Happy New Year, and a Lightbulb

Greetings, Gentle Readers, and Happy 2013!  Having finally pried the lampshade off my head, I'm fully recovered from my Holiday debaucheries and ready to continue my adventures in playing with string.

I decided to take the Frog by the flippers and revisit the actual fairy tale Frog Prince, hoping for further inspiration on my cardigan project. I dusted off my Grimm's Annotated, pleased to go back and see an old friend.  Interestingly, I had completely forgotten that in the traditional telling, the princess is totally disgusted by the frog, from beginning to end.  She only honors her promise to let him into the castle after her father makes her do it.  Not only does she NOT kiss the frog; he only changes into a prince after she smashes him against a wall.  I kinda like her style.

I'm taking this reminder as a sign that I need to take a firm hand with the sweater.  No more mollycoddling.  It's time to be the boss of this frog.

To that end, I knit new side panels.  They went really fast, being fairly narrow.  And as I was struggling to pin out my curling pieces of curved-edge stockinette, I experienced an epiphany:

It's easier to make them lie flat if you pin them to the board WRONG SIDE UP.

Yeah.  I know.  I'm appalled to realize that I've been making myself miserable trying to block flat pieces of curling stockinette right-side-up for my entire knitting career.  No idea why.  There is no reason whatsoever to keep them pretty-side-front, and every cause to do the opposite.  I can't believe I never thought of it before.  I hope you are smarter than me, and have been doing it the easy way all along.  But in case you are not, don't feel bad:  It's now a sure thing that we are going to end 2013 smarter than we started it. 

Just one more service I provide.