We have no exotic dancers....

Well, we could have predicted this, no? Once I get some suitably snappy answers from my loyal readers, not a single middle-aged white guy asked me what I did for a living. Hmph. So it was the usual: scintillating conversation about leveraged buyouts, trying to communicate social cues to men with mild Asperger's, guessing whose wife had a little work done (you could have bounced a quarter off the newly-taut skin of one woman), and, of course, a handful of minor faux pas on my part. (How was I supposed to know that that woman was a born-again Republican?!).
Back at the ranch, I spent the weekend ignoring my wine headache and getting together my new labels for Black Bunny Fibers. Although I do realize I must obey Sherry W. in all things, it was a happy coincidence that I'd already asked my dear friend to help me put my logo on some labels for the shop. So we will start the New Year with a new label. Photos coming soon.

In other news, this weekend was what my husband calls "the yarn convention," the meeting of industry folks at TNNA in California. I didn't go due to financial constraints, although I will be at the TNNA meeting in June. I am hoping to debrief some of my pals to find out the dirt for y'all -- and I encourage anybody who was there to shoot me an email with whatever you feel like sharing. (In keeping with my commitment to journalistic integrity, all sources will remain confidential unless they want free publicity, in which case I will happily trade pimping for gossip.)

I will share a few tidbits that I discovered on my own over the course of the past week. Berroco just released two new sock yarns. I can't remember Berroco ever doing sock yarns before. One is Comfort Sock, a blend of half nylon and half acrylic, for those who don't want (or can't wear) wool, knitting around 7.5 sts per inch. The other is Berroco Sox, a more traditional blend of 75% wool and 25% nylon, in self-patterning colorways, also knitting around 7.5 sts per inch.

Looking ahead to the bookshelf, there are some interesting books about to be published (other than Knit So Fine, of course). Keep an eye out for

• Michelle Rose Orne's Inspired Knits, from Interweave Press;
• Sasha Kagan's Knitwear;
• More Big Girl Knits, from Jillian Moreno and Amy Singer;
• if you're a Yarn Harlot fan, she's got a new one coming in spring called Things I Learned From Knitting (Whether I Wanted To Or Not);
• Shannon Okey's How To Knit In The Woods (I'm not sure exactly what she's got up her sleeve in this one, since it's subtitled "20 Projects for the Great Outdoors"; maybe a knitted tent? a hunting knife cozy? Shannon, if you're there, let me know...)
• Knitting New Mittens & Gloves, by Robin Melanson;
• Guy Knits: Sweaters and Vests for Men, a "Best of Knitter's" volume by Rick Mondragon, sure to appeal to all the men you know who like, um, gaudy colorwork and hairy novelty yarns?;
• Retro Knits, by Kari Cornell, inspired by vintage patterns from 1900 through the 1970s.

Finally, you must check out Veronik's updated website, which recently premiered her on-line shop. The gorgeous Wallpaper Mittens are the first PDF pattern ready for sale there. More, please, Ve-Ve?

Coming this week: The first No-Bull Book Review of 2008...