wotd: Pyrrhic victory

Pyrrhic victory \PIR-ik\, noun:: A victory achieved at great or excessive cost; a ruinous victory.

I'm planning to participate in the current Lion Brand Crochet-along (did you notice that little badge in my sidebar?). I love this cardi. I love the extra help and guidance on Lion Brand's blog, Lion Brand Notebook. I love Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic Cotton. I don't love its price.

When perusing the Lion Brand offerings at my local JoAnn's, I made a very uncharacteristic choice. I've decided to crochet my cover-up using Pound of Love, a "super soft 4 ply knitting worsted weight 100% premium acrylic" in color no. 102: Bubble Gum. To me it was the most offensive (least offensive?) color offering in these jumbo skeins. Total cost for my cardi will be around $20, a 75% savings from what I'd pay for that lovely organic cotton. (How do I work in a reference to Pyrrhic victory here? If I finish the damned cardigan using this heinous bubble gum color, is it a Pyrrhic victory? Finished, but at what cost? Would it be more of a Pyrrhic victory if I'd overdrawn my checking account but completed my first structured garment in a yarn and color I love? I just don't know!)

Looks like my gauge is a little tight. Supposed to get 11 hdc in 4 inches; I appear to have 14 hdc in 4 inches. I'll cast another swatch tomorrow using a size J hook. Maybe there's the Phyrric victory aspect: I could have victoriously completed the damned thing using a size I hook only to discover its too damned tight around the bosoms. This promises to be a real adventure.

Comments

wedding gift

On Saturday Dave's cousin Traci is getting married. At the last minute we decided to fly to Ames for the wedding and to see everyone who will be in attendance there. At the last minute, I decided to crochet a throw as a wedding gift. I just finished. The colors in this first picture are true; the other two pictures were taken with flash so the colors look brighter than they really are. I started last Monday night with 7 skeins of Lion Brand Chenille Thick and Quick in Periwinkle. It's 72 single crochet in the back loop only for as many rows as you want. Then single crochet around in a contrasting color. I chose Wine. I bought the yarn at Big Lots for half the retail price. It's long and skinny but very texturally appealing. Though all skeins were of the same dye lot, you can see that the top and bottom skein are definitely different, not so much in color as in texture. It's pure dumb luck that they ended up at the top and bottom. It's not perfect, but neither is mar...

in which I get knocked down

Sickness saps my energy, both physical and mental. It's surprising, really, how seldom I get sick, since I work in a petri dish. When I do get sick it lays me low and happenings that I might normally take in stride just completely knock me down. Last week I was diagnosed with an embarrassing viral infection, the symptoms of which on their own couldn't possibly have dragged me this deep down: sores in my mouth and throat that blistered and peeled and made every mouthful feel and taste like shredded pennies; an itchy rash around my mouth and nose and on my chest. Compounding that: knees that felt packed in hot wax, the backs of my eyeballs aflame. No fever, so no H1N1. Negative strep. Malaise. But I soldiered (martyred?) through most of the week at work, because I could, and some of the other teachers had to stay at home with their diverticulitis and kidney stones. On Thursday night my laptop died. On Friday night I felt I could deal with my weekend obligations. DH went out of t...

chock-a-blog

Search This Blog