Well, maybe not

Working on the Emily shawl last night, I got within about 7 rows of finishing, and thought, "This looks kinda small." (That had been my worry all along. Yes, I get that shawlettes are not supposed to be an enveloping garment - but there's a difference in the look of a shawlette on your typical size-4, shoulders-the-size-of-an-8-year-old model and me, who does an upper body workout and has German farmers in her genetic background)

So I may wind up doing another repeat. Or two. I have plenty yarn so that's not a worry. Something tells me that even Blocking is Magic won't help the size of the shawl unless I knit it a bit bigger. Oh well.

At least this is a fun and relaxing pattern to knit - once you establish the "base row" of a repeat, it's just knit 3, do something, knit 3, do the other thing (one thing is paired eyelets, the other thing is double decreases). I like that 3, 3, 3, rhythm, it's easy to remember. Also, three is a magic number.

I also need to get onto knitting that second pony for my swap partner. Because of some issues on her end, she doesn't want me to send the box until early August (after I get back), but still, I want to have everything lined up and ready to go, and the only thing that remains is this item.(I did get some nice colored pencils on a good deal: lucked out that it was a "back to school" sale).

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And I find myself still looking for things that are fun and relaxing and happy and nice. Because I woke up this morning and switched on the news (I know, I know: I should just ban myself from it but somewhere in my psyche there is something that tells me, "Grown-ups have at least a basic idea of what's going on in the world.") And I saw the news of the shootings in Colorado. And was at first, "What th'?" And then I was "Oh, no." And then, "What is WRONG with people?"

As I think I've said before: The only time I can imagine doing physical violence to another person would be if my own safety, or that of a person weaker than I was, was threatened. For example, I could kinda see chasing down and beating on (provided I was fairly sure he didn't have a gun or something) someone who was clearly trying to abduct a child, so the kid could get away. But harming people I didn't even know? That's sick.

I know they're saying "not a terrorist" meaning this isn't (apparently) someone with a religious or political agenda, but I still kinda think making people feel unsafe in their own town - even if there's no reason - is a form of terrorism.

I've also talked in the past about how I often thought of the Israelis at the height of the PLO bombings, or the Brits in London during the IRA bombings - what kind of fortitude (or, maybe, ability to put things out of your mind) it must take to be able to go out to the grocery store or the theater or wherever, with the thought in the back of your head that there's a small but not minute chance that you might not be coming home again. (And yes, I know: I take that risk every day I drive to work, considering some of the drivers I've seen. But somehow a random car accident seems different than someone bent on causing shock, horror, and destruction).

ETA: a re-tweet I saw (from someone else) on Twitter suggested making a donation to the charity of your choice in the wake of this - sort of the old "trying to overwhelm bad with good" model. I like that. (I picked Heifer Project, been a while since I gave to them). Also maybe it's time to consider knitting a second Red Scarf Project scarf, if they're still doing the project...

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And finally, here's just something I find incredibly cute. I don't like it when mice get into my house but I'm perfectly content with them out in the fields. (Look at how his little tail curls around the stem!)


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