December 15, 2003
Who Invented this "In Sickness and in Health" Crap Anyway?
So many lovely get-well wishes for The Mysterious K! Thank you Lisa, Rachael, Fran, Vaire, and Robbyn! But I’m afraid your Long-Distance Woman-Powered Good Vibes don’t seem to be working. TMK now has pneumonia. This means her weekend was an unending barrage from me of “Why are you up?” “Aren’t you supposed to be resting?” “Didn’t the doctor say you were supposed to drink a lot of water?” “What do you mean you’ll float away if you drink more tea? Have some more anyway.” “Did you take your medicine?” “Did you take your cough syrup?” “Do you want more soup?” “Do you want more orange juice?” “Is it time for your nap?” “Why are you napping? Shouldn’t you get up for a while to clear your lungs?” and “Why are you giving me that look?” Trust me…she is seriously motivated to get better.
Despite this, on Saturday, I still managed to sneak out (sneak out? or was that a shove I felt in my behind?) to FiberRavenSoiree’s Seventh Soiree. I truly wish all my Dear Readers could experience get-togethers like these. Sheila has a large comfortable room furnished with large comfortable furniture that is ideal for hours of chatting, knitting, poring over books, going into that mesmerized “zone” as you watch someone spin, or just sitting back and unapologetically stuffing your face. You can always count on creative, beautiful projects for show-and-tell; zany ladies who live to see who can make who snort the most beverage out of their noses, the more carbonated the better, since that hurts the most; lip-smacking good food; and wonderful animal companionship, thanks to Jo-Jo and Ginger the cats, and Sherlock the poodle who, at first, tries to convince you he is the Almighty and Powerful Sharp-Toothed Defender of Hearth and Home but is really just a 10” tall, curly-haired, love-sponge. In fact, on Sheila’s site, along with more information about the Soiree, you can see a picture of the Almighty and Powerful Sharp-Toothed Defender of Hearth and Home sound asleep on The World’s Largest Sweater, which almost stayed behind on Sheila’s floor when I left because I was loathe to move him.
Knitting Knews
Thanks to TMK’s uncooperative lungs, and the need to get Christmas-y type chores done, there’s not much Knitting Knews.
Recently TMK was teasing me about the fact that I was starting to dip my toe in UnFinished Object Land, and she's right. For the first two years that I knit, I prided myself on never having a UFO. All projects either got finished or permanently frogged (or were labeled a “swatch,” which is always a great cop-out. Come on, now. You know you’ve done it…). But recently, the UFO’s have started to pile up, so this weekend I started the mate to this sock which I finished in June.
I have never understood the concept of making self-striping socks match perfectly so I make a point of not casting on from the same spot in the stripe pattern for the second sock. Somehow, however, despite my best efforts, these socks are matching each other stitch for stitch, stripe for stripe. Apparently I suck at being a knitting rebel.
I also swatched for the Catalina Sock. I’m using Fixation yarn in a color which I call “pea pink,” the step-brother to “pea green.” You know how “pea green” is green with just enough gray in it to not be truly green, and gray with just enough green in it to not be truly gray? Well, “pea pink” is pink with just enough purple in it to not be truly pink, and purple with enough pink in it to not be truly purple. The swatch tells me I need to go down a needle size for the rib. It also tells me I need to go up a needle size for the lace. And it tells me I might want to put a beaded seam down the back. I'm ready for this swatch to shut the hell up.
Oh NO! That's terrible about TMK. I had pneumonia once, and it was truly awful and truly scary. Scary for the caretaker, too. Hope y'all are haging in there.....
Posted by: Rachael on December 15, 2003 11:13 AMThanks for making my Monday Ryan....I burst out laughing about swatch and it's commands, very funny!
I'm sorry K isn't well yet, thank god she has you to motivate her to get well.....I'm sure she doesn't want a repeat of the weekend and is taking good care of herself! Meanwhile, still sending get well vibes. You take care of yourself too, so you don't end up in the same boat, okay? If you get too sick to blog who will make me laugh?
Posted by: Lisa on December 15, 2003 11:25 AMReally sorry to hear about K's pneumonia :( Will continue to send out get-well vibes.
I haven't worked with self-striping yarn, but if you cut the working yarn, pulled out and discarded 10 or 15 feet (or whatever is reasonable) from the ball and reattached the yarn, would that disrupt the tendency to samness?
Robbyn (Randomness R us!>
Posted by: Robbyn on December 15, 2003 12:40 PMmy dh had to retire waaay too soon due to health problems and i have decided that the bit about 'in sickness and in health' is all very well, but the 24/7 thing is getting a bit much!!!
hope the 'evil ilness gremlins' soon depart from your part of the world-
barb in east texas
Posted by: barb on December 15, 2003 12:44 PMI hope TMK feels better soon, and one day I hope I find myself bumping into you or one of the other wonderful women you've mentioned here at the LYS. In fact, I thought of you yesterday when I was making a dash through Acorn Street. I say dash because if I walk through, I end up picking up many, many skeins and balls of yarn, and my poor checkbook refuses to open. *G*
Posted by: perclexed on December 15, 2003 01:08 PMThank you, again, everybody for the encouragement you're sending to TMK. She is self-employed so she's doing her darndest to balance my nagging for her to restrestrest with the demands of her clients to workworkwork. She reads these comments religiously, so she knows you are all rooting for her!
Yes, Robbyn, I absolutely COULD cut some of the self-striping yarn out to get things going all higgledy-piggledy but who am I to argue with fate? Other knitters calculate to the nth degree to try to get identical socks and still end up with ones that are mismatched; I try to make ones that are mismatched and I end up with identical ones. Nope, it was meant to be; it's not my place to mess with what the gods have decreed. ;-)
Perclexed! You live in SEATTLE?! I had no idea! The thought of running into me at Acorn Street is actually not all that far-fetched since I am there allll the time (no, really; it's on my way home from work. Imagine what kind of damage that does to MY wallet! In fact, the owner, Karen, has started to laugh (in a good-natured way, mind) when I walk in the store.) Say, do you belong to the Knitting Guild? Is there a chance I would run into you there?
Posted by: Ryan on December 15, 2003 01:48 PMAdd my "get well" to the chorus for TMK. Pneumonia sucks, and the delirium sometimes makes the sick party think "gee, I could arise! and work!" But that's a bad idea. Bed and hot tea is a much, much better idea.
Ryan, if my swatches talked as much as yours, I'd have to feed them to my cats.
I'll be flying by Acorn Street myself this week, since I've just realized I should knit my niece a fluffy scarf. I wonder if they've extended their hours for those of us with holiday knitting emergencies?
Melinda, also in Seattle
I wanted to formally thank you for the lace knitting tutorial you gave me Saturday. I dug out an old book with lace patterns and it makes sense now! You are too helpful!
Keep your nurse's hat firmly on until K is all better. I'm sure she will recover soon just to keep you quiet! Give her my best...
Posted by: Tami on December 16, 2003 11:20 AMTold ya', Tami! Yarnovers are useful little buggers, aren't they? Glad I could be of some help!
Posted by: Ryan on December 16, 2003 02:14 PMAll my love to the lovely and mysterious K.
I'm so sorry whe's ill, but it sounds like you're getting a lot of nursing practice, Ryan -- such as it is.
More soup, that's the ticket.
Posted by: Anne on December 17, 2003 07:33 AMI think I'm going to live!
Thank you everyone, for your kind messages while I was down for the count.
K
Posted by: The Mysterious K on December 17, 2003 08:55 AMRyan, I'm actually down in Renton, but am in Seattle all the time. I actually have a new nephew in Eastlake that I visit often! I taught myself to knit and am still rather shy about my FOs, I haven't joined a guild. Actually, I'm mostly rather shy period, which is another reason I'm not out and about more often in the knitting world. But perhaps I'll get over that and we can meet up someday!
Acorn Street is lovely, and everyone is very nice whenever I go in. I finished up a keytag when I was there just this week, and thanks to your recent posts have been pondering getting some sock yarn with my 'free' $20 and making a go at that over my days off in the coming weeks. Perhaps as a reward for finishing up a couple of items I have languishing in their half-done splendor? I see a lot of projects in my future. :D
I'm sorry it took me so long to respond - I always forget to check comments after I've posted!
Posted by: perclexed on December 17, 2003 12:08 PM