Back to the land of the living.

Ugh, this past week has been illness far beyond what that last post communicated. Coughing and coughing and losing about 90 percent of my voice for three days. Work was absurd; I had to answer the phone in a hoarse whisper. This weekend I've done nothing but sit on the couch, sleep when I can between bouts of coughing, and get better.

Oh, and I've almost finished the Best Friend Cardigan from Twinkle's Big City Knits. Right now it's actually blocking. I made the smallest size, let's call it "infant." In any case, I was worried, for perhaps the first time in my years and years of knitted garments, that it would be too small. Then I soaked it and gently laid it flat, and it really stretched out. I envision fabulousness. I'll give my final thoughts on the garment and book and yarn when it's all done.

In other illness knitting news, I learned linen stitch to work on my Rock and Weave socks from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, last year's sock club. This pattern has all sorts of bells and whistles, and reminds me why it's important to work from others' patterns to learn new tricks as well as do my own designs. The cuff is linen stitch, more weaving than knitting, and then stitches are picked up along the bottom and knitted around into the heel and instep. The colorway is "fairgrounds."

Oh, and I knit a Green Gable. All this progress that comes from being laid up. It's also blocking... photos outdoors soon!


Chris made something this weekend as well: a single-speed road bike from an old 10-speed frame, a lot of salvaged parts, and some cheap tires. It rides rather nicely (despite the illness I let myself take it up the hill behind our apartment and back) and is actually more effective on hills than my mid-weight hybrid. I'm sick of carrying that weight around, even though it's gotten me in great shape... we're saving money in an envelope for a road bike for me by the end of the summer!

Still coughing... let me give a shout-out to the products that have helped me get this far:

Sudafed Shower Soothers (these are awesome!)
Robitussin (day and night formulas! Cheaper when purchased together!)
Tylenol Cold (again, get the day/night multipack, it's cheap!)
Ricola!
Rolls of toilet paper and boxes of kleenex!
Tea!
Those really nice people at the JP Licks across the street from work who make me wonderful milk shakes every day for lunch so I can have nutrition!

Good job, everyone! It's been a team effort!