A Must-Have & A Never-Again

The Penguin caffeinated mints are making life possible at this point. 

I'm not a coffee drinker and I've given up pepsi.  I would mainline those mints if I could.  Instead I'm drinking Early Grey in the morning with raw sugar and milk and having mints in the afternoon.  There is also iced tea in there somewhere, but it's really all about the mints.

Three mints equal a soda and I'm having three a day around lunch.  No reason to worry, people.  I'm not hooked.  Just trying to keep it all together.

I know we never say never, however...

The other day I was finally able to get my hands on the February issue of The Knitter.  Ya know, I realize that we lost a lot of ground during the Bush years, but I never realized that we somehow ended up six weeks behind our English cousins.

I bought the last (or only) copy from my local Joanns Crafts using a 50% off coupon.  If I had paid full price, I'd be livid by now because there was very little in this issue to appeal to me.

There was a page with some helpful hints on how to do colorwork, but it was stuff I could find by googling.  There was a very pretty teapot cozy, however, I do not own a teapot.  Nor do I really want one right now.  I had been all excited about the Victorian Lace Wrap by the woman who did Victorian Lace Today.  Until I saw it.  It's a pattern from the fucking book!

And did you see the thing on the cover?!  o.O

I read that issue while sitting in a waiting room (people watching).  I was disappointed to discover that there were pattern errors in the first issue.  That and a lacy sock knit in a very busy pink and lime yarn were enough for me.  If I can't see the pattern, why would I want to knit the sock?

I had had high hopes of finally having a quality knitting magazine that would not be insulting or filled with crap ads since there isn't a great lot of that in the US.  Clearly, I can keep on wishing and being thankful for the internets.

Good thing I've still got my mints.

Happy Friday, people!

Comments

[elizabeth]

Oh man, I wonder if they've posted the errata for the first issue online? I'll have to check because there WERE a couple of patterns in there I'd consider making, with slight modifications. I agree about knitting mags in the U.S. I haven't seen one pattern in the past two (three?) issues of IK that I want to knit and it's time to renew and I'm thinking...not.

Happy weekend! :o)

[Carole]

I have several tea pots. Just sayin.

[Nora]

LMAO over here - I saw that sweater on the cover and thought "Oh, no. 1984." I'm sorry you wasted your money, though. That's such a rotten feeling.

I wonder if they have mints that taste like Diet Coke??

xoxo

[Anne]

Thanks for saving me the cash and the hunt!

[margene]

Few, if any, knitting magazines are worth the paper they're printed on. Thank goodness the good designers are on the net.

[Stacey]

I perused it at B&N and said no f-ing way. :D Mints are good. HEY! With all that tea you're drinking now, you could get a tea pot for that cozy.

BTW, have you tried yerba mate tea? It comes in flavors and has zing.

[Diane]

The first issue didn't light a fire for me, so I haven't bothered with the second. Good luck with the caffeine thing. I'm a die hard one-can-a-day girl so I empathize.

[Carrie]

My dear, why on earth did you buy it with that THING on the cover? I don't care if there's a whole set of previously "lost" Zimmerman patterns in there, nothing can make up for that atrocity.
I say increase your chocolate intake. That has caffeine in it.
Ooops, I hear someone screaming. Gotta go find out if it's my kid or the freaky horny alley cat that likes to taunt my dogs.

[Clumsy Knitter]

LOL I just got back from B&N where I picked up their last copy of The Knitter...and my reaction is the same as yours. Except I paid full price! Boo. :(

[cindycindy]

I'm with Nora. Peppermint may be ok, but it's not Pepsi/Coke. Hang on!!!!!!!

[inline hockey]

I enjoy reading your blog...its really great to see your blog.....

[Norma]

Yay for the mints to take your mind off the Pepsi. I had a hard time today, as I was back in med school and I felt certain that a DP would enhance my performance. :) But I held strong.

That thing on the cover -- OMG. At first I thought those colored diamond bits were HOLES. Iggh.

[opal]

you're not a coffee drinker? this could be a serious issue between us. :-P

but wait! you're still a caffeine junkie. there's hope!

i'd love to get my hands on some of those mints. where'd you find them? if you say trader joe's i'm going to shoot someone.

[Susan]

I bought the first issue and wasn't impressed but figured it's just my poor taste or something. I bought the second one too. That should just about last me.

[Big Alice]

That's disappointing, I'd heard good expectations about that magazine. Thanks for experiencing the pain so I don't have to. Because you're giving like that.

[Big Alice]

Ugh, sorry, I'm coming down with a cold today and didn't mean to sound snarky, just trying to make you smile. I think it came across a little nasty sounding.

[Mujercita]

I want to know where you got those mints too! I could sure use some random bursts of caffeine. I tend to get withdrawal headaches when I haven't had it in too long...

[Carrie K]

It's reassuring to know that our international cousins have the same crappy patterns though.

[Manise]

Thanks for the heads up. I agree most of the magazines out there don't have much to offer. An occasional pattern or two and rarely three in there. Yeah, where did you get the mints?

[Sarah]

Mmmm...life-giving, minty, dehydrated penguin pellets.

[Ruth]

What in the WORLD is that thing on the cover?!?

[Mairwen]

Thanks for the warning. I liked the first issue, especially the articles. Too bad the second issue sucks. I had such high hopes.

[Brighton]

I bought the second one too. That should just about last me.

[Brighton]

I'm coming down with a cold today and didn't mean to sound snarky,

[Brighton]

I haven't bothered with the second. Good luck with the caffeine thing. I'm a die hard one-can-a-day girl so I empathize.

[Megan S.]

I'm nervous for you, first kicking Pepsi, and second, that god awful magazine cover. I say cover because there might be good stuff in the mag, and I wouldn't want to base my opinion on anything other than the cover, because it may or may not be truthful. Secretly, I take your word for it, though - gotta remain PC for the public.

Someone mention mate tea in one of the comments above - serious caffeine levels in that stuff. Checkout Teavana, great stuff there.

[kerry]

That's the new UK one right? I saw the first issue in the shops and thought STOP no don't get suckered in. We have quite a few mags over here at the moment and to be honest they are all quite rubbish. Don't get me wrong there are some lovely patterns in them but they just don't appeal to me. The only one which I might be persuaded to buy from our range here in England is Simply Knitting and even then it has to have a very special sock pattern to make me part with my money.

[gayle]

Caffeinated peppermint? Mmmmm....
You could always make the teapot cozy and repurpose it. A bowling ball cozy? Cantaloupe cozy?

[Ebony]

I perused that magazine at the book stor the other night and was totally disappointed. I thought maybe the cover was a fluke, but nope, nothin' good in there. I do, however, like Yarn Forward.

[Ebony]

Please ignore the typo. I'm typing faster than I can think, apparently.

[kmkat]

I kinda like that thing on the cover. The pattern could make a nice afghan. As a sweater, well, I still kinda like it but...

[Anita May]

Both of the first two issues are full of patterns from books - what's the point? I am way over and done with the fleeting fascination.

[JessaLu]

Keep drinking that Earl Grey and you'll have a teapot in no time... /runs

[Risa]

Yuck. Glad I didn't try and hunt down that mag. Sorry you got burned on it.