Saturday, and It’s Fall

Where did summer go? The weather has chilled dramatically in what seems a very short time! Where the days got up to 30ºC, they now only reach 20ºC. Fruit is ripening on the trees, the leaves are beginning to change colour and there’s a definite chill in the air in the mornings and evenings. John, a smoker, sits outside reading, wearing a winter jacket.

It’s knitting weather! Of course, for me, it’s knitting weather all the time. Different seasons demand different kinds of knitting. One thing you can be certain of, there’s always something on my needles. I know I shouldn’t but last weekend I started another small project. This one has a deadline (next Thursday) and is a super easy knit. As well, it’s using up stash yarn.

Apparently, this little scarf has been all the rage in northern Europe over the past couple of years. It’s the Baktus scarf and is really easy. It can be done in garter stitch or stocking stitch (I’m doing the stocking stitch version). It starts out with 4 stitches, increases on every 4th row until half the yarn is used, then decreases every 4th row until 4 stitches remain. That’s it. I had 75 grams of this yarn left over from the Wool Peddler’s shawl I finished last weekend and decided that this scarf would be a good way to use up the yarn.

Why is Thursday my deadline? Well, that’s when I’m scheduled to go in for surgery to remove half my thyroid. Yesterday morning was spent at the hospital for the pre-surgery screening. I was weighed, measured, scanned (ECG), poked (blood work) and interviewed (nurse and anaesthesiologist). After that, I had to go for more blood work and another EKG, requisitioned by my family doctor. All of that was done while fighting a migraine… it was not a good day! Surgery is scheduled for some time on Thursday and I’ll be staying in the hospital overnight.

I want the Baktus ready to wear, to cover up the incision, when I leave the hospital on Friday. I guess I’d better get busy!