It Has Been Awhile! (But I Wanna Show you Something)

Usually, when I have been gone for awhile it means one of two things: Either I have been super busy with a project or that I have been sick. In this case, it has been both. This fourth book is going to be so fun for all of you, I just know it, but there have been days that I have to make a choice between being ill while finishing up on book projects or being ill and not finishing up on book projects, and blogging instead (while being ill).

Thing is, I get paid to write the books, so you now know why I've been gone. I really don't like talking about my health here (I'm not going to die unless I fall on some train tracks or something), because to tell you the truth, I groan when reading endless tweets and blog posts from others going on and on and on about whatnot. It's like, hey, I'm glad you're on the mend but I might have to block you if I read one more kvetch about your left toe joint being out of whack and about how your herb-ologist has found an extract that will level the air pressure between your fourth and fifth vertebrae but you are hesitant about consuming it due to it being extracted from Musk Oxens' favorite flowers yadda yadda oh, and here's a tip jar. Wink wink.

You get the point.

So onto what I wanted to tell you about: I have a few favorite and very dear sweaters that I wear over and over. These are expensive light-weight cashmere sweaters. Yes, I know, I must have about 200 sweaters I've already knit, it's true, but I typically knit for models and my body is not the same size as a model. In my defense, I do wear a handful of them, but they're the ponchos (yes, I'm a poncho-lover), the shrugs, the boleros and the linen ones. The others live in boxes in my closet. I wear the hats, too. It's just that, in this warm climate, I don't have the opportunity to wear most of the stuff I knit. Light-weight knits? Yes!

But back to the light-weight cashmere sweaters that I love and actually wear. I spend a pretty penny on them, but I wear them over the course of many years and purchase maybe ONE a year. I have a couple that are more than 12 years old. I know this because I used to wear them to work with pencil skirts and high heels. And I felt fabulous. Now?

. . . not so much. But I can still wear them (the sweaters; not the pencil skirts) because they are timeless. Worth the investment. I highly recommend it if you want to save your money and buy just one item that will last. (Find them off-season and get one on sale if you can. If you troll thrift shops, you can find many there, too.)

The problem with this lovely cashmere is that it pills. This is the trade-off of soft, fine knits. They pill. Shucks, you reach out your window to pay the guy at the McDonald's drive-thru or carry a purse, and your sweater pills.

I normally use a sweater shaver, not the ones with the vacuum and the batteries. There's no way in heck I'm going to press on my light-weight cashmere with one of those! I use the almost-as-scary sweater shavers with blades and teeth. These things freak me out, too.

Until I found out about the Lilly Brush. Seriously. This thing is so cool I cannot believe it.

The Lilly Brush lives in a red plastic tube that you can carry with you anywhere. If someone saw it, they'd think that either 1) You have a hidden tampon in there or 2) You have some folded-up bi-focals. Hah. Come to think of it, I guess it'd depend if you're pre- or post-menopausal what the snoopers would think is in that tube.

Anyway, it's just a brush. They say that it'll take pet hair off of things, and I did try that, but it works better on de-pilling sweaters. The nicest thing about it is, you can press as hard as you want and move it in any direction without fear of ruining the sweater. This thing is a revelation. I no longer will use that thing with the teeth. I will never use that thing with the motor and the batteries. I will never use a straight razor unless I'm smoothing out a felted ukulele case, because, really? You can't ruin one of those.

Highly recommend. You can find a Lilly Brush here.

(Back to health; honestly, I'm just dealing with something that screws with my equilibrium. You can probably tell by my writing style, anyway, so I thought I'd take all doubt away and give you that tidbit thereby giving myself an excuse.)