I crack and talk about knitting

Could somebody please explain to me who is knitting all these hideous fun fur and eyelash yarn shrugs? And perhaps more importantly, who is wearing them, other than the same few models in, oh, practically every single issue of Knitting magazine I have ever purchased? All of whom look like they're wearing luridly coloured gorilla suits, minus the heads? And while you're at it, please explain why the hell I keep buying this sorry piece of crap magazine, because I sure don't know.

This was their Christmas Glitz! issue, so I had no excuse for being surprised, I guess, but yeesh, it was even worse than I expected. Not only was it cover-to-cover eyelash yarn horrors and vile cutesy-twee crap, but there was a definite emphasis on that Glitz! thing, because most of it was sparkly. Oh, I can just imagine how good that tinsel-and-acrylic blend feels against the skin. You might as well be wearing Christmas tree garland. I mean, I can sort of see why some people might like the odd, reasonably restrained eyelash yarn scarf, but a cross-over bolero? Yeah, exactly the kind of figure-flattering thing I want to wear to a Christmas party.

Still, it did help me kill fifteen minutes while waiting for my coffee, but this time I mean it: I'm not buying it again. And if you think I'm being picky, you should've read the letter to the editor from the crazy guy who had a list of demands for how the models should pose to best display the garment from every angle, the better to help him decide what he wanted to knit. Dude. It's a knee-length novelty yarn cardigan. It's a horror. There are no good angles.

Anyway, other than getting taken for £3.45, yet again, it's been an OK sort of day. Phil is off on business, so I'll have the house to myself for a couple of days, and with any luck, I won't be struck down by laziness, and manage to get some work done. We're getting the tree on Saturday, and I'd like to get the rest of the holiday decorating done before we get it. We've been eating our way through the stuff in the freezer so I will have room to make up cookie dough in advance and stash it, so maybe I can have a slightly less exhausting seasonal baking frenzy this year. It would be good if this time I remember to label the stuff going into the freezer, so I won't have the troubles I had this week, when I mistook the ciabatta dough for pizza dough and the ham stock for chicken stock. It wasn't a disaster or anything; the pizza was just a little puffier than usual, and the ham stock didn't ruin the risotto, but I got pissed off at myself both times anyway, because it's just stupidity and laziness on my part.

I'm sure my Christmas spirit will arrive with the tree. I sound all grumpy, but I will buck up once the house is looking pretty and there are cookies to eat.