Sunday, August 3, 2008

Lost in Cyberspace


Knitting can be a time warp for serious practitioners of this ancient art form. It isn't just the physical act of knitting I'm talking about. Often, it's the preparation to knit an item that can have one saying, "gee, where did the time go?" The shopping, reading and thinking parts of planning a project can suck up a huge amount of time. This is not an inexpensive pastime I engage in and I want to spend my money well. With internet access, this time suck is worse. Way worse. I find something I like early in the morning and the next thing I know, it's time for bed. And I've not knit a thing. I've linked myself from one end of the planet to the next. The advent of Ravelry hasn't made this better, it's added to the knitter's continuum of time loss.

Still, I find time to read the things other people, including non-knitters write. I like words. Interesting words and good stories. One such storyteller is Laurie. Laurie writes some damn good yarns over at Three Dog Blog. If you don't believe me, go have a look-see. I won't be waiting for you though because I can guarantee you'll be lost in one of those time warps and I have knitting to do. I love her Mexico and Russian stories and can read them over and over. You know I like to laugh here and often; she can provide those laughs.

Laurie is writing a memoir. She has been delving into her past and writing about the journey. In one recent post, she wrote about how her brain "thrummed" while she was trying to rest. An interesting word that immediately clicked for me. I'd bookmarked a Yarn Harlot post about thrummed mittens. I've wanted to make thrummed mittens for awhile for Rachel. Rachel, who doesn't have enough going on, has Raynaud's Syndrome. Even in summer, if she catches a chill, her little hands and lips turn blue and feel icy cold to the touch. She can't tell me this is painful, but I know that it is. Thrummed. A perfect answer to the problem of Rachel's cold hands. Thank you Laurie for triggering that synapse to fire.

Yesterday, with my paw in time out, I went to Ewenique Knits to purchase some roving. This merino roving is amazingly soft. I don't think it was that expensive, but it's my first time working with roving. I will tell you, it was the rest of the "stuff" that fell into my shopping bag that was pricey. I left with one package of merino roving (silky soft and a cream color), three skeins of Cascade 220 for the mittens and three skeins of Louisa Harding 's Grace. I plan to make a brioche stitch scarf with Grace and some Rowan Kidsilk Haze I have that's just laying around the joint. Can you see how weak I am? I didn't need that new yarn. None of it. I needed only the roving. I have enough Cascade 220 to knit well into my next life. I didn't have any of the Louisa Harding yarn though and it is fabulous. This is all Laurie's fault.

By the way, I laid in bed last night and read chapter one of David Sedaris' new book (again) When You Are Engulfed in Flames and laughed until I cried. Damn, he is funny. Thank you David. Laughter really is the best medicine.

6 comments:

Brenda said...

Great post Rudee! I hear you on the time loss subject. I want to be productive but like you say sometimes it is the preparing for the project that requires so much time. And also reading blogs is time consuming, however this is a new adventure... for me anyway, and I have been buying very few novels or books at the book store, so I am saving money, by blog reading! Blog reading is so adventurous! It is great when you stumple upon ones that interest you.

Rudee said...

I'm still looking for yellow yarn for the Mrs. Darcy Cardigan Brenda. I've been everywhere on line and to 2 different yarn stores. Each time, I get distracted from the task at hand and come away with something completely different.

I love reading other blogs too. It's great to get a glimpse into other's lives. Your site makes me laugh too.

laurie said...

thrum.. thrum... thrum...

there's some kind of cosmic synergy here. when my brain was thrumming it did feel a little like it was stuffed with wool.

Rudee said...

My biggest concern Laurie is how to feed my starving children this week. Do you think wool is edible? hahahahahaha.

Rositta said...

That is lovely roving, you spinning too?...ciao

Rudee said...

Rositta, the roving is for the thrummed mittens. I did have to buy it in the spinning section of my LYS. It tempts me to learn to spin.