Updating

First, thanks for all your opinions on those ribbons the other day. My two favorites are the bottom two--the Ribbon Jacquard and the Jacquard Swirls. I'm not going to make a final decision until the zipper's in and I can pin them in and see how they'd really look. Now, don't get me wrong, the top two would look good, too. If I had ordered only one of these, any of them, I'd be happy to use it. The grosgrain is a little "too" cranberry a color, though, so isn't as good as match as I'd ideally like. The brown-with-dots looks good, too, except ... it's brown with pink dots and the sweater is purple--neither pink or brown--which makes it a less-obvious choice.

Then, for the two jacquard ones--I admit to being, at this moment, partial to the one with all the swirls. Just, two things . . . even though it will be in the inside, I'm afraid it's just a little too busy. But more importantly, I only noticed when I unrolled the entire thing--it's cut at just about the midway point. The pattern is lined up and it's held with scotch tape, so I didn't notice it until I was laying it along the edge of the sweater to test the length. Clearly, I can't sew the scotch tape into the sweater, and once I remove it and trim the edges, the pattern won't line up any more. I could certainly overlap the edges, but that won't look exactly wonderful. Add to that the fact that this would be the center part of the hood, which you'd see every time I'd ever wear the hood. Of course, there's not enough length to slide the "join" where it might be less noticeable . . . I ordered 4 yards, which is enough to go all the way around the edges, with just about 6" to spare. Plenty if it were all in one piece, but not enough to have room for "fiddling" with a join.

So . . . it's possible I'll go with the "Ribbon" which is a little subtler than the other but still smashing and gorgeous and has been one of my two favorites from the very beginning. Hey, maybe I'll sew the swirly one inside the sleeves, just for kicks!

Now, also in that post, you may have seen all the "intimate" pictures of my Gem? I've mentioned my drive-band problem a couple of times. (Beth was nice enough to email the manufacturer for me, and everything, although she got pretty much the same answer I had gotten in November . . . why, oh why isn't her shop a couple of states closer, anyway? If you're in Michigan, you should really check it out, it sounds so great.)

Well, anyway, there's a Majacraft Spinning Wheels group at Yahoo!Groups, and Andy-from-Majacraft recently joined and has been a great fund of all sorts of useful information, as you'd suspect. He said he was determined to help me figure out what my Gem's problem was (hence all those photos of the drive band). He posted today that they've decided that the groove in my wheel isn't deep enough, so . . . they're sending me a new drive wheel. How great is that, huh??? You've got to love a company that stands behind their products. Which, of course, is why I'm telling you, because who doesn't like to hear that? For that matter, that Yahoo group is chock-full of all sorts of useful question/answers, too . . . you know, in case you have a Majacraft yourself.

I can't wait to go tell my Gem and let her out of the corner. On Sunday the drive band issue was SO bad that I literally could not spin for more than 60 seconds at a time . . . maybe, on the outside, two yards-worth of yarn ... without the band slipping. I really didn't do the last bit of my Tibetan Dreams roving justice, I was so upset with my wheel and just wanting to get it all DONE so I could move on to ply on my Lendrum and leave the Gem in the corner in disgrace. It's never been that bad before! But since help is on the way--although I don't expect it for a couple weeks, at least--I suppose I'll go forgive her and give her a nice hug...

---

1. Do you cheat and peek ahead at the end of your books? Or do you resolutely read in sequence, as the author intended?
2. And, if you don’t peek, do you ever feel tempted?

Well, this has been a fun one to read responses to--most people seem to be entirely one one side of the line or the other, with very little crossover. Me? Well . . . I've always kind of liked to be "in the know" . . . Some people have compared this to hunting for Christmas presents and spoiling the surprise for yourself. Which is a fair comparison. So, maybe you should know that, when I was little, I always used to look until I'd found ONE present that I knew was for me. I'd act all surprised on Christmas morning (apparently very convincingly, since Mom didn't know any of this until I told her a few years ago)--but I loved knowing just that one thing in advance. I would never have wanted to know all of them, and neither would I want to know all the details of a story's unfolding in advance of the first read . . . but a detail or two?

Well . . . the honest answer is that yes, I've been known to peek at the end. Not, usually, to read the ending, but to glance ahead to see if a character-in-peril appears later on, or if the couple that I think is going to make a pair of it actually does--just the kind of quick info you can get from a glance at a page. It's like the "next-week" scenes for a television show--nothing that really spoils anything else. Does knowing that Romeo and Juliet die spoil watching their play? Does knowing that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy end up together ruin the pleasure of watching their understanding of each other grow? We all know that Scrooge is going to turn out to be a softie, but Dickens' Carol is just as captivating as ever. Heck, you can read an entire plot outline of a beautifully-written story and it still won't spoil the actual read because that's where you get the rich word play, dialogue, shaded meanings that the author created. It doesn't matter if Godot comes, it's the waiting that matters--whether you know if he shows up or not.

All in all, I'd say Marianne said it just right. Getting a glimpse at how a given situation might turn out doesn't spoil the actual read for me any more than knowing the entire plot spoils any of my multiple re-reads. (You'll remember that, if I like a book, I'm going to read it many, many times.) And yes, I also agree with her about the happy-ending thing . . . if it's not going to be happy, I want a chance to brace myself. Do I peek every time I read a new book? Absolutely not. Do I, for example, want to know ahead of time if Harry Potter survives to the end of the Deathly Hallows? No, no, no. (I'll avoid the Table of Contents, too, since the chapter title "Phoenix's Lament" spoiled the big death for me last time.) But on occasion, a quick little glimpse into the future . . . who wouldn't take a little precognition once in a while?

Although really, given a choice into psychic gifts, I'd pick teleportation, thank you. Think of the gas money and travel time I'd save....

---

Your Life is 16% Off Track

No doubt about it, you are living the right life. You've made some great decisions, and they've definitely paid off. Keep it up. You're on the right track!

Are You Living The Wrong Life?

Comments

[Beth]

I hope the new drive wheel fixes the problem! It'd be a shame for Gem to have to spend more time in the corner. :)

[Lizzy B]

That's great about the new drive wheel!

Oh, I took that quiz just now and got 6%! :) I'm not surprised since I am VERY happy. :)

I can't wait to see what ribbon you go with!

[beth]

I tried to join the Majacraft Group and they wouldn't let me in. Maybe because I sell them and the list moderator is also a dealer. I don't know. It would have been agreat resource for me to help my customers.
I'm really glad you're getting a new wheel. Gotta love the Poad's

[Debby]

I hope your wheel gets fixed soon!

I usually don't peek at the end of books, esp. not with murder mysteries, but I will peek if I suspect a book is going to have a tragic ending. I don't like those surprises, and just want to be prepared. :)

[Shannon]

Oh yes, I'm a peeeeker. But there are certain authors I honor by not peeking. And I'm soooo glad to hear of another re-reader. My hub thinks I'm nuts, but to me it's like comfort food with some books. He knows I'm sick when he sees me reading Wodehouse!