Apologies for the lack of a blog yesterday, I'm fine (thanks for asking/emailing), I went to a birth, so now I am gloriously, fabulously, incredibly "off call" for the rest of the summer. I put my pager in a drawer. It felt good.
Number of consecutive hours awake : 31
Number of cups of coffee needed to do this : 5
Number of cups of coffee that I actually had because the hospital does not have adequate provision of coffee services: 1
The number of times I complained about this to hospital staff: 7, plus I wrote a letter when I got home.
Type of baby: Boy, very cute, and I'm not just saying that, because we all know that there are a lot of babies out there who look like Winston Churchill at first. This one really was cute.
Weight of baby: 9lb 13oz.
Number of times I told the mother she was impressing the hell out of me: too many to count.
Amount knit at the birth: almost one repeat of the Cherry Aran.
Sticking with the Cherry Aran is going to be a difficult thing, since I may have lost control of myself at a S&B at Lettuce Knit on Wednesday evening. I had the best time, and did two of my favourite things.
First, I corrupted another knitter/blogger, Marmalade blogs about it here. (If you are a Canadian, and feel the love that I do for Canadian spellings, check out the "letter zed" button she made. I'll be ripping that off shortly") I don't feel bad about the corruption I wrought either. She's a really neat person and a terrific knitter who just needed an enthusiastic session of enabling to...er... come over to the dark side of renegade 'you can do it' knitting. She's now going to try converting a sock pattern to "toe-ups", and she's knitting a Fiddlesticks knitting "Rippling waters" scarf, and I did sort of encourage her to buy some laceweight yarn. Yes, I'm aware that there is a fine line between "enabler" and "pusher". No, I do not think I crossed that line. Yes, I will help her if she gets stuck on the lace knitting, and Yes, I do think that she still likes me.
Second, I bought some yarn. Luckily for Kelly (Marmalade) and my bank account, I was paged to the birth before I did any real damage to either of us. The poncho fixation culminated in the purchase of some Mission Falls 1824 wool
enough for a shortish poncho which I am quite certain I am not starting until the Cherry Aran is done. I usually shun superwash, on account of the slipperiness doesn't agree with me. This time though, I'm sort of looking for slippery. I got the new Interweave knits, and a new circular, and this...
This is Blue Heron handpainted cotton laceweight. There are 1050 yards in this bad boy, more than enough to make a version of a totally funky poncho I saw at Lettuce knit. Laceweight yarn knit on 9mm needles. I'm flipped out about it. Completely flipped out. I have no idea how I'm going to keep myself from abandoning the 49 other works in progress and dedicating every single waking moment of my life working on it.
This is a better representation of the colours. Don't you want it? Don't you love it? How can you go on living without it? You should have it. You will be happier and more fulfilled if you have it. Did you hear me say it was more that a thousand yards? That's a lot of yarn. The sun will shine a little brighter. You know, even if you don't like cotton, this is cotton on big needles, it's different. You can do it. It's going to be fun, we can do it together! C'mon. I'll meet you at Lettuce knit next week and I'll admire it and everyone will want to be us.
Now you have a better idea of what happened to Kelly/Marmalade, only she could touch the yarn, thus increasing my cosmic sphere of influence.
I hope she's ok.
Posted by Stephanie at July 23, 2004 1:12 PMI am leaving my half eaten lunch on my desk and heading out to my car right now! I must go to Lettuce Knit. I must have that yarn. I must knit a poncho. Toronto is somewhere north of Austin, right? I know how to get to Chicago from here....I'm sure I can get a map along the way.....
Dang, you're good.....
Posted by: Toya at July 23, 2004 1:29 PMI remember you mentioned a while ago that you always knit something for the baby while attending a birth. Is the cherry aran for the boy who was born yesterday, or did you actually have time to work on something else as well?
Posted by: jodi at July 23, 2004 1:37 PMThe Blue Heron is gorgeous! Wowza! I got some interesting yarn on ebay - no label or anything but there are several thousand yards there....little slubby, just about DK I think. I've been eyeing it and thinking...hmmm, ponchooooooooo a'la Homer Simpson....
Wished I lived close enough for you to corrupt me! I'm willing! Sigh. Virtual enablement will just have to do....
Posted by: Lisa in Oregon at July 23, 2004 1:49 PMYou have to fess up!!! What does the totally funky poncho look like? I have been hunting for a great poncho pattern for weeks now and haven't found anything to my liking.
Posted by: Diane in Virginia at July 23, 2004 2:01 PMGood lord - what are you feeding that Morning Glory, LOL...gotta love perspective...hee hee
Posted by: Eklectika at July 23, 2004 2:08 PMWell, it's been tough. Visions of the Blue Heron yarn have filled my waking hours, and I've come *this* close several times to going back to the store and buying the skein I was fondling ever-so-lovingly. Thankfully (or unfortunately, depending how you look at it) my bank balance is pretty skint, so I will have to content myself with the Artisan Lace merino you talked me into instead ;)
Posted by: Kelly at July 23, 2004 2:17 PMBlue Heron - yet another reason to come to MD for a knitting pilgrimage! It's lovely here in early May... (wink wink, nudge nudge)
Posted by: Amie at July 23, 2004 2:39 PMTalk about yarn petting - that second Blue Heron picture looked to me like a colorful cat curled up in the sun! Absolutely gorgeous!
Posted by: Elizabeth in Norway at July 23, 2004 4:26 PMYou had me contemplating a run to Toronto this weekend (never mind that with the driving time, I'd be able to spend 1.3 minutes buying the yarn before heading home) until the word, "cotton." Urg. I'm going back to spinning my yak now.
Posted by: roggey at July 23, 2004 4:34 PMThanks for the link to Marmalade. I enjoyed her links to Canadian English sites. The memories go way back. My parents called my blankie equivalent a serviette. That was a polite term since it was actually a cotton diaper (clean). Please show a picture of the funky poncho. Suddenly i must make one. Augh.
Posted by: Cynthia at July 23, 2004 5:15 PMMorgen just did a gorgeous shell in blue heron (although not a laceweight) and is building a jacket to go on top of it. She can't say enough good about their yarn.
Yarn like that should be illegal! If a picture is enough to corrupt... Maybe I should stop reading your blog before I am irriversibly corrupted! You hold such power. But I am still bravely trying to finish some of my works in progress. I even brought my aran cardigan home from the cottage to finish the sleeves so I may be released from my foolish resolution. If I can do it, surely the Harlot must? Can the poncho not wait just one more week or two? Do I have to remind you about the Dublin Bays crying the blues in the bottom of your stash?! (Having said all that I must admit to spending way too much time looking at lace patterns!)
Posted by: Barbara from Nova Scotia at July 23, 2004 9:24 PMWow! I love you spinning/dyeing! and I love your accounts of your daughter. I'm a 16year-old, and a knitter of 11 years and your blog makes me laugh so much! After reading your blog I started using Mission Falls and I've fallen in love with their cotton. Thanks so much!
Posted by: Renata at July 23, 2004 9:59 PMI want one. I want two. I really must have that. So amazingly beautiful. Seriously... what do I have to do to get that yarn? Like, email me the link. I'll knit that yarn in a heartbeat. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Posted by: Jon at July 24, 2004 1:22 AMCongratulations on a successful birth!! Did you say 9 lbs., 13 oz.?!?!??
Damn.
Now, that is impressive. I'm dying to ask about mode of delivery, state of the perineum, etc., but since this isn't the forum, I will instead compliment you on the loveliness of the Cherry Aran. It's going to be SUCH an awesome baby sweater. Can't wait to see the poncho...
Posted by: Ann at July 24, 2004 9:34 AMWow. Must have that yarn. And Blue Heron is just down the road from me, so I should support a local business. That would make it less selfish, hee hee!
Posted by: Laura at July 24, 2004 1:01 PMStephanie Pearl, did we not discuss the truly awful qualities of 1824 wool?
I love Mags Kandis's colors, and you know I love things Canadian, but that stuff pills and stretches and shreds like you won't believe!
One wear and it looks like ancient HELL.
I made a beautiful striped pull and a fine baby Aran sweater.
Hateful dreadful.
I remember when I went into labor with my daughter, bringing my knitting bag into the birthing room with me (at the time, I was doing a fairly complicated edging on a lace shawl). In between contractions, I started laughing hysterically at my folly in thinking I would happily knit cockleshell edging while pushing a baby out. I guess it's easier to knit when you are on the other side of the delivery table.
Posted by: Carolyn at July 25, 2004 10:23 AMWell, now Mme Stephaine has "explained" that she's chosen 1824 for its drecky qualities, they being chic and branchees at the moment.
Underline AT THE MOMENT.
This would seem to suit a poncho, its being the most "in the moment" garment I can imagine.
So knit on, Steph. You'll get that desirable ratty look after the first weraing, you bet.
"Branchees?"
Posted by: rams at July 25, 2004 12:47 PMFeminine plural of "branche" which means sort of "trendy" "now" "of the moment" in French.
Feminine plural because it was modifying "qualities".
Merci bien. (Ain't blogs educational?)
Posted by: rams at July 25, 2004 7:35 PMI'm confused. How can you write for Interweave Press and not be subscribed? Don't they owe you like a lifetime subscription or something?
Posted by: jenifleur at July 26, 2004 3:29 AMJe vous en pris, Mme Susan.
Posted by: Kathy Merrick at July 26, 2004 8:42 AMYay for sleeping beepers in drawers!
The Blue Heron skein is beautiful.
Posted by: Loose Ends Melissa at July 26, 2004 4:27 PMYarn "pusher" sounds so...tawdry. Yarn "enabler"? No, that doesn't seem to work either. What about something more positive, something like "Yarn Evangelist"?
Posted by: Pam at July 27, 2004 11:55 AM