If you missed my introduction post to this series, you can read it HERE. To go straight to the book club portion of this post, which will contain spoilers for this week’s book (Summer Knight by Jim Butcher), scroll down to the next big header. If you’d like to skip straight to the Blue Beetle Handwarmers KAL, scroll down to that section at the bottom. They are both clearly labeled so that you can easily find or avoid certain sections as needed. 

Real Talk: Llamas are better than people.

They grow their own sweaters rather than having to knit them like peasants people, they communicate with each other by humming, and they also make better antibodies. There’s a lot of misinformation/misunderstanding going around about antibodies right now, particularly in regards to the specificity and sensitivity of antibody tests for COVID-19. I had originally planned to write about that today. I may still revisit that in the coming weeks, but as I was researching that I learned a lot about llamas. And I think that we could all use a week of good news. 

Good news everybody! While they probably can’t keep you from getting COVID-19, llamas may help save your life if you do contract it!

Hot off the academic presses, a new research study conducted through the cooperation of scientists in Belgian and Texas — with the help of Winter the Llama — have just published very promising results. The study sought to identify if antibodies created by Llamas infected with COVID-19 could be used to treat humans with severe cases. Which begs an interesting question:

Why give a llama COVID-19?

Contrary to what some pundits implicate, scientists aren’t actually just throwing epidemiological spaghetti at the wall when they conduct experiments. In this case, a Belgium researcher didn’t decide to infect Winter because they were bored. Before I go any further, I think it’s important to note that Winter is fine. Winter is living its best llama-life. The study exposed the llama to a partial virus, enough to elicit an antibody response, but not a full viral exposure. Anyhow, llamas have been closely linked to medical research for decades. We tend to think of rats or mice in terms of lab animals, but camelids (camels and their cousins, like llamas) produce a unique type of antibody, called a nanobody. They have a robust history of being used in Coronavirus research and treatments.

To understand why camelid antibodies are so special here, first we have to understand a little more about Coronaviruses generally. There are seven known types of Coronaviruses that can cause illnesses in humans. Four of these are variations of the common cold and are regular run-of-the-mill human diseases. Most of us get most of them seasonally, and aside from suffering through the trials and tribulations of living with a spouse afflicted with a “man-cold”, they aren’t really newsworthy. The other three, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-1, and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), are zoonotic pathogens, or diseases that originate with animals and can be transmitted to humans. That basically means that an outbreak always begins with an animal passing it to a human. SARS-CoV-2 originated with a bat. MERS-CoV originated with a camel, and we aren’t 100% sure who animal-patient zero was for SARS-CoV-1, but it was likely a bat or a camelid. 

Those three zoonotic viruses are especially dangerous to humans because our bodies just don’t know how to handle them. They originated in non-primate mammals, and we don’t have anything in our Rolodex of immunities to deal with them. And that’s where llamas come in. Not only do llamas make antibodies for Coronaviruses, they make excellent antibodies. Humans make antibodies that are fairly large when compared to some viruses. They are too large to be especially effective against COVID-19. The virus is small and spikey, not unlike my toddler. Antibodies bind to the invading virus and prevent it from penetrating cells. That’s how they keep you healthy, or at least from getting super sick. While humans do make antibodies in response to COVID-19, we don’t do it especially well or quickly. Even people with the antibodies should not assume that they are immune or safe. Llamas though? They make amazeballs antibodies. Tiny little nanobodies that can squeeze in between the spikes on COVID-19 and kick it’s viral ass. They just smother it in a nanobody hug of death and according to the study conducted with Winter the Llama, are able to prevent it from binding with cells. 

This particular study actually began four years ago when Belgian scientists wanted to test out the effectiveness of nanobodies from Camelids on the Coronaviruses that caused MERS and SARS(1). They found that they were able to successfully isolate antibodies created by Winter that effectively neutralized both MERS and SARS. And literally as they were working on their paper the novel Coronavirus pandemic broke out. They quickly pivoted to working on finding nanobodies specific to SARS-CoV-2, and the initial results are extremely heartening. There is no replacement for a vaccine, and this isn’t one, but effective treatment developed using the knowledge gained from this study could very likely mean the difference between life and death for thousands of patients in the near future. 

Yay, llamas!

Want to read more about it for yourself? Here are my works cited:

• Wrapp D, De Vleiger D, Corbett KS, Torres GM, et al. Cell 181, 1–12, May 28, 2020 ª 2020 Elsevier Inc
• Lu G, Hu Y, Wang Q, et al. Molecular basis of binding between novel human coronavirus MERS-CoV and its receptor CD26. Nature 2013; 500:227.
• Yuan, M., Wu, N.C., Zhu, X., Lee, C.D., So, R.T.Y., Lv, H., Mok, C.K.P., and Wilson, I.A. (2020). A highly conserved cryptic epitope in the receptor-binding domains of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV. Science.

BOOK CLUB

contains spoilers form ‘Summer Knight’ by Jim Butcher

Summer Knight was a bit of a let down for me after Grave Peril. Dresden Files readers get their first significant introduction to the Sidhe (fairies) and how they interact with the human world. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of the fairy storylines. That’s not just limited to the Dresden Files, I don’t enjoy nymphomaniac, rapey, porn star beautiful, manic-pixie-serial-killer fairies whether Patrick Rothfuss is writing them or Jim Butcher is writing them. And neither of them invented the trope. It will never be my favorite part of any series. What I do like in Butcher’s novels more than most others that use the same archetype, is that the fairies have a very specific and human power structure — the hierarchy is accessible. Additionally, while acting like they don’t much care about mortals, they watch us like reality TV. 

We knew from previous books that Harry had struck a deal with his fairy godmother Leanansidhe long ago when he was a teenager and needed the power to go up against Justin DuMorne. Early on in this book, we find out that Lea has sold Harry’s contract to Mab, the insane Queen of Air and Winter. She approached Harry and offered to let him buy his freedom from her by performing three favors. The first of which was to clear her in the murder of the Summer Knight. Harry was well on his way to telling her that under no circumstances would he get involved in that, when the White Council showed up and forced his hand. The whole situation was a little deuce ex machina, but it worked in context.

As Harry started a war between the White Council and the Red Court of Vampires in the previous book (read more), it’s understandable that the White Council would want to make him answer for what he did. It’s not that any of them would have necessarily done any differently, but he’s an easy scapegoat and some of the Senior Council members are out to get him. And so, he is charged with gaining the cooperation of Mab in the war against the Red Court. Admittedly, Mab grows on me in later books, but especially in this book I mostly find myself slogging through the actual fairy moments to get to what I see as the real point of the book.

Summer Knight in particular really exemplifies some of what I said in the first post about turning to the Dresden Files when I feel depressed. This book highlights the journey that Harry’s on, and his own battles with mental health. At the start of this story, he’s deep in the throes of a manic depression with all of the usual hallmarks: not working, letting personal hygiene go, letting bills go, distancing himself from friends, etc. What I think Butcher handles especially well is how the people in Harry’s life interact with him. The scenes feel authentic and strike a nice balance between being harshly realistic, and also setting a good example of clinically appropriate or positive ways to support someone dealing with mental illness. 

There are very few instances of anyone telling Harry to just “suck it up buttercup.” The people around him don’t act like he’s less of a man when he cries. They don’t ask him why he can’t “just get over it.” Even at the end of the book when Elaine strides pretty close to that territory, she’s not telling him to get over it, she’s telling him to find the actionable items. Rather than wallowing in depression, she suggests that he focus on what he can actually do about it and how to show Susan that he cares about her, because Susan would be unhappy if she saw Harry this way. 

What I really really connect with in this book are the scenes between him and Billy and him and Murphy. This is the first time we see Harry get really emotionally vulnerable with Karrin, and I think it played really well. It also marks a turning point in their relationship. In future books, they have more trust for one another. It’s not because they fight a Chlorofiend together, but because they were able to be emotionally vulnerable with each other.

The two scenes that really stand out to me are the conversation they have when Harry catches Karrin chasing pills with whiskey, and the conversation they have at Walmart. In the first, he doesn’t really know what to do. It felt real. He didn’t excuse it or act like he wasn’t seeing it, but he also didn’t know how to help her. He didn’t get angry at her; he set aside what he needed in that moment and just listened. He reminded her that she wasn’t alone. In the Walmart scene; he repaid the honesty and vulnerability she had shown him when discussing both her substance abuse and her now-deceased ex by trusting her with information about the White Council and the Red Court. This is the first time we see him letting her in. Moving forward both in this book and the future ones, they are much more capable of trusting one another. 

You also see Billy the werewolf (leader of the alphas) pushing Harry to reconnect with friends, to go back to work, and to take better care of himself. And while he does push, he also provides unquestioning support. He doesn’t tell Harry to stop being sad, and he accepts Harry and Harry’s depression. He’s able to be the kind of friend that I’d like to believe I would be in that situation, who encourages his friend and tries to help him get back to normal functioning, but also stays there with him through thick and thin. He doesn’t give ultimatums, and when Harry needs him he’s there in a way that’s productive and totally about Harry. 

On a final note, this is the last clue of the Blue Beetle Handwarmers. Next week, I’ll have a new project for you to cast on, staying with my Dresden Files Read-and-Knit along theme: The Summer Court Socks. I know I told you I’m not a fan of the Sidhe plot lines, and I’m not, but there’s no denying that they’ve got some great imagery! Also, I’m really excited about the next book. Death Masks is one of my favorites in the series, so we all have that to look forward to next week. That said, I would be remiss to not provide a trigger warning here. Death Masks contains a sex scene that I imagine seemed consensual to Jim Butcher when he wrote it, but it doesn’t really feel that way for me. You won’t be missing anything in the way of plot by skipping it. If you’d rather not read it, as soon as Harry realizes there is an entropy curse on him, just go ahead and skip the next chapter. 

YARN STUFF

I’ve got WIPs for days.

Blue Beetle Handwarmers, Clue 4

You can find Clue 1 and the abbreviation key in the Pandemic Parenting post, Clue 2 in the Creature Comforts post, and Clue 3 in the Self-Care post. For additional information on recommended yarn, needles, and gauge, please scroll the the bottom of THIS POST to find it. If you’re struggling with the optional beads and/or hate pre-stringing them, check out this quick and easy tutorial I posted on Instagram.

Instructions:

Break Color C; Join Color E. 

1 (E) [K1P1] to marker. K4, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K4. [K1P1]x5, transfer the next 19 sts to a waste yarn holder. [K1P1] to marker. K4, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K4. [K1P1] to end. 64 sts. 

2 (D) [K1P1] to marker. Sl1, K1, Sl1, K2, Sl3, K2, Sl1, K1, Sl1. [K1P1] to marker. Sl1, K1, Sl1, K2, Sl3, K2, Sl1, K1, Sl. [K1P1] to end. 

3 (E) [K1P1] to marker. K3, Sl1, K5, Sl1, K3. [K1P1] to marker. K3, Sl1, K5, Sl1, K3. [K1P1] to end. 

4 (D) [K1P1] to marker. K1, Sl1, K2, Sl2, K1, Sl2, K2, Sl1, K1. [K1P1] to marker. K1, Sl1, K2, Sl2, K1, Sl2, K2, Sl1, K1. [K1P1] to end. 

5 (E) [K1P1] to marker. K2, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K2. [K1P1] to marker. K2, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K2. [K1P1] to end. 

6 (D) [K1P1] to marker. Sl1, K2, Sl2, K3, Sl2, K2, Sl1. [K1P1] to marker. Sl1, K2, Sl2, K3, Sl2, K2, Sl1. [K1P1] to end. 

7 (E) [K1P1] to marker. K1, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K1, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K1. [K1P1] to marker. K1, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K1, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K1. [K1P1] to end. 

8 (D) [K1P1] to marker. K2, Sl1, K3, Sl1Bd, K3, Sl1, K2. [K1P1] to marker. K2, Sl1, K3, Sl1Bd, K3, Sl1, K2. [K1P1] to end. 

9 (E) [K1P1] to marker. K1, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K1, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K1. [K1P1] to marker. K1, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K1, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K1. [K1P1] to end. 

10 (D) [K1P1] to marker. Sl1, K2, Sl2, k3, Sl2, k2, Sl1. [K1P1] to marker. Sl1, K2, Sl2, k3, Sl2, k2, Sl1. [K1P1] to end. 

11 (E) [K1P1] to marker. K2, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K2. [K1P1] to marker. K2, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K2. [K1P1] to end. 

12 (D) [K1P1] to marker. Sl2, K2, Sl2, K1, Sl2, K2, Sl2. [K1P1] to marker. Sl2, K2, Sl2, K1, Sl2, K2, Sl2. [K1P1] to end. 

13 (E) [K1P1] to marker. K3, Sl1, K5, Sl1, K3. [K1P1] to marker. K3, Sl1, K5, Sl1, K3. [K1P1] to end. 

14 (D) [K1P1] to marker. K1, Sl2, K2, Sl3, K2, Sl2, K1. [K1P1] to marker. K1, Sl2, K2, Sl3, K2, Sl2, K1. [K1P1] to end. 

15 (E) [K1P1] to marker. K4, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K4. [K1P1] to marker. K4, Sl1, K3, Sl1, K4. [K1P1] to end. 

16 (D) [K1P1] to marker. Sl2, K1, Sl2, K3, Sl2, K1, Sl2. [K1P1] to marker. Sl2, K1, Sl2, K3, Sl2, K1, Sl2. [K1P1] to end. 

17 (E) [K1P1] to marker. K6, Sl1, K6. [K1P1] to marker. K6, Sl1, K6. [K1P1] to end. 

Break Color D. 

18 (E) [K1P1]x11. K2tog, p1. [K1P1]x14. K2tog, P1.  [K1P1] to end.

Next 10 rounds: With Color E, work K1P1 ribbing around, removing all markers as you come to them. Bind off. 

Thumb: Slip the 19 sts currently on a waste yarn holder back onto your needles. With Color E, work K1P1 across them, ending with a K1. At the corner where the thumb meets the hand, pick up 3 sts, working P1, K1, P1 across these 3 sts. 

Next 6 rounds: Work K1P1 ribbing around. Bind off and weave in all ends. Block lightly and enjoy!

I’ll have a new project for you next week, the Summer Court Socks. For these, you’ll want approximately 50 grams/200 yards of fingering weight yarn and US 0 (2.00mm) and US 1.5 (2.5mm) needles. These will not be an MKAL, you’ll know what the finished socks look like before you start, but I’ll be releasing pieces of the pattern over the space of four weeks, just like with the Blue Beetle Handwarmers. 

I used a Twinkle Toes Yarn Set in “Sunset Over Neverland”. The Summer Court Socks pattern will call for a contrast color for the cuff, heel, and toe, but that is optional. You could certainly work the socks in one color. It’s a great project for speckled or variegated yarns.

~ Megan-Anne

APA formatting, bitches!

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