"You may be right..."

"I may be crazy..."

Because here's the latest addition to the crafting studio:

Some of you may recognize it as a NZAK (New Zealand AutoKnitter) AKA a sock knitting machine. Apparently I took leave of my senses about a month ago, ordered it, and here it is today.

Actually, it wasn't really that I suddenly went crazy, it was fate. Here's how it happened:

I absolutely love knitting socks, and I absolutely love gadgets of all kinds. So, when I saw that Jacquie Grant in NZ was making new sock knitting machines (most brands of machines ceased production many, many years ago) I immediately wanted one. I wanted it bad, but they are not inexpensive -- in fact, they are quite dear. Especially for a hobbyist who has no desire to sell socks. So, like the mature adult I pretend to be, I tried my best to talk myself out of wanting one. And I was doing OK at rationalizing why it wasn't the best idea I'd ever had. Until,

... I noticed that this production run of machines was NY Giant blue. Now this was before the Super Bowl, and Giant frenzy was running high chez Mingling Yarn. So, I made a little bargain with myself (you know, they way you often do) -- if the Giants won the Super Bowl, then that would be a sign that I should go ahead and buy the machine, if they lost (as almost everyone expected), then no deal. I thought that was a fairly safe bargain -- there was no way the Giants would be able to beat the 18-0 NE Patriots and win the Super Bowl. I would be able to maintain a level of maturity, and console myself with the idea that a sock machine was just not meant to be.

And then -- amazingly -- the Giants won.

What else could I do?

I don't usually give names to my fiber equipment, but I'm calling this one Eli.