The nursing home called me in the wee hours yesterday morning - my husband's condition had declined and they'd put him on oxygen. I got dressed and rushed over there, and sat with him until last night - he is declining but appears relatively stable, if that makes any sense. I can't sleep there at night, there is no room in that crowded room for even a decent chair, let alone a cot. I sit on what appears to be an upholstered dining room chair all day, and my back is not happy about this at all. So I left word with the staff to call me at any time if there is any change in his condition, and came home to get some food and rest. They didn't call last night, and I was able to get a decent night's sleep - exhaustion will do that. It's impossible to say how long this can go on, but unless he somehow rallies from this new low, I can't imagine it can go on too much longer. I'm praying it doesn't. This is exhausting and stressful beyond description, so I won't bother trying to describe it further. If my blogging drops off in the next few days, that's why - but honestly, reading knitblogs and writing about my own projects are a wonderful mental break from the stress, so I'll still be around as much as possible.


I'm well trained in these crisis drills by now - no matter what, I grab my knitting bag before leaving the house. I have made great progress on Sorority Girl's white Sitcom Chic - a white sweater is the perfect project for the wee hours in a dimly lit nursing home room, I had no trouble seeing what I was doing. I love this pattern, and now want to make one for myself. I understand why it swept the knitting blog world, it's fast and fun and incredibly cute. I should have it done by the time the girls move into their new house in August, and I can bring it up to her then. I was a wee bit concerned that the large size might be TOO large - somehow it looks really big on the needles - but I checked my gauge and then figured out the measurement on my own body, and it's not as large as it looks, it should be just fine. Sorority Girl inherited her mother's "bustiness" (say "Thank You Mommy!") and consequently has similar sizing issues, and since she is also tall, I feared a medium would look skimpy, like she'd borrowed a smaller girl's sweater. Fingers are crossed that it won't be too big, or at least that she can get away with it for sorority functions, and if she likes the sweater style but wants an even closer fit I will make her another one in a smaller size for her active nightlife.


I also brought my afghan project, and after my hands started cramping on my knitting needles I switched to whipping out a few more granny squares. I'm really liking the color combinations. I don't do orderly squares, I just grab colors at random - my concession to orderliness is to try not to put similar squares right next to each other in assembly. I crochet my squares together, too, I think it gives a firmer, more finished "frame" around the squares which looks really nice. I combat the horror of assembling a gazillion grannies by pausing now and then to crochet together a strip of completed squares, then crochet a few strips together, etc., it's the only way I can face it.


Meanwhile, a sweet but somewhat embarrassing phenomenon is taking place, and I believe the source is Knitter's Review's forums. I'm getting mysterious, anonymous gifts of yarn and fibers in the mail. My birthday was a couple of weeks ago, and when the first gift arrived, I thought, "Wow, how sweet!" but didn't think too much of it. Then there was another one a few days later. And yesterday another - this time it was 10 balls of a wonderful "Softball" cotton, in red. I was tickled because I think it'll be the right gauge for the Sitcom Chic I was just contemplating, and there appears to be plenty of yardage to make it so. I hope these secret yarn angels will identify themselves to me so I can thank them properly in person - and I do hope the yarn they're sharing is stash overage or something, so they're not actually spending money on me, an embarrassed stranger. Since I don't know who they are and can't repay them, this is my public vow to pay it forward instead, and share yarn anonymously whenever the opportunity arises. Knitter's Review has the nicest people on the Internet, and I'm not kidding.