A little comfort
Thursday, October 19, 2006 at 10:40AM 
A while since I blogged for various reasons. Mark's father's died last week, after a long battle with Parkinsons. Though his death was not unexpected, it was nevertheless a huge preoccupation and something to come to terms with in several ways. Although we've led a charmed life, with all four parents there for us until recently, the death of both our fathers in the last two years makes me realise that there's a kind of snowball effect. The events of the last week rolled up with those of June 2004 and at quiet times I found myself in reflective mode.
The funeral, yesterday, was an effective closure and I'm ready to move on, to get on with things and to get busy.
So, what have I been up to? Well, having bought a couple of balls of red alpaca at the Knitting and Stitching show last week, I felt the need to do a little therapeutic knitting. The colour and texture are perfect for that - it's soft and cosy, and I do like a little red here and there! The Smoke Ring I knitted last year was a fun project and rather than tackle a new lace pattern, I thought I'd boost my confidence a bit first by rediscovering this one. I have been amazed at how easily it has come back to me and I find myself hardly referring to the chart at all. Have whizzed through this in no time at all and feel really pleased with my progress. Though I've still got the teeny tiny totes to knit in the next nine weeks (seven down, five to go - notice I'm not using the C word) and Mark's socks are three quarters done, a little change was needed and has worked a treat.
Reader Comments (4)
So sorry to hear about your bereavment. Grief does seem to be cumulative, with each death bringing all previous loss back to the surface. We never get over, we just get on.
The Alpaca is a beautiful shade of red. Hope it soothes.
Sorry to hear your sad news. These things are never easy, expected or not.
I'm an absolute believer in knitting as therapy. The Smoke Ring is beautiful.
Sorry about your FIL, at least he is now at peace.
For someone who thinks they cant do lace you are doing a good job there ;-)
Will try and find you a pattern for the DK...
I'm sorry to read your sad news. I hope you have good memories of your Father in Law (and all those you have loved and lost) to look back on to comfort you when grief is particularly sharp.
I thought I recognised the pattern from the photo at the top of your post. How sad is that?