my aunt had her hip replaced.
Happily, all went well
and she is once again
meandering in the woods with her dog.
like hospital transport
and by being a second pair of ears
with nurses, doctors etc.
Mostly, though, I was just on call.
Because she is both relation and dear friend,
the whole thing was fascinating
and pretty easy for me
(lots of spinning and knitting time in waiting rooms).
It was not, however, so easy for her,
at least at the time,
and afterward she thanked me
with a gift certificate to our local LYS,
The Yarn Underground.

(I'm kind of weird about gifts),
I was nonetheless thrilled
and knew exactly
what I was going to do.
The wall devoted to
Harrisville Hydro Turbine
had caught my eye last winter
when I bought the yarn
for the Long Sarah-Dippity,
and for all my hand spinning ways,
I know yummy yarn when I see it.
should have been ending right around then --
these round and airy skeins
seemed destined to become a heftier version
of the Summer Six Pack Sweater--
a comfortable and versatile favorite for the last three years.
would behave within the bias structure
remained to be seen--
certainly it would be quite different
than the collection of hand spun odds and ends
that made up the earlier striped garment.
And the not knowing made it extra compelling.
a gauge swatch before starting,
so I could cast on for the actual sweater
the moment I got home from the yarn store,
and start finding out.
several people asked for a pattern
(or at least some kind of guide
beyond the vague thing I wrote on the post),
but somehow it didn't happen--
at least back then.
This spring, however,
the versatility of the idea,
gave me the extra impetus to start drawing.
and design as you go,
and quite another to write a helpful guide
that other people can use
to knit a garment they love,
in the size of their choice,
with yarn they have, or want to try,
at whatever gauge makes both yarn and knitter happy.
So it has taken me longer than I thought.
I have been spinning
the odd yard of flax.
I am now thrilled to announce that
A Sweater -- Somewhat Slanted
is now available in the store
as a PDF download.
this is a guide booklet
for creating your own adventure
(not a pre-calculated set of instructions).
This means that
some straightforward math
(formulas provided),
is part of the thrill.
Aren't you excited?
There is just so much pleasure
in making decisions--
even hard ones--
when it mean we will end up
with a personal and magical garment
we will actually wear and use.
(And somehow, I don't think armhole depth
will be the biggest decision you'll ever make).
If you give it a try,
will you let me know how it goes?