I've been struggling with the bangs issue myself. I have no advice for you. Sorry. Let me know if you come up with some surefire way to make a good bang decision.

Bevvy, it almost caused my hairdresser and I to divorce!

I've had to divorce a husband and a good hairdresser. The divorce from my husband was much less traumatic and less disruptive to my life. Hee hee.

DUDE.

I can't believe you typed out that whole danged thing!!!

Have a safe and sane 4th - stay away from red-flagged areas. And try to keep cool. . .

Hee! You guys are so funny, I bet you had a lot of fun. Happy Fourth of July!!!

Hey, Chickie ! Good luck with the bangs decision. I recently opted for heavier bangs than the wispy ones I've had in the past. I'm happy with them. They cover my forehead nicely. I can even sweep them to the side if I DO want to show my forehead. (ACK !!) Photoshop bangs onto one of your photos for a preview. If it looks good, print and take to your hairdresser.

Cheers !

Great interview! I am heading over there now to check out the freebees.

/hugs

Don't get bangs! I got bangs - I hate bangs - Please don't get bangs!

Ooooh FREE STUFF!!!

Thanks!

and, um, I'm kind of on the bangs bandwagon. Bangwagon?

Or maybe, lots of long layers?

Could it be? I'm in the top ten? (Probably not before I'm done.) Bangs? Naw, Laurie, you have that smooth, ivory, fair skin and it'd be a shame to hang a curtain over it. Naw. And that's GREAT, I'm going to sign up for that thing right now! I'm a not-so-hot-but-perpetual knitter and I am so loving free patterns. THANK YOU for the (bangless) heads-up! Happy 4th o' July early!

I like bangs. Not heavy ones, though. I like the photoshop suggestion to preview you rlook.

Say no to bangs!! Your hair is smokin right now :) I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it ;)

Ah, the ever-loving bangs. I got them a couple years ago, but apparently my forehead's not quite big enough for the stylish kind. But I'm sure in 5 years or so I'll be itching to try once more. I think it goes through phases for celebrities because then they can ease up on a the botox, and it's just a conspiracy that we all follow along.

I've always had bangs. Short ones and long ones. I'm pro-bang.

Nice reporter action there! that was a thoroughly engaging interview--the perfect mix of kitties, knitting, and of course, BANGS! :o)
you know, your hair is definitely looking very nice right now so i wouldn't change it. BUT in the Future, if you feel like going for it, do it! plus, bangs are notorious for helping those who feel self-conscious about their foreheads. ahem. BUT I AM NOT SAYING THAT those people actually have a larger-than-average forehead...
I'm just saying. I've just heard that bangs look best on those who actually have foreheads. Me? don't got no forhead. seriously.
okay, the taste of my foot in my mouth is seriously gross. xoxo to the kitties.

No bangs!! You have the cutest little widow's peak that I would KILL for because they are SO classy, and bangs would just hide it! Plus your hair has flair.

I got me some bangs a bit ago.. I'm neither thrilled nor appalled by them. In fact, now I'm right back to the original question, really, keep the bangs or let them grow out? Clearly, I have no advice for you there...

I can recommend, however, a relatively kitty-proof needle case. Gallon-size Ziploc freezer bags. They completely stymie my not-so-bright kitty. Of course, as soon as I pull out my needles to actually knit something, he's immediately in my lap, teeth out, etc.

Bangs bangs bangs. The word has lost all meaning now.

Lori,
Bangs are totally in right now, and they might help with your forehead insecurities. I just got bangs, and they totally hide the shiney forehead.
But if you get them, realize that it's summer and you're going to have to wash your hair a LOT to avoid the stringy, sweaty bangs. Also, I think you should go balls out and get long, thick bangs. No easing your way into it with wispy little girl bangs.

Most emphatically, no bangs. Trust me. I am also of the fine hair and ...er... 'noble' brow persuasion. No bangs.

I can't believe I de-lurked over bangs. But even from afar, I like you too much to let you make the bangs mistake. They take half of forever to grow out, especially when one's hair is too fine to hold any sort of clips.

Great interview! As one who is living, somewhat temporarily, with 4 cats, a bunny and a dog, I appreciate the tips!

Thanks for typing this whole interview out! I love KnittingDaily, Sandi's so funny.

Also, bangs: no. I don't think I've ever seen *anyone* look good banged.

(And that's "bang-ed" with the Shakespearian pronounciation. Sheesh, pervs. :D)

I also like the PhotoShop idea. It should give you the best answer.

Bangs tend to disguise a receeding hairline, and visually shorten noses. The shorter nose effect frequently makes people look younger, too.

But the best answer for one person may not apply to someone else. Your hair is very classic.

Before you get bangs, though, review what you posted about your last haircut, right before New York at the beginning of June/end of May.

Then decide for yourself.

I vote NO on the bangs. And please, if you are a resident of California, please sign my petition for a State Referendum restricting Laurie from ever getting bangs within state lines or simply send a postcard to the State Senate in Sacramento with the following:

STOP LAURIE'S BANGS
CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE
Sacramento, CA

Good lord y'all are funny. Thanks for the laugh!

Great interview! I've been enjoying Sandi's Knitting Daily newsletters and the free patterns are really good. It's a great mix of easy & challenging projects which was a pleasant surprise.
Oh, one last thing. Just say no to bangs.

To be banged or not to be banged, that is the question. While I agree it is a serious question that must be considered carefully, just remember it is not a tragedy if you don't end up liking them because guess what! Hair grows! That makes up for a lot.

Free patterns = YES!
Bangs = NO!

Just my two cents worth....

Do you have a fivehead? If not (from what I've seen, you don't rank in the fivehead clan), then NO BANGS! Bangs are for fiveheads...they know what to do with bangs. People with foreheads, or worse - threeheads, and bangs are like people at a pool party in corduroy pants!

No bangs! You have one of the world's prettiest foreheads (really! all the face-hugging pictures are proof!), and it would be a pity to cover it up.

I do indeed have ye olde fivehead. But I hadn't thought of the hot, sweaty summer part of bang ownership, eeeew! Maybe we'll revisit the topic in cold January (heh, "maybe" we'll revisit the topic... it's my lifelong question... to bang or not to bang...)

Bangs + Summer = Sweaty Stringy Bits of Hair Stuck To Your Forehead.

I've been grimacing at the computer, trying to figure out if I can still raise a single eyebrow a la Dr. Spock. No. I do have bangs and that's probably why I've lost my capacity for superciliation.

I'm casting an absentee vote for "no bangs."

I've got bangs and I love them. If I don't have bangs, I look wrong. When I let my hair grow out, if I go all one length, I develop a severe case of triangulation (all the hair collects at the bottom/top heavy head look). So I'm a huge fan of the layered look with long shaggy bangs. Now if the 1980's would just return so I could pouf it all up again. *sigh* Bangs are a personal decision. Good luck with yours! Great interview, btw.

Thanks for my morning laugh :-)

Having not read the above comments at all, I'll just plunge forth with this, like I'm the first person to ever posit the idea:

side-swept bangs perhaps? I'm rocking them right now, and the best part is that when you don't feel like messing with them you can just tuck 'em behind the ear and forget about them. They also disguise my monstrously large forehead :-)

Laurie - so sorry I missed the birthday (I've been working LOTS lately)- happy belated! As for the bangs - my mantra is - trust your expert (Ahron right?) and the worst case scneario is - they will always grow out!

I'm convinced that if it wasn't for cat hair, knitting wouldn't actually stay held together.

I am bang neutral, but I found myself highly interested in cats who gnaw at bamboo needles. There's nothing - NOTHING - in the world more frustrating than trying to cast on, only to have the yarn catch along the formerly smooth surface of a brand new pair of needles.

Of course, I chose to own a cat, rather than a dog, so there must be at least a little bit of me that enjoys the pain.

Cats: so cute, so furry, so evil.

I had really liked Sandi Wiseheart before (especially showing the bust darts in tomato and seeing she's shaped like me) but I absolutely love her based on " As a life-long fiber fanatic, I admire the way cat hair, when blended artfully into a hand-knitted piece, and perhaps treated with just a frisson of cat spit, adds texture, sheen, and attitude to my creations." Yep - I'll keep reading Knitting Daily just because the woman knows about cats :)

Laurie, I'm with the no bangs for you group! You have a lovely face and the last haircut really shows it off nicely. I have bangs simply because it's absolutely horrid growing them out when you have stick straight fine hair. Before getting bangs cut think about the growing out phase and the hot weather problems and having them with different styles. NO BANGS - really, you'll be far better off.

Yay bust darts! Yay free patterns! Yay fellow knitters with four cats (and thanks, Sandi, for the explanation for our cat Raven - she's AUTISTIC!) Greetings and little tumbleweed cat-fur balls from Mookie, Groucho, Belle, and Raven! And their humans!

Very fun interview Laurie and Sandi and yeah for 'free and easy' stuff. The patterns, not you ladies.

My suggestion for the hair dilemma, in the words of William Hung, "She Bangs, She Bangs!"

I'm a banger and have shaved off all my hair before so I say DO IT, regret it and let then let it grow out again. A Hairy adventure into the unknown.

I was told for years that I couldn't have bangs due to a widow's peak cowlick-thingy. But now I have them & like them. But do they really count as bangs if I've gone & chopped off all my hair? They're really just the same length as the rest of my hair, except maybe a little longer.

But - Laurie, it sounds like you're on the fence. Maybe wait until Fall/Winter to reconsider. Besides - your new cut looks great as-is!!

i have been pondering that question ever since I saw Reese Witherspoon's bangs and loved that look.
I have had pretty much the same hairstyle for a couple of years and think it might be time for a change in August.
and if i don't like it, it will grow back . . . eventually. gulp.

Excellent interview! I have given up on knitting for the moment, but maybe I should try again...

NO BANGS!
Straight across bangs make us five-head girls look like we're draping hair over a billboard! They wiiiiideeenn the face! No bangs! Long layers around the face...now THAT's worth talkin' about!
Laurie, I have a wonderful friend who's a rockin' hairstylist in your part of the woods (affordable!) email me if you'd like to see her?
BTW- anyone tried using one of those legged breakfast trays for keeping sweaty yarn off of laps? I'm thinking of buying one just for that purpose....

bangs, i have them. Covers up ... ahem ... the only wrinkles on my face, the forehead.

bangs=the cheap alternative to botox

Don't do the bangs!!! They take forever to grow out if you are not happy with them. It is just one more thing that you have to fuss with and fix in the morning.

Loved the interview. Very fun. Sounds like a good time even thought it wasn't in person.

Have a safe and wonderful 4th. Try and stay cool and drink lots. ;) Gotta stay hydrated.

I'm pro-bang for myself, but respect other people's rights to be bang-free.

Loving the free patterns.

great, entertaining interview. Who knew knitters were so funny?
I am anti-bang myself. I spend most waking moments wishing I had them, and the minute I get them I hate them. Hate them. So don't do it!
I also say colddrank and I am not southern. Or at least I don't think so. I also say y'all. Hmmm...

Hee, bangs. I'm always getting bangs cut into my hair or growing them out. You'd think I would learn that I don't like bangs on me.

A few Thoughts On Bangs:

On you? That lovely widow's peak (LOVELY!) will keep your bangs from ever ever EVER lying flat, whether they are long or short, chunky or wispy. You will have a fine, furry set of parentheses framing your eyebrows.

Rosacea: If your glowing complexion is ever afflicted by the Curse of the Celts ... there's potential for biological hazards. Sweaty bangs + fair fragile skin = oy.

And if you really, really want bangs... pick up a hairpiece! Yes, you can get yourself a fringe of bangs. Pin 'em securely onto your own hair, worn down or back. They won't care about the widow's peak. Remove when bored!

Ladies, remember the value of hairpieces before committing yourselves permanently to potentially traumatic hair changes! Try on a new hairdo or colour before you commit to scissors or dye! (Heh. "Dye trying.")

My life is all about destiny today. Here I was, wondering what knitting project I should start to bring on vacation and thinking "it should be something for the director's new baby" and I come here and follow the link to: THE CUTEST PEAPOD BABY SWEATER PATTERN FOR FREE!!

whew! too hot to yell like that. even for free stuff.

anyway, thanks for a lovely interview!

Oh I am so glad ya'll like that website too. I just love it. They have some great free patterns, I have already found like 5 projects that are way over my skill level (intarsia pillows, anyone?) and I can't decide what to start on first!!

Does the ultimate accessory count Siberian Husky hair as well as cat hair, because I have both. I only have 2 cats right now, would have more but the Huskys won't stand for it. They are already ruled by the two cats we have. Embrace the cat hair, love the cat hair, look at it this way, you are getting your daily allowence of fiber in one way or another.

Yay! Four Kitties
Yay! Knitting Daily
Yay! Free Patterns
Yay! Sandi
Yay! Laurie

Nay! Bangs for Laurie
Your hair is tooo beautiful right now
Bangs are too hot

So, bangs are bad if you have oilly skin or hair! The oil will transfer from one to the other, giving you forehead pimples and making you look like a greasy haired bumb.
If you do not have either of these afflictions, I'm jealous, I say go for it :D
Late

No bangs. No way, jose.
Am I allowed to be a knitter if I am deathly allergic to, and don't even really like, cats?
When did the two become intertwined?

Hannah! Of course you can be a catless knitter, your bamboo needles will thank you :)

By the way, guess how awesome it is to tell guys (read: potential date material) that you live alone, have four cats and your hobby is knitting? Yup. That is my very favorite conversation. Ever.

My 4 cats- Valeria Victrix, Fionn, Basia and Zbyszko- say hi to your 4 cats.

And I tend to knit with circular needles as they don't chase after those and thankfully they do leave my DPNs alone. : )

No bangs! Nooooooo! Greasy and hot and sticky and then the pimples... just say no!

I loved the interview, thanks! I liked Sandi before and lurve her now, heeeee.

Hot summer lap? I use canvas bags to hold the yarn, and mostly to socks during the summer.

I love bangs! I have bangs! Why no bangs?

I crochet winter or summer, I just do sqaures or smaller projects in the summer so I don't have a gigantic afghan draped across my lap. Ironically summer is the best time to start on my thread snowflake ornanments. I applaud your crochet intentions, check out Crochetville.org! Drew TheCrochetDude is there! Also there are tons of tutorial videos on the net. Check out You Tube. My next attempt at something new will be spinning my own yarn.

If you don't have a high forehead you don't need bangs, therefore give em a pass.

From who wishes she didn't need them.

Tiny Tyrant - with four cats and three dogs and a husband I think I'm crazier than you. ;-)

Bangs! You must! They'd be superfoxy on you, and you wouldn't have to worry about your fivehead in pictures! I can't have bangs, as they get curly and fluffy and flyaway, so if you CAN carry the bang torch and work it, I vote that you must. Yesss.

Well, let me add an 'International' spin on the topic of bangs.

I was recently on the crowded subway in Seoul, Korea.. and I was surrounded by a large covey of highgirl aged, school uniform wearing girls, and as I looked around for entertainment (doesn't everyone do that in a crowd?) I suddenly noticed that every female had BANGS!

Not gently angled bangs.. oh NO! These were straight, blunt cut, flat dab across the forehead. The girls were all clones of each other.. (well, they were HS age) and trust me on this.. out of the 8 girls in 'girl covey' only 2 were adorable.. clearly 'bang wearers' and the others? My oh my.. it was so 'not for them' that it did cause me then to look at every female to see how many did or didn't have bangs.

So, the lesson from this? Angled, wispy, layered, bangs are far more attractive on far more females than the blunt, one length, cut straight across bangs are.

I say: Go for it.. just a small dab of wispy, angled, layered bangs and then if that looks good-you can go for a more 'bangy' look. :D

DON'T GET BANGS!!! i have the urge every so often, it goes, "shave head, get bangs, shave head, get bangs, bleach. . ." and i always manage not to do it but recently i did get the bangs and from the first 'fwip' of the scissors, i regretted it! i now have a permanent crick in BOTH sides of my neck from doing the head-jerk-hair-outta-eyes thing. and here in colddrank capital, let me tell y'all ("y'all" not "ya'll" because it's short for "you all" not "ya hell") bangs suck!

Laurie, I know how awesome it is! (not divorced but single single single and I have multiple tiny dogs - which is the lesser of the evils? 4 cats or 2 chihuahuas, I mean really)
I've made it a habit to not only mention my knitting as "something I do" but offer to knit hats for perfect strangers(ahem, potential date material, ahem) when I have been gettin my "drank" on.
Alas, how difficult it is to be so fabulous.

p.s. are you ever gonna hook me up with your super secret quitting cigarette method? I'm on day 16 and holding strong, but I was intrigued by your admission of previously withheld information.

Too pretty for bangs you are. I'm afraid you would really cry if you got bangs. It takes a long long aggravating time to grow them out. (I always have bangs = big forehead.)

Thanks for this interview, made my day! Plus the free patterns are very cute, can't wait to go yarn shopping and try something new!

I'm also in the no bang bandwagon, been there, done that, bought the Tshirt... no bangs for me ever again! And since your hair looks so nice this way, why change!!!

It is your hair, do what you want, but last time I had them I almost shaved my head in disgust.. now my hairdresser knows to NEVER let me have them again!!!!

Big NO to bangs. Stay strong and don't do it.

Instead of cat hair, I have brown and white dog hair in all of my WIPs. I think it is funny, but I haven't found anyone else that is as amused as I am.

Bangs: just say no.

Intarsia is only evil the first time. It only took once of making the mistake of not twisting to learn to never make that mistake again. Since then, I have been a big fan of Fair Isle. It's right up there with cabling in my book.

Oh get bangs! You'd look darlin' with bangs.

This is hilarious, and I will be back to make some witty or at least semicoherent comment on it as soon as I am not being exhorted by my husband to *go to bed already* cuz we have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow to fly back to the good ole US of A. For now let me just say: cat hair rocks.

Laurie, you'd look adorable with bangs, but you're adorable without them too! Hmmm, I agree that bangs are hell to grow out, and you should show all of your lovely face. Oh, and I have four cats too--Tucker, Henry, Clementine, and Alanna. They all hate each other (except Tucker who loves them all and they all love him.) My house is a frequent site of Feline Domestic Violence...sigh.

Four cats? That's nothing. We currently have seven. None of ours have ever shown any interest in my knitting. Both dogs chewed needles out of projects when they were puppies, but the cats seem to respect the sanctity of good yarn.

As for bangs, every time I've tried them I regretted it in short order. Of course, your hair may mind better than mine. My hair has attitude. It says "I like being long and wavy. Cut me to short I will poof and arrange myself at odd angles. Try to style me, I will escape - especially if you try styling products. I will accept braids and a bun but only if the bun is held by a single stick. Betray me in anyway, I go back to the no styling rule." But maybe you’re lucky and your hair doesn’t have its own personality.

I like bangs for myself but am in a growing-them-out-let's-see-what-it-looks-like phase right now. Doesn't Clairol have some thing on their website that you can scan in a photo and virtually try out hairstyles? I think you have the kind of face that could look good either with or without bangs, but I would recommend the long-ish side-swept bangs. Bangs in general I think look best on straight-haired people.

Sorry- no bangs for you. I´m sure the Sobakowa will hiss at the mere glimpse of bangs on you. Your hair is just fine as it is... I try to grow my bangs out since I was 17 yrs (prehistoric issue) and everytime they threaten to cross the brow border, I get hysteric and run to the hair dresser, so that they might free me from this chunk of massive hair, clinging to my forehead like some piece of extra fat cheese.

None of my three little furry terrorists ever chew on the needles. Perhaps because I only have aluminium (or is it alloy? Foreign languages...) needles- they only try catching the yarn, or eat the tiny little cardboard pieces which come with the yarn, so I will never ever know how to wash the pullover, the socks or the scarf. So sometimes it´s a lesson in felting. To my surprise.

Fortunately, we have no problems with hot weather at the moment... it´s about 15 degrees Celsius outside and I´m considering a blanket to keep warm. And maybe a nice cup of really hot milk. With honey.

...and have you ever thought of spinning yarn out of cat´s hair? The last time I combed my little exotic shorthair girlie, there was so much hair, you could have knitted cat number four out of it. (Exotic shorthair is an evil euphemism. That hair is only 2 millimetres shorter than that of "real" persian cats).

I am a crocheter and was recently given a 'learn to knit' kit, which I was going to give away until I noticed... it came with these really cute bamboo needles.

Apparently, I am a sucker for bamboo needles.

So, come winter, I'll probably make [at least] a scarf.

But I will make sure MY four cats stay away from my really cute bamboo needles.

i have bangs and i prefer them, but i need them for two main reasons.

1. i have lines on my forehead (hey not because i'm old, i've had them since i was 12)
2. my hair grows straight down over my face so if i didn't have bangs and wore my hair down i'd be forced to either tuck my massive amount of hair behind my ears thereby forcing my ears to stick out or i'd look like cousin it.

you have a lovely smooth forehead so i would hesitate to take the plunge. but on the other hand, it's only hair and it does grow.

In the UK bangs are called a fringe (useless international fact for you, unless you get a hair cut over here that is!!). The comments talking about 'getting banged' have made me snigger as that phrase means a whole other thing that you probably wouldn't get away with doing at a hairdressers (but then I do have a smutty mind!).

Fun interview!!

Mandy, "bang" also has that meaning here too. If you mean what I think you mean. And I think you do.

HOW ARE THE PEPPERS???? AND THE OKRA? Tell us the peppers are OK!!!

Fun interview! Thanks so much.

I vote NO BANGS! Especially when it's 106 frigging degrees outside. Having worn bangs on and off over my life, and having grown up in LA, I can tell you from experience that bangs add at least 20 degrees to the already hot hot hot summer day!

This was a really great post and I am going to browse that free pattern section for hours, just as soon as I get a little bit of work done first lol

And I have six cats in my house (well outweighing the two people living there) and therefore want to join the elite squadron! Oh the cat hair in knitted gift embarassment *sigh*

Yay! a very fun interview!!!

A most informative and well-written interview. One I think would be worthy of the L.A. Times.

After all the issue of fur in knitting is of vital importance to all of us. You should skip the bangs. I have them and they are a pain in the behind. If they are cut too short you look like a dork. If they won't behave you can't tie them back out of the way and there are really only so many headbands you can wear before the theme songs to Hairspray and Grease start to be the background music of your life.

No bangs!!

Hafta chime in on the bangs, for several reasons. First, because for years I've been told I must read CrazyAuntPurl and I'm flaky and might have been 'round once or twice but I'm now finally committing, on account of the new blog crush I have on you. Second, our dog sheds so much she might as well be at least two cats. And third, nobody has yet spoken to Sandi's well-intentioned warning about bangs and eyebrows.

I recently took the plunge for bangs (thick ones), pretty much on a lark. I figured the hair would grow back, so enough with the speculation. I totally love them. Importantly, they don't hide the odd faces I can make with my Spock brows. (Nor do they make my oily skin oilier -- no forehead zits at all. My widow's peak doesn't wreak havoc, either.)

:)

Ah, bangs. The Hairdresser, she say NO to the bangs. Everybody cut they own bangs at they home and they use some old scissors that are dull and rusty, and they look, well, they just look like hail. Leaving the bangs alone, I begging you.

I having the cat do too. I knit, knit knit and then I have no yarns. The yarns been chewed by the sneaky sneaky feliner. I look in the bag at my knitting utenselings, and yarns ball and what I see? Sleeping cat. Sure, you sleeping now you done chewing with the yarn off the ball and now you so sleepy, Mr Sneaking Cat. Good thing they learned me spit splice in knitting classifications. I spit now. I spit to the yarn you chewed, and now we are spit brothers, Mr Sneakycat. Our spits are mingled in this sweater forever. I think maybe I keep that little secret on myself. I better take that one to my graveyard, or my neice, she say 'I never wear this beautiful yet spit stained sweater!' what I been knitting.

Reality. It not pretty. And neither is bangs. NO BANGS!

universally flattering bangs - longish and swept to one side. particularly good for fiveheads.

Just to weigh in here: no bangs. One always regrets the decision to go bangs, and they take forever to grow out. 48+ years experience talking here.

Great interview, loved it! About the bangs, SAY NO TO BANGS! As a person who is currently trying desperately to grow out the bangs (about half way so far), and has to use many different creative pinning techniques to keep them off her face, let me be the first to tell you, don't do it!

While I deeply respect Sandi, her four cats and all she's doing for the knitting world, I can happily disagree: Finally finding a hairdresser who didn't turn her nose up at bangs was the best thing that's happened to me in years.

The fact that I said, "I'm going to be forty in a few days. If you want to do something drastic, get me now while I'm still spinning," should NOT be taken into account.

I think you'd look adorable in bangs.

Very funny!! I love the cat things -- I have only two, yet enough fur for several. My son likes to collect the fur and give it to me "to make yarn." I throw it away when he's not looking, deep in the garbage.

Most importantly -- BANGS: in the heat they get damp and greasy faster than the rest of your hair and can fall flat. On older women, people assume that you are hiding tons of wrinkles. Also: Bangs are Forever. Or at least it seems like it if you decide to grow them out.

Pro bangs? They hide wrinkles. They give some volume and bounce.

I personally have wicked long hair, and decided to have semi-bangs -- slight fringes that frame my face ever-so-slightly on the side, and make up for the weight of my hair pulling down so hard that the top of my hair is completely flat making me look like a flower child. Semi-bangs work for me, and I can pull them to the side with a barette for the ponytail.

Not that I mind the flower child look sometimes -- it's quite retro and fun.

There, more than you ever needed to know. As my brother says, mid-monologue, "And now, for a little bit about me...."

I have a fringe, but not bangs. I have a long face and need to hide me Giant Shiny Forehead.
How did you manage to steal my Oz friend V and turn her into a knitter called Sandi? She even speaks like V. Totally freaky!

Being in the UK, I have a fringe not bangs. As Mandy earlier said, asking for bangs here could get you some v funny looks.
Anyway, because of the way my hair grows, I am stuck with my fringe. Without it I would have to wear a hairband all the time (or something like that), or I'd look like that character in the Addams family.
A fringe is big commitment if you're not totally sure, because it takes AGES to grow out. If you're keeping the fringe, it will grow like mad so that you really need a trim every 2 weeks or so, but if you're trying to grow it out it will refuse to grow as fast as you know for a fact it was growing before.
It will make your forehead shiny, although if it is thick enough no one will notice except you. And if for some reason you REALLY need to be able to leave the house first thing without washing your hair, it will have become squashed during the night in a stupid fashion, so that your choices are to look silly, or to be late from staying to wash it (a wet comb never works on these occasions).
I think on the whole that's me saying don't do it. Isn't it?

I just got bangs for the first time in my 46 years of life... I hate them!

Lynn S of Oz and Alison, Although I hate my bangs, I love your way of calling them a fringe!
Maybe if I call my bangs a fringe I will learn to like them better... thanks!

I've never understood the Knit/crochet divide perhaps because I learned to crochet first and it was the 60's after all (you had to be there) What I really want to know is why the Europeans manage to create crochet patterns of great style and beauty while North Americans patterns make me want to scream "who wears this stuff!"

I learnt crocheting during my time in kindergarten. (We produced lots of grimy and very tightly crocheted patches out of cotton yarn and gave them to mum as a mothers day gift. I wonder how she ever came to love her children). Later on I learnt how to make this fine kind of crocheting with a 000-needle(it´s called "Filethaekeln" here in Germany) which contains more air than yarn. Beautiful...
For years I could not believe how you should be able to knit, for there were no hooks on the needles... Until my Grandma took charge of affairs and my sister, my brothers and me sat on our sofa every evening for years, knitting like mad. Now I prefer knitting- you may look tv while doing it. And inspite of all the years of training in the kindergarten, I never got to learn how to begin a crocheting pattern.

Sorry if you've seen this already, but I thought of you as soon as I saw this comic.
Hope you had a great Independence Day!
http://xkcd.com/c262.html

I think I've always looked best with bangs, but that's me. I really like your hair right now, but you know what? That's beside the point. I would say, do the Photoshop thing, have a deep discussion with your hairdresser, then just do it and find out for sure. Yes, if you decide you hate them, it's annoying during the growing-out phase, but then you'll KNOW.

Excellent, excellent interview! I am going to go read it again as soon as I post this!

This was such a fun read, Laurie, as is your entire blog. A friend (who knits) with four cats sent it to me recently. Until recently, I, too, had four cats. Of course I've had as many as six at one time, but my even-numbered homeostatic feline set-point seems to be four. I recently realized I still do the nightly nose count to four, like an amputee's phantom limb. I don't knit (yet)...too many Mommy Issues would unravel, I fear (big knitter, my Mommy)...but I do create whimsical pique assiette mosaics. And drink wine. And photograph my cats. And blog about it all since I'm a frustrated writer right now. Please come by for a visit, all y'all. (Oh yeah...I was born and raised in Southern CA and now find myself in North Carolina! What the???)
Keep up the great writing and living,
Laura Winzeler
http://mysticalmomentsmosaics.blogspot.com/

oops. How did I manage to bogart Ana-Liza's post?
sigh.

I'd say whether I'm pro- or anti-bang, but as some have pointed out, that's just way too personal for a public forum. :p

NO BANGS FOR YOU!!! I will quit reading you if you get bangs. Unless I'm on my laptop, which has a dynamic IP and therefore, no one can prove it was me reading! Bwa-haha!

Or something like that.

Hedwig the american bobtail says HAI to your cats. :)

I'm pro-bangs, and I think the photoshop idea is a good one (giving yourself bangs on the computer to see how they look). I tried growing mine out once, but had 'em cut a week later (after those many months of arduous growing-out time!).

Also, thanks much for the tip on the new website--just downloaded a bunch of new patterns. Maybe now I could actually attempt the Salt Peanuts cardigan I liked way back when I was just starting to knit!

Hey, Laurie, how do you make those poloroid-like frames? I love those! And thanks for the link to free patterns. Mahhvelous!

And as an owner of an indoor dog that sheds like mad, I completely agree that pet hair makes a lovely addition to a knitting project. Or... you can just make the whole thing out of pet hair to begin with. www.vipfibers.com will spin your cat or dog (or other pet) hair into yarn for you. My dog's hair is a bit too wiry, but I bet your kitties would make lovely yarn. According to their website, you only need about five sandwich baggies of hair to have enough yarn for a scarf. :D

nnnnnnnnnoooooooooo on the bangs............ you have a cute face/forehead :O) and then....you have to find someone to cut them perfectly - every time.

Wow, what a great interview. Not to make the other blog's feel bad, but your's was the best by far! Really, you have such a talent for conversation and not just the same ole same ole!
Kudo's!

Bangs make your forehead hot. Bangs cause forehead zits. Bangs cannot be taken off your forehead in a comely manner. It is hot. Do not get bangs. Get them in the winter, if you must, so that your hats won't itch. But grow them out before summer.

I have had bangs and not. I am neutral because they make for different looks. At my current age, my hair is thinning a bit so I need every hair I have on top of my head, thus, no bangs.

Summer knitting,(sigh) I had to put down an alpaca afghan I was knitting (own design) in spite of the fact that it is done in strips, because the roll of knitted alpaca strip in my lap + menopause made me so hot I was ready to kill the weather fairy! The good news is that I have already finished a couple pairs of socks (nothing in the lap) and started a soy silk top for my daughter in college.
Knitting must go on! DH wonders at my sanity, but loves the socks I have on needles for him, so he only rolls his eyes a little bit.

P.S. to original post: I also have two cats who love to sleep on my knitting, so I keep it in those lovely GoKnit bags, which keeps them out of the needles. They can only donate their hair to the project while I'm knitting it, which they do with enthusiasm. Can anyone tell my how cats can shed so much hair on anything they want to claim, including me, and still have any left on themselves?

It's too friggin' HOT for bangs, dawg. I mean, cat. Whatever.

Also, re your tag line, there is one thing, and one thing only sexier than a divorced woman with four cats: a divorced woman with four children.

As for crocheting edges on a knitted sweater. I have the perfect solution. I just ask my knitting friend who is an excellent crocheter as well to show me how. So she does it because it is easier and faster than trying to teach me. Besides another friend who also teaches knitting said I should never crochet because it is comes out so bad. So it's simple; you just need talented crocheting friends.

Ok, I gotta tell ya...you should totally get bangs! They will change your life! They're fun! Sexy! If one day you're not interested in them, you push them to the side and secure with a bling bling barette or tease them into a pompador. Do it do it!

When my daughter was little, a friend came to play. My sister-in-law was also there and the friend's bangs were the heavy type and they were hanging past her nose. Knowing her Mom was a busy woman who spent little time on frills we did her a "favor" and cut Katie's bangs for her. When her mom came to pick her up she looked shocked and then started to laugh. She had been trying to grow out Katie's bangs for 6 monthes--WHOOPS!

I don't know if you should get bangs but i can tell you not to divorce a good hairdresser.I recommend lying to her if you want to try out another hairdresser for a while. I aways tell my hairdresser my mother cut it.
Also I recommend very sweet iced tea for a 'cold drank'