I’ve Returned!
With one more sock to my name even! I completed the vast majority of the leg on this one on the way to MN. I did little knitting while there, but did finish the remaining bit of leg and used the sewn cast-off to ensure enough stretchiness at the calf (though I used the cheat method of moving all knit stitches to one needle and all purl stitches to another in the back and then you kitchner - it’s the same effect and since I couldn’t be on the Internet while doing it to reference directions it seemed the way to go). I cast on for sock number two, but had put the completed sock in my checked luggage so couldn’t compare. I *thought* I had known all the important bits of how far I figured I could progress. However, upon my return home I discovered that I did an extra set of increases to swamp sock #2. So, I’ll be going to the frog SWAMP once again. I’m debating if I’ll just frog the whole darn thing as my second Turkish cast-on was not as tidy as the first one, I think because I was just doing it from memory and it was only my second time. Or, if I’ll just pick up the stitches two rows down into the toe and rip and go. I’m leaning that direction. The toe isn’t bad and it’ll hold, it just appears like some of the stitches are twisted or something. And, well, let’s face it - it’s at the toe! Who is going to see it except other knitters who decide to inspect the socks?
I want to thank all of you who left such wonderfully supportive comments about my grandmother and taking the quick trip. I haven’t had a chance to get back to you all individually and I have to admit it seems a bit of a daunting task. But, I’m very glad I went. Grandma didn’t seem well at all when in the hospital. But, Monday afternoon they moved her to the nursing home. She was able to get in on the first floor (Transitions it is called and is the area for people there for rehab rather than for staying permanently) in a private room with a phone and TV. Also, her remaining younger sister was there on rehab from a back surgery and they got to eat their meals together. She goes home today, but I’m sure it made the adjustment a bit easier. We saw her Monday before her move and then on Tuesday about noon before I left to catch my plane and she seemed really well. Well, as really well as an 88 year old woman who has congestive heart failure, diabetes, and renal failure can be. The renal failure isn’t too far advanced and they’ve taken away some of her oral medications and she will get them through injection instead which I guess is easier on her kidneys so there is not even any talk of dialysis at this point. As with every time I’ve gone home since my wedding I did still leave with that heavy feeling that this was perhaps my last visit with her. But at least the last visit with her was just my mom, my sister and myself. It was a bit more of a quality visit than those at the hospital where there were at least two of my aunts and often an uncle and sometimes a few cousins as well.
Also while home I guess my mom had ordered a book for me for Christmas that didn’t arrive in time. Amazon says it ships in 1-3 weeks, but mom had placed the order in early November. Mom had more or less given up and had told me so without telling me what it was she was trying to get, but, it arrived shortly before this trip so they had me open it while I was there since they haven’t seen me open a present from them since Christmas 1999. This was what it was…
It’s Barbara Walker’s Fourth Treasury. Reviews don’t look real good for this one, but a couple flip throughs looked somewhat interesting. I haven’t really gotten to look at the three prior volumes but I suspect this one is a bit different than the others as there were sections on using short rows to achieve certain shapes and other technical things rather than just stitch patterns. There are stitch patterns, but it seemed many fewer than I would have expected from a book of this size. But I haven’t really had a chance for quality time with it. Mom said she picked the fourth one figuring it was less likely that I had already gotten that far in purchasing them for myself, LOL! Well, I hadn’t gotten anywhere in purchasing any of them for myself :-) So, she could do this again for my birthday! ;-)
Well, it is time to get busy doing a bit of cleaning in preparation for our Torino opening ceremony party… I’ll probably work on fixing swamp sock #2 later this afternoon as a reward for cleaning :-)
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