It’s freezing cold outside, I have a terrible cold, I am up to my armpits in work, laundry and dust bunnies, and I really couldn’t be happier. I am filled with the simple pure joy of a mother who has survived March Break. The children went to school today, Joe will go to work eventually and then I will be alone. Gloriously, stunningly alone. I’m going to go to the bathroom by myself. I’m going to drink a whole cup of coffee without it going cold, I’m going to write my column without screaming “Stop looking at your Sister…you know she hates it!” and I’m going to have at least one uninterrupted phone call. I feel like dancing.
The swatch is still getting an edging. It has fallen into the black hole of knitting. You know the black hole don’t you? Its where you knit and knit, then measure and check, then knit and knit, then check again only to discover that even though you have worked on the thing for hours it is miraculously the exact same size.

It could be that the swatch is actually trying to help me, since as I was knitting the edging last night it occurred to me that I wasn’t exactly careful about how many stitches I picked up along the sides. I just sort of went with it. My thinking was that as long as it looked right…it was right. It wasn’t until last night when I was absently wondering how it was that I could have knit 4 points of the edging and be no closer to the centre point that it occurred to me that I might want to have the same number of stitches on each side…so that I would have the same number of points on each side. I’m going to think about possible fixes while I am here in the black hole.
Wool Pig.
Claudia asks if there are qualifications to brand oneself “Wool-Pig”. Number or bins of yarn, poundage or yardage amounts that need to be met…etc. It is this writers opinion that “Wool-Pig” is more of an attitude towards ones yarn…rather than the amount of yarn. (It is assumed that you have lots of yarn) I’m sure that you guys will come up with more but here are my ways of telling.
You might be a Wool-Pig if….
…you have ever bought new yarn rather than use well established stash yarn.
…you are teaching someone to knit and you generously give them a ball from your own stash (after selecting one you think is sub-standard, or lying to them about the qualities of the yarn they chose “no, no…that merino is way to scratchy for a hat”)
…you have knit, and will keep forever things that you will never…ever wear, just because you liked the wool.
…you have ever bought yarn only because you heard a rumour it was going to be discontinued.
…you have ever bought yarn only because another knitter was looking at it and there was only 10 skeins left and you didn’t want her to have it.
…you have yarn that is sitting in the stash waiting for a project that is “worthy” of it.
…you have lied about yarn possession.
…you find it difficult, impossible or painful to give away yarn.
Finally, In the spirit of the Anti-Wool-Pig (because we all want to be better people) I’m going to draw your attention to this. It’s an Afghanalong for Afghans. All you need to do to score some good karma is knit an 8 inch square and send it to Kay and Ann at Mason-Dixon Knitting, and they will sew’em up into blankies for people who need them. If your inner Wool-pig doesn’t want you to give Kay and Ann any good yarn…tell it about the prize. (Hint: the prize is wool)
Here’s my first one. C’mon, just knit one, it’s good for you.