Stress Relief

A week that was, was this week. Stress levels extremely high but from no easily identified specific cause. A bit like the frog in hot water syndrome - gradually the heat gets turned up until 10 pm, Saturday night, I find myself spinning in circles, overwhelmed by everything that has to be done, if not now then yesterday.

What comes to the rescue? A good nights sleep, some vitamin B, an iron pill and two hours in the train, knitting and listening to Radio National Podcasts on the ipod. My favourites are; All In The Mind, delving into all things mental; Ockham's Razor, thoughtful people have their say on important science-related topics; Radio Eye, best of documentaries and features from Australia and around the world; and my personal pick; The Night Air, "hard to describe but you'll be glad you listened: a mix of all the best uses of radio in one time-slot".

I did subscribe to a lot of knitting podcast but have gradually been weeding out the banal and the repetitious so that I'm down to about 3 regulars. Unfortunately Brenda Dayne has gone on a break and Marie Irshard hasn't posted for a long while so that limits it even further.

The knitting that happens on the train is the Rib Wrap - it is progressing nicely but I am now so paranoiac about pattern corrections that I am double checking every instruction, despite the fact that there was only one listed. I question the back measurements, remeasure the front and check it against the back - it shouldn't be this stressful!

I am seriously studying Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top Down as I want to free myself from such constraints to make my own errors! She's not an easy read though. The boat neck, cap sleeve, design I have in mind requires that I read three different chapters and decipher her probably really obvious instructions. My problem arises from my presumption that all top down knitting is done as circular knitting - as I have discovered it isn't. Barbara recommends a cunning "Invisible Cast On" that starts at the back, continues to short row shaping for the shoulders and then joins with the front (which has been picked up from the cast on) at the underarms - then it becomes a circular knit. The book has some great tips in the last chapter including a stern recommendation NOT to join yarn at the sides - as it leaves unslightly bumps - but to single knot and weave the ends in the body.

I think I may try the top down jacket I recently received from Knitting Pure and Simple and that may clarify a few things.