Not what you expect

I had a large change in plans last week. Thursday, I left work looking forward to my bi-weekly knit night with a group who has been meeting together for a couple of years now. I haven't seen this group of knitters since our little retreat in early February and was ready to do some catching up and knitting. While driving home, I received a call from Italian which put a bit of a kink into my plans. He was dealing with a major problem at work and wasn't sure when he would be home. This type of message usually means the issue is indeed major and he wouldn't be home until late in the evening. I resigned myself to the fact that knit night was just not in the card. Sure, I was a bit bummed at first, but then, I seized the moment, changed my outlook and spun, or plyed rather.

After several months, I now have three bobbins of singles which I am now plying. So far, I think I hate the yarn. I've given this bamboo days of my time. I've adjusted my behaviour to make this fiber happy and it rewards me by being defiant and something other than I had envisioned. It is slubby and inconsistent. It is lazy and slovenly and not what I wanted. I realized I needed to just let go and let the fiber be. Once I did that, I took another look at it and though maybe, just maybe, things will work out with us afterall. I'm still not sure if it will be the right yarn for the sweater I had in mind, but if it isn't, then I'm sure it will be right for something else.

I used the niddy noddy to wind my skeins (Aaron, that's where the two anchors come in) and washed and hung my skeins. I looked at it again and thought, maybe it would work out okay. I took another look at the pattern and the yardage required for the sweater. The sweater needs 1001 yards for my size. I may be Asian, but I am not spending that much time on bamboo.

Which leads to the next "unexpected" thing. I love St. Patrick's Day. Blame it on my Irish heritage. Yep, I am half Irish, married someone who is half Irish and have a half Irish child with two Irish name. My Asian appearance is generally one of the first things people notice about me, but it's not the only thing I am. My family is from Kilkenny and one side of my family hasn't been in the US for very long (relatively speaking). Today is a heritage day for me which is fantastic. What I love the most about today, though, is that in the States, everyone is little bit Irish and seeing the unity is a bit refresh. So on this day of Irish celebration, may your cup never run dry, may your purse be always heavy, and may your stash never empty. Erin go braugh!