A Question of Taste (Or Lack Thereof)

I maintained a certain amount of control this weekend and bought what I consider very little. A couple buttons, orange thread for my jacket, four balls Mission Falls 1824 Wool 100% merino superwash (2 red, 2 black; for my BF/P/Whatnot's scarf) and a skein of black Catalina 4 ply 100% baby alpaca, another ball of Wool Ease Quick & Thick, and the latest Knitscene.

There are things in this Knitscene that I find repulsive. Pom-poms, for one. Why pom-poms everywhere? Is this a fad? Thank goodness I have never been truly fashionable, otherwise I might feel compelled to jump on this bandwagon.

I can't stand pom-poms.

Why this adversion to harmless poofie balls of yarn? Well, they remind me of ugly '70's curtains and bedspreads, for a starter. I don't know why gold velveteen with gold pom-poms was so chic 30 years ago. It's one of those mysteries right up there with fake tans, velvet wallpaper, glass float light fixtures, gilded wrought iron sconces, and an obsession with colors such as avocado, pumpkin, and gold. (I am, of course, describing the house of my childhood. Sorry, Mom!)

Also, whenever I see pom-poms I am reminded of Samoan Aiga Buses.

If you've never been to American Samoa, you probably don't know what I'm talking about. You wouldn't understand my oblique references to Samoan Music and dingos and men in skirts (with or without a bra and make-up to match). You'd be totally in the dark.

However, if you have had the misfortune of visiting American Samoa (as opposed to Western Samoa, or Tonga, or some other nice place) then you know exactly what I am referring to: pick-up trucks converted into buses, painted in garish colors, lined with unpadded linoleum. Windows of Plexiglas that rattle, rattle, over each bend along the ocean (which the driver is taking at an alarming rate while simultaneously lighting a cigarette and changing cassette tapes so that he can continue to damage your eardrums with Samoan Music. There is no description of Samoan Music that would do it justice. Just think of pop music all over the world, from Baliwood hits to Afro-pop, and then add Samoa.) And what is that lining the dashboard, the front window, the entire front of the bus? Could that be shag carpeting, Madonna figurines, and POM-POMS? Why, yes, the driver in is a veritable SEA of pom-poms, of course.

I really don't like pom-poms. I did develop a bit of a taste for Samoan Music, though, but don't tell anyone.

There were things I liked in Knitscene, fortunately. (Why else did I buy it? I'm not that compulsive.) I am in love love love with the "cravat" (06) . I have to make that. I also like the double-breasted jacket (05), the tweed-silk cardigan (21), the afghan (23), the tam (25), and the cherry red cardigan (26), although if I made it, I would shorten the sleeves and it wouldn't be such an eye-searing red. A color like that would severely hamper my near-superhero like power to blend into the shadows at the slightest provocation. (Really. Have you seen me around?)

I finished the scarf for Sibling #5. This was my first encounter with making fringe - something I had previously allocated a position very near pom-poms in my catalog of trimmings- but I think it looks good. Could it be my sense of goods taste is waning? (Assuming I had any at all?)

I began my boyfriend/partner/whatnot's scarf last night. Moss stitching is out; it was making me crazy. I consulted my boyfriend/partner/whatnot (hereafter referred to as "Joe") and it turns out he would be satisfied with a large pattern that has a "wrong side" and a "right side". This is as far as I got last night.