The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown.
One week ago today, a certain Domestic Goddess was set free from her government-sponsored sabbatical. She was shown exiting the prison wearing this:



Said garment was purportedly made for Martha by a fellow camper; all in all, a nice gesture. And nice of mega-bucks Martha, who could have swathed herself in head-to-toe designer togs for her highly photographed prison exit, to wear such a humble gift. Kudos to her for that.

My quibble? The garment in question is a poncho. A frickin' poncho. It's already been a watershed year for The Return of The Poncho, with yarn companies and pattern designers falling all over themselves to feed the Poncho Jones that's been created.

Don't get me wrong. Ponchos are mucho comfy, hide a multitude of figure flaws, and are eminently makeable for even the most novice knitters or crocheters. My main gripe lies with, again, the pattern and yarn manufacturers who, since Martha's release last Friday, have stuffed my email box with breathless announcements of coming poncho patterns "Just like Martha's!" Lion Brand and Herrschners battled all week to be first. The winner? Herrschners, with a poncho made from Bernat's Galaxy yarn.

Hey, I'm no less guilty than anyone else. I hopped on the Poncho Train when it first left the station about 2 years ago, knitting up this cute number from Lopi #21 (see Design #10 on the page). My sister and mom love it, and mom has sort of commandeered it. I even knit 2 quickie Peruvian Alpaca ponchos for the wives of my husband's triathlon coaches.

A glimmer of hope arrived in my mailbox this week: the latest Patternworks catalog. Yes, a fair number of ponchos were featured, but the ratio is slowwwly tilting back toward more traditional knitwear. And I, for one, am glad. I started mentally totting up all the "must-have" knit items of the last two years. Imagine piling all this stuff on and going out the door: Knit or crocheted poncho, felted clogs or slippers, novelty yarn scarf, felted handbag (with knitted facecloth tucked firmly inside), and for heaven's sakes, don't forget your prayer shawl. Not a pretty sight.

So, in honor of my husband's comment as I finished up the Lopi Poncho ("Nice serape, sweetie."), I am officially declaring AmyKnits! to be a No Poncho Zone. The Official Ambassador of the No Poncho Zone is the Ultimate Bad *ss Poncho Wearer of All Time, Mr. Clint Eastwood as seen in The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. Anyone got any complaints? Take it up with Clint. But only if you feel lucky. Well, do ya?



Happy Friday, everyone.