The Fish Knits

There’s a new baby girl in the world today! Well, more than one, granted, but one that I’m concerned about.

Our friend delivered her baby girl yesterday, at 31 weeks. She weighed in at a whopping 3lbs 6oz, which is good since the speculation was that she would be under 3lbs. She’s reported to be doing well, and mum is also well. So I can let my breath out to a degree…

The thing that is now making me hold my breath is the shawl… I have decided to cobble it together on my own, relying heavily on Gossamer Webs, from Interweave. Wow. Beautiful book! It’ll be fashioned after an Orenburg shawl, but I’m doing it in Misti Alpaca laceweight, so the finished object will have more heft to it I imagine. We’ll see. And with only 38 37 days left till Christmas, I wonder how quickly this will go…

Of course, I’ll keep you posted, since I don’t think the people in question read the blog. Fingers crossed on that one!

Sometimes (ok, often) I see things on the Net that I think I would like to make, or like to have, or like to play around a bit with, and then there are things that stir in me a different kind of feeling. Kind of like a desperate desire to make and own and wear said item, and to be one with it because it is so completely ME. It’s almost lust. I can’t explain it, but I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.

It has happened again. And it’s all her fault.

Last night I heard some news which has me reeling. Maybe reeling isn’t the right word. Concerned? Distracted certainly, and worried. A close friend of the family (she may as well be my cousin) is having trouble with her pregnancy. So I want need to knit for her.

It’s a funny thing, this compulsion to knit in order to soothe. I almost wonder who I’m trying to soothe? Is it her, to make her feel comforted, to let her know that I’m thinking of her, or is it me? To make me feel useful and helpful, even though I’m not near? I think this is true of a lot of knitters, crocheters, quilters… anyone who is creative. When there is trouble, we want to create. To put something forward in an effort to heal.

I think I have come to a loose decision in terms of what I’m going to do. It’ll be a shawl/wrap sort of thing, something that she can wrap herself in while in hospital (where she may well be staying for a good number of weeks now) to keep the hospital chill off, or wrap the baby in once s/he is here and able to be wrapped in knitting, or just have tucked away and know is there. I immediately knew I wouldn’t do a sweater/hat/booties… more usual baby things, since this wee one will be a tiny little thing, and there’s something about knitting a garment for a tiny little - most likely - preemie that is almost tempting the fates. We want the little dude/ette to stay put as long as possible, so a garment was out.

You know, I don’t even know that a shawl is something she would be into normally. But I’m not sure that it matters. This is all about the process of knitting love and best wishes into every stitch, and offering support in whichever way I can. I don’t need it to be something useful, necessarily. If it is used, wrapped around shoulders or baby, then that’s wonderful. But even if all it does is serve to remind my friend that she’s loved herself, and that I’m thinking of her then it will have done its job too. It’s all about knitting to soothe.

I’m planning on casting on today, but I haven’t come to a proper, solid decision on a pattern yet. I have an idea, but I’m not 100% sold. So, if any of you have any ideas for patterns, please PLEASE let me know in the comments. I would love any help I can get!

I won’t be at the Guild meeting tonight after all (I have a staff meeting to go to at MEC), so I won’t have access to the lending library tonight, but if the pattern you’re thinking of is in a book go ahead and suggest it anyway. I am willing to get a copy if the pattern talks to me!

Thanks everyone!

Rock.

Tonight I joined the Ottawa Knitters’ Stitch n Bitch at Bridgehead in the Glebe, and I had such a great time! Who knew there were so many great knitters so close by?

(We’ll just acknowledge right off the bat that I have a freakishly bright flash, which, it would seem, blinds people. Ok? Let’s move on.)

Some of the knitters in the photo are Leanne, sitting back left in the white shirt, who has on her blog a rather stunning photo of yours truly; Nancy, on Leanne’s right, who was wearing her Carribean Dreams sweater (aka EZ’s Seamless Saddle Shoulder pattern, with mods). It is really beautiful. Knit in Fleece Artist Kid/Silk 2 ply… I fondled. It was good…; Justine, on Nancy’s right, who was the informer and got me to come out and knit dammit (thanks man!); Tara next to Justine, who is avoiding thinking about the fact that she is leaving the country on a Foreign Service posting, and there won’t necessarily be yarn where she’s going. More strength to you, Tara; Katrina in the pink who, poor thing, I understand had to rip out a great hunk of i-cord; Liz in the front right who had knit one of the awesome Sock Monkey hats, and was fighting to a degree with a disagreeable figure eight cast-on; Linda is barely in the image on the right hand side, and she was working on a beautiful fair isle top, but which, alas, was not cooperating (you show it who’s boss, Linda!); there’s Jenn (who I’ll come back to in a minute); Yvonne in the corner, who I really didn’t get to talk to and Lynne at the end of the table. Lynne has won my heart. That the lady dead centre in the back there, in the black, is my favourite person in the whole wide world at the moment. She has offered to lend me her copy of EZ’s Knitting Workshop video! I can’t believe how excited this makes me! I had to scoop my jaw up off the floor when she offered to lend it to me.

Now let’s get back to Jenn.

This is Jenn. Jenn in Winnipeg if you read the Harlot’s comments. She works for The Weekend To End Breast Cancer, and is in town for a week to train a new recruit here in Ottawa. She knew she was coming and she sought us out. She totally fit right in! Like I’m really an authority… it was my first time there. But it seemed like she fit right in…! But honestly. Nice, funny, great knitter. Bassoon player. Also plays Accordian in a folk band! She and Linda (who is also a musician) and I had a great mini rant session about counting music. Jenn playing piano for dancers, me choreographing synchro routines. I’m just so glad I’m not alone. Hee! She can come back whenever she likes. You’re in baby!

While I was there it was my job to seam stuff up like there was no tomorrow. Which would be devastating, since the day after tomorrow is the Glebe Craft and Artisan Fair, in which I will be selling my knit wear! Thing is- I’m not so much a fan of the seaming. What I really ought to have done is finish things as I went along, but I thought I would go for quantity and then finish it all at the end. I guess I can’t be taught. There remains a lot to be done tomorrow…

Last night however, since I attended a hocky game, I thought seaming would be too attention-intensive, so I took some knitting instead. This was quite the little shin-dig, let me tell you!

Joshua and I went with our neighbours, and we women decided that it must have been a man who planned the light show. Laser light show in a hockey rink? Mmm hmm.

The game was good though, Canada vs. The World, all Hockey Hall of Famers. Score was tied 10-10 at the end. This is what I was doing while I watched the game:

You can tell they’re old timers by the lack of helmets… The knitting is on its way to being a Tomten Jacket. EZ has definitely re-taken the knitting community by storm these days. And deservedly so. Dude, she rocks my world.

Fingers crossed for me that I get all my seaming done in time, ok? Drop by and say hi this weekend! We’re at the Glebe Community Centre, corner of Lyon and 3rd Ave. Have a great weekend!

eta: Thanks to Justine and Leanne for jumping in there and rescuing me with some names. You guys rock.

Pictures anyway. I am just too excited to show you what I’ve been up to, and some of the goodies I picked up recently. Check this out!

Yum.

That’s some Soy Silk I picked up at Rhinebeck. It’s not easy to spin at all! I tried my hand at spinning it while still at Rhinebeck, and decided that I had better quit while I was ahead, because it was coming apart in my hands and I couldn’t keep up with it. What you see there, on the spindle, I accomplished with the help of someone at the Guild. I can’t believe I have forgotten her name… So sorry!! Unfortunately the room we were in was REALLY hot, so the fibre was sticking to my hands a bit (plus I was nervous… can you imagine?). It got better once I got home. Anyway, I certainly need some practice, but somehow in the span of 10 minutes or so she got me to be much more confident. Woo hoo! AND she showed me how to ply off the spindle. Yeah, I know. I still haven’t plied. I’m getting there…

More photos of my Rhinebeck haul…

I don’t know that I really got the colour accurately, but it’s pretty close. Too bad you can’t see all the nuances of colour there in the skein! There’s the dominant burgundy/wine colour, but there are also some deep greens and golds. It’s gorgeous! Luck, I am. In case you’re wondering, it’s 550 yds of perhaps sport weight Heritage Wensleydale from Briar Rose. Their booth was one of the hard ones to get into, and it’s no wonder! Their yarns and colours are beautiful- some delicate, some deeply saturated. I’m thinking probably a shawl with my Wensleydale. I did get something else while I was there, but it may find its way under the tree for Christmas, so I can’t share. You’ll just have to wait.

1200 yds of Not-Yet-A-Shawl (or scarf, or anything else for that matter…)

I’m not convinced that the colour is accurate, but it’s pretty close. Garnet “Zephyr”, from A Touch of Twist. They describe the yarn as being “a soft breeze of Merino and silk”. For $4.99/skein, how could I say no?

And lastly for show and tell (man, has it really taken me almost a month to get these up??) A tool.

This spindle is intoxicating to watch. It just goes, and goes, and goes….. Really. I sit there and spin it in its support, just to watch it go. No fibre or anything, just the spindle spinning in the notch between my thumb and forefinger. Mesmerizing I tell you! Thing is, it will remain this way, fibre free for a while yet. I am seriously all thumbs with it. Better to get sorted out on the drop spindle first I think, and really get the hang of drafting. At least that’s the plan.

Lastly, Harlot in the Capital haul.

Nice blue, no? I asked almost everyone in sight if they thought the colour worked for me. I know. I’m a bore. But the consensus was yes, which I was glad about. Partly because of this:

The yarn is called Ottawa! I know, boring and cheezy. What can I say? I’m planning to make the Jane Origami Pullover , as I did buy it as a kit, but there may need to be some pattern tweaking so that it will fit nicely (I can’t quite visualize the way it sits, since the model is sitting in the photo), but we’ll see. I’m thinking it should be a quickish knit. Famous last words, right?