Wednesdays are for Random

Homo sum; humani nil a me alienum puto.
I am human; nothing human is strange to me.
-Terence

Gorgeous and Lacy
The Rose Trellis Stole is done, blocked, and life is good. It's stunning, and thus it deserves stunning photos in the sun with spring flowers. So entertain yourself with some other knitting randomness while you wait:

Knitting Books
Like the rest of the knitting blogosphere, I recently picked up my copies of the blogs-into-books. Some thoughts:

• Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Knitting Rules: This woman is really funny. Seriously. There are some good stories in here, interspersed between all sorts of useful information on socks, hats, gauge (although she didn't seriously address the enemy that is row gauge), etc. Most of that info I have elsewhere (especially in the incomparable Ann Budd's Handy Book of Patterns and Handy Book of Sweater Patterns), but I can see it being useful for beginners. Mostly, I'm along for the stories.
• Mason-Dixon Knitting: This book surprised me. It is fabulous. (I mean, I like the blog, but this book is way above and beyond.) First of all, it's production values are stellar. Professional-quality photographs of all sorts of bright and cheery knitting; great, somewhat-unusual projects; and a very "knitting is fun" approach. Plus, those square felted baskets? How well will they fit into MyNewCaliforniaLifestyle? Fabulous.

Bumper Sticker
Saw this on the back of a car on the Merritt Parkway the other day:

Peace on Earth, Good Wool to Ewe

Contest-Meme
Kat has a great contest-meme: List 5 places you've knit other than your home, and tell her about it. Here are mine:

1. The hospital. . . while on overnight call waiting for a patient to arrive by ambulance. A pair of self-striping socks.
   
2. A Perri Klass lecture. Talk about a knitting doctor. A cabled sweater.
3. Histology class first year of medical school. The FiberTrends Oak Leaf Lace socks still look like the thyroid gland to me. Every time I wear them. Four years later.
4. Carhenge. Should you ever find yourself in Alliance, Nebraska, you must see this recreation of Stonehenge out of old cars. Baby hats, I believe.
5. And, recently, the Volvo headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. German-flag-striped socks. The red matches the red of my snazzy new car.