What you have here is a spectrum of opinions... and evidence that visual examination of a single snapshot can't rule out virus or, except in very severe cases, confirm it. In the case of your sum and substance, there's not even agreement if it is s&S. There are a few mass produced hostas that are particularly known for being virused as we know large numbers of virused stock came in from Europe a few years back. S&S is one of the prime virus varieties... which made me even more suspicious. People are even of two minds on testing. The strips are not terribly expensive. You can google to find the source and instructions on their use. On the other hand, many folks would say that S&S is also pretty inexpensive and can be replaced for not much more than testing will cost. A lot of folks would say - carefully remove it, package it up (don't put it into your compost pile) and get rid of it.) I like Lois advice - I'd test because I'd want to know for sure... because I like to know stuff... You mentioned concern about your other hostas. You really should do some research on HVX - there's lots of good info just a google away. It is spread mechanically, plant to plant... you can pretty much think of it as moving from the infected plant to the next by transferring sap. You can leave an infected plant in a spot for quite a while without doing any damage as long as you make sure it doesn't spread - which means any tools you use in the area that could contact the leaves or root ball should be thoroughly disinfected to prevent spreading the virus to the next plant you work with. Research is being done right now on how hard it is to spread the little devil. The preliminary results reported at the AHS convention suggest that it may be more difficult to spread than feared. Still - we know it can be spread by tools, by power washing, probably by plants touching foliage or roots...

I've steeked and believe me, it's scary....EZ says, after doing it go to a dark room and lie down, to recuperate! It does work, though. I'd hate to see her ruin the back, and all the yarn in that piece, when she could unknit it and reuse the yarn for a better fitting piece. Is the yarn wool? I'm a big one for blocking to take care of problems...generally it means tugging to the right size, pinning down and then spraying with water and letting dry. 4 inches big would be 2 inches each side. You could try a swatch, measure it, dampen it and see if blocking could reduce the size...and if so, how much.

Of course it will be okay! You are going to be so thrilled when it's done. Like most of us, you'll have those moments when you second guess a choice, or agonize over it... but ignore those second guesses, go with your gut and get excited that you are getting a new kitchen! I totally get it - I was super anxious. A few bumps along the way but nothing horrible that I couldn't cope with. btw, your old kitchen looks like a better version of my old kitchen. :-)

Sorry your yarn hasn't turned up yet. I'll check when I get home. I know the feeling. I started an afghan for a friend years ago and when I was almost finished, it became apparent I would not have enough yarn. Back in those days, I made my afghans longer than the pattern called for. I don't know what I did when figuring out how many skeins I would need but something went wrong. I had made this particular afghan several times and this was the first time I shorted myself. I knew if I ripped out 1/3 of the afghan it would be the size it was suppose to be and I would have enough yarn to finish. I started the project for my friends 60th birthday. I mailed it to her for her 80th birthday! I sent it with a card that said Happy 60th Birthday.....she thought I was losing it until she read the explanation. If nothing else, we got a good laugh from it.