Thursday, March 15, 2012

Of Illness and I-cord


Above you will notice a picture of where I have spent much of the past few weeks. Yes, that is my couch. No, there is not normally a neatly placed throw pillow there. Usually throw pillows end up on the floor at my house. However, yarn can usually be found there, and not only mine. But I digress.

I found out much about myself during my illness (it started as strep throat, became the flu, and ended at last. I'm much better now, thanks for asking.). First, when I am sick I apparently have the attention span of a two year old, only with less ability to understand anything being said to me. Thankfully my family members are old enough to take care of themselves. Theoretically.

Which is where i-cord comes in. I purchased (years ago) a nifty little machine that was supposed to crank out i-cord by the mile quickly and effortlessly. It was intended to make the long, braided handle of my Noro purse a dream. In reality, Noro Silk Garden is much too loosely spun for the machine and kept breaking apart. Thus I spent many a long road trip cranking out miles (ok, maybe not miles, but it was for miles) of i-cord by hand. Good discipline, though for what I don't know. (Oops, sorry, I am the Queen if Digression (and parentheses). Maybe we should just accept that and go on.)


Anyway, back to my nifty little machine. I've included a picture of it (gratuitous spring pictures of my flowerbed are completely free). Recently my sister was lamenting that she had miles of i-cord (ok, ok, fifty feet - to the hand knitter it's all relative) to make for a hat. I mentioned my little machine (which had not been used since said Noro mishap) and we brokered a trade. I got a box (!) of sock yarn, and she got (or will get) 54-ish feet of brain-pink i-cord.

Normally, I would have collapsed from boredom somewhere around 10 feet (especially since one of the little hook things somehow got slightly damaged and must be manually worked every fourth stitch) except for my inability to think (and knit, and read, etc.) when I have the flu. Hence, I was saved from death by boredom (I am not a couch potato unless I have knitting or a good book, and often not even then) by i-cord. Elizabeth Zimmerman may have loved that. Except for the intimation that i-cord is boring, she may not have liked that part.


Well, now I'm healthy (praise the Lord, I was sick for six weeks and beginning to think I really would die, and not from boredom). And thus the problem rears its true and ugly head. For in that picture above (with the lovely daffodils, I'm shameless) you see... 27 feet of i-cord. Yep, I ran out of yarn and now wait for another skein (sadly, this time it will not include sock yarn) so I can finish the deal. Only I have to do this skein with my full (ha!) wits about me. True discipline, I tell you.


Especially since it's spring (baby tomatoes!) and I want to spend every waking moment outside. Sigh. Such is love and the power of a promise.


And speaking of promises, I found this one:
"I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer..."
Psalm 40:17
(His flower garden is as pretty as mine, isn't it? Tiny wild violets)


Happy Spring!
JJ

P.S. There's new yarn in the shop! Some of which is perfect for spring. Colorways are limited though, just so you know. Thanks for peeking!

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