Page 32

Two wraps-per-inch events have recently collided in my universe. Perhaps not of astronomical proportions, but noteworthy to me none the less.

At the recent Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival I helped one of the other instructors, Nancy Shroyer, by giving her rides between the motel and the fairgrounds. Nancy is the owner of Nancy’s Knit Knacks , and she makes marvelously ingenious and useful tools for spinners and knitters. On the last day of the festival, she gave me a handful of her wraps-per-inch tools, hoping that I could use them in my teaching. What a sweet gesture. And, yes, I certainly can use them!

After she gave them to me, I sheepishly said, “I have to warn you….” I told her about an article I’d written that was on the verge of being published in Spin Off magazine about the wraps-per-inch measurement. In the article, I presented evidence that the WPI measurement is lacking “reliability” (from a research methods point of view). I didn’t want Nancy to think I was utterly opposed to the measurement or that I didn’t like her lovely tools. She responded with grace and equanimity.

A few days after I returned from that trip, my copy of the Fall 2010 issue of Spin Off appeared in my mailbox. My article is on page 32. I structured the article on the standard format for a scientific paper: introduction, methods, results, and discussion. What do you think?