Tuesday, May 28, 2013

I haven't been greeting new followers lately as I should -- be assured that each one of you is treasured.

A successful day, yesterday.

My husband’s appt was with a respiratory dr. He said, as our GP had, that my husband’s oxygen saturation is better than might be expected. The CT scan, compared with one four years ago, shows some decline, but not very much. He has referred my husband to a breathing-physiotherapist. Who would have thought there was such a thing?

Here are the Into the Whirled skeins at the beginning of the day.


 Beautiful, no? I wound the right-hand one, and cast on in the Respiratory waiting room. The previous Pakokku socks were done on 64 stitches, and came out striped. So this time I went for 56.


And it was obvious after five or six rounds, that I wasn’t getting anywhere. When I heard Kaffe speak here at the end of last year, he said something about hand-painted skeins which look beautiful and turn out like a dog’s dinner when you knit them. Except that the phrase he used was ruder than “dog’s dinner” – but I can’t remember what it was.

That’s what was happening. So I ripped it out and started again. That is most uncharacteristic of me. I live almost entirely in the I’ve-started-so-I’ll-finish camp. For the second attempt, I cast on 64 stitches. I do this, for socks, by casting on on one needle (on two, actually, held together, for extra stretchiness) and then knitting back, dividing the stitches among three needles but not joining the loop until the end of the first round – less danger of a twist.

That’s where I was when we were summoned to the Doctor’s Presence, and when we got home everything was in such a mess that I had to start a third time. Success! Not boring stripes but a beautiful swirl! I knit on, and therefore did nothing on Relax2 yesterday. I’ll return to it this evening.



Today’s excitement is a meeting in the John Lewis yarn dept, and subsequent lunch, with one of you (whom I’ve met before). So this morning I must provide my husband with a sandwich lunch and make arrangements for some tasks which can only be done at the top of the hill, where John Lewis is: wrap a birthday present for dispatch at the post office, fill out a deposit form for some cheques to go into the bank. Doesn’t sound like much, with a whole morning to do it in, but everything seems to take a long time these days.

12 comments:

  1. That is an impressive swirl!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a difference a few stitches make! I hope you don't have to narrow for the foot too much.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Christine1:30 PM

    I work with a respiratory physio, and she's great. I'm sure she'll be a great help. And I love the socks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ruth in Ontario, Canada1:59 PM

    The socks look great! The Loopy Ewe now has some of this yarn in stock - just saying...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I so enjoy reading about your knitting life! Or should I say your knitting and your life!

    I have been lurking for a while, but felt the need to declare myself a faithful reader.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I used to belong to a yarn club that sent out hand-painted skeins that were definitely Kaffe's dog's dinner. They did not work for socks, at least not the plain kind of socks I knit. They make wonderful Baby Surprise jackets though. I used one of the skeins for the BSJ I just finished for the upcoming granddaughter. Now I just need another dozen or so grandchildren and that should take care of that bit of stash.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous3:15 PM

    I thought it was Into the Whirled you fancied. The Loopy Ewe put up quite a supply of them on their website last night, and I had a good time trying to imagine which you might have.

    The Loopy Ewe is a peach of a shop, and their service tops all. Here's the link: http://www.theloopyewe.com/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous4:36 PM

    I, too, have been lurking and feel the need to declare myself as a faithful reader - so faithful, in fact, that after I discovered your blog a few months ago I started at the beginning and read all the entries, a few at a time. I was actually a bit disappointed when I caught up as it means only reading one at a time from here on! I thoroughly enjoy your news - knitting and otherwise - you have a lovely writing voice. I'm probably not going to sign on as a follower since I don't really know how and am leery of spam, but I will continue to check in every day. Keep up the good work! Nancy in Wisconsin. (nspwis on Ravelry)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous5:55 PM

    Beautiful swirl, indeed! Looking forward to continuing photos of this pair.
    - Nonsubscriber but faithful reader, Beth in Toronto

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lovely sock! I hope it continues to be so serendipitously spiraled.

    I get what Kaffe says about beautiful yarns in the skein looking like a dog's breakfast when knitted. It's all in how large/small a skein was when it was dyed. A friend of mine's experimenting with dyeing yarn to make self striping socks and it's been quite the adventure in math. She ended up getting a skeinwinder built with a 4 yard circumference and mounted it on the garage wall.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous10:15 PM

    If you need volunteers for the pakkoko sox put your thoughts in my direction in Old saybrook. R

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh wow - that yarn is gorgeous! :D

    ReplyDelete