Things That Passeth All Understanding

There's an advantage of sorts to having no knowledge whatsoever of the things you write about. I know this is true---all you have to do is read the musings of our nation's various political pundits and it becomes abundantly clear that lack of understanding is an ok thing. It is, in all honesty, far easier in many respects to describe things about which you have no knowledge whatsoever, no previous life experience, no familiarity. In short, I've been poking around the inventory again.

Our inventory is a constant source of amazement to me. It occurs to me that a lot of people must use all this stuff because it exists and, because we sell it. I can understand the concept. I have hobbies of my own, and some of the things I work with are fairly obscure. That makes me a kindred spirit of sorts, but it doesn't curtail the confusion any---I just don't know what some of these things are. Take, for example, Color Change Thread. It comes in different colors, and those colors change after the thread has had any sort of exposure to UV light (sunlight, that is). I have no idea what it's used for (but I kindof wish we'd had it back in the Sixties) and don't think I've ever seen it incorporated into any sort of garment or work piece. It's pretty spiffy stuff, but I have trouble figuring out who'd use it and why. So, what do you folks use it for? (I could ask Jenny, but that's too easy!)

Then there's Aunt Becky's Finger Protector. It's a little flat doohickey that goes under the work piece, and keeps you from puncturing yourself during the sewing process. This is one of those things even I can appreciate, having taken a stab (no pun intended, but truth revealed) at sewing on the odd button or two during my time on The Planet. Can you say "Yeeeow!!!"? I suspect we all owe Aunt Becky a debt of gratitude for this one---at least all of us guys do! (Do you think she makes a protector that works for X-Acto knives too?)

My final entry tonight is a puzzler to me. It's a bias tape maker by some folks named Clover. This one's a fabricated tool, with moving parts, and it helps you make your own bias tape if you don't want to buy it ready-made. It sort-of makes a smiley face at you when it's sitting there in the package, It comes with instructions; a Good Thing to be sure. I'm told it works well, although I don't have a clue how it functions---it might be easier to understand if I knew what bias tape was, but I'm guessing it's one of those mysteries that will be revealed to me in time. It doesn't seem to work as a bottle opener, so we know one thing it won't do, but it's apparently a whiz at making bias tape.

So there you have it---Phil's confused again! I'm learning, though. I promise I am. It's just taking a while.

   hasta bye bye,

     phil