Yes, a good day, but not strong on activity. I had a good
Italian lesson, and then my cleaner didn’t come (she’s coming tomorrow) so I
had a whole delicious day to myself. I decided I had done enough ribbing on the
EPS (resisted with some difficulty the temptation to measure it); increased the
missing 10%; embarked on the first of the gradient stripes.
The circumference looks right. We’ll see. I keep thinking of
Alexander’s Calcutta Cup vest. For that, I knit a thoroughgoing tubular swatch-scarf,
in which I practised various colour arrangements. When the vest was perhaps six
inches advanced – no small matter – I spent a few days on the shores of Loch
Fyne, and tried it on him. It was disastrously too big. I started again, omitting
an entire pattern repeat of something like 45 stitches, and wound up with one
of the best-fitting sweaters I’ve ever knit.
So the moral is, be careful. And if in doubt, take it out.
I am sure I have knit an EPS before, from these four old
magazines, but I don’t remember what it was.
There is only one response to the hare I started yesterday,
on the Carol Sunday Ravelry group, in which I asked whether it would be OK to
knit the Machu Picchu bottom-up, omitting the waist shaping. The response is
from Carol herself, saying, Go for it. So I will.
Non-knit
It will be interesting to see what now happens as the US
and, to a lesser extent, Europe relax the lockdown. There are lots of
questions I’d like to ask a statistician. Here in the UK, those suffering from dementia
have formed a large fraction of covid-19 deaths. Is that because the disease
seeks them out? Or because most of them are in care homes, where the disease is
rampant?
Rachel phoned today, sounding very cheerful. Her husband Ed
is an estate agent. He shot out the door and back to work, she said, as soon as
house sales were released from lockdown (which happened a few days ago). So now
shirts have to be ironed again, and in abundance.
The majority of individuals with dementia are elderly. That seems to be the biggest factor in deaths. Clearly being in a care home with an infection issue is also a big risk factor,the issue being that to be living in a care home, an individual has to need care and therefore to have vunerable health.Students in a hall of residence, for example. would be unlikely to have the same profile of serious consequences even if the virus did run through the place. and those of us who were in halls of residence during various flu seasons know that this does happen. We'll all be quite knowledgeable about all this in a few more months as the information about this new and strange disease is assessed.
ReplyDeleteJennyS
I share your curiosity/concern about relaxing some of the restrictions - we've recently started. We have to start some time and with the weather getting better, we need to get some fresh air and sunshine. Certainly that can't hurt. Re: Machu Picchu: knitting a yoke sweater like that seems to go faster knitted bottom up rather than top-down. You get the acres of stockinette done while your enthusiasm is still there and are rewarded with the ever decreasing and more interesting colorwork as you finish the body. Even better if you start with the sleeves and have them ready to attach when you get to the yoke!
ReplyDeleteHere in Minnesota, the majority of Covid-19 deaths have been in nursing homes/care homes as well. Closed living and weaker immune systems, I suppose. Today at the grocery store almost everyone was wearing a mask.
ReplyDeleteSomehow that shirt story says it all (regarding the pros and cons of lockdowns). Chloe
ReplyDeletePeople suffering from dementia very often have a range of other conditions as well, such as diabetes, in addition to being elderly. The more of these you have the more vulnerable you are. Obesity is also a big risk factor.
ReplyDeleteYou also have the problem with dementia patients that they will not be able to remember/comply with the various warding techniques. They probably won't wear a mask properly or at all. They won't remember about touching surfaces or constant hand washing. All those lovely things we need to do that even we also sometimes forget.
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