arm stll hurtie. prayers much appreciated. worse news is that my major medical is now “on” and i have to come up with the $1000 deductible, but at least the MRI tonight should knock it out.

In May, 2005, Sew Fast/Sew Easy Inc., a New York based sewing shop, began sending out notices to various non-profit “Stitch ‘n Bitch” knitting organizations around the country, alerting the crafters to the fact that this company trademarked “Stitch & Bitch Cafe” years ago, and that these knitters could not use those words.

We disagree. We believe we are not infringing on any trademarks. We’re not even making any money off the phrase. But, being just a group of crafters scattered all over the US, it’s hard to band together and fight this injustice.

Those of us who aren’t terribly inclined to use “stitch and bitch” in our knitting groups may think, oh, get over it. But if they get cleared to use their trademark in this way, I’m rather sure I’ll get dragged to the post for using “knitster.” I already can’t make T-shirts for my knitting site, and I’d hate to think that my non-profit weblog over at www.knitster.org is causing anyone any problems.

But truth is, stitch and bitch groups across the nation have been part of what fueled the craft’s elevation back into the fabric (pun sort of intended) of “cool” society. It’s not a craft for daft grannies anymore, though you can bet being less than ten years from potential daft granniness myself, I will wear the label with punkish pride when it comes to pass.

Look at all the creative things that have come to pass as a result of Debbie Stoller’s books. To me, it’s a movement. Maybe it wasn’t a movement when Sew Fast/Sew Easy started using it, but guess what. It’s a movement now. We will not be pwned.

I know, there are other social justice movements that are probably infinitely more important, but I’m a creative person, and playing bully with your trademark smacks of corporate greed.

Tonight, I am making stuffed peppers. I stuffed them with a curry-vegetable-millet concoction of my own making. I also started officially back on weight watchers today. I use the online version, and my username there is dharmapanda.

On the knitting front, the blanket-in-progress is nearing the end of its second ball of yarn, making it almost two feet long now! I’m itching to get started on one of my other projects, but I’ve promised myself to keep at this one til I finish the second ball before I move on to something else. I need more circular needles!!

Also, Jan. 17 is the day I will be meeting with Father Jim about discernment, etc. I am not sure if I am called in ministry, but I am determined to figure out my vocation. I believe it is somewhere between my compulsion to write, my desire to bring good things into the world, and to help lift people up. Also, the day before that I’m having lunch with my former boss–turns out their company has bought Ad Fontes, which has a number of religious research databases. not planning on going back to work there, but curious to see what they are doing with that.

And it’s official, I start EFM in early February.

Chaos!!! But all good!

Please don't take my near-rabid opinion on Nanowrimo personally, folks. I don't disdain you!!!

Clicking on it will give you a large version of the picture.

PS Momcat… as DFH mentioned, I kinda want to surprise lil'D with the finished project, so don't let her open this picture until the gift shows up, whether birthday or xmas, to be determined….

Score!!

In other news, that somewhat irrational fear I have of falling? I took a spill on black ice yesterday and banged up my hip, my elbow, and my two outermost fingers. If I can ever go a few weeks without injuring myself, I’d like to get back into climbing; but I’m going to have to start from scratch, because yesterdays fall was a freefall from vertical to horizontal and I narrowly missed cracking open my skull.

However, I sort of packed the fingers in snow on the trip home and the result is there’s no discoloration and very little swelling, but a whole lot of pain.

In other news, today is the first day of the rest of your life. That may sound cheesy, but one friend is particularly wound up in past patterns creating fear of a new future. There is the blue collar approach to life, and the white collar approach. The former is all caught up in finding a job; the latter is all caught up in finding a career. There’s nothing inherently wrong with either path, but which yields more returns, at least in beltwayland?