Knitscene Fug

Ignoring the Frida Kahlo styling, is it just me or does this sweater make the model look really dumpy? I'm a big fan of wrap sweaters, but the wrinkles around the bust and the too big sleeve make her look flabby instead of curvaceous.

It might be that the accessories really overwhelm her, too. She has a pretty delicate face, and that big chunky jewelry that Kahlo was so fond of really doesn't work for the model the way it did for Frida.

Interweave Pattern Store: Frustration and delight

Browsing the Interweave Press pattern store is a mixture of "ooh, pretty!" and "crivens! ma heid!". (Yep, I checked Wee Free Men out of the library today. When will my love for ridiculously thick Scottish accents end? Never, I hope!) Like the Henley Perfected? Way, way incredibly cute. Lace and Tuck Ensemble? I've been intending to make that since 2004. (Um, but I haven't. Because . . . I haven't.) Molly Ringwald? Cute!

But the bandeaus? Yes, that's plural. Why would you do that? Even if you have the most beautiful breasts on earth, it just looks like you got halfway done with a sweater and decided not to finish. Also, magenta/green plaid pants with a red/orange/green/yellow top? The stylist must be blind. Orbit Lace? It looks like someone took some Barbara Walker lace medallions and slapped them on a tube. I'm tired of circle jacket doilies, too.

And, let I forget it, the ugliest thing I've ever seen published in Interweave Knits.

Does anyone else think this model looks like she should be smoking a cigarette while working on her third Long Island Iced Tea, and then going on a rant about how her husband is a lousy lover?

In other news, I just ate a moldy bing cherry. No wonder they were 60-percent off. At least I get to enjoy having a purple tongue and lips for a while. I feel kind of like a polar bear.

_{*I can't believe Annie Modesitt failed me! Twice!}

An egg's worth of education

Sixteenth century friends: I'm trying to remember something about the persecutions of Protestants and Anglicans under Mary Tudor in the 1550s. I seem to recall an, uh, anecdote about a pregnant woman being burned for heresy who gave birth to a son in the flames, and the baby was then flung back onto the fire.

Ring any bells? Is that even the right time and place? It might have been a French witch burning, too. And the baby might have been rescued from the fire.

I bet ciorstan would know.