Friday File

For several years, I sent my brother and sisters and my mom and dad an email each Friday morning. The general trend in emails went something like this:

'Mr. Needles has been....this week. He is out doing...... this weekend.'

The whole thing of repeated itself for me, detailing whatever mundane thing I had planned.

I was contemplating this kind of daily stuff that takes up ones life this morning while knitting on my shawl. That I was contemplating mundane should be no surprise, this is a garter stitch shawl after all and the interest is going to be the lacy bit way at the end of the project. The fact that I have restarted it over in a bigger gauge ceased to be exciting after the 12th row, and now that I am almost caught up to where I was when I ripped...

See, there is the exciting bit. After very little time, with needles one size up, with a spiffy sharp points, I've already knit up almost all of the yarn from round one. I've got about an hour left, maybe 2 but before I go to bed tonite, I intend to be where I was earlier this week (in terms of yarn usage). I'm pretty proud of that, but it isn't me at all.

It's the needles.

Addi Turbo Lace needles, I am developing a serious fondness for these. I can do things with my hands with these needles that I never dreamed I could do. I am maintaining my gauge and evenness with very little stress on my wrists and fingers. I can see my knitting go faster each row. Speed shouldn't matter - unless you are in the middle of a garter stitch shawl.

I have 2 projects lined up for winter besides the shawl, two sweaters, one in some lush Rowan Bamboo Tape And the other in Cascade 220

in a deep earthy loden green. These will both be swatched. I have lots of the Cascade, 1500 yards - plenty for a great sweater, but I have only 820 yards of the Bamboo. Enough, I hope for a nice light lacy top for a very tiny woman. I'll swatch it and then I'll have to use it. I have a feeling that every inch of it will matter.

Between the mundane bits of a weekends chores, I manage to fit in a lot of excitment. Something so simple as swatching and the prospects of working on a garter stitch shawl might not excite an ordinary person, but my boys are always saying "yeah mom, but this is you we are talking about".

I feel like a kid who has been given 5 bucks and is going to the penny candy store. Can't hardly sit still in my chair.