As those of you have been in the Library know, I’ve had pneumonia which…will…not…go…away.  I sound so bad that last Monday, Molly was on the reference desk for 3 hours and answered 15 questions; I was on for 5 hours and answered 3. Honestly, I wouldn’t go to me either. I’ve resorted to a sign that says, “I sound horrendous but to the best of my knowledge I’m not contagious” which seems to reassure some people.

So, when you’re stuck at home for a month (grumble) over the holidays (extreme grumble) with no energy and no ability to go anywhere (^*%#$#$!!) and no one will go near you because you sound like you are crawling with viruses (*words too vile to be spoken out loud*), what do you do? Pick up a new hobby, of course!

Why Kay can’t knit with needles anymore… Also, it’s 40 degrees out in this picture–Mainer marching band chic.

Several summers ago, I was so proud of myself for finding multiple looms and the starter book at a yard sale for $5. I do know how to knit regular style, but unfortunately, I played clarinet too long as a kid and my wrists got wrecked. Loom knitting seemed like the perfect compromise. At least that’s what I thought until I tried it and got yarn everywhere in an unholy mess. Into the closet the bag of stuff went.

I got it out again about a month ago and finally had the patience (or lack of energy-which in many cases is the same thing) to figure it out. It’s so fun! I first started with the most basic stitch and made a scarf I’m calling Dr. Who Hello Kitty, as it’s about 7 feet long and in various shades of pink. I’m slowly working my way through the various knits in the book. I’ve decided to make a rainbow scarf (child of the 80s) and do each color in a different stitch. 

You can see the differences in the picture to the left. The pink (part of the Dr. Who Hello Kitty scarf) is the single stitch; the red is the double stitch; the orange is the half stitch and the yellow is my newly started chunky braid stitch.

So, what does this have to do with libraries? Well, for starters, we own this book so you can try this out yourself. Also, we have a knitting group on Thursday evenings! And as this New York Times article talks about, knitting is good for your health.

So far, it’s not really working for me…but I have hope that maybe by the time I get to purple I will not be coughing any more!