Thursday, March 09, 2023

 

Helen’s back, and in good form. The project in Perth went well, and all is well in Kirkmichael. The weather forecasts which have been worrying me so much were wrong – the Midlands and the North of England got the snow, Scotland just bitter cold. Here are some of our snowdrops, their shoulders somewhat hunched against the cold:


 

So the next thing to worry about is the appt with the orthopaedic surgeon on Monday morning. What if I don’t like him? Poor Paradox’ spaying is later next week.

 Thank you for the comments about purling. I wonder if you are right, Kirsten, and it would be easier with a straight needle tucked under an arm? And Tamar, I will certainly try bringing the yarn in over my left shoulder. It will be an incentive to do some more this evening. Two observations: 1) they clearly don’t like purling Fair Isle on Shetland. Avoiding it is the point of all those steeks and cutting. 2) In my adolescent, untutored knitting, I was doing something odd – I have suspected since that I must have been wrapping the yarn the “wrong” way around the needle during the purl rows, because it was markedly easier in the purl rows than in the knit ones, to insert the needle into the stitch. Halfway to combination knitting?

 Wordle: Alexander turned up at 7:30 yesterday evening, with a perfectly satisfactory four. He was late again today, with an even better three. His wife and his best friend Mark were as early as usual. It is hard to think of why Alexander might be away from home without the one, unless he were going to visit the other.

 I got five today, along with Roger and Thomas. Alexander’s wife and sister and best friend joined him with three.

 

8 comments:

  1. =Tamar7:25 PM

    With the left shoulder yarn position, you push the yarn forward with the left thumb and pick it with the needle tip, instead of having to drop the right needle. I have read that some knitters use a hook or loop pinned to the shoulder instead of wrapping the yarn around the neck but I never found such a pin to try that. Fun to test it anyway.

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  2. I should not worry about liking the surgeon. Instead, you may be able to look up his reviews, since he is seeing you privately. I'd be more concerned about his success rate in replacing hips.

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    1. Anonymous5:38 AM

      I agree, Shandy. It shoud be easy to look up his or her record, and that is what matters. My kids used to be told at school that they could not like everyone and should not expect to, but that they could and should expect to engage politely and constructively with anyone. Jean, I'm sure the meeting will be fine.
      JennyS

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  3. I have a feeling that the method I was describing where you have the needle stuck under your arm is calledcIrish Cottage Knitting and the Yarnharlot demonstrated it on a video. My Friend was born (around 1953) and raised in Co Donegal and started knitting Aran jumpers as a child; all the women and children used to spend the winters sitting knitting commercially, by fire light,

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  4. Mary Lou8:28 PM

    I had a student from Argentina who held a long needle under her right arm, rather like a knitting belt.

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  5. You don't need to like the surgeon, he just needs to be good

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  6. Anonymous1:12 PM

    A surgeon that I had trusted because of two doctors’ recommendations turned out to be less than satisfactory. After the fact I checked the Internet. Word on him was meager. But so was the word on a truly wonderful guy who had not been available back then. Maybe the Internet has improved since then. I did recall - too late - that a nurse I happened to encounter on the elevator in one of the doctor’s buildings was quite tight-lipped when I mentioned the unsatisfactory one’s name. I was too enthusiastic to pay attention. Too late I remembered the excellent advice a medical professional once told me - which is to ask a nurse. Not Your doctor’s nurse who will probably be loyal, but an unattached nurse employed at the same hospital/medical facility. May be hard to locate, but worth a try. Also, with surgeons, younger is probably better. After 70 methodology, eyesight, other factors can become outdated and eroded. Again just part of the picture. It all should be taken into account, including your own valuable instinct (as to his skill, not likability). I think almost every knitting style has it’s pros and cons. I tried the pin on the upper shoulder once (used a safety pin because I didn’t want to spend money until I knew I liked it). The pin kept sliding down my chest along with the fabric underneath. But other people don’t have that problem. I think you can find that pin on the Internet. Chloe

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  7. Anonymous2:00 PM

    Jean, that particular doctor was the only clunker in a long line of truly wonderful doctors. I don’t want you to become fearful as a result of my warnings. Just, you know the saying “once bitten, twice shy”. A bad experience can produce an overabundance of caution. Be sure to bring someone like Helen with you. We can be so nervous we forget to ask all the pertinent questions.

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