Q & A Period

It's the end of one hell of a week and I'm feeling too tired to turn cartwheels for your amusement, so I know what let's do. Let's dig into the giant, mouldering heap of Unanswered Reader Questions and see if we can't answer a few.

Oh, I know. I'm excited too. Just please take your shoes off if you must jump and down on the sofa. Thank you.

Question: I asked you a question in your comments two months ago and you never answered me. Are you a snob, or a moron, or what?

Answer: I forget to answer questions because I'm a moron. I refuse to listen to Kelly Clarkson because I'm a snob.

Question: WTF is holding up your Baby Surprise Jacket in that photo?*

Answer: If you guessed "rolling pin," you're correct! I was so delighted to find yet another use for it, beyond making piecrust and threatening Dolores.

Question: Is Dolores Jewish, or does she just have a penchant for Yiddish slang?

Answer: Dolores was raised agnostic and claims to be a Taoist. However, like me she finds the allure of the Yiddish tongue irresistible.

Question: What does fahrklempt mean?

Answer: My goodness, how funny that you would ask. It's Yiddish, meaning (roughly) all choked up with emotion.

Question: Wait a minute. What is a former-Catholic-now-Buddhist doing using Yiddish words in his blog?

Answer: Trying to attract a hot Jewish man. So sue me.

Question: What sort of yarn is Jo Sharp DK Aran?

Answer: That should be just plain "Jo Sharp DK." Host du bie mir an avleh. I keep forgetting to go in and fix it. It's a nice double-knitting weight wool. It worked well for the Ruana because it didn't weigh too much; the trade off was the amount of time involved in knitting it to size. I'd advise anybody knitting the Ruana according to Cheryl Oberle's pattern to swatch, swatch, swatch with the yarns of your choice before you begin–you'll want to check out in advance what sort of fabric your yarn choices will yield.

Question: Howzabout you put Dolores on some baby stuff in your online shop?

Answer: Bist meshugeh? Oy, I've been losing sleep over this one. Dolores? The shikker with the cigarettes and the gigolos du jour? On baby stuff? I'm not certain whether to be flattered for Dolores or afraid for your child, but okay. I finally figured out a way to do it that won't make me feel responsible for the collapse of morals in the next generation. Watch for it soon.

Question: Any word on a Dulaan Knit In for Chicago?

Answer: Yes. Tentatively hold the first Saturday of November, during the day, at a venue in Evanston, Illinois. More (and firmer) details this coming week. We'll knit, we'll fress, it'll be a simcha.

Question: Can you recommend sources for learning to knit lace?

Answer: Yes. For a concise and informative overview of lace tips, check out Marilyn's handout. For a full-blown online primer, visit Eunny. There lots more out there on the Internet–these are just two favorites that spring to mind. Please note that both Marilyn and Eunny are really good about answering reader questions. Ahf mir gezogt!

Question: Boxers or briefs?

Answer: On me or you, yungermantshik?

*On rereading, this reminds me of my favorite anecdote about Mary Garden, an opera singer who in the early years of the 20th century had the sort of fame we now reserve for giant creative talents like Lindsay Lohan. Garden was a hottie, to put it mildly. At a party Chauncey Depew took a look at her plunging neckline and asked, "Tell me, Miss Garden, what's holding up that dress?" To which she replied, "Your age and my discretion."