Get on with it

So much to do, so little time -- or so it seems. I've been knitting away on all sorts of things, mostly from the Pile of Unfinished Knitting, but I did stop and make a Sweet Fern hat to match my Sweet Fern mitts. I love how the set turned out! There might even be a scarf's worth of yarn left over. A small, narrow scarf, but that would do.

I made the hat by spacing five of the cables around the brim, knitting them upside down. Then I turned at the end of a round and knit back in the other direction, so the cables would be on the outside when the brim is folded up. It's hard to explain, but once you do it, it makes sense. The yarn is Riihivilla Aarni, dyed with Indigo.

The other night I pulled out my Whimsy Lace Scarf, which has been weeping softly from the bottom of the knitting basket. I haven't worked on it since February, when chemotherapy finally took any remaining ability to concentrate or count. It's such a nice scarf, and beautiful yarn. It holds a lot of sad energy, though, and there are even places in the knitting that show my distraction. I've decided to give it only happy attention from now on, and the sad bits will fade.

My Levi socks have also come out of the bag again. I'm on the cuff of the second sock, and I'll cart it around with me for the next little while. I'll be wearing the pair before long.

I spent most of Sunday sorting and straightening my closet, and that pleases me. I needed to get into the bins of yarn so I could pick things to bring to the Stash Lounge at the KR Retreat next week. I ended up with two big bags of nice yarn, including all the Elann solid colored sock yarn I got a few years ago. I haven't used a bit of it. There's also a sweater's worth of Elann Peruvian worsted. I'm sure they'll find new homes with happy knitters!

I also dove into the bag of Sundara yarns, but all I did there was marvel and ponder and swoon, as usual, and decide that my next socks must be Brambleberry. Or maybe Through the Woods, or Pie in the Pantry. Oh, I don't know!

I did have a good idea, though. As I was looking through the mountains of sock yarn, I set aside any skeins that would look good as a plain pair of socks. Now, when I get the urge to start something new, I can reach in the bag and grab a no-brainer yarn for a pair of no-brainer socks. Wait -- where did I put that bag, anyway?

I have to keep looking ahead now -- the Retreat is in a week, and I have lots to do and sort and plan. My car is all clean, has a new battery, and is ready to go. The yarn is bagged, and I've begun to decide what to pack. It's even time to start checking the weather report for Williamstown, MA. I'm excited about getting away for a few days, especially because I'll be spending time with some of my favorite people in the whole world -- my knitting peeps!

Goodness

Blocked and waiting for Annabelle's final inspection -- the Cedar Falling Waters shawl. It's still pinned out on the floor this morning, and I'll leave it there until I get home from work. It's probably dry, but I know me; once I unpin it I'll have to look at it, then put it on, then play with it ...but it's Monday, and I need to get to work. The light was so poor yesterday that the photo can't show how shimmery the purl bumps are, or how the tilting things wave across the surface. And the colors -- they are so cedar-y!

While I watched the shawl dry I finished a pair of Sweet Fern mitts from The Knitter's Book of Wool. I was knitting along on the second one, happily making the thumb increases, la-de-da hooray for me, when I realized I was making a second right-hand mitt. Oh well. When I posted about it on Facebook, I was pleased to learn that it happens to the best knitters sometimes! The yarn is Aarni from Riihivilla, a yarn which my friend Kris forced me to order. Its base is a blend of natural colors, and it's dyed with indigo, so it's a very interesting yarn. I popped the pair into a bath last night and they're still drying, so I'll try to get photos during the week. I also blocked two of the hats I made. I'm on a roll, it seems!

It might be that I'm gearing up for the Knitter's Review Retreat, which is happening in just a few weeks. I have lots to do in the stash before I leave -- there are many bags to sort so I can bring things to swap in the Stash Lounge, and I have to decide what I'm going to knit while I'm there, and I want to choose a yarn and project to start on Sunday morning.

It also might be that I had very good news last week. I'd been dreading my second three-month checkup with Dr. Pearl. Last time there was still some concern about my blood work, so we were being watchful and waiting to see how it would be this time. Well, it was the best it's ever been. So normal that it's crazy-normal. The three of us -- me, Dr. P. and Nurse Sylvia -- were thrilled! I feel like I've been doing things right (as in getting healthier), and I can keep going without all the worry. I'm so very grateful to be in the care of this wonderful doctor and nurse, and I'm also very proud of what I've done.

Oh, and I got my first haircut the other day!

Well spent

Sometimes, like today, I find myself nearing the end of a Sunday and I realize that I didn't set foot out the door. I didn't go anywhere, or breathe the autumn air, or visit anyone. But I had just the day I needed, and I spent it on myself.

The week's stresses and small anxieties had to be processed. My body needed rest, especially after last weekend's Rhinebeckathon.* There was a cat to tend, and laundry to do. There were corn muffins to make, and phone calls with friends to be had. There was tea, and an apple, and peanut butter on celery.

Most of all, there was knitting. I have only 50 rows -- just 5000 stitches -- left to knit on my Cedar Falling Waters shawl, and I finished a third Hill Country hat.



There's nothing else I would rather have done today. I think I'm ready for the week to come.




*Rhinebeck was cold, happy, tiring, fun, wet, and satisfying. I'd go back again right this minute, if I could.

Road trip

It's time to pull out the little overnight bag, pack up the knitting projects, and choose some warm wooly things to wear to Rhinebeck. This year, rain gear is a necessity as well, unless the weather report changes soon. Judy and the R's are due at my house at around 4:00 this afternoon, so I have lots to do between now and then. There's the matter of that pesky work day, too; I have to fit that in somewhere.

We're all excited, as usual. The road trip, the laughter, the Eveready Diner for breakfast. The wool and sheep and alpacas and llamas -- oh my. The too-short visits with dear, dear friends, and the possibility of meeting up with treasured blog-friends. The surprises that could await us around any corner or down any aisle. Rhinebeck -- there's nothing like it!

I won't be taking this warm hat with me this weekend because it's bound for the donation table at the Knitter's Review Retreat in November. It's the Hill Country Hat from The Knitter's Book of Wool, designed by Clara Parkes. She's offered it to all of us in this week's Knitter's Review newsletter. It took me just a few hours to knit, and I used Rowan Purelife Organic Sheep Breeds Chunky in Shetland Moorit. I think I'll make two or three more!

I'd better get going, or I'll be late before I'm ready. Thank you all for your comments about the shawl, and for taking the journey with me.