Someone I have known almost all my life, someone I admire very much, was in surgery a couple of weeks ago.  She was ‘under’ for over four hours.  The morning of her surgery, I cast on, using Judy’s magic cast-on, (more on that below) and just started knitting.  I knit for my friend every moment that I could during her surgery and for a couple of days afterward, while she recovered.  There is a certain uncertainty about surgery that made me want to send her my energy while she was unconscious.  Will they find what they expect?  (No, they did not.)  Will it go as planned (No, it did not.)  Will they find answers?  (Yes, they did.)  Will she be OK?  (Yes, she will.)  Medicine is mystical.  I have been somewhat dependent at different times on medicine  that helps me to breathe.  Well, actually, it opens up my airway after it has been completely closed.  I’ve wondered over the years, after countless inhaler puffs, how long I would have lived without an inhaler.  How long would my Amiga have lived if she hadn’t chosen this surgery?  Its a mystery. 

Judy’s Magic Cast On is a trick I learned from Cat Bordhi’s “Personal Footprints for Insouciant Sock Knitters”, and I later perfected the technique in Cat’s “Engineering New Stitches” class on May 1st.  If you are considering knitting up a pouch or bag of any sort, (or a sock toe-up)  I would recommend this technique.  It is pretty fun!   It is especially usefull if you just want to knit, rather than worry about pattern or product, yet magically produce something useful.  It was perfect for the prayer-type knitting that resulted in this wonderully rich red silk bag. 

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