The Flu

The Ringwood Henley Sweater

I finished the latest commission, finally. Well, sort of. I let my friend try it on and it is too short for him, and the neckline could use a little expansion. So, back to the drawing board for a bit. I ran two "lifelines" in contrast yarn down near the bottom ribbing, then snipped between the two lines of stitches. I got the live stitches from both parts of the body on to circulars and commenced knitting up from the bottom. When the segment is 7-1/2" long, I will use Kitchener stitch to join the two body pieces. Then, after having woven in the ends, I'll deal with partial disassembly of the neckline, just so I can add a few more inches to accommodate the dress shirt and tie my friend will usually be wearing with this sweater. Lastly, it will get another wash. The good news is, the sleeves were exactly the right length. Not too bad for my first stumble through a Raglan style garment! And many thanks yet again to Jackie Fee for her incomparable "Sweater Workshop." I don't always construct my sweaters in the round, as this book tecahes, but the no-nonsense directions for collecting measurements and other pertninent information are the most helpful I have found to date.

This is the next commission, a new Aran for my friend in Stonington. Christina chose the stitch patterns herself, based on sweaters she has seen me wear over the years that I have vacationed at her wonderful Inn on the Harbor. The yarn is some commercially spun singles that I made into a sturdy, though fine-gauge 3-ply yarn. It's a really pretty heathered lavender, and I love the way it's coming out so far. The clarity of the stitch definintion makes up for the fact that I am yet again destined to use size 3 needles for an Aran sweater.

Alas, I have fallen a bit behind on the above two projects, through no fault of my own.

I was having a pretty good winter. Really, I was. Then a whole bunch of stuff started hitting the fan. The good news is, my ankle is just about back to normal. The bad news? Despite having gotten a shot to prevent it, I came down with the Flu last Thursday night. I have no idea where I picked it up, or how, but it moved in for the kill very, very fast. Respiratory and intestinal symptoms were really minimal, but the body aches and headaches were among the worst I have ever endured. Now thank goodness, most of that has passed, and I am sleeping a lot and working at trying to have an appetite again. (Yup, that's right, Mad Angel completely lost interest in food for 4 whole days, unbelievable as that may seem.)

During my few pain-free waking hours since Saturday, I did manage to play with my new Weavette. (I bought the 6" model, and backordered the 4" one.)

Cranberry Wool of the Andes

Handspun Hand-dyed Wool (I only spun and plied it.)

Superwash Wool, Variegated

Noro Silk Garden

(Reminds me of vintage '70's Herculon sofa fabric! Sheesh...)

What will I do with these? Well, I suspect I'll just keep making them for fun, and one day I will have enough to stitch together for a warm, if somewhat eye-popping, afghan. I have so many oddments of yarn around from all sorts of projects, and these squares only take 16 yards. Plus they are a lot of fun to do, and finished pretty quickly with the accompaniment of a good audio book.

Speaking of which...I'm done with Great Expectations now. That leaves Moby Dick and The Secret Supper. Hmmm.... I think I'm going for the Conspiracy Theories first, and Moby Dick will have to wait a bit yet.

Happy knitting to all, and keep clear of the flu if you can!