Just Purl Up and get it done
Monday September 21st 2009, 10:34 pm
Filed under: Family,Friends,Knit,LYS

It was going to be a long wait. Michelle was very apologetic about having scheduled an appointment over here during my appointment with the dentist over there;  I thought, are you kidding?  How long have you been the daughter of a knitter?  No, I don’t mind, not one bit–guilt-free knitting time? Peachy-fine.

So I grabbed the shawl project du jour and threw it in my knitting bag.

But.

No. I’m not going to!

But there was that bluegreen Purl Up and Dye project from Purlescence

Now, Kaye gave me that skein she and Nathania had dyed out of the generosity of her heart only a week or so before I had this knitting epiphany hit me of wait, I knit socks?! And that yarn, ahead of its time, emphatically wanted to be socks.

No. That’s just not what my needles do, do you hear me, yarn? I cast on this scarf instead.

Every single time I picked it up to work on it, the silly thing whined at me, But I want to be *socks*! You NEED me as socks! Rip it, c’mon, you can do it, one good frog session and you’ll have just the right colors and just enough synthetic with your merino not to wear holes in the heels and you know you’ll feel like royalty and you’ll finally have some that would go with your teal skirts and it’ll be such a big deal and and and.

For the last time, I. Do. Not. Knit. Socks! This is going to be for somebody else anyway, and you know I’m too greedy (or afraid they won’t fit) to give away socks.  I knit to give, not to keep.  Be still.

So you know how that came out; after that surprise Sock Summit package arrived, I started knitting socks after all, and that bluegreen was sitting there torn between feeling jilted and exulting in, I told you so!  So now are you going to frog me, are you are you huh huh?

Hush child.

Now, I tend to do one project till it’s done these days, a discipline I learned in knitting for my shawls book, but this scarf timed out into being the homework project with a deadline a long way off that you don’t want to work on and you have plenty of time to work on and no you’re not going to pull a 2 am-er on it at the last second, the semester doesn’t end for months and the teacher will never know you crammed, she’ll think it’s your best work and not only that she’ll tell the whole class she wishes everybody else prepared like that in advance!

Wait–that was Richard’s high school oral book report on a book he didn’t know he was supposed to have read, never mind.

I explained to the dentist’s hygienist that I was simply going to have to wait awhile after my appointment to be picked up; sure, no problem.  She sent me out into the waiting room with toothbrush and fresh floss, armed to the teeth.

The wait began. I reached for my baby alpaca–and you know what came out of that bag instead.  Hmmph.  I was knit amused.

And then it became a race: can I get this finished before Michelle shows up? So I don’t ever have to listen to its socky attitude again?

And the answer, now, is, unblocked, 44″. Stretched out, mmm, ’bout 57. So close.

Nathania took a picture of it in progress the other day so she and Kaye could recreate that colorway.  And if that doesn’t placate it, one more half hour and it’ll be cast off and that’s the ends of that.

If only I knew who this was going to be for!  After all, the best way to get kids to stop whining about something they want is to get them looking forward to something else.

Someone is going to absolutely love this colorway and the generosity by which this yarn came to me.  I know I do.


16 Comments so far
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Alison, the yarn dominatrix. Making the yarn follow her will.

Heh, there’s a book title that would sell!

Comment by Barbara-Kay 09.22.09 @ 4:52 am

It’s gorgeous! I spent the whole post thinking you were going to say you caved, frogged it and started some socks. I’m glad you stayed strong! Maybe it needs to go to someone who needs a little extra strength right now.

Comment by (formerly) no-blog-rachel 09.22.09 @ 5:42 am

The color is breathtaking & the shawl simply gorgeous! Please shows us pics after blocking. “Someone is going to absolutely love this colorway and the generosity by which this yarn came to me. I know I do.” – How could they not. If they didn’t then I wouldn’t think they were human at all. 🙂

Comment by TripletMom 09.22.09 @ 5:58 am

Beautiful story, yarn, friendship, knitting…

And that reminds. I need to call my dentist.

Comment by Channon 09.22.09 @ 6:28 am

That is such a beautiful scarf! Good for you makin’ the yarn mind its manners. Yarn is to be seen (and petted)not heard. 😉

Comment by Toni Smoky-Mountains 09.22.09 @ 7:00 am

So pretty . . . while I’m generally in favor of socks, that stuff ~does~ deserve to show itself off loud and proud.

Comment by Lanafactrix 09.22.09 @ 8:50 am

What could I, a non-knitter, say after all those great comments? Yarn “talks”? So … straight to the humor:
BORN A LUTHERAN

Lars, a Norwegian from Cook County in northern Minnesota, was an older, single gentleman who was born and raised a Lutheran. Each Friday night after work, he would fire up his outdoor grill and cook a venison steak.
 
Now, all of Lars’s neighbors were Catholic, and since it was Lent, they were forbidden from eating meat on Fridays. The delicious aroma from the grilled venison steaks was causing such a problem for the Catholic faithful that they finally talked to their priest. The priest came to visit Lars, and suggested that Lars convert to Catholicism. After several classes and much study, Lars attended Mass, and as the priest sprinkled holy water over Lars, he said, “You were born a Lutheran and raised a Lutheran, but now you are Catholic.”
 
Lars’s neighbors were greatly relieved, until Friday night arrived, and the wonderful aroma of grilled venison filled the neighborhood. The priest was called immediately by the neighbors and, as he rushed into Lars’s yard, clutching a rosary and prepared to scold Lars, he stopped in amazement and watched. There stood Lars, clutching a small bottle of water which he carefully sprinkled over the grilling meat, and chanted: “You were born a deer, and raised a deer, but now you are a fish.”

Comment by Don Meyer 09.22.09 @ 9:02 am

Like one of your commenters, I also thought you were going to say you caved in and went for the socks.

The shawl is gorgeous. I love that colorway. Someone will definitely be happy!

Comment by Joansie 09.22.09 @ 10:00 am

hehe – I was pretty sure the sockie-ness of it all would win, after all I don’t knit socks, but the purl girls won me over… congratulations for showing it who was boss!

Comment by Mary 09.22.09 @ 10:19 am

Good for you. I love to knit socks but I have been on a shawl kick. Sometimes you just have to do what you just have to do. I love the comment about Lars(I have a nephew named Lars)I was raised in Minnesota and enjoyed the story. I was raised a Lutheran but now I AM a catholic.(50 years or so) I got a good chuckle out of that one. Pat

Comment by pat flores 09.22.09 @ 1:08 pm

What a beautiful shawl–beautiful lace, beautiful color! And I love your philosophy on kids, too, about the best way to get them to stop whining. It’s so true.

Comment by Joyce in NH 09.22.09 @ 5:50 pm

It probably won’t help if I opine that this yarn? Perfect socks. 😉

Comment by Lene 09.22.09 @ 8:35 pm

That is some seriously gorgeous yarn, socks or scarf, still gorgeous.
I am going to a knit night tonight! Since Oscar has Wednesdays off, I can have a regular knit night!
It took me hours to decide what project to bring (I am not a monogamous knitter)

Comment by Diana Troldahl 09.23.09 @ 6:41 am

It is a beautiful scarf. And I know you will enjoy gifting it. But it *is* okay to knit for yourself, too!

And I loved Don’s joke- I was raised Catholic. I sent it to my mom straightaway!

Comment by RobinH 09.23.09 @ 10:11 am

But…but…it’s all knitting. So it’s ALL good!

Comment by Carol 09.23.09 @ 1:11 pm

ohhhh pretties 😀

Comment by rho 09.25.09 @ 4:48 pm



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