Inspector Gadgets!

Hey!  Who remembers that clumsy little techno animated dude on TV called Inspector Gadget?

C'mon....sure you do!  You're probably humming the show's catchy little tune right now!  Da, da, da, da, daaa...Inspector Gadget....Da, da, da, da, da, da, daaaa...

I sure remember him - gadgets and devices for every ocassion - half of which he could never get to work quite right.....  Inspector Gadget is a comical glimpse of what happens when you get over gadgetized!  But can one ever have too many gadgets?

We live in a world full of amazing gadgetry.  All kinds of stuff that promises to make our lives easier.  And in all fairness, most of these little techno bits do.

So, I just added two little gadgets to my growing collection of knitting accessories!  Sure I coulda lived without them, but why should I?

For years I've blocked out scarves, shawls and shawlettes on my loungeroom floor using a zillion sewing pins.  My blocking board is simply a  4ft x 6ft x 1.25ins thick piece of memory foam.  The more pins I use, the better the end result....but heaven help the bare-footed chick who forgets the blocking board as she runs across the loungeroom!  Ooooweeeee!

Last week I finished knitting the Checkerboard Lace Scarf by Whitney Van Nes for my sister for her birthday.  I knitted it with Smooshy Starry in the In Vino Veritas colorway.  I washed and blocked it in the usual way, but the scarf was so long, and I just couldn't get straight sides no matter how hard I tried.  And to make matters worse, in some spots it was blocked at 7.75ins wide and in others 7.5ins and 8ins!  Ach je!

I finally bought some blocking wires and T pins!! 

Yay for blocking wires and T pins!  Why have I been struggling all these years with sewing pins??  Argh!!  Why didn't anybody take me off to one side and smack me up the head with my own knitting?  You girls know who I'm talking about!!

Needless to say, I love my new blocking gadget.

Look Mum, no sewing pins!

Since I was in the gadget buying department, why stop at one gadget?  Who wants a half full drawer of gadgets? 

I didn't have to look too far....heh!  As soon as I spied this awesome little gadget, I knew it was coming home with me too.  I am now the proud owner of a yardage meter!  Whoot!  This will be so amazingly useful when I skein up my handspun yarn.

So now I'm smug.  Smug with my gadgets.  And they do make my life that little bit easier.