Friday, January 18, 2008

Knitting as Stress Relief

At first I figured this was going to be a 4-day weekend that just dragged on. No spinning wheel (more on that later), no 'Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook' via ILL despite the fact that it shipped 3 days ago, no super-warm running pants (a snafu on their end apparently deleted my order back in December & now the pants are sold out as the customer service rep on the other end of the line told me - "So, sorry! No more available!") - and my husband away up the road for a boys weekend out.

However last night changed all of that - as we were up with the Munchkin for hours and hours and hours as he struggled to breathe, wheezed, and coughed and coughed and coughed and coughed (around 4 AM his body apparently had enough of that malarkey & rebelled against all the coughing by vomiting square into his pajama'd lap, much to his abject misery.) This morning we called the pediatrician and got in right away - a diagnosis of a sinus infection was the lesser problem - the bronchitis with maybe a tiny touch of pneumonia was the real nasty culprit. So he's on a huge slew of antibiotics now plus a steroid-laced syrup to help his lungs relax & expand so that he can do more than pant & can actually have a shot at coughing all of that infected matter up and OUT of his lungs - - not to mention the big bottle of cough syrup + codeine that we've got now on our shelf. He missed his nap today (the steroid syrup wires him up, unfortunately - but currently a necessary evil) and so he's out COLD at the moment - we dosed him with the codeine syrup as he sat curled up in my arms at the dinner table and figure that he'll sleep most - if not all - of the night due to that particularly potent 1-2 punch. And just like that my weekend plans totally changed. Now I've got loads to do & think about this weekend (plus extra laundry to do now that I've got soiled pj's, sheets, blankets, and couch cushions - yeah, it happened again just minutes after lunch this afternoon, too, just as he had been released from the table to go and sit on the couch - to wash up.) Plus a husband to keep me company while I fret and fuss around the house.

So now I'm left awake (after waking with him around 4 AM - and having gone to bed with him around 1 AM in the first place - I fortified myself with a cup of strong coffee at 5 this evening when I seriously started to flag and now thanks to that jolt of energy I'm not sleeping anytime soon) with no little wee one to sit and cuddle with or talk to - so what's a knitter to do?

Thank god we knitters are resourceful folks, right? Resourceful folks, that is, who never quail at casting on for another project when we've already got 2 or 3 already on the needles. So other than check on my sleeping cherub every half hour or so, I'm going to finish ripping out the purple raglan that I knitted last year (was it really just last year?) made with some SWTC bamboo, and start swatching with it for a Green Gable. Kim and I stumbled across this pattern last night while browsing Ravelry - it's a godsend if you have yarn in your stash that you just do NOT know what to do with! - and as a sort of keep-myself-busy tactic this afternoon I went online and bought the pdf of the pattern while the Munch watched the public library DVD "John Deere Part 2" for the third time in a row. I'd blame his video choice on the illness, but I'd be a total liar - the kid LOVES the John Deere DVD series. LOVES. He has the narration memorized in most cases, which is actually quite frightening.

I have high hopes for the Green Gable - because it's seamless it eliminates a lot of the problems that I had with the raglan - bamboo (at least this bamboo yarn) just does not seam together well - it's too droopy and saggy. And as this is knit in a tighter gauge than the raglan was, I'm also hoping that the structure of it retains a bit more integrity than the raglan did, and doesn't migrate from my bellybutton to my knees over the course of a normal workday. Just to be on the safe side, though, I'm knitting this in my 'proper' size of a Medium when normally I tend to err on the side of baggy caution and knit things for myself in a Large.

And my spinning wheel? It currently sits a mere 2 hours drive away from me. 2 hours drive away, but with a delivery date of Monday.

2 hours but 3 days.

Ah well, there's always laundry to fold, right?

4 comments:

Lola and Ava said...

Hopefully something will brighten your day tomorrow - you never know!

Sorry that the Munchkin is feeling shitty and conversely you as well. I had pneumonia years ago and was pretty miserable as a 31-year-old. I can only imagine what a 2-year-old does with it.

The Green Gable is a gorgeous pattern. I've admired the examples that I've seen on-line but know it isn't for this chest.

Mathgirl said...

I'm sorry about the Munchkin. I'll think some get better thoughts for him!

Anonymous said...

Poor Munch! Poor you! Another project sounds like just the therapy you need. I have high hopes that the heavy drugs he is packed with will help him feel better soon (just keep him away from the yarn after lunch).

Sandy said...

Hope the little one feels better soon!

Green Gable has been on my "To Knit" list for ages--looking forward to seeing how yours turns out. :)