LITTLE THINGS

It seems we get so hung up on the big issues in life that we often fail to appreciate the things that really really matter. Like our health, our children's successes, a tremendous sunset, a sweet breeze. Since I've rejoined the living I've begun to meditate and spend the first part of every morning either spinning or knitting. Sometimes with music, but often hearing only the neighborhood munchkins on their way to school or dogs yipping in the distance. I try valiantly to have patience with myself and with my knitting, endeavoring to greet the day with calm composure. I look to Hermione, one of our three cats for inspiration. She parks on my windowsill in the mornings and surveys her empire with the stillness it seems only a cat possesses.For the last several mornings I have spent time working with a lovely black yarn that I spun. It is the first shearing of baby Icelandic sheep, and I was fortunate enough to get 4 ounces of the deepest black. I literally bought this out of the hands of the shepherd who had come into Good Fibrations in Edgewood, NM to see if they'd like to carry some of his rovings. The employees and customers bought almost all he had then and there. The fiber is as soft as can be with a very delicate halo. Truly heady stuff! I decided that because I ended up with 3 small skeins I had to find some truly wonderful pattern that would show it to its full glory and would keep it close to the skin ~ yes! it's that soft. So my choice was the Ragna cap from Elsebeth Lavold's book Viking Patterns for Knitters.


Now I've been knitting for longer than many of you have been alive (no, I did not make baby mastodon sweaters) and cables are not a problem for me. I also am a great fan of knitting by charts, having learned to prefer them for lace. However, either due to chemo or child-rearing (I consider them equally hazardous to mental stability) there can sometimes be a disconnect, or an arcing, if you will, of waves in my cerebral neurons. By that I mean I can look at the chart for moments, tell myself aloud what the symbol means, and then proceed to do something which bears little, if any, resemblance to the charted directions.





I've learned to offset these synaptic shortcomings by creating my own road maps for the charts. It's a little time consuming, but Hey! it works! I make these on Super Sticky large lined post-its and then move them up the chart as I work. I also decided to break down and buy a new cable needle. I have usually used a spare double pointed needle for them, but when you only need to move 2 stitches around, that longer needle becomes tedious.



So I solved part of my cable angst with these:





I KNOW!!! Could it really be that simple? Well, apparently so! I continued along this morning knitting, centering, reveling in the gorgeous breezes, chuckling at Hermione's serenity, and slowly a little thought began to trip through those recalcitrant crenelations (the squiggly things in my brain). follow along:


left cable, cable needle to the front


right cable, cable needle to the back


Repeat after me: left cable, cable needle to the front; right cable, cable needle to the back.


After awhile it came to me (one of those "Eureka" moments):


leFt cable, cable needle to the Front and right cable, cable needle to the back (I'll be "right back")


left front, right back ~ left front, right back ~ left front, right back left





and look at the lovely result:
See? It really is the little things (I know, I know ~ from little minds).