1. There are all these things that I keep forgetting/neglecting to tell you because I can’t make it all go together so I’m not even going to try. Prepare yourself. This entry will be chaos.

2. Socks continue to scorch the needles they are so darned fast. Pair by Friday for sure I think.

3. Total for MSF/DWB also scorching. We’re up to the staggering and remarkable total of $590 768.

Fear us, for we are mighty. (There’s more too, as I make my way through my inbox one chunk at a time. As you can imagine, a couple of hundred grand in small chunks is a lot of tallying. I don’t mind at all, but that’s why it’s taking a while. To get even a thousand dollars in $20 bites takes 50 emails. Patience please. If I haven’t acknowledged your gift yet, it’s not in the tally- but it will be, I do a bunch every day.) As promised, we have more karmic balancing gifts. (If you think you’re the person that won, check your email. I’ve sent notes to everyone got lucky.)

The gracious Barb has two things she’d like to share. A set of these beautiful Spinner’s Notecards will be going to Kelly P. and a skein of this beautiful laceweight,

it’s 90 Canadian alpaca, 10 silk 1300 yds, which will be enough for Tracy T. to make something really good.

Marie in NJ has decided to give three skeins of this Wool in the Woods “Fuzzy Wuzzy”, (colorway Thief in the Night)

to Dragon P. (Well, she didn’t exactly decide it should go there, that was a random number generator, but you know what I mean.)

Aubrey of Goodies Unlimited (I love everything they make) has been very generous, she has four $25 gift certificates to give away, and those are going to Kristi P, Tamara G, Holly G, and Luciana. (The four of you should give Aubrey some extra love. She had to have her gallbladder out just before Christmas. I don’t want to tell you what to get, but I have a tub of Everything Balm that I’m pretty attached to.)

Beth, another soap making goddess, has three sets of six bars. They’re glycerine based, contain natural dyes and nice things, and are scented with essential oils.

and the random number generator says that they will be going to live with Diane N, Sabrina D and Janet H.

Finally today, my friend and yours, the indefatigable Cat Bordhi, is going to sign one each of her books and ship them off to live with five different knitters. (Probably not until after TNNA though.) New Pathways for Sock Knitters, Book One is going home to Brownie C. Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles is for Dawn V. A Treasury of Magical Knitting is going to live with Leslie M. A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting loves Brie C, and a copy of Cat’s novel Treasure Forest (which I read and loved- a lot) is going to Melissa S.

A big virtual hug to everyone helping me make this happen.

4. There are more gifts to come, so don’t worry if you didn’t get an email from me and you think you’re being left out. You’re not.

5. Sam really needs mittens and a hat. She is having trouble being very, very hip, and very, very warm, since she feels that all of her old woollies are “not very cool”. (I think this means they are colours.) I’m going to have to figure something out, since it’s -25 here today.

6. The ankle x-ray came back yesterday, and it’s not a stress fracture, but an osteochondral injury. This isn’t tremendously bad news, since mine is “stable” and “minor” but it does mean that I have to keep staying off it. Intense negotiations with the Dr. have resulted in a plan involving a cane and brace (I was opposed to crutches because they are hard on your hands and you can’t carry a coffee. If I can’t carry a coffee, I can’t do it.) for three weeks, and then “imaging re-evaluation” and referral to a specialist if things aren’t a lot better.

7. I am going to have to find a non-weight bearing exercise to do for the next three weeks, because it turns out that going for runs and walks is a crime prevention strategy for my personality.

8. I am sort of glad it is an osteochondral injury, because one of the other choices was that maybe it was “gout”. Since I (whether I am right or wrong) associate gout with people who look like Winston Churchill, I am sort of glad I don’t have it. As I said to the doctor, I’m a fit, active, 40 year old vegetarian in sensible shoes. Gout would be inappropriate.

9. Osteochondral injuries are usually injuries of “overuse” that athletes get. I think that’s better than gout. (The fact that I am not an athlete does not make this feel any less noble.)

10. I know all of that is wrong, but I can’t help it.

11. I want a cane like House.

12. Have I told you guys about the special Bohus exhibit that’s about to happen? It’s called Radiant Knits: The Bohus Tradition, and its opening at the American Swedish Institute on Friday January 23 in Minneapolis. (The fabulous Minnesota Knitting Guild is a sponsor.) I can’t go, but I think that anybody who can should hustle there as fast as they can. Solveig Gustafsson will be there talking about her work dyeing and recreating the Bohus Designs, Bohus Stickning designer Kerstin Olsson will talk about her work at Bohus… it’s going to be gripping, all of it. (Make sure you scroll around on the Swedish Institute page.) There are tons of events, and I know a lot of them are sold out, but a lot aren’t. I think that anyone within striking distance should turn up. Bohus is an important part of knitting history, and besides it being a really, really interesting topic, it’s important to support knitting events like this, particularly educational ones.

We’re in serious danger of losing much of this knowledge about knitting, and if we don’t support attempts to pass on the expertise and experiences of the knitters before us, much of it will be lost in the shuffle. Bohus Stickning organization was begun in Sweden in the 1930’s during the last great depression. The wife of the Governor of Bohuslän helped a group of women to create a co-operative organization to help support their families. (Actually, since many of the women’s husbands were unemployed, knitting became the main support for a lot of them.)

It’s a timely and interesting topic.

13. You should read the comments from yesterday. There are some socks there that are purportedly “fast” that I hadn’t heard of. Totally worth a read.

14. Speaking of reading, I just finished Housekeeping (on Cari’s say so) and it was really lovely.

15. Also very good, Franklin’s book, It Itches. I’ve been remiss in not saying anything about this, but truth be told, other than flipping through and giggling several times (mostly to make sure that he hadn’t written a terrible book that I was going to have to avoid discussing with him.) I hadn’t had a really good sit down with it. I finally did, and it’s very grand. I quite liked the wee essays (especially the “Lost Knitting Diaries of the Famous”) and quite frankly, I know knitters who should be relating pretty hard to the cartoon on page 101. (Hint. That may not be a compliment.) I’ve heard my work compared to Franklin’s and his to mine, and I don’t know how he feels about being compared to me, but after having a nice cuppa and a perusal of his little book… I’m flattered to be in that rarest of niches with him. The proud, the few…

The Knitting Humourists. Nicely done buddy.