It's a Girl...and a Boy

The baby news came pouring in today. When we got up this morning, there was an email waiting for us -- our friends in Toronto had their little girl, Hazel, last night. And just a few minutes ago, I got another email from my friend in Michigan, announcing the birth of their son, Landon, on Saturday. And so The Year of the Babies begins...

And now for the bad news... What follows is a horror story that's not intended for the weak of heart. Proceed with caution...

Last night, Paul had a hockey game, and I thought I'd take the quiet time to do a little laundry and work on my Adamas. And, for a while, it went really well. Really well. I was cruising right along with my first row. The only problem was my needles. It was so hot and humid last night that the silk was sticking to my Denise cable, and I was having a hard time getting it to slide over the join. At one point, I stopped and tried to push the yarn back. I tried and tried and tried, but I just couldn't get it to go. I tried some more, tugging the little loops, trying to force them over the join...

...and my needle came apart. The needle and the cable separated, dropping stitches as they flew apart. I scrambled to try to pick up the stitches, but I knew it was no use. They were lost. My only option was to pull out the needle and rip back down to my lifeline -- all 6 1/2 rows, which took me more time to knit than I care to think about.

Just for the record, I did not cry. But I came close.

I just happened to have a #5 bamboo circ nearby, so I grabbed that and started over. Unfortunately, my bamboo circ is only 24" long, so it's not going to get me very far -- but at least things went relatively smoothly after I picked the stitches up off the lifeline and got back to work. In fact, I did 8 rows before bedtime -- meaning that I made two whole rows of progress. Let's see...2 hours...2 rows. At this rate, I should be done by 2045.

I've decided, however, that it's not my fault. It's my sister-in-law's fault. Remember the socks that made my head hurt back in December? Those were for my sister-in-law. And now the shawl...for my sister-in-law's wedding. It's all her fault.