Friday, April 21, 2006

GOODBYE CLAP!

Hello Lotus Blossom (sorry K.G. I know, I know... and some day I will, but not now.)I got halfway thru the clapotis and discovered that the second skein of yarn, which I thought might be close enough in color to get by, was soooo far off from the original that there was no choice but to form a new plan. So yesterday between a meeting and my drop-in time, I ripped it out. Right there, in the classroom (where, by the way, the Harlot will be signing books on Saturday...) in front of witnesses. I killed it. Bang,bang, clap's dead. But as we all should know,death can be a time for rebirth and renewal of all living things. From destruction and despair (over the $39 a skein yarn...) can come a thing of greater joy than that which existed before. And I think, this time, that's about right.
This is from Shawls and Scarves: the Best of Knitter's Magazine , the yarn is still Artyarns Silk Rhapsody, but it has expanded in quantity (thanks to our beloved Girl) into 3 skeins - 2 are of color #119 but look like they came from different planets not just dye baths, and one is of color #139. I am using all three, alternating rows. It's actually simple to keep them straight once you get a system. And a system I have developed. It works, but is probably not a project to take on the road. And it grows from the bottom up, so at any point I can shift gears and begin to finish it. The pattern calls for laceweight, I assume it will fly right along since Silk Rhapsody is a worsted (though quite light in my opinion), and be done on no time flat. I'll just go till the length is about 24 - 28 inches, and go from there. It began (spontaneously, I swear) during my lunch break from this, the Stockbridge men's vest, which is past the 50% mark, and looking good for a finish in the nick of time, along with it's boy-version buddy which has not been cast on yet. I just needed a little respite, which I though to get yesterday before drop-in with clapotis, but that just turned into a big old rippit session. I embrace ripping at times. It's very cleansing.

Also, for those of you who tune in for occasional updates on that RIDICULOUS animal that Girl calls a cat - - today when she left for work that ridiculous animal (whom Mr. Wonderful and I now call "Spal-Dingo", because it covers him on all fronts - head like basketball, acts like dog, and could feasibly consume a small child without much difficulty...) sat on the floor in front of the door and CRIED. Like a dog with separation anxiety. CRIED! Not like a cat, who says "Eh, go ahead, go to work..." but like a dog who sits at the bus stop waiting patiently for Timmy to jump back off. I was on the phone with a friend - who all of a sudden, thanks to new motherhood, cannot stand the crying of anything - and she made me go and GET the thing and PET it and CARRY it and 'make it feel better'. Sick. She kept saying how sweet it was, and how loyal cats are...CATS??? LOYAL??? Cats are like the furbearing equivalent of a goldfish. Feed them, change their box, and they ignore you completely while you stand by trying to get their attention and love by various methods and means. I think Spal-Dingo may need therapy. I think he may believe he's a dog...

1 comment:

Persnickety Knitter said...

Darn, I had wanted to see how your Clap turned out. Too bad. Oh well, the new shawl project looks pretty. Sounds like a pain alternating rows, but it's great that you found a solution to use that ex-pen-sive yarn.

I think 'dog-like' cats are great. When I was a kid, I had a cat that used to follow me on my paper route. Also, he'd always seek me out and comfort me whenever I ran to my room all upset and crying about something or other (ah, those teenage years). He was the best.