Pre-Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving isn't until a week from now, but I feel like I need to get a jump on it in the sense that I should acknowledge some of what I'm grateful for.

This has been kind of a rough week. Part of it stemmed from my concern over an inflamed bump on the back of my neck at the hairline that appeared last week, if not a little before then. I tend to assume the worst, although it took me until Tuesday to decide that I needed to call a dermatologist to get it checked out. (Basically it came down to the pain being too much, especially if I happened to lay on the trouble spot.)

The first place I called said they couldn't get any new patients in for three months. The next dermatology office could do better and scheduled an appointment in a month. I wasn't thrilled, but it was better than nothing. Luckily, they called me when a cancellation made an opening, and I went in today to have my worst fears confirmed or allayed. (I preferred the latter outcome.)

It turns out that I had a sebaceous cyst, which the doctor drained and removed and then bandaged me up so that I kind of looked like I'd been shot in the neck. The procedure wasn't painless, and that area remains a little sore. Still, I am extremely relieved that it wasn't anything serious and will gladly put up with the temporary discomfort. So I'm thankful for good health and fears that have been wiped away.

I'm also thankful for the peace of mind that comes with judging that my front brake pads and rotors needed replaced. (Yes, it was an expensive day.) Sure, I'd rather not have had to shell out for car maintenance, but last time I needed this, I didn't realize it until the brakes were completely gone.

To end on a frivolous note, I'm thankful that I know enough of what I'm doing that I was able to frog three rows on the Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks scarf. I don't knit in fear of making mistakes, but I try to be ultra-vigilant that I don't. Perfectionism runs in the family, but I also worry that I won't be able to undo my errors. I've been stumped by p2tog, so doing several p3tog stitches spooked me. I did it, though. The scarf is fixed, and I feel like I might legitimately have a clue about this knitting thing.

Slacking for the weekend

In the comments to yesterday's post Donna informs me that ripping out from the cast on row down doesn't work. If I think about it, this makes sense, but it seemed like a rational way to go about correcting the problem. Oh well. I'll fiddle with the other end of the sock later this week.

Not much to report knitting-wise. I've finished about twenty percent of the Christmas gift scarf for my brother. It's nothing fancy--just moss stitch--but the texture makes it look and feel more intricate than it really is. If I were willing to make a big proclamation, I'd say that's a key part of my aesthetic. I'll hedge on making such broad strokes, though.

I think it's been awhile since I opened things up for "ask the secret knitter" questions, not that there's been a moratorium in place. Because I anticipate this week producing a shortage of blog-worthy activity, I'll make a pitch for questions serious, silly, or somewhere in between, with the stipulation that I reserve the right not to answer ones that I'd rather not answer. I'll post my responses whenever I'm feeling like I don't have anything to write, but I'll try to be timely about it.

Tenacious tedium

This was a busy week for me, and next week will be at least as hectic. Needless to say, I was in need of a slow day. Well, I found the solution and then some.

Early tonight I decided it was time to undo the cast on edge of the sock that does not want to be ripped out. It took awhile, but I slowly learned how to find the right stitch to pull the end through. Armed with the smallest crochet hook I own, I methodically made my way around the cast on row. With a sigh of relief, I undid what looked to be the last stitch and hoped that everything that followed would now easily unravel.

Nope.

The yarn switched directions instead. It did become easier to undo each stitch, but I was still having to use a deliberate process of pulling the end through the stitches. I also had to trim the yarn I had already ripped out because it was starting to split and tangle itself when pulled through the stitches. I don't mind losing some yarn if I can salvage the rest. If all I needed to do was to frog the first knit row to be good to go, fantastic; however, it doesn't appear that's the case.

I'm pretty certain that I've gone stitch by stitch through the cast on row, the first knit row, and maybe half of the second row. Keep in mind that I cast on 88 stitches. This is intensely boring work, and it doesn't look like anything is going to change if I keep up with it. I've exercised a lot of patience during the three-plus hours I undid stitches, but there's simply no way I'm going to do this for the entire sock.

I think I've made things worse (and tighter) at the other end of the sock where the yarn will rip out except at the one seriously knotted spot, so I'm not sure where to go from here. I've put it aside for the rest of the evening, and I think I'll probably leave it alone for couple days. After that, who knows?

I have found someone on Ravelry with three skeins, one from a ripped sock, that is the same color and dye lot. Buying it might be the easiest way to resolve the situation at this point.

Code red

Am I sick? I don't feel great, but I'm not incapacitated. I might be getting that scratch in the back of the throat that signals the onset of something, and I'm kind of tired for no good reason. I was feeling chilled at work, but then I learned that the faculty members were complaining about it being too cold in their offices. I also found out that the thermostat that regulates the temperature in my office is responsible for cooling the TV engineering and control rooms, which makes me wonder if I'm going to be frozen out in the new building like I was in the old one.

I'll blame this unidentified malaise for the knitting mistake I made at lunchtime. I hoped to finish the scarf today, but after knitting eleven rows during my lunch hour, I spotted five stitches that weren't as they should have been. My frame of mind obviously wasn't right since I decided I could live with the mistake and knitted another row. Thankfully it was the last one I did before returning to work.

Of course I couldn't leave the error there. It was only noticeable on one side, and even there it wasn't too bad. The recipient probably wouldn't pay any attention to it. But I would know. Cursed conscience. I knew I had to fix it.

I also attribute my next mistake to feeling mildly run-down. I can save some time frogging by taking the scarf off of the needle, ripping out the necessary rows, and reinserting the needle! Who needs to go stitch by stitch? Fortunately I realized the error of my ways after frogging a few stitches and got a needle into the loops. (I should have remembered what happened when I tried this wrong-headed method months ago.)

For the longest time I had difficulty seeing how to undo stitches. I'm not sure that I always see it now. Sometimes it's intuitive more than anything, but as long as the needle finds the right spot, I'm satisfied.

So I'm back to where I began no worse for wear. If only all mistakes were as easy to undo as these today.