1. I went to the eye doctor today and had those stupid drops. The appointment was at 9am, and I’m only just now able to see my knitting or my screen. Totally dumbass.
2. As a direct result of the eye drops, I dropped a DPN down the kitchen sink.
3. It was on a tea towel and I didn’t see it (on account of the drops) and when I picked up the towel the thing tipped right in. Sneaky little arse.
4. I was able to locate one of those telescoping magnet thingies in the junk drawer and tried to get the needle out.
5. Turns out that aluminium isn’t magnetic. Who knew? I wonder where I was that day in high school.
6. I understand that the next step in retrieving the needle is to dismantle the plumbing.
7. Because I value being married, and because we have a 120 year old house that crumbles to bits if you look at it funny, I have decided (in a powerful moment of maturity) not to dismantle the plumbing. I have a feeling I would have a hard time explaining to Joe why we have a $500 plumbing bill because I was trying to recover a 50¢ Susan Bates aluminium needle.
8. Today being June 1st, I picked a random bag out of my self imposed sock club, and got The Embossed Leaves socks (from Favorite Socks 
9. Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned $%^&*ing blindness, I screwed up winding it and now have two big balls and two little ones. 
10. Despite the blindness and even though I could see the chart as well as a 15 year old girl sees your point about homework, I knit for a while on my Wavy Leaf scarf. 
The scarf is seen here minus the repeat that bore no resemblance to the rest of the pattern.
11. My sight has now mostly returned. My rage is not yet abated. Thank goodness I can see well enough to open a beer.
I see that you haven’t lost your perspective on the important things in life – enjoy the beer!
Oops. When your sight returns, try a strong flashlight and needle-nosed pliers or a long pair of tweezers. The knitting needle can’t have gone far. It will never make it past the gooseneck in the drain.
Have you tried a long stick with sticky putty on it?We had a popscicle stick down the stick which eventually plugged up the whole sink.
Beer o’clock can take the edge off ‘one of those days’. Sigh. Knit on with confidence through all crises.
The green yarn for the sock looks great, deliciously interesting.
One of the good things about knitting is that you can undo the mistakes – a bit like gardening, the tings that die and decompose aren’t around to worry you anymore.
With all the socks and scarves you’re cranking out, you’ll be way ahead in the christmas knitting dept.! (I’m jealous)
The only time in my life I wished i was on Twitter was this morning when i screamed at my monitor, “It’s aluminum Stephanie!” But I knew someone would point it out and get you some help.
On a better day, you can pull out the Signatures to improve your mood, or if you don’t have them in the appropriate size for the pattern and gauge, Signatures should gift them to you for all the sales they make from your recommendations.
Tell Joe, though, because a 5″ needle stuck in the drainpipe can cause all manner of ‘backing up’ in the debris department. Been there, done that- mainly with kids’ toys.
Hmmmm, if it’s hollow (and some of mine are) it might float. It can’t have gone past the bend. I bet if you run water and stand by with needle nosed pliers you might be able to snag it.
My concern with the ‘just leave it’ approach would be that it might encourage future clogs. Since your house is the same vintage as mine, I doubt you have a garbage disposal. But on the off chance, I also feel moved to suggest not running it until the needle is recovered.
I agree with Kayten. I left something even smaller in my drain, once, and within a week, the drain was clogged and stuff was running all over my kitchen.
If you’re adept with chopsticks, you might try picking it up with those. I like JL’s idea of a long stick with sticky putty on it (bubble gum would work as well).
I knit the embossed leaves socks when the book first came out (Panda Cotton in a green — don’t remember the name). My husband still says these are my most impressive looking socks (definitely not the hardest ones I’ve knit). Love the color you chose.
Oh, I hate those stupid drops. Glad all you lost was a needle.
Pickle thingie from camp comes immediately to mind. Small so can fit through small trap openings, expands to grab needle, retracts to hopefully hold needle. The double stick tape added to the ends might help if needle tends to slip out.
Now to get my own pair of Falling Leaves OTN. I don’t have one stuck down the drain.
I refuse to let them put those drops in my eyes anymore, after the time I almost got killed on the highway trying to drive home after my appointment and then one eye got better fairly quickly and the other one was bad for 14 hours.
I bet the needle in the drain will cause trouble down the road – maybe try gum on the end of a stick or something.
On the needle thing – I once saw one of those home improvement ideas for retrieving small things from sinks – Use a shop vac or other vacuum cleaner with a hose. Cover the hose opening with something like a piece of hose. Now put the vacuum tube over the top of the sink and turn it on – they were raving about how well it worked! Good luck!
Next year, try to book the last appointment of the day. 🙂 I hate those drops too.
I agree with Judy at 4:44 – a vacuum might do the trick. Cover the end with an old nylon so the dpn doesn’t get sucked into the vacuum.
Otherwise, try bubble gum or similar stick stuff on the end of your telescoping magnet. I’m pretty sure you’ll want to get the dpn out one way or another, or you’ll be having clogs from stuff caught on the dpn. 🙁
Hope your eyes straighten out soon. The scarf looks lovely. Have another beer.
My plumber has wicked long tweezers that he uses to unclog our drains. Turns out you can get them at a hardware store for about $6 US. Might be worth a try, especially if you can rig a little something sticky to the ends of the tweezers to help them grip the needle. I agree with the other posts that the needle could eventually cause a clog, just like a pencil, or lollipop stick, etc. stuck in your vacuum hose would. Good luck!
Hey! Sorry to hear about the temporary semi-blindness. Sounds like teh suck to me.
Just wanted to say, I heart the Embossed Leaves socks very hard, I’ve knit them probably five times. Also, I designed an alternate heel for them which I think you might enjoy: it makes the leaves on the leg continue over the heel in a pleasing manner, rather than stop abruptly. If you want to see what I mean, I’m Pixieface on Ravelry, and there are several pairs of modified heel flap Embossed Leaves socks in my projects… and I can email you the files if you like what you see and want them! 😀
I’ve spent the last ten minutes trying to decide if needles made of metals with magnetic properties would be really, really awesome or truly awful. I can make an argument for both, really. Perhaps someone far more entrepreneurial than I could run with this.
Either way: enjoy that beer!
I was thinking gum on the telescoping doohickey, too. As long as you don’t end up with a dpn AND gum stuck in the pipe. 🙂
And you thought knitting with dilated eyes was a good idea because, why?
OF course, last time I had mine done, I went into a kitchen store with loads of glassware…
FYI,if the needle had steel in it, the magnet would have worked. Other than traveling back in time, I have no better strategies than those already proposed. Good luck!
Definitely don’t leave the DPN down there. I like Judy’s suggestion about the shop vac. When we had the shower retiled and the tile guy let all manner of debris and gunk fall into the drain, he used a shop vac to suck it all out. And it’s probably far easier to extract a DPN from a vac hose than from a pipe under the sink.
I just wanted to tell you that I enjoy reading your blog. It inspires me to get off my behind and knit something. Thanks for being my knitting inspiration.
I have no new advice on the drain problem, there are some good ideas here already. but do let us know how this turns out. Also the scarf is lovely
Try wrapping duct (duck?) tape around a ruler, sticky side out, and use that to try to snag the needles.
I too don’t like the drops but appreciate the diagnostic tool. They give me reversing drops at the end. It still takes hours for me to return to normal vision but I’m not completely helpless during it.
Agree with the others, tell Joe. Some/most drains unscrew at the sink to get the basket/brace thing out of the way. Then a sticky stick should grab the wayward needle.
Re: The needle down the drain, have you considered a long knitting needle furnished with a goodly amount of duct tape or really sticky mailing tape wrapped sticky-side-out, which could “grab” the needle in the drain? Has worked for me, if the conditions down there are fairly dry. There are more insane things to do than use a blow dryer down the kitchen sink drain, but this does write another one off the bizarre list. It is better than paying out money…
Steph, I feel your pain. I must caution you, however, that however tempting it is to “just leave the needle,” in the long run this is going to cause you untold amounts of grief. A foreign object stuck down the kitchen drain is going to cause an untold amount of clogs down the road. Coming clean now will save your sanity, and quite possibly your marriage. I know Joe is a saint; however, even a saint has limits and having to replace all the plumbing at a later date could well push him beyond that limit!
Just be glad it wasn’t a Signature needle. I checked them out when you wrote about them ages ago, and YIKES! Gorgeous, yes, but they don’t deserve the garbage disposal.
And have another beer!
Do you have a pair of needle-nose pliers? They might be able to reach the needle (I take it you don’t have a garbage disposal, so that’s good).
But today you were fully occupied .. you didn’t watch daytime tv, and you did remember some of those science lessons you were actually awake in.
Every cloud has a silver coloured lining – which may or may not be magnetic, depending on the metal making up the silver colouring!
ps I totally adore and am addicted to DIC Smooshy!
I absolutely hate those drops…they say it only affects you for an hour or so but one time I went at 4 p.m and the next morning my pupils were still dilated. I thought the bright potlights at work were going to burn my eyeballs out…there is also that adventure driving home that I detest because everything is blurry….
Stephanie. I love you. That is all.
i really like the idea of silly putty or something else soft and sticky. the silly putty or gum sounds good b/c even if it’s too wet to stick, you may be able to snag the end of the dpn and pull it up? sort of poke at it (gently!) to get the end into the putty/gum.
Have you tried some Gum?
Good luck!
Be thankful your eyes are back to almost normal after only 7 hrs. My eyes take 12 to 24 to get back to normal.
Stephanie, ask your doctor to give you drops that reverse the blindness when the exam is complete. It is a miracle and you can actually see after a bit — not wait ’til the end of the day to see.
Interesting that nobody has a suggestion for getting a 15 year old girl to see your point about homework. Guess that means DPNs in sinks must be an easier problem.
Sorry about your day…except the beer part. Lots of good ideas here–fingers crossed that something works. Then, maybe someone can help me with the lovely #5 Harmony (wood) knitting needle that I SAT on last night. I glued it (ok, don’t laugh), but I don’t really harbor hopes that that will work. Is it a goner? Not a good moon for needles, apparently.
My eye doctor gives the option to have the OptoMap instead of drops. It’s a super-cool high-res kind of picture that lets me see my own retina on the computer screen. He charges $40 for it because insurance doesn’t cover the whole thing yet. Then my eye doctor can show me what he’s looking at, and looking for, which I always find fascinating. And I can still drive. And knit.
IIRC you had a new kitchen put in in the last few years, didn’t you? In which case the U bend under the kitchen sink should be quite easy to empty and the needle is 99% likely to be in there – unless it was very short, broken or bendy!
But get Joe to do it, just in case. That way it won’t be your fault if it all goes horribly wrong.
Do you remember the old fashioned olive grabbers?
I bet that would work. Good Luck!
And Georgia: Try emailing Knitpicks. Their customer service is legendary. They may send you a new one.
I saw the eye doc and got drops at 8 AM this morning. I came home and went back to bed. I told the kids not to wake me for anything. They must have known I menat it as they were unusually self sufficient. It still took hours after I woke up to to get normal vision back. The doc says it takes an hour, but he is a known liar about this matter.
Well, if you can have a beer on a Tuesday, then I can too. It’s 5:00 somewhere, right?
Gorgeous green things you’re knitting, by the way!
Hmmm. I seem to recall something about a DPN, a rental car, and a big marital fight about a blue aluminum DPN being WORTH paying for a whole other day on the rental. Yet not worth $500.00. Good to know you have limits, lady ;).
I make the homework point on a regular basis — every chance I get. I’m not waiting till they’re fifteen.
I would have cracked open a beer the moment I knew blindness set in, I mean…who the hell can see anything when they do that to you??? Might as well get your happy on 🙂
Well I don’t know… I do love me my Susan Bates’ DPNs! I’m thinking that drain might have to come apart—the DPN is still down there somewhere. I don’t think it could make the turn at the “catch.” Maybe you know a handy guy who would trade services for socks? Lotsa’ luck! (I was LOL. Don’t worry, tomorrow will be better.)
The next time you go the the eye doctor, tell them it took 8 hours for these drops to wear off, and beg them for the weakest drops they have. Turns out there are two kinds of drops (lazy docs use both, so you dilate faster) and one of them comes in 2 strengths, and those of us with really sensitive eyes only need one drop of the weaker strength. If they know you’re sensitive, they should use less medicine; if they don’t, find another eye doctor! That’s what I did, after having one of the aforementioned lazy docs, and it made a huge difference.
BTW, the lighter your eye color, the more sensitive to dilating drops; weird, eh?
Sounds like a beer day to me, if I had one I would join you.
My new eye doctor revealed to me that they make another kind of eye drops – they take 30 minutes to work instead of 5-10, which is why no one ever uses them. But he let me try them out, and it was seriously SO MUCH BETTER. Your eyes dilate but you still have a fair amount of focus control. I highly recommend asking about them for next time!
Not to be a smart aleck, but perhaps these appointments should be scheduled for later in the day? One year I scheduled GYN, Dentist and Optometrist in same day. Saved time, but not $$ as I then had to go out to dinner to calm myself from generalized anger/humiliation of day. Tomorrow’s Wednesday. Hope it’s better.
So, do we just leave the dpn in the drain?
I can’t see for hours and hours after those horrid drops, either.
I always make my eye appt at the end of the day. Then I don’t go around blind all day. Just all evening………..
Sometimes if you plunge hard enough you can bring up … all kinds of things. My husband got a toothbrush up, that way, one time.
Not that we wanted it back, you understand, just that we didn’t think it would be good to have it down there………..
Those drops are killer and about the only thing I can do afterwards is take a nap!
Did they give you those nasty plastic enormous dark glasses to wear home from the eye dr.? You are a resourceful woman–I know you will get that dpn out of your drain. 🙂
Oh man, I can sympathize. I had cataract surgery recently and it took TWO DAYS for the dilating drops to wear off. I kid you not. Apparently, I’m seriously sensitive to these drops. Since then, I’ve also had an exam where the doctor puts a gel in my eye to see even better. It’s worse than blurry, it’s impossible to see. When I come from that, I just take a nap. It’s not worth even trying to do anything else!
So sorry. I had to drive the carpool the last time I had my eyes dilated. That was a fun trip.
Yup, I get those drops every year, and every year the appointment lands on a sunny day, too, which just makes it worse. I have a 45-minute drive home afterwards with all the kids in the car (I take my boys the same day I go, and they get dilated too). I’ve gotten very good at compensating, but I definitely wouldn’t try knitting!
Yeah, I think you need to get it out of the drain… Your pipes should be fairly easy to take apart. Lets not talk about the faucet.
Friends don’t let friends knit blind.
Because there is a history of glaucoma in my family, I have to have my eyes dilated every single time I see the opthamologist. And do I ever remember to request a late afternoon appointment, so I can just go home afterward and veg out till bedtime and wake up with clear eyesight the next day? Nooooooooooooo. Based on the number of times I have requested an early morning appointment, on could surmise that I apparently like stumbling around all day in a haze.
I LOVE Dream in Color Smooshy! I find though that I get to use a much larger needle with this yarn than I would with other sock yarns. Have you found this to be the case with your own knitting? I usually use a 2.25 or a 2.75 but with the Smooshy I end up with a 3 or 3.25.
Also: I’ll echo what the others said–get the needle out. If you don’t, you’ll surely get something caught on it and plug up the whole affair at the most inconvenient time.
Oh my goodness you are funny even if the circumstances aren’t. thank you for the chuckle and good luck on the retrieve.
http://www.amazon.com/KD-2391-Flexible-Retrieving-Tool/dp/B00004SQ36
This long spring tool is useful for all manner of retrieval of that ilk.
Stuff some putty into a long straw and force over the dpn end.
Throw yourself on Joe’s mercy 🙂
May I suggest something like chewed gum or duct tape on the end of the magnet thingie? Reminds me of the newest show I’ve seen – Minute to Win It. A trick like that could have won you $10,000 on that show. Maybe its time to crack open another beer… ps – nice countertop.
I went to a doctor 2 years ago to change my eye glasses and they did first an eye exam and I used eye drops of course. After that they put me to choose the rims. Stupid. Ah, by the way was Hakim… professionals…
I saw your tweet about losing the needle down the sink and spent longer than I should admit to wondering “how?”
Oh, my….I’m so sorry, but I laughed when I read your post. Tomorrow is a new day.
♥
Thank you, Kate Lang at 5:47. I will do that!
How about those weird 3 prongy pickle/olive things they sell at gormet stores…sort of like a pair of tweezers, but 3 prongs. 50/50 chance the needle went in point down…would make live a whole lot easier.
My condolences, but let it be noted that you don’t really need sight to open a beer bottle or can. I’m sure you could just do it by feel. The dilating drops-been there, done that, and am now at the point where I have to see the ophthalmologist only once a year instead of once a week. The last time(in March), I had to sit in the restaurant in the building and eat a second breakfast until I could see well enough to drive home. Actually, I probably should have stayed for lunch and supper.
I empathize with you on the eyesight. My glasses broke on sunday, so I’ve been wearing the ones with the old prescription. In addition to not being able to see much of anything, I also get a headache at precisely 4pm. Thankfully, the glasses are fixed and I can pick them up in the morning!
I live in a 120 year old house too, and if I lost a DPN down the drain, we would most defiantly have to take the plumbing apart to retrieve it. Those things are sharp, and my pipes are thin.
kay…..here ya go. Do something INCREDIBLY nice for Joe, just before you leave. Bat your eyelashes and say, “Gosh, honey, I SURE hope that my DPN doesn’t cause you any trouble while I’m gone. Boy, I SURE do miss that needle!” Then smile sweetly. (OK, I crack myself up!!!!!)
Just maybe, MAYBE, you might have that needles in a box with a ribbon when you get home.
I’m voting for the pickle plucker, if you have one or know someone who does… I’ve retrieved more than one ring from the drain that way. Good luck!
You need one of those telescoping thingies with a wee metal grabber on the end that grasps when you pull the knob at the other end – these are found in hardware stores for persons who drop important reassembling bits into crevasses in engines. I would also not take the loss of a DPN without a jolly good wrangle. Is this one of the precious blue dpns that caused the near disassembly of the rental car?
oh thanks for the laugh! and hate to point it out, but that beer thing? it might re-impair your vision! so, i’m just saying, maybe stay away from the sink? 🙂
I *hate* those drops. I’ve had it done once, and the bastard, I mean doctor, had the audacity to tell me I’d be okay to drive home wearing sunglasses. I couldn’t see for freaking 6 hours.
Chewed gum on the end of a stick will get the dpn out. You can’t just leave it there. All sorts of flotsum will attach to it and clog up your sink. Causing you to have a plumber come and raid your bank account, I mean, fix your plumbing.
By the way, I went to the eye doc today too. I HATE those stinking drops.
You may want to dismantle that plumbing… my sink kept clogging and when my superhero guy dismantled it, we discovered the previous tenants had dropped one of those turkey pins down it and everything was catching on it – it was terribly gross and smelly.
I totally hate those eye drops too – if I want my world altered – that’s what psychotropic drugs are for…
YH – tell Joe – It’s not that hard to get the DPN out of the S-bend now but later it will be a mess. Dropped a Q-tip down mine once and caused all kinds of trouble. Fess up and get the look now instead of the double look later – ‘you dropped a needle down the drain AND you didn’t tell me’ look.
Sorry for your rough afternoon Stephanie! Hope the evening goes better.
And kinda surprised that no ophthalmologists have spoke up yet {G}
Ok, so I have an idea. Do you have something like a dowel rod that you can wrap some duck tape on with a loop of that tape exposed (sticky side)? If you can stick that down the drain (I’m hoping you can SEE the dpn enough to ‘grab’ it with with sticky tape?? lol Sorry, but I have a lot of experience improvising….but might be worth a try!
I lost a cable needle in my printer. Still can’t get the thing out.
What a coincidence! I’m knitting the cover socks from the same book. And I agree, it’s a keeper.
That has to be the funniest blog entry to date!
I love the way you write! I have to have my eyes dilated and tested every six months and I absolutely hate it, so I can totally feel your pain!!
Thanks for cheering me up today!
Wendy
I’m with you on those drops. This last time I decided to not suck it up and asked my DH to drive me each way. I felt so much better not being in charge of my transportation. He took me out to lunch afterwards, thus delaying trying to see any knitting or spinning or the computer.
Why do they tell us each and every time that the bluriness will only last a couple of hours and each and every time we go along with the lie?
Smart thinking on the plumbing.
Namaste
You know what I think the best part of this is?? The fact that you have a hundred people seriously concerned about your eyes, your needles and your pipes (not to mention Joe!) You’re loved Steph… you’re loved.
After all that you may need a rum and coke!
I feel for you. The only thing I hate as bad as those stupid eyedrops is being numb from the dentist. But you can still knit with a fat-feeling mouth, so I think you get more credit. I’m sorry about your dpn. There’s bound to be some way to get it out of there. I agree with a previous commenter, let Joe be the rescuer of the dpn to absolve the knitting of any culpability….
Wow, in your voice I hear the same thing I feel in my head and heart. The need for a vacation, a break, a time away, a wind down, a no phone, no i-phone, no cell phone, no computer, no neighbors dropping by, no kids/critters demanding me first, kind of vacation. Not a “vacation” with work travel, which means you go some place pretty but can’t quite get beyond the window because you have appointments and you come home exhausted and come down with shingles because you slept three hours in two and a half days because well “there were meetings”. No, I’m talking a no one can find me because I’m lost in the trees with my stack of books and I’ve even left the knitting home minus one tiny happy sock kind of vacation, and my spouse and I are gonna get it on because we’ve finally had three nights good sleep kind of vacation, and you wake up in the morning and you don’t have to use a spoon to peel your eye lids back kind of vacation.
~siiiigh~ Maybe I’m just getting really wistful here….
OMG DO NOT LEAVE THAT NEEDLE IN THE PLUMBING. When DS was about 3 he “helped” DH install a garbage disposal. Wellll, the sink never really drained right after that. DH would plunge it (yeah like that’s gonna work) and it would be kinda ok for a couple of weeks and then be slow to drain. After 2 yrs. I threatened to have FIL look at the sink. DH took it apart and a nut driver had been left in the plumbing. It was all nasty and gunky and totally disgusting from all the yuck that stuck on it going down the drain for 2 years. Again, don’t leave that needle in there!!!!!!!
Cathy
If you try the vacuum trick, be sure it is a shop vac or wet vac. You do Not want to suck up some water with a regular vacuum.
Love love love that book!
Also, I’m sort of impressed that you a. own one of those telescoping magnet thingies and b. assume all homes have one laying about.
I’m pretty sure those eye drops are some sort of joke I have not yet figured out the punchline to.
Wow! So many creative answers I would have never considered! I can SO relate to your experiences… I am scheduled for the same next week. And I agree with the post above about driving home after, too. Not my favorite!
I sooooo feel your pain, even if I do express it in peels of laughter.
A few years ago I too had to endure the eye drop thing. I also wanted something to do whilst waiting for the drops to wear off. What to do?
I’ll wind yarn! Yup, good idea.
I chose Bamboo. Bamboo that was sold in a skein whose diameter was signifigantly larger than my swift. Bamboo that when I attempted to wind it ‘sans’ swift ended up in knots and knots and knots on the (dusty and dead bug covered) floor (‘covered’ is perhaps too strong a word, but there were some dead flies there and cat hair too), in my defence, remember I couldn’t see very well! To add insult to injury, I also had a bunch of men here banging away at some kind of renovation or another; just to aggravate me I’m sure.
I emailed my knitting friends who, like yours I’m sure, enjoyed my story and laughed so that their coworkers wondered just what it was that they were reading in their emails.
I did make it through to the other side, but never did get around to knitting up that Bamboo…anybody wanna buy some ‘caked’ Bamboo?
Definitely beer o’clock!
Good luck getting your needle out of the drain. It does need to come out.
Use a straw
My optometrist uses a cool thing called Optimax. You look into this thing and it takes a digital photo of the retina. Then I get to see the pic on the computer. I think they only dilate eyes if a) someone doesn’t want the optimax or b) if they need to look at a problem seen on the optimax a different way. It’s very cool. I have good retinas. I was so fascinated the first time I had it done the doctor showed me pics of high BP retinas and poorly controlled diabetic retinas, even to the untrained eye one can see the differences and problems in those conditions.
Thanks for the laugh on an otherwise craptastic day (involving a teenager who is waaayyy smarter than I guess I can ever hope to be!). Hope tomorrow is better for both of us.
I was just looking at that sock pattern over the weekend to add to my big bag of sock kits. I think I have that yarn, too, but it’s not what I’m going to pair the pattern with. What a coincidence!
i thought i was the only one this happened to! they always tell me the dilation should only last a few hours and mine always lasts 8-12. and weirdly enough, my right eye stays dilated longer than my left.
thanks again for making me feel less like a freak.
While I applaud the aforementioned maturity, I think you should dismantle the plumbing to retrieve the 50¢ aluminum dpn. Plumbing features bends, specifically, kitchen sink drains feature the U-bend. This will trap the dpn and cause additional damage later… just sayin’. Grab a monkey wrench and remove the dpn – it won’t be able to pass through the U-bend.
Step!
Seeing well enought to open that beer was, at that moment, the most important thing in the world. “SAVE THE EARTH..IT’S THE ONLY ONE WITH BEER”
bjr
i totally know how you feel! Those stupid drops make it to where you can’t see anything!! Dumb drops!!! *raises fist* anyway glad to hear that you can see straight (for the most part) and i am so sorry to hear about your knitting needle…. 🙁 If I was a plumber I wouldn’t charge you for getting it out. But alas I am not. Some advice and I cant believe I am saying this but don;t knit, get a massage or take a hot bath and relax.
Beer…the great healer!
Go to an optometrist with an Optimap. You stare into it and it takes a picture of your retina. No eyedrops!
Yeah, in my office we have the Optomap. Better view than with a dilation, and no drops! Told you, Steph, you need to come see ME! Sorry about the contretemps with the needle, and the lace looks very pretty. You are zooming along!
I recently taught a lesson to 4th graders about the properties of magnetism (I’m a substitute teacher). After extensive investigation we learned that the only metals that are magnetic are iron, nickle, and cobalt. I did not learn this in school either, except about iron. Possibly this is a new scientific advance since I was in 4th grade? Only reasonable explanation…
I hate those drops. Usually when I get my eyes dilated it lasts a full 24 hours. The nurse at the eye doctor told me that seems to happen if you have light colored eyes. Don’t know if its true but it sure does make things miserable until they wear off.
I have refused those drops for about 15 years and only recently succumbed when they eye doctor had already used a metal spatula to remove a piece of glass from my eyelid. Figured the day couldn’t get any worse.
To prove my point from all previous 15 years of ignoring their advice about getting it, everything was fine. I’ll wait another 15 for my next bout of hell and surely by then we’ll have this Optimap thing your readers are posting about.
“the eye doctor had already used a metal spatula to remove a piece of glass from my eyelid” ~Sarah at 10:07 PM
Ouch!
YH- You made me laugh out loud! Glad your eyes are healthy, though.
You should have started with #11.
And then after the drops, you get to pick out frames. Always take a friend, and pick before the exam!
I hate that about aluminum: how it doesn’t cooperate with magnets!
Those little balls… quite a hoot. How did that happen! Silly smooshy, love smooshy, funny little balls!
(I won’t mention how the circs would have a very difficult time going down the drain – so don’t read between the parentheses ;-))
Do you have a small child handy? In my experience, small children are excellent dpn magnets. So are the gaps in couch cushions, though I think the small children are less awkward to fit in the drain.
(I also vote for a really long straight needle with some freshly-chewed gum on the end. If the dpn has a point accessible, and you want a tight fit, you can even use a raisin on the end of the straight needle. If you REALLY want precision, use 2 straights like chopsticks, both with gum/raisins/etc on the end.)
I’m with Trek. Turn the water off to the sink and carefully remove the U-shaped pipe. Remember that it will have some water in it when you remove it. You’ll find easy to follow instructions on the web and YouTube might even have a video to watch to learn how to do it. If I was closer I’d come do it for you.
I read this blog enough to vaguely remember the photo a year or two ago of the objects that clogged your dishwasher: something like a piece of fuzz and a paper clip. Now you mention this dpn down the drain… hmmm. I’m not wishing you any more clogs but… well, just sayin’.
What you need is not the telescoping magnet thingie, but the thingie with the grabber on the end. I’d loan you mine, but I’m in another country, making it difficult to get there to help in time to be useful.
Oh, and a beer. You need a beer.
Happy (belated) Birthday Amanda! You look like you own the world!
Just another wonderful day with the YH….so loved today with your eyes, sink/clogging, and yarn troubles! sure hope you get the DPN
out before Joe hears about it! Have a safe trip to NH.
Nothing more fun than those eye drops! I once drove myself to the eye doctor, forgetting about the drops, had the drops and then had to figure out how to drive myself home avoiding traffic and speeds over 30 km because I was damn near blind. Sorry about the knitting needle. Hope you see better soon.
You really should have made the beer step 2. And step 3. Then step 4 should have been more beer and some TV. Steps 5-11 would then become a good nap on the sofa. The needle would still be on the kitchen counter (why was it there to begin with?), the scarf would not have needed tinking, and Joe would not have to bang around under the sink while muttering about something called a gansey.
The best thing about my optometrist (besides the fact he looks like the HOTTest member of the Lindros family)is that he has a machine that takes a picture of your eye, and he does this instead of using those horrendous drops. Plus, you also get a very cool picture of your eyeball that resembles a planet.
I’ve had my own, very public, post-drop incident myself. The optometrist office is across the hall from a coffee shop, where I went to wait for a friend after my appointment. I missed a chair (because I couldn’t see as well as I thought), tripped, stumbled, bumped into 1 table, then another as I overcorrected, at which point I did a tango with said table and ended up on the floor, bleeding, needing 3 stiches on my hand where I sliced it on someone else’s broken cup. $38 and change later to replace the coffees I spilled of the poor unsuspecting spectators; more than 3 hours at emerg; repeated explanations to the staff who did not believe I wasn’t higher than a kite; we were finally on the way home when the drops were wearing off that I realised I had left my favourite travel mug(and latte) at the coffee shop. All thaqt, and NO caffeine! The horror!
Cheers, hope my public mortification makes you feel a little better about the needle mishap. Looks like you already have some excellent retrieval tips. As always, your blog is excellent. Thanks!
Pretty scary all these people driving home blind! The only time I drove to the eye doctor’s and then got the drops, I walked over to my husband’s office, gave him the keys, and walked home. Ah, the convenience of living in a teeny town.
Last time I saw the eye doctor she did the drops, but she had drops that reversed the effect. Pretty pretty scarf!
Try wearing sunglasses – even indoors – it often allows you to see while the drops wear off.
Presbyteria–it all changes when they turn 15 (or it did with my boys, not my daughter so much). Other things become way more important than homework… or listening to you. It seems to turn around though when they decide going to college and leaving you behind would be a good thing. lol
Good luck with the drain. Knitting is beautiful and inspiring as always!
also, is anybody else out there a little worried about how many people may be driving around town blinded by eye drops??
That’s why i always try to make an appointment with the eye-doctor at the end of the day. First they tell you the dropps don’t hurt (not true, they hurt like hell for several hours) and then they try to make an appointment for the next time after the examination while your so blind you can’t see a thing. I always give them my agenda and tell them to find an open spot and write in the appointment.
And then you are out and have to find your way home by yourself on a bike. Big fun !!!
WAIT!!!! Are you sure that is a beer? I think I should taste it for you first. My address is….
you can try vacuuming the needle out…depending on how strong your suction is, may work.
Best wishes on the eyes. And don’t let Susan Bate you or needle you about them like that.
Everyone else mentioned the bits about using something sticky to remove the needle so it won’t cause clogs, so I’m not really helping by reiterating that. However, I do have a fun fact for you. Do you know what else isn’t magnetic? Stainless steel. I saw the big metal fridge in my house, and when I tried to attach the magnetic poetry, it didn’t stick. So sad.
Um, still unclear on how you wound one skein into a variety of balls?
Whenever I get my eyes dilated, I always have my DH drive me home, and I return the favor when he gets his eyes done. KWI (Knitting While Impaired) is never pretty, like my knitting late at night is usually fraught with mistakes, which means frogging the next morning. Hang in there, sister knitter. You’re heading toward NH, where I was born and where my sister still lives. Truly God’s country.
It’s making me feel nauseous even to say it… but if you get the long tweezery thingies (~i’m sure that’s tech talk) use a wodge of gum on the end…shudder~)
In other bits… wavy scarf pattern… repeat that shouldn’t be there I’m guessing thats down to eyesight and not a pattern error. Least I hope so cos the website says
“Dorothy Siemens is meticulous with her pattern writing and charting
so that you can pick up your needles with confidence.
Her detailed instructions will expertly guide you through even
the most complex patterns – for stunningly beautiful results! ”
Whether you use pickle-plucker, needlenose plyers, straw-with-gum or tweezers, first TIE it to something–your wrist, the tap, anything– before positioning it over the drain. Guess how I know.
Post eye-doctor knitting should be confined to stockinette. The kind you can do without looking.
My daughter scraped her hairbrush across my eye, by accident, when she was little and I can still remember how breathtakingly boring it was to be home, not able to see or knit or read. Hideous.
don’t have time to see if someone else suggested this, but car mechanics have a long retriever thingie with claws at the end which can grab things out of reach. They’re about 12″ long and have a push button at one end to open and close the claws. Get them (they’re cheap) and a flashlight and you should be able to grab it. Or put duct tape on the claws and fish the darn thing out. An earlier comment says the needle won’t go past the bend and she’s right.
I was going to say what Mary said. Sometimes they come with telescoping wands, and might be called a screw retriever. (That is not a joke.)
Not a vacuum, use a shop vac, those buggers have amazing suction! We had a horrible clog (husbeast learned to not pour the drippings from boiling lamb flanks down the drain the hard way!)and the water would not move no matter WHAT, so he hitched up the shop vac, closed off the other sink so he could get good suction and sucked that clog right outta there. VERY gross, and there were amazing things in there, a long stem from a flower (carnation?) and 2 straws! no wonder we had clogs! Also on a side note, the dishwasher also worked much better after that! I think he was sucking almost all the way back to the tank!….hmmm dishwasher is starting to leave bits on the dishes again, maybe its time for another go with the shop vac….
What size Susan Bates aluminum? I have (ahem) a few sets in the smaller sizes. It’s not my fault the local JoAnn’s put everything on 50% off sale when they went out of business!
A tip for you to try next time you have those drops at the eye doctor. Take your glasses *off*. This sounds odd if you’re normally fairly blind without you glasses, but after the eye dilation I found I could actually see better without them for the first couple hours.
As the eye doctor smiles and says, you’ll be fine driving, I’d like to say, “now let’s put the drops in your eyes and see how the rest of your day goes.”
But I’m just being mean.
Nothing to offer you on the needle problem.
Like the yarn!
To Carol way back in Comment Six, in Canada it IS aluminIum. England as well. And maybe a few other places. Spelled out by a U.S. citizen (who doesn’t Twitter).
Anyone wondering what the needle was doing in the kitchen on the dishcloth?
You make me laugh. I’m not a lone astronaut flying in space by myself. Thanks for the day brightener!
I dropped a DNP down a sink once in a B&B. I managed to fish it out using gum and another long needle from a different knitting project. Now I have the perfect excuse to bring multiple projects with me when I travel.
Good luck!
The beer will definitely help with the sight issue 😉
I am with you about the whole dilation thing. The sad thing is that lighter colored eyes are more sensitive to the drops, and not every eye doctor remembers that, resulting in extra hours of blindness and light sensitivity. Piffle.
I loved knitting with smooshy, but those socks spring a new hole (actual broken single yarn strand) every time I wash them. (Mine were the waving lace socks from the same source.) Hope you have better luck!
I only laugh to keep from crying while reading this. It seems yesterday was simply not a good day in general.
One hopes that your the consumption of said beer has helped abate your rage. How about another long needle with a bit o’ gum stuck on the end to fish out the wayward needle? Just don’t drop that one, too.
Long handled hemostats will snatch that right out of there. If you don’t have any go to the cheap tool store (Sam & Dave’s around here). They will look at you funny when you tell them what it’s for and just assume you need them to hold “other” things that could possibly be medicinal.
Maybe you should see an eye doctor who does the puff of air instead of the drops? Although I found that uncomfortable too, but it was short lived.
My husband had to drive himself home one time after getting the drops, and he got rear-ended on the 427. He couldn’t see to fill out police forms, LOL, but at least they couldn’t blame the accident on him!
Next tiem you have the dredded eyes dialated ask the Dr for the reversing drops. Works like a charm!
Surely I am not the only person noticing how much green yarn you have been knitting lately? Must really be in the mood for summer? And Happy B-day to your baby – I forgot to say it yesterday.
Girlfriend (that I don’t actually know), you always seem to find the sideways perspective. I respect that.
Have a great time on your trip!
I came across this short article on Knitting and Brain Development – I thought you might find it interesting if you hadn’t already happened to see it!
http://www.handspun.biz/a1knitintellect.html
You probably don’t want to hear this now, but SOME eye doctors have drops that reverse the dilation drops. Reduces the inconvenience to no more than 90 minutes.
I totally sympathize with you re: the dilation drops. I hate those, too. My eyes are already a bit sensitive to sunlight and having my pupils stuck on “wideopen” makes it even worse. And it can be cloudy here for umpteen days, but it’s always blazingly sunny when I have to have the dilation done. The only eye exam procedure I hate almost as much as the dilation is the field vision test. Arrrggghhh! But with glaucoma, you have to have both done at least once a year. Sigh… But at least I can still see. My great grandmother went blind from glaucoma. My mom’s had it since the 1970’s and still has at least partial vision. Mine seems to be totally arrested and I’ve lost no vision after 8 years. We’re making progress!!
(But I still hate the dilation….)
If this will retrieve a set of car keys from a storm drain in the French Quarter, it will get your dpn out of the sink:
1. Stick of suitable length
2. Several pieces of well-chewed gum
Apply gum to stick. Wiggle stick around in drain.
We shall not discuss how the keys got into the storm drain, but we shall admit that it did not involve eyedrops or a tea towel, and that passers-by were amused by attempts to retrieve the keys.
Have eye appointment tomorrow — with drops — not happy — feel your pain. Taking your comments to heart — will come home — drag chair under big oak in back yard, pop open a cold frosty — listen to Ipod — plan next project
The reversing drops are indeed great. Only problem is, nurses at my eye doctors told me that the company that makes them has stopped because they were not profitable enough. I can only hope that some other company decides to make them, cause it’s sure a pain trying to drive home before they wear off.
Yes, a late afternoon appointment is a good choice.
I’d have opened the beer BEFORE the doctor’s appointment!
Yeah, those eye drops can be wonky. Usually, I don’t have much of a problem with them but am scheduled for some this Friday (Lasik evaluation). Anyway, that’s another reason I like those wee little circs…hard to drop down a drain. I’m with everyone else, make the effort to get the darn thing out, otherwise it will attract little friends to make a bigger problem later.
i love that on the first of every month you have new socks to start, i was going to rip off your idea but then i saw the film julie and julia and the stupid in my brain told me i should knit every stitch pattern in Lesley Stanfield’s manual, i’ve just started and im doing one a day for 332 days. im now thinking i should only rip off things that i have actually seen other people survive.
love ur knitting as always 😀
Ack, Chloe beat me to it. My internal editor (no, I can’t turn it off, believe me, I’ve tried), went off loudly at that one and then almost immediately pulled a Litella.
I hope you get the needle back. I would feel the same way about a 50-cent SB alumin(i)um needle, especially if I’d had it for a while.
Your scarf is lovely. Can’t wait to see the socks. That yarn is exactly the colors of my back yard right now.
17yo girls don’t get the point about homework either. Why is always the youngest?
Hmmm… you might want to investigate the eyedrop issue.
Once went for eye exam and got new doctor (who didn’t immediately realize that I did not have stereo vision … which could explain a lot of the clumsiness…. ). She gave me eye drops to do further tests. Whoa!!! Could barely open eyes at all for 12 hours after and left with a radically different prescription. Have had my eyes shift over the years so didn’t take this in to too much account.
Got new glasses … and was nauseous when wearing them due the wavy ‘heavy Vaseline on lenses’ image I was seeing. Stopped using them and went back to optometrist who had always previously worked with me. Retested… and only slight change in vision. Conclusion: I was allergic to the eye drops. Had never heard of this before.
BTW, got a free new set of lenses as they paid for the error. Nice!
I read about the first fifteen comments and now I am really looking forward to hearing how you get the knitting needle out of the sink. I hope you try a few of them, if just for the fun of it and to put you in a better mood.
I love my eye doctor! They now do a retinal scan, which you can review on the computer screen with the doctor. It’s accurate, she diagnosed DH’s high blood pressure before his regular doc. No more dialation for me.
Needle-down-the-sink problem: Easy! Try a pair of long chef’s tongs. They work for fishing things out of the disposer and for lifting boxes off the top shelf without a step ladder. And they rock at flipping food on the grill.
That’s some green wave you’re riding here–anything else on your to-knit-list in green?
Should have opened that beer first !
Pickle picker, or your magnetic wand thing, with chewed gum or silly putty stuck to the end of it.
Ok, you should have just started with the beer….. knitting is soooo hard when one has those nasty drops!
So sorry about your needle, but your story sure made my day! Worst thing that ever went down our sink was our goldfish! Trust me, I did not run the garbage disposal – just plenty of water. I keep telling myself he made it to Long Beach!
I have just finished my first sock of The Embossed Leaves pattern. It’s lovely. Impressed my mother-in-law no end! Enjoy!
Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!
Hi, Stephanie,
The trouble with leaving the DP in the drain is that it will cause a clog. Ask me how I know (Mine was bathroom sink). Best to tell the hubbster ASAP.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Julie in San Diego
dragondotr.blogspot.com
I’d give it a try with long tweezers or the gourmet 3-prong described earlier. Or you may have luck with a drinking straw and a long loop of thread (to make a lasso out the end of the straw) – assuming you can slip it over the end of the DPN, then pull the loop taught. Then, there’s a gadget I just found online, vis:
http://thecoolgadgets.com/unreachable-places-get-alligetter-grabber/
Good luck!
I’m rather late to the party on this, but as one of the few knitting gamers I can’t miss a chance to evangelize. Congrats on Wii Fit! My boyfriend and I used it almost daily for the first few months after it came out and both started feeling a lot healthier. We mostly used it for aerobic stepping and jogging while watching TV, we’d watch a show together and take turns working out. If you’re looking for a way to just increase awareness of your body and your balance it’s a great game. If you’re looking for something that’s physically intensive I’d recommend EA Sports Active or EA Sports Active More Workouts. My first time through the 4 week challenge I lost 20 lbs and felt incredible. I bought my mom a Wii largely for these workouts and she has had similar results. She’s getting ready to start in on the 6 week challenge (I’m really proud of her – can you tell?). There’s a good variety of exercises (which alternate cardio vs muscle focus) and there are three difficulty levels depending on the intensity you’re looking for. Basically I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Here! Here! The Beer!
I can barely see the scarf for the leaves. Knitting lace blind is the only way, except that yours still turns out.
I know exactly what you mean about the drops. Due to an eye problem I’m at the eye doctor every 3 to six months and I get those %$&#!ing drops every time!! I end up losing a whole day and can’t do anything other than listening to books on tape or the TV, and knitting plain stockinette or garter stitch. What a pain in the butt! My eye doctor told by that the lighter in color your eyes are, the longer the drops last. Big bummer! When my husband gets an eye examine his eyes only stay dilated for an hour or two. Sigh! That needle will cause you problems in the future if you don’t get it out. Even if nothing gets stuck on it, it will eventually grow a lovely coat of slime that will slowly get bigger. I bet that Hank could figure out a novel way of getting it out of the drain!
I’m so glad to hear that your lost needle was a Susan Bates and not a Signature needle. Now THAT would have been a beer drinking moment!
To Lucia at 3:30 and Chloé at 9:35.
I don’t think Carol (Comment #6) was screaming about the spelling, but instead about the fact that alumin(i)um isn’t magnetic.
YH: I’m curious to see what happens, and wish you luck.
You’ve gotten some good advice with pliers, chopsticks, tape/putty/gum on a stick. There is also a tool that has a plunger and 3 hooks that come out to grab small items that is highly useful to get things out of small places.
The last few times I’ve had my eye’s checked, I was given the option of the drops or having a photo done using a special camera. It’s not covered under my basic vision insurance, but I’ve gladly forked over the money ($60 I think) to avoid being blind for a few hours. It’s also cool to see the inside for your eyes!
I haven’t read all the comments so maybe someone already suggested this. My husband suggested taking a long pencil or dowel and wrap tape around one end, sticky side out, and see if you can get the needle to stick enough to the tape to get it out. He uses this technique to retrieve picks/plectrums when they get dropped in the guitar hole.
dear stephanie (and all others really sensitive to eyedrops):
i hope you never have to take the eye test where they inject a dye into your arm, wait for it to circulate through your system and then take pictures of some kind to check your retinas for macular degeneration. (i know stephanie is too young for that, but . . . ).
i had that about 10 years ago and was told it was perfectly safe to drive afterward — that it didn’t affect ability to focus, etc. i set off for my son’s school, 10 miles away by interstate highway. at the halfway point i was shaking and shivering from a reaction, but there was no place to pull off. i turned on the heat even though it was a fairly warm day. by the time i got to his school, i was shivering so hard the school secretary called the paramedics. by the time they checked me out, i was starting to get back to normal. just my experience; ymmv. but if i ever have to take that test again, somebody else will drive me, and i won’t even try to knit on the way home!
Stephanie, if by any chance you guys have ever done any modernization to your 120-year-old kitchen plumbing, you likely have PVC pipes under the sink instead of the old cast iron originals. PVC is relatively easy to un-do and re-do … the parts are typically short in length, and threaded so they screw together, then they’re held secure (no leaks) with plumbers’ putty. Have Joe help you (yes, you have to tell him what happened!), and you guys can likely take the “S” or “U” trap apart from the sink drain. The needle will fall right out … guarantee you, it hasn’t (and won’t) flush through an “S” or “U” trap. But if you leave it in there, it’ll cause all sorts of trouble down the road. Re-attach the PVC trap and secure with plumbers’ putty (found at any Home Depot, Lowes, or hardware store). Good luck!
Suzy 🙂
I hate to admit it, but you make me laugh so much. I really do not like to laugh at someone else’s misfortune. I’m sorry.
Geez if you lived closer to Fresno, CA, my fiance would take apart your plumbing for free. He is a plumber. He supports knitting 100%. The more car parts he buys, he says the more yarn I get to buy. Love it! i already have 2 room fulls! (or is that 2 rooms full…2 rooms completely full of yarn!
Geez if you lived closer to Fresno, CA, my fiance (a plumber)would take apart your plumbing for free.
BTW don’t put anything down to grab it or you’ll be dealing with two things to retrieve.
The trap needs to be taken off to retrieve your needle. Here’s how:
1.
Step 1
Turn off the water immediately to prevent the possibility of the item’s being washed out of reach.
2.
Step 2
Open the cabinet below the sink.
3.
Step 3
Find the P-trap, which is the U-shaped piece of pipe that connects the vertical pipe running from the sink to the horizontal pipe that goes into the wall.
4.
Step 4
Place a bucket under the trap.
5.
Step 5
Loosen the large threaded nuts that attach the trap to the other pipes. Sometimes you can do this with your hands; otherwise, you may need to use large Channellock pliers or even a plumber’s pipe wrench.
6.
Step 6
Pull the trap off with a good yank, letting it fall into the bucket as necessary. The trap will be full of dirty water.
7.
Step 7
Put on gloves. Empty the trap into your hand – over the bucket – and look for your valuable.
8.
Step 8
Reassemble the P-trap, being careful not to overtighten the nuts.
Geez if you lived closer to Fresno, CA, my fiance (a plumber)would take apart your plumbing for free.
BTW don’t put anything down to grab it or you’ll be dealing with two things to retrieve.
The trap needs to be taken off to retrieve your needle. Here’s how:
1.
Step 1
Turn off the water immediately to prevent the possibility of the item’s being washed out of reach.
2.
Step 2
Open the cabinet below the sink.
3.
Step 3
Find the P-trap, which is the U-shaped piece of pipe that connects the vertical pipe running from the sink to the horizontal pipe that goes into the wall.
4.
Step 4
Place a bucket under the trap.
5.
Step 5
Loosen the large threaded nuts that attach the trap to the other pipes. Sometimes you can do this with your hands; otherwise, you may need to use large Channellock pliers or even a plumber’s pipe wrench.
6.
Step 6
Pull the trap off with a good yank, letting it fall into the bucket as necessary. The trap will be full of dirty water.
7.
Step 7
Put on gloves. Empty the trap into your hand – over the bucket – and look for your valuable.
8.
Step 8
Reassemble the P-trap, being careful not to overtighten the nuts.
once you get your sight back, try the shop-vac trick to get your needle back…
http://www.familyhack.com/2007/08/29/drain-tip/
hope this wont make your pipes turn inside out AND make your house crumble in on you! 🙂
If there is a u-bend in the pipe, then you really do need to get the knitting needle out. Stuff will collect around it and you will have a major clog soon.
If there is a u-bend in the pipe, then you really do need to get the knitting needle out. Stuff will collect around it and you will have a major clog soon.
Your blog reminded me that I have “Favorite Socks” on my bookshelf, and lo and behold I’d bookmarked the page for the embossed leaves pattern. You’ve inspired me to go stash diving for some suitable sock yarn (Shepherd Sock in “Envy”, lots of lovely shades of green) and I’ll cast on just as soon as I’ve released my DPNs from the last pair of socks that are waiting to be “kitchenered” – they have been waiting for some time! I love your idea of a self-made monthly sock club!
I was running to answer the telephone one day, with my diamond earrings in my hand. (a gift from my husband for our 40th wedding anniversary) when one of the them fell out of my hand into the heater vent. It would have meant dismantling several feet going from our upstairs bedroom to the room below. So……if the house is ever torn down, there may be a surprise for someone. Thank God for insurance, and a very understanding husband. My knitting needles are not insured 🙂
I had the “stoopid eye drops” appointment yesterday. I wear very strong contact lenses and forgot to take my glasses with me to the appointment, so I was doubly blind while waiting for the drops to do their evil work. Must have been quite a funny sight to see me trying to pick up dropped stitches in the waiting room!
I have a house that’s 10 years younger than yours-a gracious old(er) lady that takes care of us well, but by the time I get her remodeled I’ll be 110 myself!!! Good luck getting needle recovered. Going to try the monthly UFO club. Great idea as I have ufos that are over years on the needles. Yikes I actually admitted that!
Just realized I left out 30 for the number of years for some of my ufos.
I haven’t read all the comments, so forgive me if this idea has already been suggested. I used another knitting needle one time to retrieve a toothbrush from a sink in Spain. I tied waxed dental floss around the end of a knitting needle, and then made a noose/slip knot with the floss. I put the needle down the drain and slipped the noose around the toothbrush, which was brush down, and then cinched up the slip knot and brought the brush up the drain. The wax kind of sticks to the surface of the item in the drain when you cinch it up. I’m sorry I can’t explain this better. Maybe you can understand.
Another day in Paradise!
Chew some gum, stick it on the telescoping magnet thing, and then stick it to the DPN down the drain, and retrieve that way.. Gum sticks to anything, including aluminum.
I’ve only had those drops once, and I couldn’t believe the sheer rage I experienced when I realised that I couldn’t while away the tedious hour-long wait to see the eye person by reading or knitting. And then I had to walk the streets of Reading (never pleasant) for a couple of hours before even contemplating driving home again.
But Stephanie, only you would be crazy enough to try to knit LACE while the drops were in! Kudos.
Okay, #5 make me laugh harder than anything I’ve read here, that I can remember. Like serious, howling laughter, I almost fell out of my chair. My kids came, from the other side of the house, to see what I was doing.
I think it was most funny because even though I know that aluminum isn’t magnetic, I too would have tried to use a magnet to get it, in some random hope that the science had changed, just for that second, just for me.
Hope you got it out, and enjoyed that beer, or maybe three.
The eye dilators are evil. Hope you pasted all test with flying colors.
I don’t have the excuse of being blinded by eye drops, but I once dropped a butter knife down the kitchen sink drain. I managed to retrieve it with one of those things that you squeeze the top and prongs open on the end. I held a flashlight with one hand and shined the light into the drain. I used the other hand to stick the long end of the tool into the drain, squeezed the top to open the prongs and managed to grab the butter knife. Hubby was relieved to not have to tear apart our plumbing.
I hope you managed to retrieve your DPN. If not, I could make a house call. 😉
Aren’t those drops horrible? I always tend to forget that I am getting them, and then I have to go back to work and try to stare at my computer and attempt to actually code (software programmer). Must be even more frustrating to not be able to do something fun like knit. 🙁
That leaf pattern is beautiful…makes me want to try it in something (something simple like a scarf…not brave enough for something more complicated).
Oof, I hear you. I don’t wait well, which is WHY I KNIT in waiting rooms. I went for my eye exam, and was reading a paper while I waited… and then, no matter how far I held it from my face, couldn’t read it. Sat fuming until they brought me in. What is one to do? Oh! Bring iPod next time. (note to self)
But yes, not being able to see for extended periods? annoying.