knitting kneedle?

i just got back from my post-op follow-up visit. i do not make this stuff up: in describing the surgical procedure, the PA described how they pull the ACL graft through the knee with a long instrument, "kinda like a knitting needle." ermmm, ok...the only question is circ, dpn, or straight?

in lieu of grandmothers?

my friend v.j. sent in this tidbit: in 2007, the 3rd most popular topic in the search "how to" on google was "knit."

post-surgery checklist

i will spare you the "after" pic. too bad they don't make surgical stitches a little more aesthetically pleasing. say, a cozy blanket stitch in a nice kidsilk haze. i'm thinking candy girl. so much prettier than the stiff, hempish black thread they use.

so i now have a freshly trimmed meniscus and brand-new ACL courtesy of dr. mcdreamy. well, new to me i should say. it just occured to me that cadaver tissue is sorta like the ultimate recycle-reuse. it's pretty incredible when you think about it.

amy winehouse be damned! i say let the rehab begin. bring on the ankle pumps, quad flexes, leg lifts.

i am hooked up to an automatic ice machine that circulates ice water from a beer cooler to a bag that's strapped to my knee. i'm not kidding about the beer cooler part. jim is already jonesing to stash a six pack of bud in there. who needs bud when you got vicodin, that's what i say.

so i am ensconced on a bed that we moved downstairs into the den. i have my laptop, a cup of coffee and a constant flow of ice to my knee. what's not to love?

the hardest part is not being able to access my stash at will. i have to send poor jim on missions to find this needle or that skein of yarn. i had been planning on making a pair of mrs. beetons, but can't seem to find any dpns in the right size. i was rooting around online for something else and stumbled upon another wonderful spring fancy from whit on the lovely purlbee.

pre-surgical checklist

they aren't the bees knees
but they are all mine
one backward "C" scar from mom's old station wagon
one banged up shinbone
shiny when shaven
remember bending and stretching and pedaling and praying
that i wouldn't catch a flu and have to barf standing up
sudden snap but not like a rubber band
a fiber unraveled
no food after midnight not even a tic tac
connect the dots that mark the spot
to run to jump to walk the dog to ride the bike to feel the joy
of one more run down ruthies

fo: rochefort chapeau

chapeaus off to whit at purlbee for the perfect spring project...if only spring would ever arrive. even if it doesn't, this soft, slouchy beanie/beret at least makes it feel as if it's just around the corner. ooh la la!

perfect spring project

who can resist the next bit of brilliance from purl: the rochefort chapeau.

knit up in nautical stripes, the designer says it reminds her of springtime-in-paris gene kelly musicals.

and of course, nautical stripes were all over the spring 08 runways.


michael kors, spring 08

the shape of purl's cap reminds me of this floppy knit beanie i've spied on jennifer aniston's noggin in more than one pap snap.



my own take is knitting up nicely in blue sky alpaca silk in the palest shade of peach and a heathery gray-brown that were languishing in my stash.

evan heaven

the only thing more fun than knitting this hat...


...was seeing it on the head of this carrot-topped cutie. and talk about kismet: it even matched the outfit he was wearing when i gave it to him.