Nexus and Knitting

This is a second Sunnyside Tenacity Baby Cardigan.   (If you need to know the background about this name change, click on the link.)

Sunnyside Baby Cardigan v.2

The first attempt is not yet finished for a reason.  As I neared completing it, it became clear the first version would not fit a 6-12 month old baby, it was far too small for that age.  In my own defense, there was no gauge given in the instructions (a free pattern sometimes leaves a few details out).  It simply called for sock weight yarn and that's what I used.  However, my sock yarn apparently wasn't as thick as the yarn used by the designer.  So Dack and Nicole will get that attempt and will have a newborn-sized sweater for their upcoming newborn.  After all the tenacity I put into that first attempt, I was determined to turn this lemon into lemonade.  You'll see it when it is done.

With newly acquired information about gauge I started another Sunnyside (I can call it that for this second sweater because the very first attempt was all it took this time around).  I doubled the yarn using the original heather bluish gray with an equally heathered soft millet yellow wool/acrylic sock yarn with a tiny gold thread running through it.  This combination seemed very calming to me and then I looked out the window at the Burrard Inlet in the sun.  The ocean water there becomes blue-gray in colour as the sun shines on it and there are wisps of yellow/gold and a degree of shininess as well.  I use this view to relax after a busy day at work, why not take advantage of that calming effect for a baby?

My colour inspiration for this sweater from the Burrard Inlet

So I moved forward on the second sweater and have made good progress.

A closeup of the cables next to the front closures

Yesterday I took the day off from work to renew my Nexus card.  The Nexus card is designed for a frequent/trusted traveler who crosses the U.S./Canadian border often.  Having this card allows the holder to avoid long lines at the border because instead of the usual 60-120 seconds it takes per auto in the regular lines to be interviewed in order to cross the border; Nexus card holders can complete this interview in 6-10 seconds.  That doesn't seem like much time difference unless there are hundreds of cars lined up in front of you.  Nexus card holders are allowed to use a special lane at the border thus using the card is generally a real time saver.  Spending an hour or two or three waiting to cross the border isn't time well spent, at least from my point of view.

A sample Nexus card

So yesterday I traveled to Blaine, Washington to renew my own Nexus card.  Officials need to see you face-to-face not only to photograph you but also to make sure you are the person who submitted all the paperwork and deserve the renewed card.  All this required crossing the border twice without the benefit of the Nexus card because my old one had expired.  Driving south took just under 60 minutes to crawl along,   Truth be told, I was able to knit on Sunnyside along the way.  Moving forward one car length at a time doesn't require total concentration on traffic, but I don't know if an officer had stopped me whether that argument would have held up.

When I got to the office, (which was NOT BTW located at the address printed on the official letter I received) like so many governmental agencies, I was given an opportunity to wait, and wait, well you know what I'm talking about.  Again, this was found time to knit.  Everyone around me should have been thankful I brought Sunnyside.  Without it odds are I could have been rather impatient and perhaps wouldn't have kept that degree of impatience to myself.  With the knitting I was a happy camper because, at least in my mind, something was getting done during all this wait time.

Before I left yesterday the body of the new Sunnyside was almost done except for finishing the bottom hem with garter stitches.  As you can see from the top photo, not only did I get  the hem completed but also the left sleeve.  It will be a piece of cake to finish the second sleeve this weekend, add some perfect yellow buttons, wash, block and dry the sweater.  I can see it will be done on time!

So yes, even though I spent yesterday mired in border crossings and working through a governmental bureaucracy, I was quite content about it all.  That's the power of knitting for me; it has a calming effect (even if I'm working on the Sunnyside Tenacity Baby Cardigan.)