a simple yarn

…is my new best friend.

Warning: Too many words devoted to a mobile phone to follow, but be patient, fibre-related content in the second half.

Okay, it’s silly to mourn the loss of an inanimate object. I know that. And while I didn’t shed any tears over the recently washed-and-spun mobile, I am staggering from the price to replace it…€249. Ouch! Seems I got my little beauty for a mere €39 as a once-in-a-lifetime-deal. Sigh.

But, the biggest relief in my ordeal was that the SIM card, keeper-of-all-my-contact-numbers, was unscathed. AND, the memory card, housing my tunes and games, was undamaged too. When all is said and done then, I have the essence of my previous phone housed in a new body. Thank you Mr-Science-Geek-Whoever-You-Are for your contribution to society!

Have to say the new addition doesn’t initially carry the same appeal as my previous slim-line, but to be truthful, it has most of the same features and a few additional ones I’m finding to be quite handy. The Kiddies love it. ‘Looks like an iPod,’ said 7-Year-Old-Son-Alex. ‘Blue’s my favourite colour!’ sighed 10-Year-Old-Daughter-Kate. A happy ending to this story.

What is a happier ending is the unanticipated mastery of the Kitchener stitch. Okay, I use the term ‘mastery’ in its loosest sense, you understand! While I know most knitters will have already figured out this elusive stitch, for me it came about rather recently and quite unexpectedly.

During those happy, carefree days of the new and loved mobile phone, I decided to knit a cute sock. After a few unsatisfactory attempts, success came with a magic-loop-in-the-round version. Naturally, to close the seam at the bottom, I needed the Kitchener stitch. Sounds rather complicated, but amazingly, it was when I turned the darn thing wrong side out that the Kitchener stitch finally made sense to me!

Part Two-Kitchener Stitch From A New Angle to follow in the next post, gotta snap some how-to pics first!