Life's a Stitch

We had a few of them this past weekend. First, look at these:

Hellen’s had 20% off all yarn this past weekend. Coming from Vancouver, where I’ve never experienced a yarn sale at my LYS, it was enough to put me over the edge. I can understand the angora purchase, yet another once in a lifetime knitting opportunity, but just what possessed me to try Touch Me again? That stuff is an orgy of colour and texture and it just sucked me in. Even though my last experience with it was so bad and I swore I’d never touch it again, I had no control. Nada.

The second moment of weakness involved DH, the bank card and a casino. Nothing catastrophic, just annoying enough to influence the rest of the day weekend.

Finally, my purchase from Restoration Hardware. A clock at full price. Problem is, the person who manufactured this "fine time piece" installed the hands incorrectly so that you never really know what hour it is. I bought a full price guessing game. Back it goes, presenting another complication. My friend did me the favour of picking it up in Seattle as it wasn’t available north of the border; a royal hassle for everybody involved in returning the thing.

It’s one of those "Calgon, take me away" kind of days middle of the nights.

So, we decided to go to WA this weekend, first to B’Ham, then to Tulalip to the new outlet mall. I ask, "On our way down can we stop at Hellen’s Needlework Shop in Mount Vernon and pick up a bottle of wool to finish my throw?" Hmmm.

From the feedback I’ve received, this post doesn’t appear to make much sense. Here is the punchline, for those who are not as muddled as me:

OK, no one in my family has to fear being seen in public with me wearing my leftover wrap. I’ve decided to turn it in to a luxurious throw. The deciding factor? Chuck asked in which form would it get more use. Honestly, I would wrap up in that throw regularly during our damp cold winter. As a shawl, however, it would be worn only occasionally. OK family, you win. Now I get to go to the Wool Station, next time we’re in Bellingham, to purchase the additional alpaca I need to complete it. Who’s the winner here?

Max, a knitting blogger, from When Usually It’s Nothing fame, has died. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer a short while ago and died on Sunday in his mother’s arms. He was 40. Max’s partner requests that you share your love with your family and that you have a drink in his memory. This is mine.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with our houseful of people. We ate as much as we knit, both to excess. So, I was working on my leftover shawl, which is going really well. I’ve thought about continuing and making it into a throw. This, of course, defeats the purpose of knitting a low cost shawl as  I would have to buy two skeins of yarn to achieve the colour balance I’m after. There was a lot of discussion about the options. My favourite argument for making it into a throw?  "Because I wouldn’t have to be afraid of being seen with you in public wearing that thing," says daughter #2. She’d better be careful – it might end up under the Christmas tree with her name on it 🙂

To top off a nice weekend, I won a blog contest. See Quiddity for details. Thanks, Jane!

Supposedly 85% of those drawn to careers in social services have landed there due to their own "issues."  I’m sure my workplaces are not that different than those in the real world, but I’ve had different co-workers who ignore all the rules and sleep with clients; embezzle; leave a spouse as directed by God in a dream, to find Fred, a high school sweetheart; and one who designed a sketchy website on work time and we ain’t talking knitting here. It involved leather and dirty underwear.

Here’s the recent scenario: employee is best friends with former employee. Former employee runs off with employee’s husband after a long affair. You can imagine the water cooler chat over this one. How about the divided loyalties, those who were closer to former employee than current one? Think about current employee, confiding in former employee about her marital woes, and former employee making it all better with employee’s husband. Evil. And what about the kids? That’s my office as a soap opera and I’m sure the plot will get even thicker with time.

Cue the leaves on the Japanese maple, it’s Canadian Thanksgiving weekend!  We’ll be celebrating with Marsha, my knitting buddy from Seattle, and her husband; our three language students (two German one Mexican); Mari and five of her dorm buddies camping out on the family room floor; and boyfriend, Mitch, in with Bryant. This is how I like my holidays; lots of people and food. Have a good one.

Along with eighteen pairs of Addi’s, we brought back fifteen kilos of chocolate when we came back from Germany. Chuck thought for sure customs officials wouldn’t believe with an inventory like that we weren’t going to set up a chocolate and knitting shop. Throw in a wine bar and I might get interested. Anyway would you believe I haven’t had one bite of that chocolate. I broke into my Addi’s immediately but haven’t tried the chocolate. I do however, have a preference for something else German. Saltze Herring – these are little black licorice fish covered in salt and sugar. Fat free and loaded with flavour. Call me strange.

Here in the Pac NW, the rains have started, the heat has kicked on in the house and it’s time for some serious knitting. Here is the beginning of the leftover shawl. The colours are prettier in real life:

You know how a good recipe can be even better the second time around? Take a look at this platter, knitters. Doesn’t it get the saliva runnung? How can I keep a mix like that stuffed in a plastic drawer? So, here’s the plan: a old shole-ish, feather and fan-ny, Ab-fab type stole knit lengthwise. I’ve swatched and have decided on US size 10 needles. But first I must finish something else on my plate.

This is the cause:

This is the effect after pushing the innards of a 25 lb fish down the garbage disposal:

Now for the math lesson: 25lbs of salmon = $10 of Drano + $26 pizza dinner on paper plates + $160(!) Roto Rooter bill. Aggravation level = priceless.

Moving on to English class, today’s lesson is literature: Do you know the story of Henry’s Awful Mistake? Condensed version: Henry the duck invites ducky cousin Clara for dinner. While he prepares the food he spots an ant in the kitchen. While trying to kill the ant he puts a hole in the wall, breaks the pipes, floods the house etc… We sometimes call Chuck, Henry.

I know, I know, put on your big girl panties and deal with it. Can I knit instead and ignore the whole darn mess?

My new favourite expression is "Put on your big girl panties and deal with it." I need to do just that and get on with finishing the two sweaters that are almost finished except for the finishing. You know what I mean, the sewing, the buttonholes, the buttons…

I once knit a sweater, one of my first ones, which sat in my closet for over 20 years, sewn together, patiently awaiting its button holes. One day I discovered that I had actually completed this step and only the buttons weren’t sewn on. By then it was three kids and 20 lbs later. Here it is, barely worn by Elina in her first year in the dorm five years ago, still buttonless:

Chuck says do it now, while you can, before it becomes, "Put on your Depends and forget about it." I think I need to order this book.