Sunday, March 30, 2008

Doing The Right Thing



After reading about Earth Hour on Geraldine's blog the other day, I felt compelled to turn out the lights.  I like the planet well enough.  You could even say I'm a fan.  Turning out the lights for an hour seemed like the least I could do to say, "Thanks for the gravity and stuff."

So, for an hour last night, the only light at Chez Sheepie was that of the gently flickering candles.  And the TV.  And the computer monitor.  And one time, there was an oven light for a minute.  It was like being a Pilgrim or something...

OK.  So maybe I wasn't entirely clear on the whole point of this exercise.  But baby steps are steps nonetheless, right?  I sat in the dark watching zombie movies, for heaven's sake!  I should get some credit for that!

With less of the light available, I opted to do the responsible thing and not knit on the Invisibility Shawl until artificial illumination was, once again, an option.  After all the difficulties I had with this pattern, it seemed wise to not tempt fate.  So, I waited.

And I was rewarded for my humble attitude towards my skills.  The shawl continued to behave beautifully once I was able to see again and remained a dutiful WIP even into today.  


See?


**Important Warning-Type Statement**  In short order, there will be a number of intrepid and well-meaning individuals who will want to ask if I was using a lifeline.  The management of this blog requests that, for your own safety, you refrain from doing so.  We are not insured for sobbing Sheep roaming the country and toilet-papering the homes of good knitters who ask logical questions.


It was the photography what done me in, I think.  Any time I get a little cocky and say to myself, "hey, the rest of the world needs to see the stunning beauty created by mine own hands," is pretty much when things go completely haywire.  Somewhere along the line, and not too long after this picture was snapped, a stitch, perhaps a yarnover, managed to wander off for greener pastures.  Where it went, I have no clue.  But I do hope that it is happy and remembers me fondly.  I hate to think that its departure was somehow meant to hurt me or that it is out there laughing cruelly over the hour I spent tinking my way back to a place where the stitch count made some sort of sense.  That would hurt.

Hard to believe that, in broad daylight and on a pattern that contains a mere four rows and only two that require any sort of counting, I could make such an error.  But, it's certainly not the first time.  Nor will it be the last.  If I wasn't yelling at my knitting, I don't think the cat would recognize me.  It is sort of comforting in a weird way.  Still, I really should see if I can't avoid further boo-boos.  I need to get this project finished.

Doing the right thing feels good.  You may not always be rewarded for it.  But you have the self-satisfaction of knowing that you are at least trying to make a difference.  You should always do the right thing.  

Which begs the question: Why haven't I put in that lifeline yet?

SA

16 comments:

Jacqui said...

lifelines are for the 'Ants' in life. you, my friend, you are a Grasshopper [knitter] just like me!

you scoff in the face of winter, no wait, dropped stitches. you scoff in the face of starvation, no wait, tinking back to before your diety or mine was born. you live in the moment.

... hmm. starvation and winter death are one thing. frogging lace is another.

put in a friggin' lifeline already for cripes sake!

[and darn Blogger for not allowing strikethrough in the comments...]

sheep#100 said...

Lace = Lifeline!

And I agree with jacqui - blogger needs to allow the <del> tag in comments.

Kath said...

Okay - I'm gonna go for it here 'cause really - if you wanna come all the way over here and TP me, go right ahead!

Lifeline is one of the rituals required to appease the knitting gods. They are cranky gods, but very observant, and thanks to your efforts, someone else skated by their notice today. Why not put in that lifeline - and let them pick on someone else tomorrow? (But let me know what you decide - so I can decide which project to work on and whether or not the coast is clear for something tricky!)

Geraldine said...

Ahhhh...Sheepie, I think lights were only part of the Earth Hour equation, I could be wrong. We did the lights and everything else out here and were amazed to see a lot of participation up the mountainside!

Did you say snowstorm??? I want some....send it west, ok.

Sorry about your knitting conundrums but the colors are incredible, it's fixable, right!!!

Huggs, G

Anonymous said...

I don't like to use lifelines either. When I started knitting lace I used them and I felt like they were slowing me down too much. But I do count my stitches after every row to make sure I'm on track. I guess that's not any faster. :)

Jeanne said...

I'm a sinner. I missed the whole Earth Hour notice and thus my bulbs were a-blazin' the entire time. What is this lace of which you speak? Yikes!

Anonymous said...

Yup, you did better'n me: I didn't even KNOW about Earth Hour 'til it was all over. And I feel like a dufus. Ah, well. I may choose my own Earth Hour sometime soon, and I'll do it the drastic way -- just shut off the main breaker. No TV or computer or oven light to cheat. :)

Cathy said...

We observed Earth Hour by going out to eat. The restaurant was packed! I guess we all had the same idea!

Love the shawl - you may inspire me to make one. And lifelines... well, I tried but I discovered counting and fudging work just as well for me, too.

Anonymous said...

The shawl looks fabulous. I would suggest in the kindest way possible that you give a lifeline a try. It helps to limit gray hairs and screaming in frustration. But it's your shawl so you do as you wish.

Kris said...

I had no idea about "Earth Hour" until it was over either... Guess I should fire up the computer more often on the weekends... But honestly, the threat of the babysitter coming over and seeing the squalor we live in was more pressing than anything on-line. That and I really wanted to go out on a date with my sweetie. Alone. Someplace that didn't involve play structures or cartoon characters. You know, where the glasses are glass?

April said...

I never use lifelines. If you're not living on the edge, you're not living, right?

Anonymous said...

I am 1-1/2 inches into my first real lace project -- all the way up to 30 stitches -- and I haven't used a lifeline yet. It seems really stupid to put one in when I can still pretty much count the stitches just by eyeballing them.

Of course, every stitch of every row has been knit and frogged and knit and tinked and knit again at least three times...

Cursing Mama said...

You are a daring sheep indeed!

Yarnhog said...

Well, it still looks great!

We celebrated Earth Hour by turning off everything. Of course, it happened here at 2 am and we were all asleep anyway, so I'm not sure that really counts as "conservation."

Alwen said...

I'm going to say it right out loud -- I've never used a lifeline.

(Hope the knitting goddesses aren't listening. OTOH, I don't have a lace project on the needles right now, so who knows what they'll aim at!)

"If I wasn't yelling at my knitting, I don't think the cat would recognize me."

It's lines like that (that and this dang cold) that reduce me to eyes-leaking giggles.

Geraldine said...

Speaking of 'the North' we won the Earth Hour award for the most committed country for energy savings (perhaps they phrased it a bit differently). Nonetheless, I'm feeling pretty darn proud!!!!