wives sure wear a lot of talbots!