We’re a few hundred kilometres from home, enjoying the same cottage we pack off to every summer. Usually the way it works is that Joe and I move into the place, and then assorted family comes and goes as their schedule allows. This year we’re lucky enough that Meg, Alex and the grandkids can be with us the whole time, and Amanda too. Everyone else has managed a little time here and there, and it’s been lovely.
I packed lots of knitting. Two sweaters, the yarn for a little dress for Abby (for when I finished the two sweaters naturally) and then three pairs of socks with none of them even past the heel turn. I can assure you as I packed all this, that I was pretty sure I wasn’t underyarned. The dress is lace, the sweaters are big – I have lots. Even if I gave up cooking, organizing, training for the rally and playing with my little grandchildren and did nothing but knit, I would be just fine.
So, I plowed through the first sweater – The Vibes Tee. Nice, right?
The yarn is Trio, and it was a fast, fun summer knit that has inexplicable pink/coral stripes that I adore. I have no idea what possessed me when I saw that colour since I’m usually pretty anti-pink, but something about that particular colour reminded me of roses, and my mum’s favourite shade of toenail polish and it was named “Radish” and I love radishes so suddenly I had a sweater with pink stripes on the needles and I couldn’t have been happier. That shade stayed charming the whole way through too. I LOVE it.
Weird thing though – I went to knit the ribbing on the bottom, and I came up to the bedroom where I have the bag of knitting stuff I brought with me on this trip and I shuffled through the surprisingly small pile of needles and couldn’t find the right one for the ribbing. “Odd as fish” I thought to myself, since I have a really, really clear memory of going to my office with a needle gauge and a list of all my projects and pulling down all the needles I would need and making a pile of them all. Turned out Meg had a spare needle in the right size, so I borrowed from her and kept on trucking.
A little while later it was time for the sleeves, and back I went to the bag of needles for the DPNs I needed for the sleeves and sleeve ribbing. I searched through the bag in disbelief when I couldn’t find them, and then painstakingly went through every other bag I’d brought in case I’d taken all leave of my senses and jammed them into some strange and infrequently visited pocket of my purse or mysteriously slid them down a section of my backpack. I had not. Meg to the rescue again – she didn’t have DPNs the size I needed, but she did have a set of interchangables with almost long enough cables for me to do the magic loop, so I just awkwardly powered through. The needle thing was really bugging me though. That night I checked all the bags again.
I washed the Tee in the lake and blocked it on the dock and while it was drying I went and fetched the Paul Klee sweater I’m working on. The needles are in that, so nothing could go wrong for a bit. I motored along, then measured last night and thought well isn’t this a pretty amazing moment, I’m ready for the ribbing. I went back to the bag AND YES YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED DON’T YOU. The needle for the ribbing was not there. This, I thought to myself, this has gone way too far. Meg was using her needle that size, so I pulled myself together and moved along. I’d knit the sleeves! Nope- those needles aren’t in the bag either. Here we shall not speak of the rage that I felt. It’s unbecoming to a knitter and I may have thrown things around a little in a way that doesn’t reflect my usual level of maturity. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that this petals, is why you simply must bring a lot of knitting on holiday. You never know what will come up.
I calmly (ok I slammed it) put aside the sweater, and went to fetch the dress for Abigail.
This is going to be the Holly Dress, and that’s just a little bit of silk to make it out of. I rummaged the bag almost expecting not to find the 3mm needle I needed, and when I didn’t, I had a brainwave. The body of the Paul Klee sweater was on a 3mm and I was at the ribbing! I could use that one. I put the sweater on a barber cord, and pulled out the 3mm, only realizing as I did it that it was way too long. Not so long that I could do magic loop and start the dress anyway, but too long to cast on. I swore, and pivoted again- feeling very proud of my ability to change tack without a tantrum so many times.
Now, in the course of this story you may be wondering what in the name of alpaca was I riffling through in that bag if it was not needles? It was needles. Lots of needles. A trove of needles – all wrong. Here’s what I just figured out. In the days leading up to leaving for this trip, I did two things. I tidied the house and put all recently rejected or discarded needles in a pile on my desk, ready to put away. Then I made a pile (also on my desk do you see this coming) of the needles I needed for this trip. Then I simply picked up the wrong pile and left. I don’t know how I couldn’t have noticed, but I am certain that the moment I arrive home I will find a very nice and tidy pile of exactly what I need sitting on my desk and looking smug. In the meantime, I am reduced to a few days of just socks before I get home, so thanks goodness I brought so much yarn that Joe looked at me funny.
When not trying to knit up here, I’ve been doing my best to train for the Rally – things are still not great but they are better – Exercise makes me wheeze now, which doesn’t seem to hold me back or make me short of breath, but does make my post-covid lungs sound exactly like an accordion you found in someone’s basement. (It’s much better than two weeks ago though.) The fatigue is improved, so is my stamina, but it’s still me on the strugglebus out there. My Dr said that as long as I’m not trying to push through extreme fatigue or shortness of breath, I’m cool. Exercise sucks, but then I recover just fine and am only as wiped out as I should be considering everything.
All this is a green light to keep trying, and try I have. I’ve been running about every other day, and I brought my bike with me so I could try and get some rides in. Running is pretty rough here – it’s hot and the local insect population waits at the end of the lane to attack people on who venture onto their territory with the accuracy and deadliness of a military flight wing. I’m covered in so many bites I look like I was tied to a tree and left there for a week. (Before you suggest it, know that I am covered in DEET. They mock it. ) The riding has been something else too – There is not a single inch of this area that is flat. It’s hills, all hills and I’ve been out there getting my arse handed to me like never before. I’m reminding myself that the rally isn’t that hilly – no part of it is, so failure here could still mean success there. We leave in 9 days.
I’ve got some Karmic Balancing gifts to give away and I’ll do that as soon as we’re home in a day or two (the internet here leaves something to be desired) and I’m all over it as soon as I unpack and bathe somewhere other than a lake. If anyone wanted a part of Karmic Balancing gifts – here’s how it works. If you help Team Knit fundraise for the Rally, then you can send an email to me (stephanieATyarnharlotDOTca) and make the subject line “I helped”. You should include your name, address and if you knit and spin, or just knit, or just spin. There are LOTS of ways to help. You can donate to anyone on Team Knit, we’re all still working towards our goals.
Or you can share the links with friends or family you think might help, spread the word, use your social media to let people know, all of that counts as helping.
If you would like, you can be a Karmic Contributor – if you’ve got a knitter/spinner thing in your stash that you’d like to pass along to someone else as a dose of good vibes for helping this year, you can take a picture of it and send it to me at that same email (stephanieATyarnharlotDOTca). You can describe what it is, and let me know where you’re willing to ship it. (International, Canada, the US, only Portugal, whatever) and then I’ll open the list of helpers, draw a name at random, and send it to you. You’ll ship it to them, and whammo. Karmic Balancing. The helpers never know what they’ll get except it will be yarnish (or patternish) and it will be something nice they didn’t have before, and that’s exactly how Karma works.
I’m off now, so I’ll give you this picture of Abby enjoying the singular pleasure of being in a lake for the first time. She loved it.
I did something similar with my work laptop charger after vowing never to do it again after the last trip…great minds or something…
(I now have a correct one permanently dedicated to the laptop bag. Can’t wait to see how I mess that up next time…)
Ah summer at the lake. How lovely.
Meg and Abby are adorable in their matching suits.
I’m glad you’re recovering and hoping you’ll continue to be kind to yourself and your body.
I’ve done the dump and hunt for needles so many times that even if my project has the needles in it, I still have a completely set of interchangeables with me. Because. You know.
And having other knitters with you is a bonus.
Enjoy the lake and your people and have a wonderful time!
PS…I have to prove I’m not a robot by finding all the bicycle pics. Is this Rally related? Lol.
Throughout the whole dreadful tale of The Missing Needles, I kept thinking, “but at least she brought socks!” Phew. Good work turning a major crisis into a more minor crisis.
The Vibes tee looks great on you! It is good to see that you’ve made progress with the unending gray of the sweater (beware of Sleeve Island, tho). It’s a shame you forgot the needles needed to get further and to start Abby’s dress. It’s a good thing you had the socks (and their DPNs) to save your sanity!
I hope that you enjoy your time away despite the needles that are missing in (in)action. If g makes you feel any better at all, I just moved and my box of most-used needles is in a bin in my storage locker… somewhere. Every time I get to casting on or switching to DPNs or ribbing or anything on the two tiny projects that I started (socks and a hat) I go on a mad scramble to find needles and end up… at the yarn store… buying just one more circular needle until I can find the ones that were packed “safely” away…
if it makes you feel better….
Tip from my daughter from her summer as a field anthropologist in the swamps and forests of Louisiana: amber scented body spray, apparently the cheaper the better. Layer that on top of the DEET and it helps keep the bugs away. (It worked in Louisiana, but not sure if Canadian bugs hate the fake amber smell the same as their southern counterparts.)
I think we have all done something like this, and it’s precisely why we always pack too much knitting every time we travel. You are lucky to have other knitters with you who could help out with some of the needle issue!
Either the universe is trying to tell you something about your summer priority list, or it’s simply messing with you for its own amusement (and our entertainment).
Probably the latter.
Joe is still looking at you funny about bringing so much knitting after all these years??
Reading this brightened a wet and rainy day. Though I am sorry about the needle issue. The Christmas sock bin will benefit though.
It’s wonderful to see those pictures. You are looking great, as well as the knitting, and the baby. We love your blog, Stephanie.
It’s so good to know that people like you exist in our world.
Have a great rest of the summer!
FWIW, discovered that Hills Could be My Friend when I once trained for a flat 10k on a route that was only 5k and Nothing But Hills. Best 10k time ever!
Please give some thought to asking your doctor for a rescue inhaler just in case.
Once you get back to civilization, you might try taking B vitamins in preparation for the Rally. They’re supposed to make you unappetizing to mosquitos and it seems to work for me. Start with small doses, though, as it can upset your stomach.
Or Brewers Yeast tablets, which i have been using for about 4 summers now.
My mum did that with her cook books when she moved house – two piles, one of her favourites and one to be donated. You can guess which pile made it to the new house.
No rookie has a pile of needles….
Let alone two piles!
Thank goodness for the socks behaving themselves.
I love that you’re able to keep riding after all. Go Stephanie go!
Abby is so adorable!
Abby is adorable! Lucky you. Enjoy family time and good on you for training so determinedly. Blasted needles, but thank goodness for the socks. Sending you many healing vibes. Happy summer.
I did that discard/keep thing with swimsuits before a sailing trip in the Virgin Islands. I took along the saggy bottom/tops don’t quite fit ones and ended up stopping at a swimwear store in St. Croix that was having a sale. It ended up being a win for me in the end.
My first week in the job I have now held for a cool decade, I had a pile of papers for the shred box in one hand and Very Important Things for Signature in the other.
Talk about a rookie move!
After a brief panic-weep in the bathroom, I learned that the building manager keeps keys to all the shred boxes for just this very reason.
(I cried on her a little, too)
Matching stripes!! Be still my heart. What a great pic!
I have four entries in our local county fair — we’ll see if I win any ribbons.
Had a problem because computer lost my fee payment, but in the long run, was told I have two blue ribbons and one red. Which for which. I’ll have to go see for myself.
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Glad to see you! I have spent the past few months reading your Whole Darn Blog (again) and enjoyed it immensely. Thank you!
Am cheering for you and your lungs.
I adore those socks you are knitting in the picture. Can you tell me the name of the pattern? And once again, reading what you have written, I applaud you!
Thanks!
The shirt looks great, I love the color
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Stephanie, do you know/remember the name of the pattern for those socks you pictured? I love that pattern and would like to purchase it for myself.
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