Author: Mylene Lacroix

My friend Tina and I have started training to run a 5K for MS in April and another in May.  She claims that she can find us another for June, July and August.  I think we should wait and see how well the first one goes.  She’s been running for a year.  I, on the other hand, have been running for a month.  I’m just trying to keep up most of the time.  My knees ache.  Otherwise, it feels good.  I really enjoy it and the best part is, I get to do it with my best-est friend Tina. 

Tina and I have been friends since grade nine… that would mean we’ve been friends for… 18 years???  Jésus-Marie-Joseph that’s a long time!!! 

Let it be know that Tina is the one who got me the first Friday Night Knit Club.  She said she read a book review about it in People Magazine and thought immediately of me (because of the whole knitting thing) and got me a copy for Christmas.  It was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.  It made me laugh out loud, it made me cry (a lot), and made me think.  So, thank you Tina for thinking of me and getting me this book you absolutely knew I would love. 

Aren’t knitting-related presents the best in the whole world. 

My boss went on vacation and came back with wool.  How cool is that???  I see them as a pair of mittens something like this:

I’ve been knitting long enough that I can try a little color work.  Mind you, the first sweater I made (when I was 11 years old) was one of those yoke sweaters.  Like this one:

I think I might try another and see how it turns out.  It would be nice to knit one with some nice colors of our real wool (which wasn’t a priority when I was in grade 6).  We’ll see.  I’ll put one in the queue.

Jacob wants me to go play Wiiwith him (boxing).  Then I’m going to sit my arse down on the couch, put in a movie I’ve already seen (’cause I don’t like TV) and work on my gown.  I wish I could say that it was coming along smashingly but… that would mean I was delusional.

After I finished my post from yesterday, I sat on the couch and read the pattern.  I did so with no person or sound to distract me and it all started to make sense.   Turns out I didn’t boob as badly as I had originally thought.

Which means that undoing that portion wasn’t an impossibility.  So, I did it!  I took it all off the needle and undid it.  No was was I going to “tink” 8 rows.  It would have taken me forever.

Back on track!

I got that saying “the depths of despair” from Anne of Green Gables – which is one of my favorite books/movies of all time… that one and Pretty Woman.

Anyway… I’m feeling very discouraged today.  Last time I checked, I didn’t have a learning disability or anything.  I’m usually really good at reading instructions.  I worked 6 hours on one part of the gown and realized I boobed!   I kept going and tried to make up for all the lost decreases in three consecutive rows.  (I know… not good.)  Then, tonight when I got home, I looked at pictures of the gown that other people had made and dudettes, I’m totally lost!!! 

See bellow:

Now, instead of being on my merry way, I have to figure out this damn pattern (who wrote this thing anyway?) and undo from where the arrow is pointing above.

By the way, I really wish that when the writer of a patter wants you to decrease “evenly across next row” (I’m using that snarly/ mocking voice and making a face as I say this), that he/she would just tell you how to do it!!!  It must have taken me and three other people a half hour to figure out how to decrease 18 stitches evenly (face/voice)across 367 stitches.  Did I ever mention how much I hate math? 

Anyone out there want to knit this gown for me?  I’m kidding John!  I would never have someone else knit your baby’s “man-dress” (that’s what he calls it ’cause he’s really happy he’s having a boy.  He even warned me to leave extra room in the crotch.  Sometimes he’s crass but he’s still my best buddy.)

Maybe I should throw that schedule out the window and just take a little breather before I take this gown out back and sob uncontrollably as I set it ablaze.

I’m not a drinker… maybe I’ll make an exception tonight.

Well, I’ve been knitting all weekend and I swear the gown’s no bigger than 6 inches now.  How does that work anyway?  30 hours = 6 inches.  Dang!!!!  I knit so much that my hands were tingling.  Is that normal?

I otherwise had a wonderful weekend.  I went into a yarn shop though, and didn’t buy anything.  How about that?  I’ve sworn to myself that I wouldn’t purchase more yarn until I had used up a big chunk of my stash.  I will confirm though, that not buying any yarn took every ounce of strength in me not to get even a little skein of sock yarn (which I need about as much as I need a kick in the arse). 

I’m off to knit some more.  No pin tuck for another few inches so, it should go quickly.