That would probably be a big fat “yeah freakin’ right” considering there was leftover snow on the ground Monday morning. But a girl can wish anyway. Hopefully it’s sprung where you are!
Thanks so much to each and every single one of you who spared a moment for a positive thought or prayer (whichever your weapon of choice may be against all the big boogie men in the world) for my Dad on Monday. He did pretty well and made it through the surgery without any major complications. He survived the cut through his sternum, the terrifying spreading open of his ribcage, the stopping of his heart and the moment they attached it to a bypass machine. He made it through the removal of his old calcified aortic valve that had served him for 65 years, and the replacement with a shiny new titanium valve that will probably outlast his human body for years to come (I think now I should start calling him The Terminator – he deserves it). I was there with him that night as he shuddered against the intubation tubes in his throat and the pain in the tube draining his chest, and I held his hand while they prepared to take him off the ventilator and I could see just how terrified he was. It took everything I had not to cry, because I knew if I lost it, he’d lose it too. But he made it through that too and I stayed with him until I was sure his breathing would take him through the night. It was a long day but it was worth it when I think about how my Dad will now be able to do those things he hasn’t been able to do in so many years if recovery goes well. Doesn’t science kick ass?
Unfortunately, things have gone from stable to worse, and he’s still in the ICU as of today and had a major “episode” yesterday morning. They are going to keep him sedated for the next few days as they try to get his kidneys and lungs to recover from the trauma. I won’t be around much but I wanted to tell all of you that I am so truly thankful to each and every one of you for your kind words and thoughts for us on Monday. It meant more to me than I can tell you.
With all that waiting room time, while my Mom paced and R. Darling read, I knitted. And finally, I have my first Personal Sock Club 2009 FO, looking like the briefest hint of spring, to present to you:
Pattern: Plain Vanilla Socks by Keri McKiernan (on Ravelry here)
Yarn: 2 balls of Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Design Line Kaffe Fassett in color #04450 – “Easter”
Needles: Size 1.5 (2.5mm) Knit Picks Harmony 40″ fixed circular for Magic Loop
Mods: None really except this pattern is made to fit custom, so I did my own thing getting it to fit my measurements.
New Techniques: Nope.
Time Lapse: February 20, 2009 – March 16, 2009
Comments: I love these socks and I love the colors. It was a bit of a surprise that these weren’t just plain old stripes popping up in my yarn, but I probably should have expected that Kaffe Fassett would design something with a little watercolor action in there. Though there’s nothing fancy about this pattern, sometimes it’s the perfect thing to work on a project that’s no nonsense when everything else in your life seems to be chaotic. I’m not overly fond of the heel, maybe I’m just a short row heel kinda gal, but it works and it was easy to do. There’s something about the decreases in the toe that just don’t fit my particular foot right either, maybe something squarish would work better or if I worked the toe longer before decreasing and then just decreased to 16 stitches instead of 8 before grafting the end shut. Either way, that’s not a pattern problem, just a need for a few tweaks to fit my weird ass feet a little better. The yarn was pretty nice though I don’t recommend frogging it much. It kind of winds around itself and knots up if you do. But I think they’ll wear like iron and that’s a good deal. I fully intended that these socks wouldn’t match because who the hell wants to dig through your ball of yarn trying to find the perfect starting point just so they’ll be perfect (no offense if that’s your thang though)? But somehow I’d already managed to pull out enough yarn in my first abortive attempt to knit these two-at-a-time to have that perfect end just hanging out already waiting to go. They’re just the wee-est bit off but probably no one would know that except for me. Coolz. I guess things just work out sometimes.
Sorry, no fancy outtakes again this time. Maybe socks just don’t invite goofy outtakes for me or maybe I’m just worn out. Probably a little bit of both. Anyway, I hope you’re all doing well. I don’t know when I’ll be back around here and don’t expect to be online much as my brain just can’t handle the overload right now and I’m doing a lot of quiet things like reading and knitting to relax. But if you see me faving things on Ravelry, please don’t judge me – the pretty pretty patterns relax me too :) Thanks so much again to all of you for your kind messages and thoughts for my Dad. I really and truly appreciate each and every kindness and each and every one of you. It’s been a hard week for me, and it may get harder, but knowing you’re all out there makes it just a little bit easier :) Have a great weekend!
