Knitting Because I Have the Yarn

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. -- Chinese proverb

I woke up yesterday morning to the sound of birdsong outside my window. It was early: about 5:00am, which is the usual time I wake up during the work week. I yawned and settled myself back down to rest some more, listening to the birds. Out of nowhere, I thought, "I wonder who decides which bird is going to sing first? Is there a 'morning bird' that springs off his perch and bursts into song and annoys the other birds? Or do they take turns? And if they take turns, how does that bird wake himself up? If he's late, are the rest of the birds thrown off?"

Yes: Saturday morning thoughts by Adriene. Welcome to my head.

I'm feeling a bit more like myself these days. My headcold has been reduced to a niggling cough that flares up from time to time. I'm slowly but surely finding my routine again, but man, is it hard to get back to the gym after being off for nearly two weeks. It's like I'm carving out two new sets of lungs from a block of wood in my chest. It's getting easier, but I'm also trying to be patient with myself... there's no point pushing myself so hard that I catch another bug.

My progress has been stalled by a bout of tendonitis in my right foot, which I first had last year when I was training for my half marathon. It irked me that it has flared up again, but it dawned on me the other day that I'm not training for anything right now, and so I've got all the time in the world to let it heal. And it occurred to me that it's been a long time since I've exercised without a race in mind. It feels good to work out for the sake of staying fit... to be outside on the trail for the sake of enjoying the trail...

... like a bird that sings because it has a song.

I'm finally getting the chance to take photos of my 2Hundert shawl. I pulled it off the blocking boards last Sunday evening, and I've been admiring it ever since:

I'm very, very pleased with how the cast off turned out. I really wanted to block a single point into the edge of each cable. I changed the purl stitches in the last chart of the pattern to knit stitches, and I placed the beads along that column of stitches in an attempt to create a bit of weight for the points to last:

And I'm particularly pleased with the size of the final product, even if I didn't manage to use up all of the yarn.

This week, I messed around with another little project. I've been thinking of something to make and sell as a fundraiser for the Big Bike Event for the Heart and Stroke Foundation that I'm taking part in at the end of May. I thought, "I bet it would be cute if I could make a bunch of little stuffed hearts with faces on them?"

The result was underwhelming, and it took way too long to make them a worthwhile endeavour. I need something that I can crank out a bunch of if I'm going to make this idea work. Good thing I have a back up fundraising idea on the go right now. Back to the drawing board for this one:

Today, I'm nursing my sore foot after a gentle workout at the gym this morning. I made myself a nice little lunch of medium-boiled eggs on an English muffin, with a little bit of Wensleydale cheese, some freshly chopping parsley from my CSA box, and some grape tomatoes. I even have the obligatory hipster Mason jar drink (a tincture made of dandelion tea, cranberry juice, lemon juice, and lots of water):

And, while I'm trying to figure out another fundraising idea, I've started working on a new, lacy summer top out of some cotton that I've had for a while now. I got it so long ago that I nearly forgot I had it. I got it back when I had another cold a couple of years ago. Digging it out now just seems appropriate. I have about eleven 50g balls of it, so I think I have enough. I have a feeling it's going to be a heck of a knit, because:

1. I didn't knit a gauge swatch. I hate swatching over a lace, and this pattern doesn't have a chart. I'm just going to wing it.
2. I've had this yarn so long that it's discontinued. I've got to get it right because I won't be able to get another ball. Yes, Adriene loves her discontinued yarns.

I'm not all that worried about it. I mean, what's the point? I've been down this might-run-out-of-yarn road before, and so far, I haven't died from it. I may as well knit it for the challenge of making it work.

I can be a knitter that knits because I have the yarn. Heh, how about that?

Happy weekend!