A Little Inconsistency Would Be Nice

In Mason-Dixon Knitting, when Ann and Kay warned that one day I would knit before coffee, I scoffed. I laughed. Nothing comes before my coffee. I have been known to wake up half an hour before I have to roust Marco, just so I can have 15 minutes peace in the kitchen with my first cup.

Yesterday, for reasons I do not understand, but suspect may have something to do with the end of my Christmas shopping being in sight, I woke up over an hour before I needed to. Sad experiences have taught me that if I go back to bed, my body will convince itself that it has the morning off and will not wake up until it's time to start shrieking about missing buses and lunches not made.

So, at 5:30 in the morning, as I was filling the Krups, I decided to go ahead and knit the last 3 rows of garter stitch on the first half of Cate's poncho. (It's the only gift I'm knitting this Christmas. And it's not a surprise, so I can write about it without giving anything away.) Garter stitch is easy. Kay and Ann's statement (it's on p. 17, "Great Things You Will Do") implies you will knit correctly. That's why it's "great things," not "goof-ball things." It doesn't say you will screw up your knitting before coffee.

I know what I am like before coffee. It isn't pretty. I must have still been asleep. Semi-conscious sleep-walking. It's the only possible explanation. I'm knitting this with three different yarns, two of slightly different weight and color (Fleece Artist Kid Silk in Blue Lagoon), and one of significantly different texture (Handmaiden Silk Spun in Capri).














Of course, I knit with the wrong one.














I suspect no one is surprised.