I am knitting the border of Dad’s blanket and a few things have become apparent to me through the struggle.
First, this is one heavy blanket. Skeins and skeins of bulky weight wool yarn knitted together makes one hefty blanket. Knitting the border while sitting beneath all that weight is challenging. At the end of each row, the entire blanket gets turned and repositioned. I need both arms to lift and readjust the wooly mammoth. Each border has 11 very long rows. Three hours of lifting and wrestling has left my shoulders quite sore. I am thinking rotator cuff injury, but I don’t want to freak myself out. Who knew a lofty bulky weight wool could weigh so much when knitted together?
Second, in sitting beneath all that woolly warmth and knitting away I get quite hot and sweaty. I hate feeling hot and sweaty. Call it a womanly thing, but excessive heat is not me. So between knitting the border rows I go outside and stand in the cool night air. It’s a little like going from the Amazon to a Swiss Alp, and yes I am noticing a sore throat, some sneezing and a cough developing, but we all know we can’t really catch a cold this way…can we? After the fourth time of standing outside, I went downstairs to The Skipper’s shop and brought up a fan. I figured it might help me stay cooler while I worked underneath the woolen goliath. That’s when The Skipper said, “Are you too hot? I turned up the heat because I thought it was too cold in here.” Ah, the male thinking pattern. Suffice it to say, the heat was cut off but it didn’t help much. I still needed my evening air breaks.
Third, Yarn Rascal is trying all his best manipulative behavior to try to appropriate the blanket for himself. The minute the blanket goes on my lap so does he, as if I need more fur and warmth on me. He immediately rolls over on his back, becomes like jelly, and looks up at me with big puppy eyes that say “For me?????” It is hard to carefully remove a dog who has amazingly rid himself of all bones in his body. He oozes one way, then the other and is impossible to pick up. In the meanwhile, I am getting hot and sweaty from the struggle and can’t wait to rip off blanket and dog from my lap and run outside into the cool air.
I figured once I got to the borders the blanket would come together like a dream. I figured wrong. Today I am going to take my head cold medicine and some aspirin for my aching shoulders which I may never be able to use again and knit up the second of four borders. It’s going to be a lovely day.
Turn up the heat????????? Is the man sadistic????? I had thermostat fights with my late husband too – he was always cold. I have never been cold a day in my life. Can you imagine living in the south????????? I would die.
I like that you struggle on towards completion despite the best efforts of the wool blanket, the Skipper and the dear Yarn Rascal to dissuade you from the task in hand. It may well kill you, but it will be completed!! Way to go!! 🙂
lol – you can do it! But I have to ask – why don’t you take it outside and sit in the cool air and knit? then you might be glad for the blanket. I crocheted a blanket in bulky wool, and I did it in the summer. I had to work on it in the morning only, it was so hot! But crochet is easier than knit, because you can work your way down it while most of it sits beside you on the couch. I wish you well on this – I know you can do it, and it will be lovely. I hope your shoulder recovers.
And know that yoru dad will be cozy and warm under it. 🙂 Next up, knit one for the Skipper so he leaves the heat alone. 🙂
It’s going to be fabulous though, isn’t it? (As for manipulating all that heavy, warm yarn, may I just say that this sounds like heaven to someone who is permanently cold.) I hope your shoulders are OK, though.
lol.