theraineysisters knitting and so much more

‘Marsha’ generously offered some of her yarn stash for Save-the-Children hats.  I appreciate the offer greatly, but I don’t think I need the yarn.  My Thursday peeps are going to knit a few hats, but want to buy the yarn themselves.  I have enough to make quite a few already.  I also have a friend who offered to subsidize the yarn purchases.  People are very thoughtful when babies are involved!  Thanks, Marsha!

I have made two hats so far and will post a picture tonight.  My other knitting is languishing.  I need to focus and get back to my needles!

Re: Thursdays at Four

Last evening was knitting night and I could not miss it again.  Very fun evening.  We did have a bit of a celebrity sighting as our group was attended by local author, Monica Ferris.  Monica has written a number of fun-to-read murder mysteries (“The Unravelled Sleeve,” “A Murderous Yarn” etc.) which are set in a knitting shop in one of our local communities.  A couple of our group members are prototypes for characters in the book, which also makes them fun.   

Susan, you’re a shameless name dropper!

I bought some cheap, but very soft, yarn to make a few baby hats for Save the Children.  Check out Warm Up America Circular Hat Patterns to find the same patterns done on dpns so they are seamless.  I should get 8-9 hats from the single skein I bought for under $3.  I will post a picture of a completed hat in the next day or two.

It’s hot in Washington, DC right now. I can’t even describe how hot, but since this heat wave has spread over much of the country, I probably don’t have to.

My left foot is particularly hot because it’s in this weird shoe/cast thing, where it will remain for 7 1/2 more weeks give or take a few hours. Not that I’m counting — the pain killers make that kinda hard, anyway.

It will get better and at least I can knit. And, if Clay Aiken announces any concerts, I might even be able to roll my way there.

How, you ask?

Why using this — the handy Roll-A-Bout, a device for people like me who are too clumsy and inept to use crutches.

Sweet, eh? It comes fully loaded with a hand brake that doubles as a parking brake. Here’s a shot of one in action.

That’s just how I look on mine, too, except that I’m not a man in a suit and it’s my left leg that’s injured, not my right, and I haven’t taken mine outside yet because it’s so hot. But you get the idea.

Now steering one of these babies is a bit trickier than it looks, especially if you’re dodging furniture, dogs, things that have fallen to the floor that you can’t pick up because if you tried you’d fall over, skeins of yarn, laptops, headphones, and power cords.

I’m getting the hang of it, though. I did have one mishap in which I almost drove off a cliff (and by cliff I mean the step down to my “sunken” library). Oh! — and I pantsed myself by running over the pajama bottoms on my “good” leg, which pulled said pajama bottoms halfway down my ass. Film at eleven.

Other than that — I’m a pro.

Susan and I wanted to let you know about a way to save the life of a child just through the simple act of knitting. Save the Children has developed a program called “Caps to the Capital,” which combines advocacy with knitting. Although neither one of us wants to impose a political agenda upon readers of our blog, we wanted to provide the link and information for those interested.

“Can something as simple as a knit or crochet cap help save a newborn life?
In many poor countries,the answer is yes. Four million newborns die each year within the first
month of life–half within only the first 24 hours after being born.
But a package of simple health measures provided to mothers and babies worldwide,including
antibiotics to fight infections,training for skilled birth attendants,immunizations against tetanus,
education on breastfeeding and basic care such as drying a newborn baby and keeping it warm
(this is where the caps come in!) could prevent 70 percent of these deaths.”

If you would like more information — including free patterns for both crocheting and knitting these caps — please visit Save the Children’s website

You can also download a PDF of their action kit here.

I’m feeling better today, but last night I would have traded every inch of yarn in my stash for about five minutes of pain relief. Whew.

But right now I’m actually able to knit on my feather and fan shawl (in between dozing and taking my medication). Thanks for the well wishes.

Sally called and sounded good — the nerve block had not worn off yet!  The surgery went well and now she just has to get through the recovery phase.  Thanks for the kind thoughts.  Keep the pain meds on board, Surly!

PS — not much knitting today and I did not even go to my knitting group.  We decided to paint the kitchen.  I’ll be having my head examined sometime early next week. 

As you read our blog today, please send your positive thoughts to Sally as she undergoes her surgery and starts a very lengthy recovery.  She is having bunion surgery, which always sounds easier than it is.  Both Sally and my brother have suffered from this — I was spared, thank goodness!  The surgery is incredibly painful with a long and cumbersome recovery.  Her surgeon is supposed to be the best, so we are hoping that all goes well.

GOOD LUCK, SURLY!

I was going to upload some of my fair isle sweater pictures, but I am rushing around like a chicken with my head cut off due to my surgery tomorrow. But then I realized I do have a photograph that shows me wearing a finished sweater AND is one of my favorite photographs for other reasons. Some of you will know why. The sweater pattern is called Mary Tudor.

I’m sure some of our regular readers have noticed I haven’t been posting much lately. I’ve been distracted. I’m having surgery on the 27th and that has taken up some of my mental energy.

It’s just outpatient surgery on my foot, but I know the recovery period is slow, frustrating, and painful. I expect to get LOTS of knitting done then.

In the meantime, scroll down to my sister’s post below and look at that gorgeous Starmore design. I’m also a big fan of Alice Starmore and of her daughter, Jade. Susan and I have knit many fair isles between the two of us; maybe during my convalescence I can try to finally get around to photographing some of my completed ones for the gallery here.

Let me say first of all that I am not here to cast stones.  I know how difficult it is to design sweaters.  Not that I’m famous or anything, but I am in a couple of books.  It looks easier than it is.  So, I am bringing this potential problem to people’s attention to help them fix it, not to diss the designer.

I am trying to find buttons so I can finish my Sunrise Circle Jacket.  I tried on the jacket and (again) noticed a “hump” at the back neck — just below the back collar.  I thought I had corrected it by increasing the length of the inside facing slightly.  This did not fully take care of the hump.  I don’t think the hump is there because of a physical problem on my part.  My back neck area is one of the few parts of my body that I have never thought — gee, I wish I could fix that. 

So, I had two thoughts: one, do nothing.  Two, fix it.  Once you see a problem like this, it’s hard to just leave it there.  I wear my sweaters.  A lot.  I don’t want to sit there the whole time I’m wearing Sunrise thinking about the back of my neck!  So, I’m going to dismantle the back neck, redo the i-cord turning row and reattach the facing.  Wish me luck!