Sunday, May 15, 2011

Emergency! knitting and spinning.. OR making sure we are prepared

Please note: if you are waiting on a spindolyn shipment, I apologies most sincerely for the delay, I am still unable to walk after the accident, but hope to be out to the shop by the end of the week (more info below this post)
My sis in law and I talk often about what I think of as "girl scout orta's" 
Habits we "orta" keep that can make us more prepared in the event of an emergency.
There are your basic emergency kits, then there are your "emergency fiber kits"
Their house fire taught me that a person aught to keep their purse on a hook right by the exit door. If you have to go to your safe place in the event of a tornado or flash flood, you will know where it is to grab it to take it with you. To have to replace your drivers license, glasses, etc is a drag. But even worse, if your car keys are in your purse, and you can't find it as you rapidly exit the burning house, then you can not move your car and it burns up with the house.

BD and W keep a "bug out bag" or "zombie apocolypse bag" handy by the door with survival stuff in it.

My mother kept a "hospital bag" that she could grab if someone went to the emergency room and she had to go sit. It had clean undies, socks, her own non allergenic soap and toiletries, something to read and write with and her knitting.
This was not her regular knitting, but a ball of dishcloth yarn and appropriate needles, just left there, waiting for the next emergency.
The last time S.i.l. had to go to the emergency room after the tractor accident, when I called to ask her what I could bring, she said; "please! something to knit"
And it got me to thinking I aught to get together an emergency bag, with toothbrush, knitting, spinning, etc. But I did not follow through with my plan, and in this last emergency, there I was, waiting and waiting, because I did not grab my current spinning or knitting project as they were to big, bulky, hairy, messy or disorganized to take along.
And that leads me to the point of this post.
 A person should plan their emergency fiber kit ahead of time, and decide if they are going to make it an entirely separate project from your current project, so that you can grab it and go and it will have everything you need and you won't have borrowed out of it or scrambled it.
I realize that some organized and tidy person's current project is perfect and complete and ready to go at a minutes notice, but mine is never that way as I am a  little scatterbrained and scatterproject. In addition, some of my projects are just not appropriate for public (no, not adult oriented, but as mentioned previously too big, bulky, hairy, messy or disorganized)
So, for myself, while I am confined to this position with my foot up, I am pondering what this emergency fiber kit should contain...and when I get mobile again, I have made myself  a promise that I will make it's assembly a priority. I am thinking......

  • 1 spindolyn, but which fiber would be easiest and most contained? what fiber is best for a stressfull or sad situation?
  • 1 small, simple knitting project; complete, simple, contained. But what? Mom always took a dishcloth, but what if my hands are too tired for cotton? is there a stretchier cotton out there? what else is mindless small and comforting...maybe just sock blanks...wristers?
I will think on this some more, when I can think straight.

Ok, here is what happened, if you are faint hearted, stop reading here, and know that I am recuperating as fast as I can, and am trying to rustle up some help to get back orders out. WARNING! graphic details below.





You might not want to  look at the photo of big old dirty nail in the barn that I stepped on which went all the way through the ball of my foot  to the top between the bones and tendons that operate my toes.

8 comments:

  1. Oh! I am so sorry!! That has to be really painful. And I hope that your tetanus shots were up to date.

    Thank you for the pondering about a "bug out" bag. It's something that I really need to think about and act upon....both for the practical necessities and the fiber ones as well.

    Hope you are healed soon!

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  2. YOWIEEEEE! My foot hurts just thinking about yours! I hope you are feeling better by now...and that you have full movement and no nerve damage..oh dear!

    For mindless emergency waitingroom or hospital bedside knitting, I go for the prayer shawl...knit three, purl three to end of row repeat for as many rows as needed. Not exactly a small project..but comforting.

    Get better soon!

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  3. Oh my! Praying for a quick healing for you.

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  4. Valerie, I learned that tetanus shots are good for 10 years *unless* you step on a rusty nail, in which case you have to have a booster at 5 yrs, which I did at the health dept, they said "that looks bad, you should go to the clinic for antibiotics, which was 100.00, then they had me come back the next day (another Benjamin) and they said that looks bad, you should go to the hospital for xrays, blood tests, yadayada, $$$$, more yada..and when it was all said and done, I wish I had just taken the tetanus and run, and not spent all that other money, as it is looking ok now, just still real painful. The lesson is, trust your intuition.

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  5. Cyndy, a prayer shawl! great idea, and one you could leave the yarn in the bag for, easy to plan the yarn, don't have to overthink it, thanks for the input!

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  6. So sorry to hear about your foot and said nail. I had a close call with one recently that just missed my foot, but left a nice hole in my shoe so I totally understand.
    My emergency knitting is a pair of plain vanilla socks. There is always a pair started and in their own project bag ready to go. Purse sits right next to bed with keys attached so I can run to or from whatever emergency wakes me in the night.

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  7. lavandula angustifolia (Lavender essential oil) - I put a drop directly on my scab where I had a basal cell cancer removed on my head - it's healing up nicely! You could put a drop on the bottom of your foot, if you don't want to put it directly on your wound. You have to make sure it's real lavandula angustifolia, or it might burn. There was an extensive article in "Countryside" a couple issues back about what all it's good for.

    My "emergency" knitting bag contains bulky yarn with a garter stitch scarf in progress, once it gets to a decent length, it'll get donated to a charity. I have small balls of bulky that will be combined to keep it exciting. My regular knitting bag doubles as my purse, so my DH knows it goes where ever I go. It's got all my "notions" and whatever project is going at the time, meds, and various purse flotsam.

    I hope you and your foot get to feeling better, and will be glad to get my spindolyn when you get to it. Keep us updated on your healing progress.

    TB

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  8. Vanilla socks! that just conjurs of up pictures of bouncy creamy fleece, spun to perfection.mmm yummy!

    Thanks for the lavender suggestion, I do have some lavender angustifolia and that would be good to keep the area clean.

    I am pretty excited as my son left a stunt bike here, and it is short enough I can sit on it, keep my bad foot up and use my other foot to scoot around to get to the barn, shop and garden, yay!

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