There’s a poem by Ted Hughes, “Foxhunt”, in which he describes hearing a distant pack of hounds who’ve picked up a fox’s scent. For such a gloomy subject, I’ve always liked it for its optimistic final lines in which Hughes wonders if the fox will make it, if it will manage to outrun the hounds and reach safety:
Or will he
Make a mistake, jump the wrong way, jump right
Into the hound’s mouth? As I write this down
He runs still fresh, with all his chances before him.
It’s been in my mind this week, after I went to Raigmore hospital in Inverness to see a doctor about my anaemia and get some tests done. I think I’d had seven needles in me by the time they let me go: two for taking blood, one to anaesthetise my hip for a bone marrow biopsy, one for the biopsy itself, two for a blood transfusion, and one final indignity when the nurse asked me to turn round and face the wall, bend over, and drop my trousers for a vitamin B12 injection (at least, I thought, my view was better than hers).
Ripe Haws
In brief, and for whatever reason, my body seems to’ve just stopped producing blood cells, hence the anaemia. There was a moment in the transfusion when they hooked up the bag of blood (each bag holds about a pint, and I had two) to my arm, when I stupidly thought, I can see the new stuff going in, but where’s the outflow pipe, as it were? And then I realised, this was a one-way street, and that’s how far my levels had dropped.
Meanwhile, and until we know more, I’m self-isolating at home, because apparently you also need blood cells for a functioning immune system (who knew?). It’ll be a frustrating couple of weeks till they get the test results back, but at least then we’ll know what we’re up against.
Till then, as I write this down, I run – well, I say run, it’s more of a slow shuffle, with a pause every few steps to catch my breath – still fresh – for a given value of freshness – with all my chances before me…
Of course you’ll outrun (ok, out-totter) the hounds – your public needs you!
Hi Deb, I appreciate the sentient but I’m not sure it works like that!
At least the knitting needles aren’t as sharp!
Collar done and on to the sleeves!
Hi Tamar, after a CT scan this week (cannula for the dye) and another blood test, the nurses are struggling to find veins to stick the needles in just now!
It’s a shame the unblocked gansey scrunches up so tall and thin, it does rather make it look like I’m knitting a gansey for Jack Skellington. But once it’s done it should look normal, especially when worn. I hope!
Paws crossed for a good outcome.
Thanks Cat, I’d like a few months at least when I don’t have to see a consultant about major quality of life heath issues!
Been there, done that. Didn’t much care for the bone marrow biopsy, and I’ve had several. But, like the fox, all my chances are before me. And we will both outrun (OK, outshuffle) the hounds.
Hi Lois, I’m a big fan of not worrying about the future, at least when you dont know what it holds. I’ll find out next week if it’s serious or not, and if so what that means, and take it from there. And I’ve read enough science and philosophy/ theology to have a fatalistic kind of approach, as in, “in the book of fate it is already written”. Or in modern parlance, “it is what it is”! 😀
Reminded of a quote from Voltaire ” The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease”
Of course there may not be a disease at all but such is medicine these days it will still keep looking for one!
Hi Caroline, yes, there’s a lot of truth in that, though to be fair the doctors could be a little more amusing while we wait!
Hi Gordon I hope that you soon recover from your blood transfusion and everything improves from then on.
Just a quick question, regarding needle sizes for ganseys. I did a tension swatch before beginning my latest gansey for a friend. Put on 216 stitches afterwards for the rib and then increased to 288 stitches for the pattern. However after 3 inches of pattern I feel that the body is not moving out of the reduced rib enough for a 38″ chest. My needle size is 2.75mm. What size needle do you usually use for a gansey?
Regards Roger. Thank you for giving us this great informative site
Hi Roger, last things first, I use 2.25mm needles, and have done since I was nobbut a lad. My gauge is a bog-standard 8 stitches per inch.
But that’s neither here nor there for you and you can use any size needles you like! I suppose the question is, what is your stitch gauge? If you lie it flat, and hold a tape measure against it, how many stitches do you get in 3 inches? (Measuring 3 inches and dividing by 3 is a more reliable way of finding your number-of-stitches-per-inch than just measuring one inch.)
Best wishes, Gordon
Hi Gordon, many thanks for your reply. I used 2.75mm needles and on measuring the stitch count I found it to be 9 stitches per inch. It was better to measure it over a wider section as the cable portion is tighter than other parts, such as the Zig-zag, therefore it is better averaged out. The final measurement that I want is 42″ chest to allow some positive ease, and that corresponds with the measurement of my friend’s favourite pullover. I had originally cast on 216 stitches for the rib and then increased by one stitch for every three to give a total of 288. This compares with the same pattern for a gansey knitted for myself, and I am the same size. However in knitting this one my tension is tighter and therefore at 9 stitches per inch I must begin again and increase to 378 stiches for the pattern.
Can I ask one final question, please? Do you use fewer stitches for the rib and then increase as I did, e.g. 1 stitch increase for every 3 when the rib is complete?
Many thanks Gordon
Hi Gordon, many thanks for your reply. I used 2.75mm needles and on measuring the stitch count I found it to be 9 stitches per inch. It was better to measure it over a wider section as the cable portion is tighter than other parts, such as the Zig-zag, therefore it is better averaged out. The final measurement that I want is 42″ chest to allow some positive ease, and that corresponds with the measurement of my friend’s favourite pullover. I had originally cast on 216 stitches for the rib and then increased by one stitch for every three to give a total of 288. This compares with the same pattern for a gansey knitted for myself, and I am the same size. However in knitting this one my tension is tighter and therefore I must begin again and increase to 378 stiches for the pattern.
Can I ask one final question, please? Do you use fewer stitches for the rib and then increase as I did, e.g. 1 stitch increase for every 3 when the rib is complete?
Many thanks Gordon
Hi Roger, I tend to cast on fewer stitches for the bottom ribbing, yes, then increase when I reach the body. The amount varies according to, say, the pattern, or what I feel like at the time. It’s also a little more complicated when knitting for women, who tend to be wider around the hips proportionally than chaps. The books I started out with recommended the bottom welt being about 10% fewer stitches than the body.
These days i work out how many stitches I need for the yoke and body pattern(s), then cast on fewer for the bottom welt. So if a gansey is going to be, say, 360 stitches around the chest, I might make the bottom ribbing 328 stitches, or 32 stitches fewer. (Bearing in mind my stitch gauge is about 8 stitches per inch.)
Hope this helps, Gordon
Hi Gordon, that is extremely helpful, manhy thanks. I do enjoy reading your regular blogs.
So sorry to hear about you contracting Leukemia. If it is any consolation, my twin brother found that he had leukemia approx 15 years ago. It does make him tired but he is still active, and still working at nearly 73,(he is paying for his son to become an airline pilot). I hope that like him you continue to lead as active a life for many more years. Kind regards, Roger