Jasmine Romper

One of my customer friends was making this adorable romper for her grandchild-to-be and needed some help on the lace work on the front of the garment. Some of the chart/stitch patterns were unfamiliar. We worked through the “issue”, figured it out and then I figured that I had to knit it for my little Sylvie.

The Jasmine Romper by Maria Atencia comes in sizes newborn through twelve months. The front is a lace pattern with bobbles and the back is a simple stockinette with garter stitch edges around the legs and at the top. It requires five buttons and is knitted in a sport-weight yarn on US 4 needles for most of the pattern. I chose Universal’s Bamboo Pop, a DK weight cotton and bamboo blend. It’s machine washable/dry flat.

I’m knitting the 6-9 months size for Sylvie. She’s a peanut. The size that I chose to knit had some minor inconsistencies between the written and charted pattern but the designer was quick to respond and has updated the pattern. So, after a couple of false starts (I always think it’s me who has the problem the first time … or two) the knitting began.

The front of the romper is a fun lace pattern with bobbles. I have been using the KnitCompanion app but you could print it out and use a chart minder. I have positive feelings about both but am loving the Knit Companion app and I am saving paper and ink by not printing my patterns. Regardless, the front is difficult to count rows on because of the patterning but it’s not impossible. Life will be so much easier if you mark your progress. Decades of experience have taught me this. I also use stitch markers to help me. That’s why we have them, right? I used stitch markers to mark the garter stitch edges and to mark the lace pattern at the center of the garment’s front.

There are a lot of ways to make bobbles and this pattern asks you to knit and purl into the stitch for a total of four stitches or three increased and then you yarn over and cast off the four stitches just knit. This makes a bobble that’s not particularly pronounced and that remains a little bit open at the bottom. For this garment, it seems like a good option. But I want to remember to return to my notes from a workshop I took with Annie Modisette in Florida many moons ago because I loved her bobble technique. When I get around to that, I’ll write a post on bobbles.

Anyway … the front is now complete and I’m working my way up the back. The back is simple stockinette stitch with garter edges in all the same areas at the front. If I’d continued working on it yesterday, it would have been finished and ready for blocking and seaming today. But I didn’t. So, I hope I’ll finish it today and get it blocked so I can seam it and send it on to NYC before my daughter and her family head to California in May. I hope Sylvie can wear this outfit this summer. We’ll see how it fits.

It seems that the back is a little fuller than the front and that may be to accommodate a diaper. Once finished and blocked, I think it will be telling. I love the yarn – Universal Yarn’s Bamboo Pop. It’s a blend of cotton and bamboo so it’s a sturdy yarn but like a lot of cotton or linen it doesn’t hurt my hands to knit with it. I also have had no problem with splitting. I love the pure white, too.

I can hardly wait to see this on her little body. With a little bit of a tan on those chunky thighs? Ha Ha! Gone knitting.

Typhoid Mary …. Covid Carol? (Sorry Carol!)

April 12, 2023

This really stinks! I was all ready to go back to work this week and get back to a more “normal” life. Yesterday I started to feel like I had a sinus infection and this morning I thought I’d just test to make sure. I’m almost sorry I did. I tested three times hoping for a negative test. They were all positive.

Ugh!

So, I had a virtual doctor’s appointment (she said this situation was “rare”) and she wasn’t sure how to treat me. But it turned out that the antivirals that I took last week in NY were good but it’s too early to take them again. So, we are treating the symptoms with cough meds, nasal spray and an albuterol inhaler and now we wait … for heaven’s sake! I don’t need this and I sure hope that my newly-hipped husband doesn’t get it and I hope his kids who came to help don’t get it. Time will tell.

It looks like I’ll be spending a bunch of time over the next few days in my studio on the second floor while my husband is on the first floor and I’ll be masking when dinner or other help is needed. I’ll be washing my hands even more, and cleaning the communal areas that I touched. The weather is beautiful so the windows can be open today and the air cleaners are running on high. I’m doing everything I know how to keep the germs from spreading.

Aaaand … I’m knitting a little bit. I’ve been working on my granddaughter’s cardigan. Worsted weight cotton knits up so quickly in a little size. I love the color.

I’m also trying to get the socks for my brother finished before his birthday. I’m working on them today in hopes of reaching the toe. He’s got big feet so it’s a lot of knitting. But he’s worth it. I’ve been using Yankee Knitter’s sock pattern and the leg and top of the foot are 3×1 rib. They look pretty good if you ask me. I know he’ll love them.

Yankee Knitter #29

My plan is to work on the Arne and Carlos mini jumpers and clean up and organize my studio as well. I’m going to get some quality knitting time in and make the best of this second round of isolation. We’ve got lots of food in the fridge/freezer and some left-overs from the weekend. We are so fortunate that we are as healthy as we are. This is just a little hiccup, right?

Gone knitting.

PS – This little bunny has covid, too. Luckily she has no symptoms. Nor does her father. Spreading love around the family.

Home and Recovery

Leaving the City

On Thursday morning I tested negative for Covid. Yay! My kids said that ideally I’d test twice 24 hours apart but when your husband has had a hip replacement surgery and you weren’t able to be there with him, you really want to get home as quickly as possible. So I took an extra test with me on the road and agreed to test again before I went into the house.

Uber to Metro North train to car to Maine. I really need to find a more passive way for me to get to the city and back because the drive is quite long when you’re doing it yourself and only staying for a couple of days. And since I stay with the kids in their apartments, it can only be a couple of days because we’re all tripping over each other. It’s great for a couple of days but then it’s time for them to return to their normal lives.

Anyway, I got home Thursday night and was thrilled to see that my hubby had survived his surgery handily (hippily? LOL) The procedure went “perfectly” according to his surgeon and his recovery is going well. This seems to be the joint that you want to need to replace. It’s so good to be home.

I’ve been knitting a little bit while I was in NY. I took two projects: my brother’s birthday socks and some cotton to make a sweater for Sylvie.

Tiny, Normal, Huge

My brother’s socks are big. He has big feet. He’s a tall man! I’ve finished the first sock and have passed the heel of the second one. I love knitting with Emma’s Practically Perfect Sock yarn. It’s a delight to work with and this is a perfect color for my brother who loves green! I’ll be wrapping them up once their done because my “baby brother” is turning the big 6-0 this year and when we were there last he mentioned that he couldn’t find one of the other “fancy socks” that I made him a while back.

Cardigan Inspiration

I saw this adorable little cardigan on Instagram and sent it to my daughter thinking it’d be adorable for Sylvie this summer/fall. Since they live in NY, their apartments are warm but when you go outside you sometimes need a little sweater. She loved it and I have several hanks of a “robin’s egg” blue cotton that I thought I’d knit it in. I’ll have to look through my stash to see what I have in white and yellow/gold for the daisies which I’ll embroider on after the cardi is finished. My granddaughter has grown so much but she’s still fairly petite and in smaller-than-her-age clothing. So, I’m knitting the 6 month size and we’ll see how it goes. I have five hanks of the yarn so I can knit two or three sweaters from this yarn for a little one.

The pattern is Elizabeth Smith’s Little Coffee Bean Cardigan, a free pattern on Ravelry. I’m knitting it with Universal Yarn Cotton Supreme in the Aqua colorway.

I’ve got other projects started, of course, but they were left behind when I went to NY. Heck, I was only going to be gone for a couple of days … and it turned into a week. The best laid plans, right?

Gone knitting.

And All I Got Was …

Covid!

It took three years for me to get it. I’ve been incredibly careful but apparently I wasn’t careful enough this time.

I came into New York for a quick visit with my kids and granddaughter before my husband’s surgery. He’s getting a hip replaced. Needless to say, Covid doesn’t figure into a successful recovery from surgery. Right?

It’s all fun until …

We had a blast Thursday and Friday and even Saturday. I even babysat with backup from my son and his girlfriend on Saturday night. I thought I was reacting to allergens … New York is abloom. Maine is not. Saturday night I felt “hot” and thought I may have a sinus infection. Again, not a surprise. And then I mentioned to my daughter that I felt warm and she got a quizzical look on her face and went to get a Covid test. I was convinced I didn’t have Covid. I didn’t feel badly. But she had a gut instinct and the kids have all had it at least once.

We all know who was right.

I’ll be in New York until I test negative. My husband’s daughter will be minding his surgery and our house until it’s safe for me to go home. I’m being well cared for by my wonderful kids and have been on Paxlovid since yesterday. It’s a wonderful drug.

Gone knitting.

WIP Monday

Monday, March 27, 2023

This morning was one of those lovely sunny spring mornings when all seems right with the world. I had an 8:00am phone call with one of the other lake association heads to discuss a possible collaborative approach to milfoil mitigation going forward. It was a good talk and I value their work in our region. Our lake association is a group of dedicated volunteers and we’ve been fighting an uphill battle for funding since our inception but we’ve done incredible work. Volunteers are more difficult to find these days and finding a seasonal workforce has become much more difficult since the pandemic. It’s been a busy two years as the president of Friends of Messalonskee and I’m getting ready to pass the torch at the end of July.

I’ll have more time to knit, want to add time for sewing more and did I mention that I will have more time to knit?

I’ve been making progress on my Arne and Carlos Mini Nordic Jumpers Advent Calendar. I’ve mostly finished numbers 17 and 18. I only have to seam the underarms and block them. They take about a day to knit and it’s so satisfying to finish something. I have another seven to finish before the end of November. I think this year I may actually get there.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to display these sweaters in our house … any suggestions? I was thinking a “laundry line” hanging in front of the windows in the living room. I’m not sure about it so any suggestions are most welcome.

I’ve restarted my Favorite Genser but to be fully honest, I haven’t been focusing too much on getting it knitted because I have a very important socks to knit. Today I made it to the toe of the second pair of “the longest pair of socks ever” … and I will have the first sock finished before I go to bed tonight. I’m knitting a new pair of socks for my “baby” brother who is having a birthday next month. He’s a really exceptional brother (my big brother is, too!) and I wanted to make him some new sister-made socks for this birthday. It’s a big one for both of us this year. I’ve chosen to knit his socks in the “Legal Tender” colorway of Practically Perfect Sock by Emma’s Yarn. His favorite color is green and the word “legal” reminded me of our father. No pictures allowed because I want him to be the first to see them. I did show you a very starting photo here.

Jasmine Romper in Universal Bamboo Pop

I’m making slow progress on Sylvie’s little bamboo & cotton romper. This is quite a fun knitting pattern and I can’t wait to see her little pudgy legs in it. There are lots of colors of Bamboo Pop and I chose white. It’s a good summer colorway. Maybe I’ll make another one, too.

On April 1 we are starting a Plant Fiber-Along at work. I’m technically leading the PFAL (see what I did there?) I have some worsted weight cotton that I would love to knit out of my stash. I was given it by a former student and her parents from back in the day when I was a school “nurse” at an elementary school. It’s a light teal-y blue and it’s really soft. I’ve got five hanks of the yarn and I hope it’ll be enough for a sleeveless tank or a tee shirt. I’ve got to start something so I can show my progress in our Sunday email newsletter. It may end up being a little sweater for my granddaughter … Hey! It could be worse, right?

I have other projects on the needles that I’m not even paying attention to right now. And sweaters worth of yarn to get done. So much knitting, so little time. Gone knitting.

Looking for Sun

Sunday 3/18/

This morning didn’t look particularly promising. I always feel better when the sun is shining and while we all know the sun is up there somewhere, we weren’t sure that we’d see the sun today. But we did! What a beautiful day. We had ice fishermen on the lake early in the day and I saw one snow machine. We won’t be seeing them for long. By late afternoon the lake ice was taking on a gray-ish tone which is typically a good sign that it’s thinning.

I’ve cut down my knitting because of the neck/nerve thing. I’ve been stretching my hands/arms/neck more often, too. I think it is making a difference. I hope so.

I’ve cast on a pair of socks for my “baby” brother. When we were in Massachusetts he happened to mention that he’d lost one of the socks I gave him several years ago. What a great opportunity to make him another pair. I’m using Yankee Knitter’s Classic Sock pattern #29 and Emma’s yarn in the “Legal Tender” colorway. His favorite color is green and our dad was a lawyer. It felt right.

Classic Socks in Legal Tender

I’ve cast on and frogged and cast on and frogged and cast on again and this time I hope it’s going to be okay. It’s a bit of a long story but one of my customer-friends brought in a little romper that she’s making for a future baby in her life that she needed some help with. I helped her over her knitting hurdle (bobbles … everyone bobbles a little bit differently and this one was one of the “oddest” ways I’ve seen yet.) The more I thought about it, the more I thought I needed to make one for my granddaughter.. I chose Universal’s Bamboo Pop yarn in white. The pattern is Jasmine Romper.

Lisa has since finished her romper and I’ve started mine three times. The first time, I cast on according to the written instructions and then switched over to the chart … but the stitch count was off. I had a look at the other sizes (I’m knitting 6-9 months) and it seemed like the chart was right. I wrote to the designer to tell her about the difference between the written and charted directions and a missing instruction. On Friday I made the assumption that the chart was correct and cast on the second time. Ha! We all know what happens when we assume, right?

Today I started for the third time. The designer responded and the chart is actually wrong. The third time’s a charm, right? I haven’t even taken a photo*. Soon enough, I will.

Gone knitting.

Note: *Photo above is a FO from Ravelry with credit given to the knitter/photographer.

Grocery Store Daffodils

Yesterday we were out and about. We needed to get to the dump as we missed a trip last week when we were out of town and we needed some food in the house. We were scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to come up with meals on Friday. It’s rare that we both get out together, we typically divide and conquer but it’s fun to be together even doing the mundane day-to-day activities. How lucky we are to enjoy spending time together.

I’ve been spending lots of time volunteering but there’s been some time for knitting, too. I am limiting my knitting time because I think I’ve “tweaked” a muscle or nerve in my shoulder/arm/neck. I may have mentioned this before. Yesterday I knitted more than I have for over a week and it was mostly good … I had to stop in the early evening after working on my husband’s Christmas socks. It’s heavy worsted weight yarn and US4 needles which is quite a workout for my hands and arms.

Urban Rustic Socks in Raggi

Sock number two is getting close to the “easy” part. Gusset decreases are in process. I love this pattern because it’s different and the decreases come to a nice point on the instep. I hope to finish these up because I have a pair of birthday socks to make for my brother in April and I’ve found the perfect yarn.

I have a bag with odds and ends of Cascade Fixation yarn that I’ve “collected” over the years. I’m trying to be responsible and use it up. Socks are the easy no-brainer project, especially baby socks. I’ll be carrying the two pairs I’ve made so far to NYC next trip to see if they really don’t fall off. The pattern is a free one that I found at work … it’s called Fixation Baby Socks, I think. This week I found the pattern “Jane of the Jungle”, free on Ravelry (it’s a Knitty.com pattern), and I knew that I needed to make this for Sylvie. I hope it’ll fit this summer. I am going to make the bathing suit bottom, too, but the top could be worn with shorts or leggings. Ha! Ha! Stinking cute! By the time summer rolls around she should be crawling and by the time we get to the beach in September I’ll bet she’ll be walking. Time goes by way too quickly.

Our orchids have been blooming forEVER! We have two plants: one was Ned’s mother’s orchid that we bought for her and her caregiver took such good care of. It’s been so happy since we moved to Maine. Helen’s been gone for several years but the orchid keeps on going. The flowers were all dried out but when I watered it last week, I noticed a new little bud spike coming along.

And the second orchid was a gift to me from my eldest. It’s been blooming forever, too. The plant stand has been giving a real show. It’s flowers were starting to dry out and fall off but I noticed one more flower that’s coming. I’m not sure if I have a green thumb or if these are super-powered Maine-loving plants. I’m not complaining.

Gone knitting.

My Favorite Genser – My Next Knitting Adventure

March 7, 2023

We are home again after a wonderful weekend in Marblehead with the family. My brother from Louisiana, my sister from Arizona and their “spice” (plural of spouse, right?) came to see Noah … and his parents. There is never enough time together and we are always grateful for the time we have – life is never guaranteed.

While there, I had a little knitting issue. My neck and jaw felt weird when I was knitting for awhile. I first noticed it in class on Friday and then in the car driving down to Massachusetts. When I stopped knitting, the weird feeling stopped, too. I stretch my neck and shoulders pretty often when I knit but I seem to have a muscle or nerve something going on. So, I didn’t knit a lot or for long periods of time and it’s feeling better enough that I knitted last night and it didn’t happen. I’ll be cautious and may book a massage this week.

I cast on a Sophie Scarf in Berroco Folio on a US 4 needle. I don’t know why Berroco discontinued this yarn. It’s got such a great hand and it knits up so nicely. I grabbed up a couple of gray colorways to make a few Sophie scarves. Sophie is a simple garter stitch scarf surrounded by an i-cord edge. I’m making the small version this time and will make a second (and maybe a third) larger one next.

I cast on my Favorite Genser last week and did my swatching with purpose. Last night I measured my gauge and I have missed the mark. I am supposed to have 24 stitches to four inches and I have 26. Ugh. Ah well, that’s the way it goes sometimes. This is a new yarn that I am working with and a lot of new information from Patricia at Knitography Farm in Norway. So, I’ll pull it out to the ribbing and knit it again with a slightly larger needle and see what happens.

I’m excited about learning something new, though. I love working with new yarns. I have two skeins of this yarn in my stash … my recollection is that it was to knit a pair of mittens designed by Arne & Carlos but I can’t find the pattern. Eventually I will figure it out or use it to make something else. I’ll be writing about this genser project again as I get going … and as I get the gauge right. It’s always interesting to work through the process. I’m doing this through the Knitography Farm website where they have online classes. I’ve bought a couple of the classes and the support is incredible. Patricia is certified to teach these traditional Norwegian patterns and she has endless knowledge that she generously shares. She also is a good steward of a flock of sheep and makes yarn from their fleece. Check her out at knitographyfarm dot com.

Gone knitting.

AT LAST! I finished a long (not so lost) project.

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

What a beautiful sight when we opened our eyes this morning. The lake was covered with fog but as the sun started to come up, there was a little spot of light. It’s been like the last few very gray days for me … lots of emotional fog and low energy but a little bright spot because I know that the days are getting longer and the sun will be shining more soon. Well, we have more snow in the forecast this week so that “soon” is relative. BUT today I am feeling much better and I attribute it to the sun because everything else remains pretty much the same.

Yesterday and over the last few days I’ve recommitted myself to finishing some old projects that have been set aside. One of them for almost two years. And I didn’t have a lot of work to do to get it finished. This morning I blocked it for a second (third?) time and it’s ready to be attached to a dowel and hung. My hubby is bringing a dowel home from work this afternoon and I’ll attach it and hang it then.

It all started with the Covid-19 pandemic when I decided to take time away from work in mid-March of 2020 and Arne & Carlos started a pandemic KAL. Weekly YouTube sessions were something to look forward to and I joined.

It started with one little block in stashed yarn that I won as a door prize at my LYS on March 17th, 2020. One little yellow and white stranded knitting project. Something that made me feel like I had a purpose and I had a community.

And then in blossomed into more and more blocks. One each week. It gave me something to look forward to as we zoomed with our kids over cocktails and zoomed with my knitting group on Fridays. Life was so NOT normal but was feeling a bit more “normal” considering the circumstances.

And then in the late summertime, it felt safe enough to return to work masked, of course and the little blocks were relegated to my unfinished cabinet and left there. For weeks. I’d take them out and look at them and try to decide what they should be. Some people designed additional blocks and I knitted one or two of them but I had 19 blocks and I had run out of my different colors of yarn and only had (maybe) enough to make one more “rainbow” block. (I ended up choosing NOT to.)

On Monday I decided I was going to finish a project. I pulled out two WIPs and decided that my Arne & Carlos KAL is the one getting finished. I. had seamed together a few thinking that I was going to make a cushion for the couch or my studio but I changed my mind and decided to make a wall hanging. (I told you I’m getting a new knitting chair, right?) Well, the orange in the blocks will look great with my new chair, so … I seamed the rest of the blocks that I wanted to use together.

And because it’s never “that easy” … I decided that in order to hang it up, I needed to stabilize the edges a bit. I thought about sewing fabric to the back to do this and then decided to keep the integrity of the knitting object and pulled out my black yarn and crocheted a slip stitch all around the edge. This really did help the structure so it won’t stretch when hung, but it didn’t look great.

Again, I considered getting a piece of poster board or foam core or thin wood product but since it was snowing like crazy, I decided to keep it “simple” and knit a garter stitch border around the edges. It took me the better part of the day but by last night, the knitting was done. I blocked it again this morning and awaiting the hubby’s arrival home with the dowel which I’ll stitch to the back of my wall hanging and it’ll be done and done.

Finished but for the hanger

WIP no more! Gone knitting.

Another Failed Snowmageddon

Thursday Morning

This is our view from the front porch this morning. As you can see, there is no snow falling. The world of Maine has closed because a Snowmageddon was forecasted. We were told to get ready to hunker down, we’d be getting snow overnight last night, all day long today and tonight, too. It’s not even 10am and the snow has ended. We have about two inches here in Belgrade. Nowhere near enough to consider it worth staying home and hunkering down.

In my next life, I’d like to be a weather person. It seems to me that it’s the only job where if you’re wrong much of the time, you get to keep your job. Businesses were deciding to close yesterday, a full 24 hours in advance of a storm. The whole state is closed!

So, I have in front of me a day to do whatever I want. Normally, I’d be at the store today. I went in yesterday as a favor to the boss in advance of the storm. We were super busy and the boss’s brother was at work on day two of having tested positive for Covid. My Irish stepped in front of the normal, reasonable me and I blew a gasket. I told the boss that it was him or me going home and that she didn’t have my back and that I felt betrayed. Come to find out that the sit and knit group the day before was ushered in through the yarn doors (usually kept locked) so they didn’t have to walk by her brother … “but he was masked” and two of his employees “were ok with it”. What about the woman who came in yesterday with oxygen? What about the Colby kids who go home to a dormitory? What about those who are unable to be vaccinated or have other reasons for being high risk? Employees on the fabric side of the store were told to keep it quiet. The yarn side was told nothing. UN-believable.

Anyway, so today I have a day to do whatever I want and I “should” be finishing the vest that I have on the needles. I’m so close and it’s bright enough to pick up the stitches around the arms and neck and knit for a few rounds. It would be good to finish this before I start the Choose Your Own Path Genser class with Knitography Farm. My yarn arrived yesterday.

Traditional Norwegian Yarn for my Choose Your Own Path Genser Course

I’m excited to start this course and make a beautiful sweater! I’ve bought the book that was suggested and I love the sweater. The yarn is sport weight by American Standards, the Norwegians don’t seem to need the guidelines as we do. They know that with this yarn and these needles, they’ll get gauge and will be able to make a sweater that fits. Americans seem to need more hand-holding and guides. I’m eager to give this a shot and I already know that the pattern will make a very close-fitting pattern so I will be needing to adjust the stitches to make it fit me the way that I want it to. I like a little bit of ease in my garments. I know that Patricia will be offering lots of help with this. It’s always fun to knit something new and to learn something new.

This is the sweater that I’m making. I’ve bought the purple yarn pictured on the model in the center. I struggled with color choice, though, because there were so many lovely colorways. I don’t have anything purple in my closet so that’s what I went with.

I’m knitting socks for the hubby as part of his (past) Christmas gift. I’ve finished the first sock and will cast on the second sock today. I will be endeavoring to write down the way I made the first one because I think the pattern was wrong. I tried to follow the pattern twice and twice the ribbing didn’t line up properly. On the third try, I just watched my knitting and put the ribbing where it needed to go. They’re such pretty socks; I love the cables and the way the heel is knitted is a bit different from the sock pattern that I usually knit.

I’m also knitting little baby socks. Little Miss is now 4 months old and starting to be more talkative, rolling over and grabbing and holding her rattle and toys. Her aunt had Covid a week or so ago and, once officially negative, her priority was to go see Sylvie. She’s changing so quickly from week to week, it’s incredible. I won’t be sure that these socks fit until I try them on her but I did my best guessing. Supposedly they won’t fall off – I’ll believe it when I see it. Anyone who’s ever dressed a child knows that socks fall off almost immediately. It just happens.

On Tuesday I made my first King Cake. I have a brother and sister-in-law who live in Louisiana. Since I’m linked to the south and Mardi Gras, I saw a recipe for King Cake in the NY Times and decided I’d try it. Despite the fact that it took my dough a couple of more hours to rise than it was “supposed” to, it turned out to be pretty tasty. The recipe had caramel apples in the center of the cake which is a bit untraditional but it’s pretty tasty. Next year I’ll try a more traditional cake and I’ll have the right colors of sugar to be authentic. Haha!

I should have taken some to work yesterday to share! I think this may be more cake than two people can eat before it gets stale. Or maybe I can freeze it. Note to self: don’t frost the whole cake at once unless you have an army ready to eat it. It doesn’t hold up under plastic wrap.

Gone knitting.