a southern gal in the north

That darn root canal ! It has really slowed me down! Finally went back to work last week and it was rough – late nights every night… and then this past weekend collapse – with knitting and old moves (The Caine Mutiny and then the second dvd in the LOVE FOR LYDIA series — great to knit by- Jeremy Irons in his First Major Role – all of 20something and before BRIDESHEAD )

We had our first heat wave – high 80s on Sunday, so i cranked up the AC. and then 90s the last three days – It was 86 this morning at 8 am!!! ITS TOO EARLY in the summer for this. At least the cats are cool. Picked SIX Peony Blooms last night after work and a couple of roses – so many of the climbing roses are in bloom and with this heat – it will really bring on the ones that are buds— if it doesnt rain tonight will have to water, water, water tomorrow.

But in the cool AC knitting happens – the Latest on the Lace and Cable Cardigan – finished one sleeve (left stitches on a holder so i can match the lengths with the second sleeve; second sleeve is almost done – have to match its length now with the first one and then can bind them off.
And then its on to the body of the sweater – when last we left…

To refresh – this is one of those sweaters that you knit up in one piece and then divide at the armholes and knit back and then the two fronts until completed. then seam the shoulders and do an edging and set the sleeves. wow.

So i had stopped knitting at the point where it was time to separate for the back and fronts. it was getting rather large and also i was concerned about how much yarn i had – so i decided to knit the sleeves – well i have three plus skeins left after both sleeves so i think i will be fine! (However, I did look online and found that there are some places that have this color in stock – i guess if i run out now, i will have to rip out the sleeves so that the body is out of the same dye lot and hope the sleeves wouldnt be too different- well fingers crossed that i dont have to.

dental surgery isnt that bad actually. its the aftermath – i had a root canal last wednesday during the day.  i went to work and at 130 went for the surgery.  i like my endodontist and she was efficient and good – only a few moments of pain.  i went back to work blithely all doped up … when the local anethesia wore off, i was a bit swollen and a little pain but not too bad.  even went back to work the next day but at the end of THAT day – was very swollen and in more pain so i called in sick for Friday.  spent most of Fri at the computer doing work from home then sat and sun on the sofa – still not feeling better and still swollen – although by sunday night it was a bit better.   

i actually went to work on monday feeling pretty crappy and then went to see the endodontist again – by now the cheek is just a little swollen and there is this hugh mass of something right under the tooth where the surgery was – she said that the infection is in the bone because there was so much decay (yes, i had avoided this for a long time but never again i swear!) .  anyway, she gave me a much stronger antibiotic (clyndamycin) and a note to stay home for three days.  she said i could take the rest of the week if i am not better by wed.  and given how i feel today i may have to take the rest off.

i felt so bad yesterday i couldnt even knit and today i have just spent three hours working remotely.  still feel crappy but i am going to try to knit a bit today if only to keep my mind from the tv – actually dont even feel like watching any.

but last night i saw WARM SPRINGS on HBO

i had missed the previous premiere in April.  and i'm not a huge fan of cynthia nixon but i like kenneth branagh usually.  it was much better done than i had expected – and very emotionally moving.  i just went to the website and read the interviews and the one with the scriptwriter Margaret Nagle is especially illuminating – this tragedy which stuck Roosevelt and then he later came out to run for President.  like most people, i assumed he had polio once he was elected – but not.  i would suggest watching this film to anyone.  a very moving experience and very well done production.

so not much knitting news –

i have finished the main part of the body of the lace and cables cardigan; i am at the point where i need to decide whether to steek the armholes as well – and i might just do it because the shaping of the neck and arms is very simple and not hard… so if i can feel up to it i will work on that .

or work on the little baby sweater LUCKY by Rowan for my downstairs neighbor in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (pale lime)

Ok i am determined to knit a sweater for me… can you believe i have not done that? i have been knitting since 1998 (i restarted…i knit when i was in school). anyway, i have made oodles of presents and bags and shawls and lap rugs and… scarves, you name it – including sweaters for my nephews. but no sweater for me.

why?

i hate to admit this – i am scared that i wont like it or it wont fit or something. i am going to conquer this fear though – i am going to leap off that cliff – and be assured there is a net waiting for me.

so i thought of Alice Starmore's Maidenhair (i am very experienced with cables) but my original idea of using cotton fleece (Brown Sheep) was a no go – after three swatches down to size 2 needled, i said no way and then i dont think i will have enough yarn . and it probably would look better in a wool anyway.

its just that i work in IT at a law firm and my cubicle area is SO SO HOT all year round – like 80 degrees… so forget wearing wool sweaters except in the dead of winter. and i want to wear my sweater (especially my first). [well, actually its not … i knit a very complicated cable sweater in the 80s when i lived in Washington DC and loved it and wore it a lot – but has since gone to the knitting heaven]

anyway… so i decided on the Elann Lace and Cable Cardigan – you know the one that was one of the main photos for a while.. let me see if i can find it… here it is…

i bought this pattern awhile ago – even tho the photo sucks at showing the details, i really love lace and cables and thought it would be a fun summery cardigan

and so began the journey

i swatched on size 6 needles and then on size 5 needles (some of my new Addi Bamboo Circulars from Knit Happens) and gave up when i got the same gauge of 4/in when the pattern wants 5/in.  so i figured out my width and multiplied and voila the number of stitches i get is the M size exactly in the pattern.  So… off i go.  casting on 219 stitches.  in prosperous plum Cotton Fleece .  and i start the pattern – its 8 rows. four pattern and four purl on the alternate rows. 

so im going along fine – the first few rows are always a pain…so im on the cable row of the pattern and im on the subway with a friend and my stop comes and i put my needles and yarn in my bag and get off.  the next morning i take them out of the bag and about four inches of the stitches are off the needles — grrrrr.  so i tried to sort it out – but its too little of the pattern and too much pulled out

so

i take a trip to the frog pond and ….. then last night during one of the intermissions of the NYC Ballet – started all over again.  this time however, i am going to do the body in the round with steeks – no more purl rows of 219 stitches for me… ugh.

and if i buy my digital camera this weekend i will start posting progress photos. 

ps – i had started a MISSION FALLS cardigan several winters ago – i forget the name KITT i think? but its only one third of the way.  i will have to revisit it.

i have mixed feelings about spring … especially sitting here nursing a hurt knee from two 7 hour days in the garden – including much heavy lifting and kneeling in the dirt and on the hard cement).  the good thing is that the garden is all cleaned up of all the winter debris and full of lots of good compost and all the soil turned over and mixed in.  and the birdbath cleaned out and full of nice clean water, and the sidewalks cleaned off and the bed around the tree rebuilt with bricks and stones to keep the evil cars off and full of compost, etc.

so i guess one hurt knee and a bit of tenderness (two days later) is ok.  of course not having done any garden work in two years could have something to do with my total aches and pains.  but the memory is kind and we forget… so next weekend ill be ready to tackle the planting.  as this is a knitting blog, i wont go on too long about the wonders of "playing in the dirt" but it seems to me that love of gardening and love of knitting go hand in hand.  must be something to do with the tactile and sensory inspiration of both of these activities.

anyway,  just finished a bout of Pelerine knitting – three in a row – one each for two sisters and then one of me.  even though now its almost too late to wear them… i think the two for my sisters will work as one lives in Albuqueque and the other in New Orleans where a simple warm thing is good for 80% of the time when its "cold". 

i love the pattern, classic Elizabeth Zimmerman.  its one of the Spun Outs which are copies of the early editions of the Wool Gathering newsletter.  there are some lovely patterns in the Spun Outs… i encourage any one interested in patterns which allow you to adapt and make your own changes, etc to seek these out.

isnt the Unicef Snowflake* pretty?

oh my!
really only 10 days….
oh my

how many gifts do i think i can knit if all i do is knit from now til dec 24th?
obviously a lot as i am still in the delusional – "oh i can whip that up in a few hours"  stage
and im still at work at 123 am… while i am working the evening shift this week its still late..
sigh

oh well, maybe ill do the old "coupon with a sketch" of the finished product.
after all, some people say its more important to be with family than to be with gifts.

but the dilemma of providing presents for sisters and brothers-in-law and nephews and ….
oh well. nothing to do but plough ahead.

little projects abound and one big one (in case any family member is lurking)…
and then there's three birthdays in january – a sister and my two nephews and the boys' birthdays are the day after each other… NO FAIR!   

ok off home to watch an old clark gable film and knit til i fall asleep.
thank god for dvrs and dvd recorders!
e

*read more about the UNICEF snowflake

PALE MALE   

thats one thing on my mind these days…  go there and support this fight against whats unNYC about this treatment of two birds.

also see this from  MUG

 WHY PALE MALE MATTERS?

‘What sort of city shall we be?’ isn’t a question that most New Yorkers
take time to answer in their course of their daily lives. It’s a
question that gets asked and answered at moments of disruption
(blackout? block party!) and deeply, urgently in moments of tragedy.

It’s a question a resident would only ask after they’ve made the
conversion from born-elsewhere to genuine New Yorker. And you truly
become a New Yorker when the city seems more to you than your workplace
and a collection of shops and restaurants, when you start caring about
the city itself, beyond your daily route, outside of your neighborhood,
about the city we were and the city we might become. You know you’re a
New Yorker when you know what kind of city we are. No one can tell you
this, it just becomes a fact of your life.

And it is in our public spaces that the city’s true character is
repeatedly tested and exposed, where thousands of daily kindnesses go
unremarked among the noise and crowds and irritations. Inevitably, it’s
a delicate balance. Press too hard against this public space, impose
too much order, and people revolt. Do you recall the time Mayor
Giuliani decided to enforce the jaywalking law? It was, in one sense,
as trivial as anything could be. But it mattered to New Yorkers because
it tampered with something essential. The disorder of jaywalking is
fundamental to our sense of self, to the free spirit that drew its free
spirits here. At the time, after barricades were erected, they were
duly and inevitably stormed. On the other hand, without enough order,
and care, and attention, the city withdraws, diminishes, as it did
after the Central Park jogger violence.

read the rest at the website — MUG

and if you have time this week go and show your support!