Life's a Stitch

     I was recently called cute by one of my employees. Cute, in the way that people think of senior citizens. I’m cute because my son text messaged me and I didn’t know how to reply so I went to the youngest employee in our organization and asked for her expertise. She said “You’re so cute!” I don’t do cute very well. I am a capable woman. Years ago my daughter and I used to have capable woman days to prove our prowess. She is proving her capability by studying astrophysics. She loves knowing stuff others don’t know, particularly her level of math. I suppose I’m really really cute because I’ve figured out how to blog.

     I am taking a day off. The past few days were spent wrapping up a big grant application; many hours of intense work. It took $5000 of staff time to produce an application that weighed seven pounds and ultimately killed the photocopier. As we said in Catholic high school, I’m keeping my fingers crossed and saying three Hail Mary’s that it’s a successful one.

    Charlotte is done and she’s darn cute even if I do say so myself. I was going to ask Sandy if I get two stars by my name on the knitalong list, but then I discovered someone else had actually knit six Charlottes! The ruffle took six hours! Emma pointed out, that although I thought that Charlotte didn’t measure up even after 32 extra rows, the pattern measurements included the fringe. I feel better.

Thanks to all for your mouse solutions and sympathy. Believe me, I will try every one of your suggestions.

Warning: Rated R for grossness.

Hickory dickory dock, a mouse really ran up our clock. We have a serious mouse problem and I need…

I stopped in mid sentence because, really and truly, at that moment a mouse ran right over my foot as I was posting. It was 3:00 a.m., dark, and it freaked me out a bit. Chuck was surprised he didn’t hear me scream. I reserve the scream for dead mice. Like the other night when I went into the garage to refill Gracee’s dog food container from the huge sack. I saw a stick poking up out of the container and pulled it out. No stick there, it was the stiff tail of a dead mouse still attached to its mummified in dog food preservative body. I simultaneously screamed and threw the containerful of dog food across the garage floor.

Here’s another vermin story worthy of a scream. Years back we lived on a remote island during the summers while Chuck was employed as an executive director of a church camp. While the babies were napping I was in lying in the sun, half asleep. Feeling a tickle in the hollow underneath my knees, I very quickly came to when I realized the tickle was a good sized garter snake slithering under my knees.

OK, enough of that. What can I do for the mouse problem? I don’t want to use poison because of the dog. We have those ultrasonic plug in devices that supposed to give the mice mini migraines and keep them away. Right. I’m sorry to say that live traps don’t do anything to solve the problem; it’s just a vicious cycle of catch and release. We have the equivalent of a cat in Gracee, the great white hunter, who killed two this week so far. I thought the mice would stay away when they whiffed a predator in their midst. I was wrong. Once again, I appreciate the advice of my fellow bloggers, bloggerless readers and lurkers.

I know you’re reading this for knitting content, so here is the progress on Elina’s shawl:

Just a quick one – my ultrasound came out fine – two teensy cysts (about the width of a US size 2 knitting needle) were what was originally picked up by the mammogram. It’s amazing what they can see. I can relate anything to knitting! And I’m awaiting knee surgery. More knitting tomorrow.

We’ve all had those moments at work when we say something that we wish we hadn’t. For me it’s when that quote will be distributed far and wide, much to my embarrassment. When the Pope died, a reporter was trying to convey His intellectual brilliance by saying "He consumed books like other people consume Twinkies." I bet he wishes he hadn’t said that. I’m not a good Catholic, but it feels strange without a CEO. Sort of like the Catholic concept of limbo, neither here nor there. It especially feels weird knowing the world’s most influential advocate for peace is no longer of this world.

A little break from finishing Charlotte, here is my new project for Elina, who considers this future shawl as one of her best outcomes of mommy harassment. "Oh  please, please, please make me a shawl out of that stuff I know you hate to knit with. How often do you graduate from college? Pleeeaaassse"

Introducing the hand painted turkey truss. Yup, in the absence of dental floss, Koigu was used to truss our Easter turkey. This is no April Fool’s joke, here’s the photo to prove it.

On to the more traditional use of Koigu, a blocking Charlotte. I had to call it quits after the additional 32 rows. I was running out of yarn. The disappointing aspect is that I didn’t bother measuring my gauge since it was a shawl afterall. So, after all the extra work it still measured out to traditional Charlotte size according to the pattern. I really wanted it larger, but I wasn’t prepared to knit one more row. I still love the outcome. I am planning on adding the ruffle after blocking so that will add another almost inch to the length:

I haven’t worked on something so addicting in a long time. Charlotte’s Web is one habit forming knit. It is so much easier the second time around. I made a mistake at Row 43, ripped back 6 rows and went merrily on my way. This one is taking less time partly due to familiarity and also the fact that I’m using one colourway. Koigu P113 has so many brilliant colours, magenta, greens – olives to bright lime, purples, blues and little turquoise; it’s beautiful on its own. Knitting merrily away this weekend, cockily adding an additional 32 rows, you can predict what happened. Picture this: row 172, 347 stitches across, 42 stitch markers, a very tired Li, how the heck did I get to the 48th stitch without realizing I was knitting in the wrong direction? A deep breath later, the S1, K2’s, SSP’s were carefully undone and I’m into the home stretch – 15 rows to go! I’m starting to think of the finishing, maybe a ruffled edge this time instead of fringe, like on my Yarn Harlot poncho. Hoping my next photos are of a blocking Charlotte, but you never know what might happen! As my ninth grade math teacher used to say, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

The colours in the photo look quite accurate. See you on Friday.

We went to the movies for the first time since seeing Chicago two years ago. This time we saw Sideways. I have no vulgar intentions in writing this, but what it the opposite of a chick flick? It’s a prick flick. Sideways is a prick flick, two guys hanging out being guys and getting into guy trouble (think the prick word). I thought it was a movie about wine. It is, but that’s secondary. The most fun part was listening to the guys in the audience laughing. It is a little raunchy but I’d see it again, it does have a message of decency that shines through in the end. Chuck told me he’s offended by the term I’ve coined, but it does make sense when you see this movie and what’s wrong with a little artistic license?

On to "purer" thoughts; I hope you all had a good Easter weekend no matter how you celebrated. We are Easter traditionalists and it gave me a chance to reflect on the many blessings in our life right now.  A big thank you to all for your positive thoughts. Life is a funny thing, isn’t it? There’s so much you don’t have control of. The blogging community is such a positive part of my life these days. Thanks to all.

This will be short. I’m still away and only have dial up access – very slowwwww. I solved my closure problem on the Garter Stitch cardigan with a trip into Vancouver’s Chinatown. A very helpful woman in a fine linen shop found me these buttons:

Isn’t that what they say about bad luck? The first night after my knee injury, during the two hours of sleep I managed to get, I had a dream about breaking two mirrors. I figured I was in for 14 years of bad luck or seven years of really really bad luck.

So this past week I had the migraine from hell, the knee thing and now I have received a letter from the mammogram clinic that I had a bad mammogram and need two further tests, scheduled for April 4th. Thank goodness for mammograms, as nasty as they are. Mine clearly showed something abnormal even though neither my dr or I can feel a thing. So, that makes three pieces of dubious health news, quite enough for me.

Just at the right moment this week, as this trilogy of bad luck comes to a close, I received two wonderful surprises in the mail. Not one, but two RAOKS!  A lollipop and a magnetic calendar designed especially for RAOKing from Alison, and stitch markers and a note pad with b-day greetings from Renee. Thank you, I think your timing is amazing.

I have made a major decision regarding my Charlotte’s Web shawl. I’m at row 154, technically the officially end of the project. I had already made the decision to increase it by another set of 16 rows, but in taking a closer look have decided to go for 32 more! A glutton for punishment I am, as I feel ready to have it done. I just know, though, that I’ll like it a whole lot better in a slightly larger size. I have the yarn so all it will take is time. I’ve found that a Charlotte in one colourway requires three skeins of Koigu, plus an additional skein for the fringe; one less than required for the multicoloured shawl. I think it’s quite economical for a hand painted project.

Here are a couple of pictures from Banff, one of the conference centre, one of the view:

Have a wonderful Easter weekend, I’ll be back after the long weekend.

I finally have time to write more about my trip. When I arrived in Edmonton and Elina and I drove straight to Stoney Plain, Alberta, a tiny little town. Yes, we missed the turn to the town centre when we blinked. Stoney Plain is home to one of the young RCMP officers who was killed recently with three others in Alberta. It’s a very sad time around here. Three of the constables were in their 20’s. If you know a cop, hug him. This one’s for you, Greg.

Stoney Plain is also the home to Pam’s Woolly Shoppe. Pam has yarn from floor to ceiling and in every nook and cranny. I arrived there once after a long drive from Jasper, AB and asked to use the washroom. She explained that she had one if I could find it, but I wouldn’t be able to close the door for all the wool. Doesn’t it sound like knitter’s heaven?

I found (it truly is a find to locate something in Pam’s) Estelle Watercolour solids, just what I was looking for to pair with Tonga, to make a shawl as a thank you for the woman who has been Elina’s guardian angel in Edmonton for her four years of school.

They had quite a selection of Sirdar Denim Ultra and I bought enough for two sweaters. My friend Marsha and I have been on the lookout for yarn to make this. Hers will be in lavender and mine in beige/cream variegated. This is a very quick knit, requiring seven skeins and we are both looking at it as a long weekend knit.

Finally, Elina convinced me to knit her a shawl for her graduation banquet. I do not like knitting with this kind of yarn unless it’s held together with another type, but she convinced me! It’s Midas and it was way too expensive! She gave me that look and I couldn’t resist. How often do you get your degree?

I’ll be back on Thursday.