Note: I started writing this on Sunday and things went completely sideways after that. For the record, this Co-Chair job is only picking up speed over the last week to departure, and the workload, while manageable, is constant. I’m so looking forward to riding my bike 100km a day AS A BREAK, and how crazy is that? It took until today to finish and post. Bear with me, my lovelies. Things are pretty wild over here. (PS Joe is not back yet.)
Joe’s away this weekend, attending a music festival out west – and it has left me happily and completely alone. Not to say that I don’t miss him (I do) and not to say that I’m not lonely (I am) but it’s left me able to focus almost completely on catching up on a million things. I have a long to-do list, but wing of moth and tie of skein, I am actually getting it done. I am mere hours away from being caught up on the housework – so close in fact that if someone were to ring my doorbell right now I’d almost consider opening it. (Almost. I have to resolve the risk that they’d get stuck down to the kitchen floor first.) The Bike Rally Co-Chair inbox is a single screen’s worth of panic, rather than pages and pages. I haven’t even opened my personal inbox, but tomorrow’s another day.
Yesterday I got up early, scraped a layer off the kitchen, poured a coffee, and sat down at my desk and worked on the Bike Rally stuff for five hours. After that amount of time I still had buckets to do and was feeling sort of defeated, looking wistfully out the window at a world where it seemed that everyone except for me was having a good time, and right on cue, I got a text. It was Cameron, suggesting an afternoon at the beach with a few friends, and in a wave of maturity I can only describe as heroic, I declined the invitation. He pressed a little, and to be truthful, that was all the resistance I had in me. I folded faster than a laundry and an hour after that I was on a water taxi, headed across the harbour to the island. The weather wasn’t that great – the water was choppy and the sky grey, and a few times I thought about how stupid it was that I’d chosen to ditch work for a not-great reward. I was wrong. By the time I’d walked to the beach on the other side, things were much better. Warm, and sunny (from time to time) and the water was glorious and the wind out on the lake had brought up big waves to play in (not ocean big, but still fun) and we played frisbee for a while (I retain my perfect record of never catching a single throw) and I knit.
It. Was. Perfect. I was home before dark, finishing my sock on the streetcar, and got home in time to put the news on the radio and do about 87 more tasks before making myself toast for dinner and falling into bed. At the time, I felt like I was shirking my responsibilities, but today there’s (another) Bike Rally function, and that rest yesterday did me so much good that I’m really looking forward to going to it. The idea of tomorrow’s meeting no longer makes me want to hide in a darkened room and knit garter stitch, and the level of hysteria I feel when I realize we leave in a week is almost manageable.
Seven Five more days, and while Team Knit haven’t yet met our (public) fundraising goals (we all have private ones as well) we’re still hoping to get there. I’ve got a while before I leave the house (again, even though it is now Tuesday) so let’s see how many Karmic Balancing Gifts I can get through. If you’re just catching up with what’s up, you can read the post about how this works here, and because somebody always asks, here’s our fundraising links. Team Knit is:
(For the record, and in case I haven’t mentioned it, almost all of Team Knit is fulfilling Leadership Roles this year. I’m Co-Chair, Ken is a Team Lead, Cameron is Co-Lead of Rider Team Leads, and Pato – he’s resting from being Recruitment Co-Lead last year. We’re really trying to make a difference, and we’re putting our time and energy where our mouths are.)
Onward!
Julie has a lovely 280-yard hank of worsted weight yarn from Spittin’ Creek Farm (www.spittincreek.com) in Xenia, Ohio. It’s an alpaca/merino/tussah silk blend, and the color is Bright Jade. Julie’s generous enough that she’s sending this along to live with Megan M.
Next up, a gorgeous handpainted double sock blank (462 yards, 100g, fingering weight, merino/nylon) from Anne, at the Twisted Fleece. The colourway is “Sittin’ on the Dock” and it’s part of her Summer Love series.
It’s so very pretty, like sunshine sparkles on water, and it will be winging it’s way to Robyn R. Anne’s not done though!
That’s 1 skein of speckle dyed 70%baby alpaca, 30%silk, 875 yards (about 807 m), 190 grams. This is a fine laceweight. Colorway: “Celebration” in honor of Team Knit and all those riding in and supporting the PWA Bike Rally. The Twisted Fleece (that’s Anne) will be sending that along to Stirling.
Amy is parting with this lovely book – Victorian Lace Today. (I own this book, and I absolutely love it.)
She’s somehow going to imagine a life without it, and send it to Olivia P.
Here’s a big one – a tremendously generous gift from Tanja Luescher
She’s giving away not five, not ten, but TWENTY EBOOKS. Recipeints can choose between Stories of Inspiration,
or they can make their own e-book of any 7 of her patterns – excluding Daddy’s Prayer Shawl. (Tanja is ridiculously kind, and that one is dedicated to another cause.) The lucky knitters are: Elizabeth H, Jen G, Debra L, Lisa B, Erica TC, Lucy N, Dianne G, Lori B, Danielle D, Karen F, Sue, Sara D, Lynda K, Ruth Ann H, Annette A, Bridget K, Barb, Linda W, Chelsy J, Elizabeth L, and Brenda C. (Whew.)
Anik has 2 skeins of Cherry Hill Yarn Supersock Select (right from her cozy little stash)
Kate is somehow (I cannot imagine how she’s doing it) has FOUR gifts to give away.
1. Yarn Chef 75/25 BFL/silk, 4 oz- She’ll send that along to Kate F.
2. Becoming Art BFL in Dread Pirate Roberts, 4 oz for Raven J.