Bags, updates and some final thoughts before vacation

I've been wavering on buying a knitting bag for a while. Because so much of my time is spent commuting to work every morning, I feel like I need a really nice bag that can hold my yarn and the assorted random items that find their way into my purse, while still looking stylish enough that people don't look at me funny on the subway. I feel like I need to do my part to make a good impression on non-knitters on behalf of knitters everywhere. So then I got the email about Jordana Paige's new bag. I think once vacation is over I may decide that I need a treat to take the edge off being back at work, and this or the knitter's satchel just might fit the bill.

Also, I've made it to the gusset on my sock. So far so good. Now I have to deal with this whole "turn the heel" concept I've been hearing so much about. ;) Michelle from my Sit'n'Knit told a story at one of our meetups about how she learned to turn a heel. She's a professional dancer and she was on tour and had reached the point where her sock pattern instructed her to "turn the heel." She had no idea how to do this, so after a performance they had a question/answer session with the audience and once all the questions had been asked and answered, she posed a question to the audience: "Does anyone know how to turn a heel? If you know what that means then please come up to the stage." Sure enough. a whole bunch of women came up to answer her question so she ran backstage and grabbed her knitting so they could show her how it's done. I thought that was such a lovely example of how helpful knitters truly are with each other.

I know there's been a lot of talk in blogland recently about civility in dealing with others. But I think that while some people may make some not-so-polite posts or leave less-than-civil comments on blogs, part of revealing your thoughts or reading the thoughts of others in such a public format means that you're not always going to like what you read. But, if you are happy with the work that you do, the criticisms should not get you down. I'm reminded (having just re-read The Goblet of Fire) of Dumbledore saying to Hagrid that if you're holding out for universal popularity, you'll be waiting a very long time. I think focusing on the positive comments means so much more than criticisms that are not constructive or are just plain mean-spirited. So on that unbelievably downer note, I'm off for some fun in the sun!