Antidote

This Holiday season has really taken the snot out of me. I’ve been trying not to complain, since I think personal whining on a blog is annoying and unflattering unless done really, really well….but dudes, it’s been surreal. First Ali’s sister died, then I took a really terrible fall down the basement stairs (I am still spectacularly bruised) then, when Joe and I were moving a piece of furniture I managed to get my head caught between the stair rail and the furniture (don’t ask. It was as humiliating as it was painful.) and all of that while I was busting on a writing deadline that alone would be enough to make me a twitchy mess, and dumped on top of it was trying to get a Christmas together for three teenagers with their own agendas….which I can only tell you is about as easy as trying to sculpt tomato aspic into the leaning tower of Pisa or train a cat to get you your mail.

Still, I was holding up. I was crying in public a little, but I think during that time of year lots of people are strung sort of tight, and I can’t be the only one who feels distraught within 25 metres of a mall that time of year. I kept taking deep breaths and going to whatever the next event was and turning out all of my work and presents and Christmas cookies and I even wrapped things with really beautiful ribbon this year. It was all working out and it was crazy bad hard, but every time I started thinking that this Christmas was kicking my arse something fun or beautiful or good happened and I would forget and just keep going. Then I got the flu….or the plague or whatever the hell the monstrosity that felled me on the 26th was.

I kept calling it a “cold” because I didn’t want it to have power over me, but the truth was that the thing was a virus of absolutely foul proportion. By the morning of the 27th I was so sick that…and I can’t stress this enough…

I did not knit.

Not a single stitch, not for a whole day. I’d get up and write the blog or go to the loo or make a cup of tea and that would exhaust me so much that I’d go back to sleep again for hours. The 28th was only marginally better, and the 29th I went to my mum’s Christmas party like I always do only I don’t think I remember it right because I took those Benylin-all-in-one capsules and I was so high that I… You know what? Never mind. Let’s just leave it at me being sort of “absent” at my Mum’s party even though I was there. The next day I was so tired I just couldn’t move, and that feeling has persisted.

I keep getting up the energy to do one small thing and that empties me so completely that I’m a mess again. This morning I tried to get through a yoga class and between the bruises from the accidents and the exhaustion from the flu and the fact that I fell on the ice last night and gave myself another good whacking (which didn’t hurt last night at all because I had been outside for a while and it was -25 or something ridiculous and when it’s that cold you can’t really feel your body)….. I couldn’t really do it. Everything hurt. No matter what pose I tried to get into I was on a bruise or a sore spot and in that moment… I had the most perfect thought I’ve had in a while.

I quit.

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Screw. It. What sort of a moron has this sort of a couple of weeks and then just keeps getting back up like the energizer bunny? I’m a twit. I’ve been overworked, I’ve hurt myself, I’ve had the flu…. I have no idea why I kept trying to work or catch up or clean up or do stuff. The way I keep falling asleep at my desk (and the stove and on the bus and at the store) is a sign. I’m taking this beautiful knitting I’m showing you to the chesterfield, I’m getting a blankie and a cup of tea and I’m giving up.

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It’s the perfect thing to be doing, and if this yarn can’t restore a soul battered by a bad couple of weeks, then nothing can. This yarn is the most beautiful yarn in the world, and I don’t say that lightly.

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It is That Laurie’s hand dyed, handspun, one of a kind you-can’t-buy-it sock yarn (three plies of perfection) and it is one of the most fantastical knitting experiences of my life. (Other times I have had some of her handspun have been close, but this time she’s outdone herself.) It isn’t just that the colours are so beautiful (but they are) and it isn’t just that she spins like a dream (but she does) or that she started with some of the nicest fleece ever (which she did.)

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It’s that the whole time I’m knitting it I’m aware that this is a gift of hours and hours and hours of her life….

and it’s just the perfect antidote to the crappy shortage of time over the last few weeks. I can’t put it down.

I just love Laurie (Yeah. That Laurie.)

278 thoughts on “Antidote

  1. Great yarn Laurie.
    By all means…slow down, take a wee vacation, it’ll do you a world of good. In fact, I’ll be upset with you if you read this (and all following comments) before tomorrow…so there…

  2. This is where you need local people to tie you down and make you rest. Or send you great yarn, which seems to work just as well 🙂
    That is lovely… now REST.

  3. Steph, you are indeed the bomb. Stop and smell the flowers, and stroke the yarn, and remember what a blessing it all is. Fiber comforts in so many ways!

  4. My Mom was eating some Dove Chocolates one day, you know the kind that have sayings on the inside of the wrapper, and one of the squares said, “It’s OK to do nothing!” I think that applies to you. Hope you are feeling better soon, and only do what you want, even if it is nothing!

  5. Thank god I’m not the only one who feels like that. I need to go back to bed……Beautiful yarn though.

  6. That Laurie is some kind of spinner and knitter. Having just entered the world of spinning I am amazed and astounded by her yarn. I am sure the pleasure you are getting out of knitting it she had in preparing it for you.
    Get well soon and I hope your re-entry into the school zone/structured life is not too hard.

  7. You have had a rough go of it, haven’t you? Yikes. Definitely give up and sit on the chesterfield and knit; it’s a much-needed respite.
    And that yarn? That’s *hand spun*? Oh my…it’s perfect. Wow.

  8. In all your blogging in the past couple of weeks, you didn’t let on once that you were that trashed. You’re an oak.

  9. (((Hug))). Now, sit down and knit with that gorgeous yarn. I managed to avoid most of the creeping crud, but did completely lose my voice right before Christmas. At least people weren’t laughing at you when you tried to talk. Maybe you just got rid of all the bad mojo and this year will be wonderful. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

  10. That Laurie is an angel.
    And you, Steph? Doctor’s orders — you are to stay on that couch/davenport/sofa/whatever the heck you want to call it, with your incredible and therapeutic yarn, and only get up to go to the bathroom (because no one else can do that for you). I can write you a hot tea prescription if you want….

  11. That handspun is so unbelievably gorgeous that I can hardly believe anyone could want to give up in its presence (also I can’t believe it’s handspun! It looks like machine-produced exactitude!) But I can hardly blame you for wanting to hibernate, I think lesser people have been felled by much less than what you’ve been dealing with! I know I certainly have been in the past. The knitting loves you and does not mind waiting patiently.

  12. That yarn is gorgeous and special – a great combination. Nothing like a thoughtful gift from a friend to heal the knitters soul.

  13. That is just gorgeous yarn and I bet it is even better in real life! Sounds like a lovely antidote to a holiday butt-kicking. I hope it (and the tea and the blankie) do the trick and you are feeling like yourself again soon.

  14. Stop. Knit. Take care of yourself. Having just endured two months of what ended up being walking pneumonia (which is in fact going around in the States), I can tell you that it is really important to sit in a chair and do nothing or sit in a chair and knit.

  15. We join in your misery here in Maryland. We all have sore throats and are coughing up the green stuff! EWWW! Take good care of yourself, life will go on while you’re recuperating. And at the end of the day you’ll have a beautiful pair of socks made out of absolutely beautiful yarn.

  16. That yarn truly is gorgeous! I hope it makes you feel better soon! Get some well deserved rest 🙂

  17. It is beautiful, beautiful yarn. But even so? If you feel the urge to sleep on the chesterfield, just snuggle the yarn and sleep. And when you start feeling better, and think you ‘ought to’ get up and do something? Cuddle up with your yarn and take some extra time. You didn’t get run down and injured and sick in one day- it will take a few for you to heal up and get your zip back.

  18. I am torn between two reactions: The utter UTTER beauty of that yarn (yes, it is perfect and luscious), and being quite sad that there’s no more to be had at any price 😉
    Sometimes? “I Quit” is absolutely the right thing to do.

  19. I hope you feel better soon missus. Hopefully there is nothing left on the agenda for you other than knitting and rest. You know you can always come out here and go incognito if you need to.
    The yarn is gorgeous, and if I’m saying that then Joe must have fixed some things.

  20. You’re right, the yarn is beautiful!
    Hope you feel better soon. Rest is definitely in order…sounds like the same thing I’m fighting right now 🙁

  21. I agree with ames and peg – stop. You will end up sicker if you don’t take time to rest and heal properly, both from bruises and viruses. It is time people ran round after you for a while.

  22. i caught the same cold . . i SWEAR i got it from debbieKnitter over the phone sunday night, that’s how nasty it is. i feel like ten tons of crap.
    BUT the results of the knitting war are making all that seem like it’s happening elsewhere. $1800 to knitters without borders via the readers and the knitting ruler . . . just for doing a little christmas knitting that i would’ve done anyway. hope it makes YOU feel better too!

  23. Just take care of yourself. Sleep. We can wait for a blog! (Not too long, but we can wait…)
    And that IS gorgeous yarn!
    Cat

  24. I am so sad that is hand-dyed handspun. I covet it deeply and will probably now spend the rest of my life, to the detriment of marriage, children, job and pets, trying to create it for myself. You’ll find me in 40 years, running naked down the street, splattered with dye, wool stick in my hair, screaming, “I did it, I did it!” and they’ll lock me in the loony bin and take away my pointy sticks before I can knit it up.

  25. I got my head caught between a piano and a door frame at the bottom of a steep flight of stairs once. Barely got my head out in time. I don’t think the brain damage was permanent, but who knows really? Anyway, don’t feel bad. There are dumber things to do with one’s head than use it as a door stop. I think.

  26. I’m sorry, was there something wrong? I am so totally distracted and enchanted by that yarn…
    Seriously Dude, get better. Rest and relax and fondle that delicious handspun.
    And? Nice. Show us this luscious yarn, I’m ready to click over to whatever store is carrying it, and THEN tell us it’s one of a kind, just for you. That Laurie is a special person. (just as Franklin).

  27. I think you need many days of knitting therapy, with intermittent naps. And my just-turned-four-year-old may come to join you, as the other day during a fit of birthday pique, she also yelled, “Well, then, I quit!” So I’m not sure what she’s quitting, since being 4 looks pretty good to me, but clearly the two of you are on the same page. 😉

  28. So many people got sick this Christmas, my Dad is just recovering from a bout with malaria! The only way to get better sooner is to sleep it off and say “I’ll feel better tomorrow” and you will! Sit on that chesterfield and have a cuppa in the Great T.O.! Besides, Coronation Street is very dramatic these days!
    Anne in Calgary

  29. Damn, That Laurie is gifted! That is some of the nicest yarn I have ever seen, and I bet it’s even better in person. I hope your family spends the day bringing you tea while you knit on the couch.

  30. That yarn is beautiful and I love the deep magic of someone else’s time healing your lack of it.
    But I’m writing to thank you for that sentence about the mall. I feel like some kind of freak that I get so crazy when I get anywhere near a mall. I have been judging myself harshly for it. It is a joy to know that I’m not alone in my desperate mall avoidance.

  31. Rest up and feel better. And when the healing is complete, please, please, please tell us how you got your head stuck! I don’t mean to laugh at your pain. . . but. . . . gee. . . yeah, I’m laughing.

  32. It was those socks shown on your May 31, 2004 blog that inspired me to start spinning sock yarns. I downloaded and printed the yarn and sock pictures from that date so many times that my husband was about ready to have me committed!!!

  33. I’m so glad you decided to listen to your body and take it easy. I hope you can keep taking it easy until you’re much better – you’ve had a hell of a few weeks, and *anyone* would need to go crash on the chesterfield for a while. I’m not sure I could knit if I were as badly off as you are – bravo for mustering that much energy! Now don’t spend it knitting if you still need it for healing!

  34. I can’t believe that gorgeous yarn is handspun. It’s so perfect! You’re a very lucky girl to have such a wonderful friend. I hope you’re feeling better soon. I have a feeling that yarn can make everything better. 🙂

  35. I’m impressed by your will of steel, your ability to paint the holiday hell so perfectly, and finally by your perfect solution. Be better, muh knitta. Your knitting/blogging/writing are so much a piece of so many knitters’ daily routines, that it just doesn’t do to wear out the world’s biggest yarn-p0rn star. Hope you’re knitting again..slowly, to savor that delicious gift yarn. Oh, and don’t mix your Benalyn-whatevers with anything stronger than Canadian beer (though that sounds fun, no?)… the trippy sideshow can be nauseating, just a little. Better living through chemistry. Mwah!(germ-free kiss) Cami

  36. don’t sweat the small stuff… what is more important is you finding you again…the healthier, happier you. i do believe yarn always helps;)

  37. I’m sorry you’ve been sick and bruised and generally tossed around by life. And I’m glad you have something lovely to knit with. I hope you have several nice days of restorative knitting and snoozing.

  38. If anyone deserves some quittin’ time to snuggle up and knit it’s you. Recover, relax, and enjoy that beautiful yarn!

  39. Awww,you are in need caretaking in a big way. I hope those lovely teens of your are cooking and cleaning. I assume Joe has restored the picture feature of your laptop to your satisfaction. Somebody better have rented you a really good DVD, or visit usanetwork.com for complete episodes of Monk, Psych, or a couple other whacky shows. And, that sock yarn looks good enough to sooth the soul. Now, rub yourself down with Arnica, and relaxxxxxxxxx.

  40. Does the news that I just saw the new book available for pre-order on Amazon make you feel any better? I know I was excited.

  41. isn’t it funny how long it takes us (by us, i mean mostly women/moms) to realize that we …need.. to.. stop! To stop and say enough of that! what is it that drives us so? when all the signs are there and yet we just keep pasting on the all purpose uni-smile and facing an unforgiving world day in and day out. i have (thankfully) reached that moment of epiphany where i have realized that NO ONE, as much as “they” like you and/or care about you, NO ONE really cares about the often monumental effort you are making to keep going. so therefore, it is OK to stop and say to the world: please carry on without me, i’ll be back later. and you know what? it DOES carry on! no real harm done, as much as we may think so before we make ourselves stop. and now, that we’ve finally permitted ourselves to stop, we just need to work on eliminating any stray traces of residual guilt that may be clinging to us! 🙂

  42. I’m so sorry that you’ve had such a bad run of luck! And sick, to boot! Poor baby!
    I’m glad you’ve got the good sense to sit down, rest, and do a little knitting. Work on getting better and taking good care of yourself.

  43. Seriously – that yarn could make anything all better.
    Happy knitting.
    (and I’m laughing about the tomato aspic – it’s a constant source of holiday humor at our house…my parents can’t get over that no one under the age of 50 wants to eat some disgusting jellied salad with shrimp and veges…blach.)

  44. Wait a minute! There’s snow in those pictures. You’re sick and you’re in the yard in the brutal cold taking pictures of yarn for us?!! That doesn’t seem like quitting.
    I think you should be grounded!

  45. Your cat doesn’t get your mail? Hmmm.
    I hope you get to feeling better soon – I’ve had the same virus – it’s so not fun!

  46. I think it is high time you slow down a little or rather take up few things at a time. Overworking like this will only yield bad results for your body later in life.
    Take care of yourself.
    laurie’s yarn looks awesome. I will try to get some for myself.

  47. That is some very nice yarn. The first pic I saw I was thinking “What is that and where can I get some of it?” I was sort of ticked when I found out I couldn’t, but I sucked it up because I know how much better it’s making you feel. I hope you get some good quality rest and recovery, and good knitting.
    Jesse

  48. I hope you get some proper rest and feel better soon. That yarn? Words fail me. It’s beyond amazing.

  49. I’m glad you are going to take some time for you. You do deserve to feel better, and that yarn is a wonderful antidote. Take care.

  50. Did you slip on the ice all over the sidewalks in Kensington? I almost did but then decided I should just walk in the middle of the street and screw it. Someone should really report those people that didn’t clean up their sidewalk, you could totally identify them last night.

  51. I fell down the stairs a few years ago, and I can’t tell you how much pain that produced. It totally amazed me how much pain one could endure without being seriously hurt.
    Rest up, sister. You have a whole new year in front of you!

  52. Handspun and hand-dyed?! You must be doing something right to score so well.
    Feel better – and pass me some of the Nyquil while you’re at it.

  53. I sympathize and empathize, as I, too, am in the throes of this nasty virus-ish ick mess off a flu dashed with a cold. My honey said, oh I thought you were just tired, but then I realized you haven’t touched any yarn in 4 days… Um, darling, the hacking cough wasn’t enough to clue you in?
    Count me in! I quit too!

  54. I am so glad for you! I do not have children (but I do have parents), so I understand about the cacophony of the holidays. And although I’m not sick (thank Goddess), I did manage to flood the house, short the wiring, break DH car, break the oven, and some other stuff I wish not to recall… and kept going.
    New Year’s Day — DH fed the horses, dog, etc and left me alone. I slept for 12 hours, then spent the day watching StarGate SG1 and knitting. I feel much better.
    Take care of yourself, and take as many days as you need.

  55. Just to be sure it is ONLY a cold, have your doctor screen you for mono . . . don’t laugh . . .it’s going around like crazy, and can cause permanent heart and spleen damage in an adult. One of my friends went undiagnosed for several months, and had to take disability leave from school. Her best friend came to visit, and when she opened the door, Lisa just burst into sobs because she looked so bad. It’s a simple blood test, and worth the small investment to rule out mononucleosis for sure. If you can’t knit, it’s serious!

  56. That’s not just yarn, that’s handspun love. And love is the most amazing healer. You’ll be back to yourself before you know it.

  57. Whine away.
    I want to whine myself right now.
    And I am not even sick.
    I am just going to TNNA.

  58. Taking it easy is something I strive for but never seem to achieve. Even after telling everyone I wouldn’t make or send cookies – I did. Even after I said no one was getting hand knits this year – I knit (I think it was the brother-in-law who said “but all we really want is something you make with your hands! I should have sent him a snowball). Even after a small car accident, a fall on the ice while trying to shovel snow off it while wearing ice skates – (always a bad idea)- I still can’t seem to make myself slow down. My only concession seems to be that I didn’t send Christmas cards and I’m still knitting the modern quilt wrap for my best friend (she’s a knitter, she understands). In fact, all I want to do is knit at this point.
    The flu is no fun. It insists you listen to the ‘slow down’ voice. The chesterfield sounds like a grand idea. Feel better!

  59. Hey, I share your pain. I know the definition of muzzy because that’s how my brain is functioning. Pick up some idiot knitting, some good booze, a good blankie and hunker down. If you were here in Colorado I’d invite you over. I don’t think we could make each other feel any worse. Maybe we could laugh and to be gross like my 2 little boys “blow snot.”

  60. God love your big heart. Keep going like an energizer bunny–forget it altogether. My niece is like you go go go even with a “”cold”. Now she’s not moving at all as she fell broke her shoulder and is laid up for at least 3 months !! It just doesn’t pay not to listen to your body telling you you need rest. Take as long as you need and get really well before trying to get going again PLEASE . The yarn is luscious. If you can’t knit it just pat it and go to sleep

  61. You’re not “quitting.” You’re just (finally) giving your body and your soul some room to absorb, relax, and recover. Nothing wrong with that picture at all – this is such a push-push-push world it’s sad that we have to rationalize our way into a bit of R&R (especially when it is so clearly deserved and needed).

  62. I hope that blankie/chesterfield combo is extra nice. Maybe you should do it again tomorrow. And the next day 🙂

  63. Here I was thinking that I have been having a crappy week so far with big deadlines looming and having to work through the weekend and holiday but I’ve got nothing on you. Maybe I shouldn’t say this for fear of the forces that be catching up with me, but I have been reasonably healthy and accident free during this time of deadlines and holidays. I’m sorry to say I was selfish and very happy that you had blogged because when you blog it often provides the lone bright spot in my work day. That said, I hope you are resting now and drinking tea and knitting that beautiful yarn.

  64. (((((((Steph)))))) Do I need to send you some homemade hot cocoa mix and homemade marshmallows? If that and knitting doesn’t renew your soul, nothing will!

  65. Rest, and heal, and play with That Laurie’s beautiful yarn.
    We want you well and happy.
    Now, back to the sofa with you. (I can’t help it. As an American, I can’t bring myself to say, “Chesterfield.” I’m old enough to remember “davenport,” though.)

  66. Rest good! Yarn Gorgeous!
    Bumps and bruises and flu bad. 🙁
    I’m glad you got the Universe’s clue and took the time to slooooooooooooooooooooow doooooooooown.
    Feel better soon!

  67. Take. A. Nap. You deserve a break. I hope you heal up quickly. That is some beautiful yarn and some beautiful knitting.
    And don’t feel alone – when my boyfried left this summer, I couldn’t knit for a week. I couldn’t even hold the needles in my hands. I couldn’t even manage to buy “comfort yarn” online, and how much energy does that take?
    I have bought ALOT of comfort yarn since, though.

  68. Good for you for taking care of yourself! Sometimes it’s when we need it most that we find it impossible to give ourselves a rest! I know that when I was in law school, right after finals, it was nearly impossible for me to sit down and relax. All that momentum and those jitters really can work against a person. So, I think you’re doing exactly the right thing. 🙂

  69. I had a flight down cellar stairs in May breaking my right collarbone into 3 pieces…I know the pain and bruising from that….I still have some irritation. My empathy to you.
    That is Seriously Gorgeous yarn.

  70. Poor Harlot. What a crummy run of foul fortune you’ve had. By all means, feet up, blankie on, tea at hand, needles clicking in rhythm. Gorgeous yarn…where is the feel-o-vision when a girl needs it???

  71. I am sorry you are sick and also covered in bruises! The other night at 2:30 a.m. (driving back home from LA) I stopped to use the restroom at a Denny’s and managed to walk into the plate glass wall by the entrance rather than the door (DORK!). Of course, 3 people are standing there agog at my idiocy while I tried to pull off the “it’s okay, I meant to do that”.
    Hope you feel better soon!

  72. I have an important story for you that involves our favorite animal, sheep. In one of his wonderful books (sorry, don’t remember which right now – I can look it up later) James Herriot tells a story of a sick lamb that he encountered when he was called to a farm to treat another animal. The lamb was in misery, huddled in a corner of the barn. The farmer had given up on it, told Herriot not to treat it because he didn’t want to waste the money (if you don’t know his books, he was a country vet in England from around 1940-1980 and wrote wonderful books about it.) But Herriot couldn’t stand to leave it like that, so when the farmer wasn’t looking, he injected the lamb with enough drugs to euthanize it. He left the farm thinking the lamb had been given a peaceful end to his life.
    The next time he went to the farm, he saw that same lamb running around! The lamb had SLEPT for days, and when it woke up, it was cured. Herriot, a vet and a scientist, was amazed, and couldn’t explain it, other than to say that it could only be the benefit of REST.
    When we overdo it, our bodies force us to rest by getting sick, getting injured, or getting diseased. Always listen to your body! Take the time you need, and like that little lamb, you’ll be bouncing around again in no time. We need our Harlot, but you’re worth waiting for!

  73. It sounds like you’ve made the best possible decision – I hope you feel better soon! And the yarn is very beautiful indeed.

  74. Sneek off to a little book shop somewhere and tell everyone you are “running errands” for a couple of hours. Turn off the cell off and sit, knit, and sip tea. One writer I know calls it an “art day”. Take a day to be alone, recenter, and work on your form of art. I’m a mother of 2 teens and that’s when I started this practice. It really works!

  75. Great decision. And great project choice. A project made in love that is rubbing off on you with every stitch to restore your soul. Bliss.

  76. Hugs to you Steph – please rest yourself, we need you healthy to keep us in stitches (pun intended) at other times. If you just can’t knit, take whatever yarn works for you and pet it. Pile some beautiful yarns around you where you can see them for viewing pleasure. You are under NO responsibility to do any more than you can. Blessings!

  77. Yes do take a break. I know I did not do much of anything the week after christmas and even now I am still doing a slow return (It doesn’t help that my RA is flaring and my drugs are not working)
    Relax and enjoy that yarn!!!
    It is beautiful and I am jealous
    =)

  78. I did the complaining thing today too. It feels good to just get i off your chest and move onto something more beautiful, like that yarn. Enjoy the chesterfield.

  79. Indeed, if your family doesn’t bring you hot tea and whatever else you need for a few days so you only have to get up to go to the bathroom, we’ll all come over and rag on them. If they don’t want the wrath of the blogosphere to crash down on their heads, they had better make sure you recover. And I HAVE to have some yarn that color. That Laurie should know she produced some serious covetousness in your fans.

  80. It IS beautiful yarn. I hope you feel better soon. I’m a little confused about the “personal whining on a blog is annoying and unflattering” thing. So… um… you’re not supposed to do that? Whoops. I better go write myself a new blog…

  81. Being retardedly sick sucks monkey butt. If all else fails I might suggest a Kahlua/Bailey’s chocolate ice cream smoothie? It probably won’t do anything for curing your illness, but the booze might numb you enough to get you feeling giddy. Maybe roll around in your stash for a while?
    Get well soon!

  82. Last December I took my son to his annual appointment with the pediatrician, who is also a homeopath. When he opened the door to call us in, he found me half asleep on the waiting room couch while the kids played. He had me list my symptoms, and before I was even done, he said, “You have the flu,” and he gave me some oscillococcinum. The stuff is like magic. I’d leave a link, but I don’t want to be caught up like spam. I have only the vaguest notion of how homeopathy works, but I’ve decided it’s like, say, cell phones. I don’t have to understand it to reap the benefit. (I think cell phones work by magic, too.)
    I hope you feel better. I sympathize with the crying in public thing. I hate hate hate to cry, and while my mother was dying I simply couldn’t control it. Since August I’ve determined I can no longer describe myself as Someone Who Doesn’t Cry. I cry a lot, unpredictably, and I’m learning to live with it since there doesn’t seem to be any other choice. xo

  83. What are you doing OUT IN THE SNOW with your knitting?!?!? get your butt back inside where it’s warm! and stunning, truly stunning yarn. You’re a lucky lady to have such talented friends.

  84. That IS beautiful yarn–LOVE the colors and you deserve the break. I get tired just thinking about your schedule. Take a rest and get well and, um, should you be out taking photos in the snow?
    I’m fairly recent to the blog and am so glad to have gotten to read along and laugh with everyone for the past few months–plus I’ve learned something new every time I’ve visited! Thanks Stephanie!

  85. When our bodies and souls have had enough, they say “DONE” and we have to go along with it. Take a break, girl!!!!! You NEED it!!!
    The yarn IS lovely!!!

  86. I must have read the blog wrong. You had the flu and you fell on the ice? What were you doing outside when you had the flu?!? Then you went to yoga? Enough already — admit defeat, you’re sick, stay home, knit, consume some nice warm screech and get better!
    As for That Laurie’s yarnm it is just — well, beautiful isn’t good enough. I adore the colors.

  87. Steph, the yarn is amazing. Lauren is clearly very very talented. Now, for the love of all that is woolly, please please please go sit your arse on that chesterfield and knit. And I’m not speaking to you until you’ve had some rest. 😉

  88. I can especially relate to the falling on the ice issue, I went down on an ice-slicked driveway like a ton of bricks last week and really hurt my neck and back. I just grateful that I didn”t give myself a concussion and that I was able to locate my glasses in the snow.
    I would have found some consolation in that lovely yarn, and perhaps a tad more in the coming of spring. That’s sometime in May in TO, if I recall.

  89. Just when I was thinking that you were almost nauseatingly perfect, in a nice way, you allowed us to see your rampant humanity…so sharing some of the boo boo’s does have a purpose…she says jokingly…..happy new year steph

  90. I fell apart at exactly 1:25 am (Atlantic time) New Years morning. It seemed fitting, and I should’ve known it was coming. Best to just follow the cues that the universe has been giving you…sit down…and stay there!

  91. That Yarn from That Laurie is stunning. How many WPI? I am spinning today because I am too sick to see any clients, and fine singles seem appealing today.
    I became symptomatic on the 27th and only yesterday did I allow myself to finally do nothing after a solid week of being wretchedly sick and trying to be Holiday Superwoman at the same time.
    My prescription for “do nothing” — fetch a down sleeping bag, retire to the futon in the guest room with a pot of tea laced with Jameson’s Irish Whiskey and a dash of honey and lemon, pile up the pillows, knit socks, read and nap all day.
    Hope you feel better.

  92. Feel better! I too got sick right after the holidays- last Friday. Then I gave it to my husband, was feeling better New Years Eve, and then got sick again on New Years Day… I think it was a different virus or he gave it back to me. I haven’t felt like knitting much either…

  93. A perfect case for the adage-When are we women going to learn it is okay to take care of ourselves and meet our own needs?? You are all of us.
    You are such a sweetie that you take care of everyone else first. And because we women come with built in guilt we plug along long after we should. How many times have we all said”I will as soon as I wrap this,cook this,feed this, clean this,etc.
    You are the poster woman for doing for everyone but you. So, you have the permission of everyone to do nothing,knit and get healthy and well. Treat it like a Prescription from the Dr.(a visit to her/him is probably in order) and let the world spin on it’s own. It will. Oh, not as well-:)-but it will.
    I am sending all my postive wellness vibes and so is everyone who reads you.
    We all love you and want you well. Oh, and that homeopathic oss.whatever?-from a reply above-it works. You know if one of your daughters were this sick you would have her at the Dr.’s asap.
    Have I scolded you enough? LOL Go to the Dr. 🙂

  94. I want the yarn! Don’t make any false moves…you rest and I’ll relieve you of the yarn….wish I knew That Laurie

  95. I had one of those holidays. Oi! I didn’t get my sister-family package sent until today. Double Oi!
    But the thing that made it get all sappy and nice was digging in my stash and giving away, (to a new young man-knitter. Ladies, back off he is only thirteen.), one skein of one of a kind hand dyed worsted weight (that really wouldn’t go with anything that I had. It was just so darn pretty I HAD to have it, at the time.) He is making felted bowls.
    Ahhh….. now it’s all better.

  96. Your body has been saying “I quit!” for weeks. You’ve just been running around with your hands over your ears and unconsciously saying, “I can’t HEAR you!!!” The body wins. Every time. The cure? You’ve already figured that out. Snooze and knit well. Life will go on without you for awhile and that’s okay.

  97. Beautiful, bouncy, marvellously-colored yarn! That Laurie is a wonderful artist.
    I’m in total agreement with the rest of The Blog. In fact, you should’ve quit several days ago from the sounds of it. Stay put and get better, please, or we’ll all have to come sit on you. And frankly, I don’t think your chesterfield would survive the experience. Not sure how we’d prevent damage to you during this process, but I’m sure we could figure something out. We’re knitters; we’re smart people, after all!

  98. The URL link there is for the most recent article by my personal hero, Martha Beck, on the Virtues of Quitting.
    I think you might enjoy it very much… My motto? “Do nothing, then rest.”

  99. “When nothing helps, do NOTHING.” Indeed.
    I’m sorry your body (with the help of that nasty BUG) has pulled a mutiny. I feel your pain about falling down stairs, because I’ve done that and STILL have “compressed” skin to show for it. At least it isn’t aubergine any more, and the hole my head put in the sheetrock has been repaired, spackled and painted. (The hole in my head only required some help from my hairdresser. 🙂 )
    And I hate being embarassed by a predicament (a la moving furniture), getting stuck there AND having it hurt. The indignity.
    I hope the teenagers get their acts together and feed you tea, crumpets, warm rice pudding or whatever your heart desires. May your epiphanies be happy ones.

  100. slow down and rest
    i have been there
    i told myself stop
    cipro makes me dizzy
    and fuzzy so sit thee
    down perhaps its time
    to have a guest or two
    i had breast cancer a few years ago
    i kept on going passed out
    hurt my self shattered my foot
    and hurt me all over put me
    rehab for almost 3 months — sit

  101. I, too, spent the holiday season battling the virus from hell. Thought I was over it, but fell asleep for two hours this morning.
    Although you already have too many comments to read when you feel nasty, I just want to join the rest of the yarnies in wishing you well. I also want to say that you should knit as much as you want, but don’t feel that you must write for us each day. We would rather have you feeling well, healed by heavenly yarn, than slogging through blogging.
    Best wishes: chicken soup, kleenex and wonderful yarn.

  102. This reminds me of my, “beginning-of-every-major-school-break” illness. It’s like all these little things that add up and you keep telling yourself, “I have to do this one more thing.” Then, eventually, KA-BLAMO! You find yourself in the midst of knock down, drag out misery. I usually curl up under the down comforter and wallow in times like these, however; if I had that amazing yarn, I’d knit too.
    BTW: I also share the sentiments of all who have told you to rest and get back inside.
    Good luck on the recovery!

  103. I had a very useful therapy session right before Christmas that saved me some of your pain. What I learned is that Christmas winds your stress up higher and higher, and doesn’t give your system a chance to reset your stress point. A crash is inevitable.
    I’m glad that you finally got the hint that the universe was sending you and that you’re taking a break. I was napping twice a day post-Christmas. Thanks to that therapy session, I gave myself permission to do so.
    The yarn is gorgeous. You deserve every precious fiber in it. We are all madly jealous too.

  104. Sip tea. Knit a bit … or just stroke yarn and enjoy. Rest. If yoga, only relaxation pose. Think of ways to defeat squirrel – but not toooo strenuosly. Rest. Inhale yarn fumes. Rest.

  105. Sorry you have had such a rough time. It does sound like you need a break to recharge your batteries.
    I was ill too over Christmas – like you I had a nasty, vicious “cold” virus. I started with it on Christmas eve, and managed to get through Christmas day by dosing myself up with medication. But by Boxing day I felt so rough I could not get out of bed.
    Take some time and get over it that is the best thing!
    Lovely yarn btw!

  106. Yes, definitely–lie on the couch [sorry, I’m south of the border) and nap ’til you can nap no more! We’ll be here when you get back all nicely healed and ready to battle squirrels. And slap some arnica gel on those bruises if you haven’t already. Rest is a very good thing.

  107. If you’re that tired, hon, it’s because you need rest! Go to bed. Sleep it off. It may take a few days, give it whatever it takes. Knit if you like, but to you-know-where with the rest of the work. Even the blog. The Blog loves you. The Blog will miss you for a day or two. But The Blog will understand. Meanwhile, The Blog can be researching just where it is that That Laurie resides so that we can stampede her abode and beg for the rest of that yarn!

  108. I like your solution better than mine. Mine was just tons of rescue remedy and lots and lots of Guiness. (which is a pretty good solution to lots of things)
    That yarn is absolutely beautiful :o)

  109. What beautiful yarn! Is the same virus all over the country? I have been sick since the week before Christmas and just can’t get well – I think I am better then feel like I’m dying again. Of course I had out-of-town family for a week, kept my grandchildren for 3 days and then went right back to work. When will we learn?
    Please rest and try to get well!

  110. Steph–how do you do it? Even when you’re saying you quit, you’re still writing a long, long, funny blog post and showing knitting content–that’s not quitting–that’s you still going at it! I think you are the energizer bunny–except not so annoying. I hope you feel better soon and that you’re able to take a break and rest up.
    Don’t worry about us rabid fans–we can wait patiently for you to feel better again. And publishers always build padding into their deadlines….they can wait (tell them I said so!).
    I hope you’re well and bruise free soon.
    Amy

  111. Stephanie I do hope you can rest and feel better. Yarn as beautiful as that prolly will help, too. :O) I thought I was the only one who got head-crammed between furniture and a wall. And you have, and Leila here had a piano like I did, try to mash her head. I’ll tell ya, when you mention piano falling onto head in the ER, they really move!!! Hope you are feeling better very soon. samm

  112. Oh, Steph, you poor thing!
    If it makes you feel any better, I fell down my stairs last week, too. My doctor laughed at me and prescribed sitting on a pillow for the next week.
    And, really, don’t you get whopped by a major cold nearly every year around Christmas? Maybe you should try cutting back a little (*really* cutting back, not just saying you will) to destress a little 🙁

  113. Please ask That Laurie to be my friend.
    Also, get well soon Steph. I hope that you will still be able to knit & type, no matter how ill you are.

  114. Oh dear, this does sound like you need a pick me up. I’ll fax some stuff (virtually, of course).
    vitamin D and The B’s – for winter blahs
    Cold fx – to help you stop a cold in its track
    vitamin a because if you are short of vitamin d you are probably short ov vitamin a
    Sunshine
    longer days
    I seriously think the ancient people had a way better way of handling the darkest time of the year than we do. They just went out and partied. Maybe I should fax you a party but only a really nice one with your bestest friends, which you can bring out as soon as you are well rested.

  115. That Laurie has clearly put healing properties into that yarn. I can feel it from here.

  116. The yarn really shows all the time and love that went into it. I got a hit on my blog stats this morning from someone Googling “That Laurie sock yarn” because I’d taken a self-striping sock yarn dyeing class during the time That Laurie guest blogged for you and I’d blogged both. The stuff looks that beautiful that someone lives in hope of finding it somewhere, somehow. Too bad things like that won’t even pay a living wage per hour of work, much less a living wage. They must be done for love to repay the effort.
    Yeah, you know you’re really sick when you can’t knit. You know you picked a good man when he says to you, ‘You need to go to the doctor. You can’t even knit.’ You know your doctor doesn’t get it when, even though she knows you were a nurse at her hospital and always listens to what you have to say as someone who speaks the same language, she doesn’t get the ‘too tired to even knit’ significance.
    Please also spend tomorrow on the sofa with the knitting and tea – lots of tea, maybe with some lemon, honey and good whiskey.

  117. Sometimes the only thing to do is cry uncle and snuggle in on the couch. Tea and knitting can only aid in the mental and physical healing. Feel better soon, and happy 2008 (or it soon will be).

  118. wow, i can’t believe that’s handspun! so even! and so beautiful – what a wonderful gift. as, of course, is giving yourself some time to recover. feel better!

  119. Good for you.
    A bad, sad thing befell me over the holidays and so I took some ass time and let my husband look after the two small children and I started to knit the Ice Princess from the latest Knitty (but in my colours). It is making me so happy, that even as I start to feel better, it makes me even more happy.
    And also, I found the website of what looks like a wonderful chocolate shop near where I live. eclatchocolate.com . Go and enjoy the pictures while you knit. I am.

  120. Wow! That Laurie never fails to amaze me; those colors are incredible, and the yarn looks so perfect!
    I hope you feel better soon! Take some days off, relax, sleep, knit. The Blog wishes you the best!!! =)

  121. the flu has felled many a good knitter it’s put me out for a few days….keep fighting the good fight, i hope the yarn helps, it’s lovely by the way..

  122. *Mom’s voice* Well, my dear, I kept telling you that you had to slow down.*
    The body never lies.
    Get well and take care.

  123. I’ve seen a lot of handspun yarn out there. Really. Really. Gorgeous Handspun. I really have. I’m on the computer all the time. I shop at all sorts of crafty fairs with hand spinners. I visit farms with hand spinners. I have friends who hand spin. I’m on Ravelry and see hand spun yarn. I got on etsy and look at handspun yarn. So, I’ve seen a LOT of handspun yarn.
    I truly am not saying this lightly.
    THAT is the MOST BEAUTIFULLY BREATHTAKING handspun I have EVER. EVER. EVER! seen.
    Wow!

  124. I hope you feel better soon. I think it is the woman, Mom in all of us that think we have to keep going constantly. Tell Laurie that the yarn she spun is AWESOME. It is perfect.

  125. It sounds like life threw everything it could at you. Glad you’re taking time for you and that yarn is Gorgeous!!!

  126. I *love* that colorway. (And I won’t even go into the fact that I find it hard to believe that that skein is handspun. I will never ever get to that point in my spinning.)
    Does That Laurie need any new friends in her life??

  127. Thank you, That Laurie, for giving the gift of your art and your time. You blessed every single reader who cares about our Yarnharlot. (Gorgeous stuff, too!)
    And you, Stephanie–that’s a heckuva lot to go through to justify having some knitting time, fer cryin out loud. Put your feet up, relax, and heal well.

  128. I’ve heard that wool is second best to Chicken Soup for what ails ya. That yarn may even be BETTER than soup!
    Get better soon.

  129. I haven’t read the eleventy-hundred comments because I have no time either, but … haven’t you had an inordinate number of significant illnesses this season? Or is it just me noticing? Take care, take care. Glad you had such a lovely task before you once you finally allowed yourself to be FELLED.

  130. Yes, that is ridiculously beautiful yarn. Browns and blues together is one of my favorite combos. Isn’t it lovely how fiber can heal?

  131. Holy cats! Sorry to read these past few weeks have been so rough for you.
    I hope you feel better soon – you sit there with your blankie and tea and knitting until you feel like getting up… and then you go right back to sitting there with your blankie and a new cuppa tea and your knitting for a good while longer.

  132. May the beautiful yarn begin to restore some of your energy. I am astounded that your sense of humor -at the world and at yourself- has maintained through all of this.
    Thank you for sharing so much with all of us. I hope you can take some you-time and do exactly whatever it is that will make you however you want to feel right then!

  133. As I am in bed at this exact moment in time with a fever and still in shocks of flu-delerium, I find that I can identify with you quite well.
    I was actually just thinking that I would knit something while I was in bed, but then I pick up the yarn and fall asleep again. Or take a sip of Gingerale and THEN fall asleep again.
    I hate the flu.

  134. Your body is sending you a HUGE message.
    Time to stop.
    You have done your bit, Christmas, editing, etc.
    So, the prescription is,
    1.Tea in large quantities,
    2.that lovely yarn, your sofa
    3.the TV ( or Dr. Who )
    4.rest, rest, rest.
    I bought myself one of those carafe thingies, just the perfect thing for holding large quantities of tea ( or other fav beverage) so the trips to the kitchen are kept to a minimum.
    Be well, and keep safe
    Carolyn

  135. I think I have it too. I feel like I have already had a couple glasses of wine on top of Benedryl (a BAD idea, not something I do) and I haven’t. Had either of them. I have a kind of minimal sense of taste and smell so I eat out of a sense of duty and I feel like I might be able to fly. Not in a good way.
    My mom greatly enjoyed your computer+husband complexities, and particularly the thing-blindness. My father is not quite such a techie so his meddling is slightly less drastic. but along the same lines.
    I hope we feel better soon.

  136. It’s not enough to know how to ride, you have to know how to fall, and when it’s time to get off. Get some rest girl.

  137. Just looking at the photo of that yarn makes my knees go weak. I can’t imagine how great it must be in the fleece, so to speak. Blues & browns together – one of my favorite combinations. Just rest &, if you don’t feel up to knitting (yeah that is really sick) – just snuggle up under a warm afghan & pet the yarn & dream of knitting it.

  138. No doubt the yarn is a powerful antidote to feeling so bad, but please take it easy. Your readers will understand if you skip a day (but just one, please). I had the flu when I was in college and it was just horribly, woefully terrible. Please take care of yourself. Rest. Tea. Sleep. Nap. Knit if you must.

  139. That yarn (from That Laurie) is soooo gorgeous. I don’t know what you’re knitting, but with that perfection, who cares! It’s the perfect antidote. So now you, and the yarn, must rest. You Must Rest and Take Care of Yourself. We insist.

  140. Ah, poor thing. Please rest, slow down and for God’s sake, spend a day, or two in bed. The Universe is conspiring against you doing anything but that. You deserve it, now, tuck in with your favorite yarn, book(s) and tea and don’t come out for a long while.

  141. December, the month, 2007, the year, the whole crazy holiday season is done. It’s a new year, a clean slate. Start it in the fashion you wish it to continue: knitting, tea or other restorative liquids, reclining on the sofa. No cleaning. Yes, in some cultures it’s good luck to have the house all clean on the first of the new year, but that train has left the station, and madly cleaning up now only brings to the attention of the gods
    the mess you started the year with. Besides, those people have already let their places slide back to normal by now. And look, you have new pictures!

  142. Take time for YOU. We would miss you greatly were you to flame out like a Roman Candle. Listen to your body, and to your friends. Rest. Focus on you…not on family, or your fans. We can all wait for our Harlot to come back full strength. And yeah…sometimes the holidays launch a full frontal attack. Just hope that Christmas isn’t in cahoots with Easter and the squirrel. ((hugs)) <3 (that’s supposed to be a sideways heart)

  143. Ah, Steph, sometimes I think we underestimate those around us. Who love us even though they get their presents a tad late. Who really cares? Feel better, knit with love and be healed. It’s a whole new year. Maybe this year should be about Knitting Without Obligation.
    I’m a little afraid for you. I’ve watched you this year and you work SO hard. I wish I could make it okay for you to work LESS hard –because if you don’t and you burn out and stop kitting–we will all suffer much more than just waiting a little while for you to regain center balance.
    Yeah, well, it was just a thought.
    Happy New Year,
    Barb

  144. That is, indeed, beautiful yarn. Maybe too beautiful for someone to put their feet into, once it has turned into socks. Some things should just be saved and admired, and brought out to bring happiness when one is feeling crappy. You seem to be susceptible to horrible viruses, dear Harlot. Please take care of yourself and rest. Let your girls take care of things around the house.

  145. Why do we women feel like we have to keep going and be Super Woman when we’re sick? I worked for weeks with pneumonia. How stupid of me! Stay in bed until your better.

  146. Behold the healing power of handspun. I don’t think it’s possible to work with it and not feel great. I finally hauled some I spun more than a year ago out of the stash and started a sweater and instantly fell in love. I’ve been showing it to everyone saying, “Isn’t it beautiful?!” It’s like it transcends the dyeing, spinning, and knitting and just IS this thing of beauty.
    Magical stuff. Feel better soon!

  147. Oh, please, do take care of yourself – sometimes a drop of Scotch in the tea helps… I’m knitting (Belladonna from Knitter’s Summer ’06) with Tess’ Designer Yarns (which I bought in Baltimore in ’06, and discovered that Tess lives forty miles from me…) and watching Iowa election returns (I’m a political junkie). That yarn from Laurie is truly stunning – enjoy every stitch. I envy that colorway.

  148. You poor dear – I feel so bad for you. It’s hard to be sick when you have so much on your plate. I hope your family is pitching in and pampering you a little. Take all the time you need to feel better, and enjoy knitting that incredibly beautiful yarn!

  149. I think too many of us do that – just keep going when we really need to rest.
    Good for you for doing the right thing!
    Laurie’s yarn is gorgeous. An excellent aid to your recuperation.

  150. oh man, steph- i think we caught the same cold. i woke up on xmas day feeling pretty bad, and it only got worse over the subsequent few days. i’m still not 100%, either.
    lovely yarn, though!

  151. That yarn is gorgeous!!!
    I’ve fallen one item short of my holiday knitting goals but since I’m laid up with my third sinus infection and second bout with bronchitis, I may finally get the message and just sit down with some tea and knitting myself. Heck, I may even finish the final item before Valentine’s Day.

  152. WOW! and I was feeling so alone in MY holiday mess. Knitting that yarn would make anyone feel better. I love to read your writings! You say what I feel. I honestly thought I was the only person in the world that used sumptuous yarn and a lovely knitting project to heal me heart and soul. Thank you for letting me know I am not alone in this world. May all of your knitting make you happy this year!

  153. Ah…Here’s a gentle virtual hug from Out West. And definite empathy, because I had that bug Dec. 3 through 10. Couldn’t knit at all for 2 days. Ended up in the early stages of bronchitis before I got to the doc’s and got potent antibiotics.
    Just rest, relax and enjoy your new yarn!
    P.S., would it help if you knew (which you might, already) that Interweave has turned the Cobblestone Pullover (yes, Ken’s sweater) into a buy-online pattern ($5.00) because of the demand for it? I e-mailed and told ’em it was your blog that pumped up the volume. 🙂
    Hugs,

  154. Ya know what causes colds, in my experience? Stress. Oh sure, germ theory, etc etc. But stress wears down one’s natural resistance and that’s when sickness strikes. So de-stress, dear Harlot, cuddle up with the world’s most beautiful yarn and don’t worry about the blog even. We all love you!

  155. Me. Want. That. Yarn. Must. Have. Pretty. Yarn.
    You go to bed. I’ll stop by and make sure no one else gets my, I mean, YOUR yarn. 😀

  156. I was just about to write a “private” saying that sometimes blogs start to write their people, as do books… step back Stephanie… when the it seems the great knitting goddess stepped into your world (she wouldn’t limit herself to merely screwing with people’s knitting, ya’know 🙂
    *peace*

  157. That is very beautiful yarn. If that doesn’t work, nothing will. Take it easy Steph, the sky won’t fall if you rest a day or two. I took a rather spectacular fall in the parking lot after work last October and it was all because my body told my mind a split second too late that it was too tired to step up on the curb. So rather than going up, I kicked the curb and ended up rolling in the wood chips under the bushes, and do you know what I was thinking as I found myself lying on my back looking? I though, “Well as long as I’m down here, would it be so bad if I just stayed down here for awhile?”
    And I would have had I not taken a dive into the bushes in full view of a whole parking lot of spectators. I’ve taken flops in the snow as well and I know what you mean when you say you can’t feel it until a day or two later. So rest.

  158. I’m so sorry that you’ve been half dead. You deserve a break. You deserve that gorgeous yarn. If someone else other than you was your boss, they would give you time off until you recover.

  159. You know what the Department of They says? “The best thing you can do for your kids (family/friends/admirers) is to take excellent care of their mother (wife/buddy/idol)”. You know…what all those guys above me said. Do that.

  160. Please take good care of yourself. You are the only one of you that we have! And we need you.

  161. I usually just lurk, never posting, but wanted to send some healing vibes your way. I hope you will take some time to rest up and heal. Your site has really inspired me — my next project is going to be socks! My first pair ever. So far, I’ve only done the fun part – buying extremely skinny and scary looking double pointed needles, buying beautiful yarn (also rather skinny and scary looking) and looking dreamily at complex patterns (I’ll actually just do a simple sock for first attempt, but love looking at the patterns out there). Get well soon, but know that even when you’re offline and resting, your site (and wonderful books) are out there inspiring others!

  162. Before I read what you wrote about the yarn, I was thinking “that’s the most beautiful yarn in the world.”
    Not only are the colors beautiful, it has just enough “handcrafted” unevenness in the plying to make it so much more interesting than mill-spun yarn. You’re right. It’s perfect.
    And I can’t even feel the softness through the internet.
    Steph, when the world decides to beat you up the way it just did to you, you have the absolute right to take some time off and recover.
    Take at least a couple of days off and recouperate not only your body, but your soul.
    And don’t go back to work, etc., until you feel healthy, rested and serene (if such a thing is possible with teenagers in the family).

  163. Well, I’m really glad you gave up, sat down, and started playing with some of that truly gorgeous yarn. What the universe would have come up with to make you do that if you’d insisted on carrying on makes me shudder to contemplate. You know, right, that when you get sick you’re supposed to STOP? And the injuries? Seriously, stop for a good long rest. The book, the kids, and Joe will be just fine. Maybe get Joe to gently rub arnica into all your bruises for you. I slipped on some ice taking the recycling out the other day, and the arnica has helped a lot. (Nothing so serious as your fall down the stairs, so don’t waste any energy worrying about me!)

  164. Wow. That is some serious yarnapy for one bruised, battered and beleaguered Harlot. Feel better, darling–yarn or no yarn, your poor wee Harlot bod and soul needs some pampering and love. (But it’s better with yarn. We all know that.)

  165. Oh My Gosh I can practically feel the softness of that yarn just looking at it. I hope you’re enjoying that, a cup of tea, and I hope you’re feeling better soon.

  166. Enjoy the knitting, at least the first thing you did in 2008 wasn’t throw up – 3 times! like I did and not through drink, just a bug 🙁

  167. I hate when my life gets like that, and unfortunately I’ve had my fair share of deaths and sickness at Christmas time. It’s bad enough with the regular Christmas pressure and activities, then you throw in someone dying and it makes everything so much harder. You feel guilty for trying to have a have a good time, then if you manage to forget for a little while you feel guity about that! No way around it, it just sucks! I’m so glad that you finally threw in the towel and surrendered to the sofa. One of the absolute hardest lesson for me to learn has been that sometimes you just have to stop and rest. Being somewhat of a maniac for most of my life (not as much of a maniac as you, but I was up there,) I used to always just brute my way through pretty much anything. Then I became really ill and learned how to stop and rest. It wasn’t easy and took me continually overdoing it and making myself really, really sick to get it through my head. I still sometimes forget this lesson, but never as much as I used to do. I might be dense, but not that dense LOL! Don’t be too surprised if it takes you a week to get your ummphf back. If it does, then let it. If you still feel crappy after a week, grab a big box of tissues and watch It’s a Wonderful Life, the original with Jimmy Stewart in black and white. I just love that movie and it always makes me feel better. I think that amazing wonderfully spun and dyed yarn will really help a lot too. It’s just beautiful. That’s the only problem with your blog, I can’t grope the yarn! Man, That Laurie can spin can’t she. Take it easy and feel better soon!

  168. Oh Steph, I too have your whatever you want to call it. I would like to call it out of my life. I woke up Christmas eve morning with it. My co workers and I get together at 7 am to have breakfast at a diner and then exchange gifts. I felt terrible. Stomach bug. They did like my handmade gifts though. Then I got a sinus infection and yesterday got some drugs. Still feel crappy.
    I love that yarn and I hope that makes you feel better. It looks like it could do the trick.
    Do you know if there is anyone out there that teaches husbands how to cook?
    Heres to feeling better!!!!!!!!! ((hugs))

  169. okay – so now I am peering closely at my monitor and trying my very best not to climb into the screen. that is one incredible hand dyed hand spun yarn..
    absolutely drop dead gorgeous.
    wow.
    I am so glad that you are spoiling yourself with its fiberly goodness.
    that flu hit here about 10 days before Christmas – and yes – it was a kick butt flu/cold/demon. I do not recall the last time that I was that ill.
    glad that you are taking it easy today – and so sorry about all the head smooshing, stair falling, ice slipping, bruised state of your world. that stinks and you totally do not deserve it after such a rockin job of all that christmas knitting.
    may 2008 be easy and joy-filled. I hope that I get the chance to buy you a great beer when we’re all hanging out at Madrona Fiber Fair this year!

  170. Isn’t it interesting how the universe sometimes “insists”that we take time off. Your body was trying to tell you something, and you were trying desperately to not listen — so it took some serious action and laid you up with the flu. I hate it when that happens!!!
    By all means, stay at home and pamper yourself –or, if anyone else is at home, go out somewhere and pamper yourself! Those of us who “try to do it all and then some” really need to learn totakesome time for ourselves. Good luck sweetie!!!

  171. REST. (it’s worth shouting it). I too am a perfectionist and have to be informed that really the world will cope without me for a bit. If you don’t take the time now you may be forced to later on (and not have such nice yarn to play with or feel like playing at all). Feel better!

  172. Ohhhhh! So preeetty! That yarn, more than any other, makes me want to spend a lot to have it (I’m frugal, so that’s saying a *lot*).
    I hope you feel better soon.

  173. I was wondering how bad that fall was…I was surprised you were up and around as soon as you were (like us moms have a CHOICE over the holidays). And then everything else, and the flu…2007 was a rough year on a lot of people, and I hope you are able to take it easy and let yourself heal. We’ll all miss you, but we’d understand if we just didn’t have a blog from you for a few days…even a WEEK (egads!). Take care of yourself first, and we’ll all get back together when you feel better.
    Brightest blessings, lady. Sending peace and healing your way.

  174. I have a chronic illness which takes it’s toll on my day to day activities like that. Sometimes it’s very hard to remember that it’s ok to rest!
    Gorgeous yarn.

  175. last saturday night i had a two wnd a half pound can of chinese food fall on my big toe. it hit so hard it dented the double edge of the can. the irony? i finally started knitting my first sock two days later.

  176. Are the girls back in school yet? Once they are, sip your coffee in the peace of your home and relax. Time to recharge those batteries!

  177. I just wish I could touch that yarn! Everyting about it looks wonderful. Can you bring it to Camp Crow’s Feet in April?? Pretty please?
    Good for you for concluding that you can give up and rest. Rest is the best medicine…and that gorgeous yarn helps too. Take care of yourself.
    I was sick too, and I didn’t knit either. That’s when my DH knew I was truly feeling like hell.

  178. Please, please let yourself “quit” without guilt! (I know – it’s a hard thing for a mama to do.) Snuggle up w/some tea, that GORGEOUS yarn (amazing amazing colors), and feel better. We’ll be here when you check back in!

  179. If you lived closer (or even in the same country), I would bring you some home made soup, freshly made bread and chocolate. That’s what I do for my friends when they are sick, and as much time as I’ve spent reading your blog, you are most definitely a friend. Feel better and take the time needed to get better, o.k.?

  180. Dear Steph: There is an art form to quitting and I am glad to see you have elevated that art. Too often we forget that quitting, and quitting quite spectacularly, is an option that should be exercised once in a while. The world will not stop on its axis if you check out for a while, but you may find yourself immobile if you don’t slow down. Take a few days to pull yourself together and enjoy the fibery goodness that surrounds you. Here’s a toast to health, happiness and peace for your new year.

  181. Oh My! That is the best yarn I have ever seen – all my favorite colors in one skein. You are so lucky!

  182. Youch. Yes, please take it easy, and appreciate that lovely yarn. Gorgeous, perfect, beautiful, delicious, healing yarn. And also appreciate that your lovely friend, who cares so much about you that she made it and gave it to you, is no dummy and that you deserve such care even from yourself.

  183. Holy cows, that’s handspun????? Damn Laurie.
    Go watch a dumb movie on the sofa with a blankie and some tea. Perhaps with bourbon.

  184. Oooh, I hadn’t thought to call it that, but I’ve been doing Antidote Knitting too!
    The holidays are over, and I started two different socks in a single night (I was /really/ jazzed about being able to knit for myself again… ahem), but one of them really just took me over, and I’ve been knitting like a fiend on it ever since. Every time I pick it up I am perfectly content, and I think, “This is exactly what I should be knitting right now. This is PERFECT.”
    I’m glad you’ve found some knitting to help soothe your soul while you rest your poor beleaguered body, too.

  185. You are so right that your body is trying to tell you to rest. Do it. If you push it too far, your health will really suffer. You are a strong woman in many ways, and I know that your husband and children depend on you for so much, but no one is Superwoman, not even the Yarn Harlot. Give yourself the gift of a few days rest. The laundry, the meals, the housework, the shopping, the job…just let go for now. My own experience has been that the family will rise to the occasion and feed themselves, at least (though there may be some grumbling, just ignore it). Anyway, rest up and feel better.

  186. I’m finally getting to the computer after three days in bed with the flu – and a bad reaction to the Vicodin the doctor gave me to get rid of the aches/pains! Hang in there. My husband has done a great job taking care of me and our 2-year-old. Everything else can wait. I’m feeling better and have started a sock to prove it!

  187. You poor soul…I really do hope you feel better soon! Have a couple of jammie days and let the family take care of you for a nice change of pace : )

  188. Poor you! I have had a similar lack of health this holiday season, and I agree–it stinks. Some Blue Sky Alpaca has helped me along, so I can only imagine what wonders that gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous handspun will work.
    Get well soon!

  189. beautiful color transitions. I can’t think of anything more soothing than to hole up and knit on that gorgeous piece of knitting! Hopefully it does the job of putting you back on your feet with a swing in your step again.

  190. Okay, glad you finally surrendered! Just lay there; or sit up & knit. But, don’t try to move much. You need rest! But, I do agree, that yarn might just be your cure! The stitches are so perfectly even and smooth. I can see why you are in love with it. Hope you feel much better real soon…meantime take it easy! You’ve earned it.

  191. Good GRIEF! Yes, lay there and knit that gorgeous enviable stuff. You need a rest.
    ps – the last time I had exhaustion like that, I had pneumonia and didn’t know it, so be careful.

  192. Perhaps this is God’s way of telling you, you need to rest. I agree you should quit and listen to him. Trust me, all those other things will still be waiting tomorrow. (I am not sure if that is good or bad). Take care of yourself

  193. Stephanie, our darling yarn harlot, we adore you and we will miss you but THE BLOG gives you permission to take a vacataion for a week or two if you need it. (If you do, just please announce it so we don’t panic when you go missing…)

  194. Im so sorry that happened to you.
    I would never have bothered you for information on a Christmas tree ornament had i known.
    Hoping your feeling better,and that lovely yarn has to help.

  195. That virus must have been continental. I had the same thing on the same day….the very day, in fact, that my husband’s whole family was here from England and my whole family came over to visit. Eek. I couldn’t even look at my knitting. The thought made me slightly seasick.
    I’m utterly stunned with the handspun. What a lovely gift. Mine is going to be the shawl I left off last year so I’d have time to knit sweaters for my kids. 🙂 I just can’t tear myself away from knitting for the rest of my family.
    Have a fabulous couch retreat.
    :)k

  196. Girl, you are insane! I gave up days ago and my house looks like *)%*@#, but I just couldn’t go anymore! Sit, knit, relax, take tea, feel better. At least you don’t have to do the 9-5 thing some of us do. Let us live through you. Say it….mmmmmm….yyyaaarrnnnn…..

  197. Hope you feel better. Sit, rest, take care of yourself. That Laurie’s yarn looks as good as a spa for pampering.

  198. Miz Harlot!
    I took a color class from Randall Darwell several years ago….great! The two bon mots which have stayed with me the longest (I’m a slow color learner) are
    * a little yellow goes a long way
    * don’t should on yourself
    Sounds like you’ve been shoulding on yourself.
    ‘Nough said.
    Lee in Iowa

  199. Wow beautiful yarn! Take a rest – sleep /knit if you must, but don’t get out of bed.

  200. Yeah! If my monitor can be trusted at all with color, that is one beee u ti ful yarn and OMG you so deserve some down time, or rather knitting time. Wishing you better health and lots of quality time with quality yarn. ((take care))

  201. I’m glad you’ve finally realised that you NEED to rest or you’re cycle of terrors will just keep repeating itself. And my oh my what a way to rest. That yarn is very gorgeous. I can tell it’s soft and fully just from the pictures. That is luscious yarn.

  202. It always slays me that we have to give ourselves permission to slow down, even though we are surrounded by people who are more than capable of saying, “you look tired/sick/worn out. Why don’t you take a break and let me do that?” (Can you tell that I live with three men, two of them teenagers?)
    Rest up and regroup. Tomorrow will be better. I promise.

  203. Hi Stephanie,
    I just read that you are coming close to my area in March. Please, please, please come to the Barnes and Noble in Akron( Montrose) Ohio.

  204. Be careful with that cold. If it’s one that makes your voice all hoarse with lots of coughing, it landed 2 of my young co-workers in the hospital with pneumonia after they thought they were getting better. Rest, knit, repeat.

  205. It would have been just as beautiful photographed on top of your blankie! Stay inside where it’s warm! Do you have a large mesh bag (like body-bag sized)? Instead of carrying laundry baskets down the basement stairs in our old house (after the second or third arse-bruising-elbow-banging-cursing-slip-slide-with-dirty-laundry-and-baskets-flying-everywhere mishap), I decided to let the kids stuff laundry bags full and roll them down the stairs to the basement. Much safer all around (except when I caught the boys trying to ride the bag down the last flight) and they even seemed to enjoy it if all the “look out belows” and the fact that they would gather laundry without prompting was any indication. Sometimes the neighbor kids would get in the act and a few convinced their Moms to buy laundry bags too. (The neighbothood had huge 3 story houses and the back staircase spiraled from the 3d floor to the basement which made for a long tumble for the bags- all the way down if there was someone strategically staged on the landings with a hockey stick.) If you trip on the way up the stairs, you may want to see if Ian can help install a dumbwaiter. 🙂 Hope you feel better soon.

  206. Goodness girl! Let the rest of the crew deal with it for a week or so. I’m sending you cyber soup — veggie I suppose. Or a can of anything handy, just let someone else warm it for you.
    I get the slipping falling bruising thing. I slipped and struck my left arsenal of a concrete step a month ago. This no more finished up being purple and then on Christmas Eve morning. . . . I was out in the woods and slipped and fell forward this time (save the arsenal) striking the left knee on a tree branch hidden by snow. Minimal bruising, but darn lucky I didn’t blow a tendon or something. I think I will be able to train for that 10K in the spring.
    That is fabulous yarn and, with my skills, I’m not worthy!

  207. Yuck. I hope you feel better soon. In the meantime, enjoy your beautiful yarn and just don’t worry about anything else. The earth will keep on rotating, just like it always has, and when you are all better, everything will be fine.

  208. Oh you poor dear, take a breather!
    I got run down by a nasty illness this month too…ARGH. It was so mean and I wanted so badly to just get over it and get on with life, but when I kept that attitude, I just got sicker. Finally figured out that I needed to rest and stop trying to be Super Woman Who Gets Over Viruses Really Fast. It’s been much easier to deal with; I think I’ll be completely cured by the end of next week. (For a total of five weeks of super sucky health.)
    Here’s to a healthy New Year!

  209. Oh Woman, take care of yourself. And, just in case you are like me, stay away from sharp knives and avoid washing glassware. Word to the wise.

  210. That Laurie spun that??
    I am floored. It is gorgeous, and while I am no longer surprised (still completely in awe, but not surprised) by her dying genius, I had to do a double-triple take at her spinning and plying and I am still marveling at the perfection.
    I really hope her yarn does the trick for you and that you’re feeling better soon. That’s one hell of a month you’ve had – wow.

  211. seriously.gorgeous.yarn. i need that.
    speaking as one matron to another; you gotta take the break before the universe breaks you. so.. rest. you’re too good to waste.

  212. I add to the above well-wishers; do take best care of yourself. It seems you live at least three lives a day and are a change agent for thousands. Off to the chesterfield with tea, blankie and the heavenly handspun, for respite and napping.

  213. Hey I was barfing on the 26th too, although it was my birthday so that double sucked…
    Try to rest guilt free…cuz the blog said so!!

  214. Amazing how something that is supposed to be so enjoyable can be so draining (the holidays, I mean). My kids went back to school on Jan. 2 and getting them up was a real chore (I think they were all late that day, and the rest of the week has not been much better).
    But that yarn – truly soul restorative! And the colors… truly astounding. I just knitted a felted bag in sort of a related colorway (Knitpicks Mocha Twist with the second strand being one of Tidepool Heather and one of Shamrock Macnamara) but That Laurie’s version is much more inspired and inspiring. If I was there I would be serving you tea and crumpets just so I could be in the same room with that yarn. Having a chance to chat with you while admiring that yarn would be icing on the cake.
    Now get your rest – the knitting world needs a Harlot at the top of her game!

  215. That yarn is absolutely beautiful – it should soothe very well, I think.
    You made the right choice. I find that when I get completely burned out, the work isn’t nearly as obsessed with me as I am with it, and it will be waiting for me when I return from my break. Relax, breathe, and enjoy every second with that amazing yarn!

  216. I laughed at the part about your head being stuck. I’m sorry, since you feel so bad. But I did. That is really some beautiful yarn. I’m sure some quality time with will be all you need to get back to ‘normal’.

  217. I am recovering from 9 days of flu. I have been working on the same sock for 11 days now, because I can barely concentrate on the foot part. I hope by the time I get sock 2 done, I don’t hate them so much I toss them in the corner of a drawer to veg. Even this beautiful, had dyed colorway can’t stave off the utter “duh” I am feeling at present. So, rest, my friend, and drink lots of fluids. My HMO assures me, this will pass.

  218. Unbelievable yarn. Wish we could buy some! When I saw the first pic, I thought, oh, fine, another thing to buy. Gorgeous colors!
    Hope you are feeling better. Definitely take a few days for yourself!

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