Jury Duty: a Knitter's Verdict.

I was on jury duty last week. It was a very knitterly experience for me. I made excellent progress on my mock cable sock during our breaks. This is the second time I have made this pattern, and it might well become my "standard" sock pattern (NB: you may need to register). I have so much trouble getting gauge with socks, and this pattern has been a winner with both STR and Knitpicks' Memories, which are totally different yarns. I've heard a lot of knitters say they get weird looks or comments when they knit in public, but my fellow jurors were pleasantly curious and interested. It was nice.

And, there is a yarn shop near the courthouse by the name of Cottage Yarns. Go now. You will love it. The owner, Kathryn, is very welcoming, and we had lovely chats on both (!) of my visits. I came home with some Euroflax linen for the tuxedo blouse in the new IK, and two skeins of Mountain Colors "Bearfoot" probably destined for a pair of knee socks.

She stocks an interesting variety of yarns. Some things I'd never seen (Karabella Lace Merino), a vast selection of basics (Cascade 220, Galway, lots of Brown Sheep, Encore), and some seriously yummy luxury yarns (Joseph Galler Alpaca, oh mah gawd; lots of Karabella, like Boise and Margrite). She also had the Malabrigo laceweight; this was tempting, but for some reason, I didn't see myself using laceweight singles for a shawl. I am not sure if it would withstand the vigorous blocking I like to inflict on lace.

The actual work of jury duty was worthwhile, too. A very interesting experience. It is a pain to be taken away from the regular routine, but if you can set aside the time, I'd recommend doing it when you have the opportunity. For me, it was a valuable lesson in how 12 reasonable people can disagree, and that doesn't mean anyone's an idiot. It is totally possible that we can all hear the same story and have a different take on it. Getting everyone to come to an agreement can be difficult, but it gets done all the time. We did it. The most surprising thing was that I truly did go into the deliberations with a totally open mind. Usually, I am snap judgment girl, and I fully expected to have an opinion as soon as the closing arguments were done. In actuality, it took a good 20 minutes of talking with everyone before I could form an opinion. Everyone else's thoughts were really helpful to me in figuring out my own position, which is an absolute first. Working collaboratively was a refreshing new experience.