Hold that thought

Sometimes life gives you intriguing new potential go-to sock yarn...

 

and sometimes it gives you a loved one's hospital emergency. Sometimes that emergency happens to the person for whom you're the appointed decision maker, too. 

 

At least the hospital in question is pretty.

With lots of gardens!

Canadian healthcare, eh? 

I bought this yarn online as comfort food when things were just bad, and it arrived when things were a lot worse, and it is delicious. 

 

It's Briggs and Little single ply pretty untreated sport weight yarn, which is to say it is scratchy and full of plant fiber, but whoa is it amazing to touch. 

 

Not soft, not silky, but... kinda alive?

Like, all the little nerves in my palm perk up when I hold a skein. Finally! they say. Something we can really work with and examine! 

My feet might not be like-minded, but I'm pretty sure the yarn will soften up enough with the miracle of Soak Wash to make it a real contender in the Great Sock Experiment. 

I want to cake it and cast on socks with it SO MUCH. Even though the socks I'm currently testing out are really satisfying to knit. But there is just no time. I'm coming home from the hospital at night so spent, I don't know how any nurse ever manages to survive a month in that job. In the morning, I can only gaze longingly at it as I rush out the door. In between, I'm navigating diagnosis / treatment / companionship and then updating all the other people in our circle as to what's happening. 

This whole thing has been on the horizon for a while, and will cap more than 96 years of life for the person whose approach to it is utter calm and acceptance. I mean, what more can you ask? I can't let myself be the one to rail against it. But the situation requires a focus on dignity and love and administrative excellence, so this Hug is going to have to serve as a placeholder for a week or three while things unfold.

As I say, hold that thought! And if you have any tolerance for 'rustic' wool yarn, do yourself a favour and try out some Briggs & Little. So affordable and so, so crunchy.