Life's a Stitch

Give me a Fiddlesticks pattern and some Classic Elite Miracle yarn and I’ll show you a perfect match. Some of it will have to be left to your imagination, though, since black doesn’t photograph well. The pattern: Fiddlesticks C’est La Vie wrap. I’ve said it before, but I can’t emphasize how well written Fiddlesticks patterns are. I’m hoping for more of them in my knitting future. They are on the pricey side, but it’s a case of you get what you pay for.

The yarn: Classic Elite Miracle, a blend of alpaca and tencel (made from wood fibre). Although the pattern called for aran weight and the Miracle is technically a light worsted, since I’m a loose knitter I got gauge with a bit more of a lacey look than in the pattern. Miracle has a pretty sheen and a soft hand, perfect for a dressier look. I’d especially recommend it for knitters who fear the dreaded dropped stitch as it marries slightly when knitted, and a dropped stitch doesn’t run wee, wee, wee all the way home. It’s what one of my knitting instructors calls "a stand at attention yarn, that waits for you to pick up the stitches."

Don’t you love it when a pattern and a yarn are perfect for each other?

I’m now at six weeks since my surgery. I’m graduating to one crutch while at home and to a new rehab brace. The weight of the post surgical brace has felt like lugging around a dead pig. Believe me, the next time someone suggests that a part of my body be harvested and grafted into another, there will be a heck of a lot more questions on this end. Not that it would have made any difference, I just feel so naive at times throughout this process.

It’s all about expectations. At six weeks I feel what I was expecting to feel at two weeks. I based that expectation on my experience with a previous knee surgery. Oh, did I mention that was 30 years ago? You mean there is a difference between being 21 and 51? Silly me. Six weeks down, twenty more before I can resume normal activity. It feels like I’ve passed a significant milestone.