Work, work, work

Oops.  I ought to have taken a photo of how the blue and white china goes on the shelf.  Everything else went back on pretty quickly.  All the books had been dusted before. 

And after dinner today, Keith put the things back, more or less in place.  He did a not too bad job, and you will not hear a word from me about the differences.  

I did take reference pictures for the others though.  It will be easier.

As you see, the books are all piled all over the place, and the dvds are tucked on shelves that will get emptied when these are done.  If you think it was a fast process, you haven't dusted your own library of much loved books before.  

I have copies of books that I loved as a child, The Hardy Boys, Swiss Family Robinson, The Little White Horse. I have books my dad bought, just for me to read I think, and to encourage the rest of the kids to read too, like the Readers Digest Condensed books and the books with two novels in each.  And books that magically came across my path as an adult cruising the second hand stores, such as the lovely copy of Kristin Lavransdottir,  The Kalevala, and the Idylls of the King with its joyful dedication to a young lady and it's very sad note that women are fickle.  And then all the books like Angela's Ashes, and Memoirs of a Geisha and all People of the Book, some new, some second hand that I just really enjoyed reading as an adult. My hands linger over them in the same way they linger when I am playing with yarn.  The books fill me with joy and light and memories.

I am doing the three units because there just isn't any way that I can get everything done in a day, all the books dusted, sorted, tidied, shelves moved wiped down, wall behind dusted and washed and then finally the floors, before putting everything back in place.  The last two units will be done on Friday and then that chore will be done.  

There is a lot of stuff on the shelves and it is not a task that I looked forward to, but getting the chance to go through the books and remember is always sweet. Not too bad for a task I am doing only because I am not knitting at the moment. Sigh. Which by the way, may not be too far off  (crossing fingers, crossing toes, and saying my prayers most fervently).

In the meantime, I am dreaming about miniatures and having fun with teeny tiny things.  It is partly for bits and pieces to continue the decorating of the cabinet house, but it really does go back to the bedroom, and the bedding I want to sew, quilt and crochet or knit.  Or both.

Look! It's yarn!

Look!  It's yarn!  But not too much though.

On and off, I have been weaving wee squares.  I don't do many in a day.  It seems to agravate my hand thing but since I looked at them last I have done a few.  There were 42 and now there are 64 squares.  

I am still a very long way from a blanket sized bunch of squares.  

The other thing I am deeply immersed in is housecleaning.  All shelves are being bared, moved, dusted wiped and swept and vacuumed behind.  Everything on them gets a good cleaning too.  

And there is a lot of meandering through the various books, just for fun.  I've been busy looking through the books on miniatures for quilts (I have an entire book on miniature quilts), and other soft goods around a home. It helps because one of the things I really want to do is finish the bed for my miniature cabinet house.  

And there was a tiny bit of knitting on a garter square sock toe. Only a couple rows through the day, but it is a start.  

I am still not completely healed, but it doesn't hurt any more and the knitting I have done, even the weaving is giving me an idea of what I can and should not be doing.  

There is lots of cleaning to do and some baking and I really hope to do a bit of sewing tomorrow for a change.  The dress projects are beckoning.

Meandering

I spent much of the past week meandering through spring house cleaning. This place is due for a good deep clean.  I was working on the book cases and dusted all the knitting books and shelves that I can reach.  Then I thought that what I really need to do is to move the bookcases and vacuum benind them as well as dust off the backs of them if I am really wanting to deep clean.  Keith will assist with moving the high stuff (I already asked)  and then I will deal with thee rest and when he gets home in the evening, everything will go back into place and the next shelves things will come down.  One step at a time.  

I did get to have a visit with some books I don't look at often.  These oldies but goodies are such a rare treat.  

A selection of sock heels from the above book.  It is very encyclopedia like.  It has sections on knitting, crochet, sewing, and even a wee bit on the basics of weaving.

And then this treat, which Olga brought back from Kyiv a good long while ago for me.  How it got there we will never know, but it is definitely of British origin and full of good stuff, like baby undershirts and

this great sweater.  It is a lovely lacy practical pattern for a cardigan that would be at home anywhere, in any time.

It's one of the things I would love to make from it.

Besides meandering while cleaning, I have also been putting patterns together.  I had the Hexham dress design from Muna and Broad for a while.  I have several fabrics that I will make into soft knit dresses for summery and wintery wear.

I had a problem with woven fabrics though.  I sometimes wished I had a pattern for woven fabrics for a simple casual dress.  I love my gathered skirt Torrens Box Top dresses but sometimes, on the hottest summer days, I wanted something just a bit simpler.  The differences between a pattern for a knit dress and a woven dress, are just a sight more pattern adapting than I wanted to challenge myself with at the moment. I think I could do it, but it when there is a better way to get there... 

I knew just the sort of starting place that would work and be multi use and eminently hackable.   

It even has and expansion pack with various sleeves.  With the soft A line shape of this, it shouldn't be a big challenge to manage a dress from it.  These are from Helen's Closet, , another maker of great designs sized  from regular sizes to large sizes for we ample ladies and gents.  

On to some serious sewing this week.  And play.  I am looking forward to it.  I am missing knitting like crazy, but everytime I do anything a even a bit, it is back to pain.  And that is why the xrays last week.  I hope that will lead to a solution. 

Adventures all alone.

I had an outing today.  It was the first time I got out of the house without a trusty assistant in months.  

I made it out to the car and went down to my doctors office.  It sounds like not a lot but let me tell you, that it was huge.  A milestone.  I made it to the car and got in with no stops for breathing and walked almost normally all the way.  Huge change from before Christmas and a big change even from January.  I made it over the stupid curb and if I had ever written about the stupid curb I could not climb, you would understand this.  I was worried that it would happen again, but I had an alternate plan that would not leave me on the side of the street bawling my heart out.  Like that first time.  I climbed that one stupid step like I owned it.  And then managed to get all the way into the office and to the waiting room before I had to sit and rest.  And then even better, when I got into the doctors office my blood oxygen level was 97.  It was normal, and even her eyes widened at that level so soon after physical exertion.  It was a huge victory in every possible way.

I had to get some x-rays of my hands, so that was my next adventure. My doctor wants to rule out arthritis in my hands and in particular my thumbs.  Perhaps that is what is causing me to have all this hand trouble.  The carpal tunnel seems to be much better and there is no pain but for the thumb.

So I did that.  I do not have handicap stickers for my car.  I need them.  I had to park street side, but it was only a short walk to the entrance of the facility from the nice well cleaned street and there was no ice all the way.  I stopped once going in but went all the way to the car on the way out.  It was lieterally downhill (a slight slope) for most of the way.  And then I had a fast food late lunch.  Haven't done that in ages and ages. 

I felt so good that I decided to stop at Walmart.  That meant finding a place to park next to one of the cart places, and I did find such a spot near the front doors.  So, I took a cart and went in, where I traded it for a scooter.  I love Walmart because they have these. No one else does. It makes for really wonderful shopping.  

And I did shop.  I could have shopped much more, but Keith called to say where was I and my supper was ready.  I had everything I really needed and so I headed for home.  

I was exhausted and needed help as usual getting up the stairs.  I think I could have managed it if I had gone home right after the xrays.  STill, I made it up the stairs with a bit of help so I am calling it a decent job.  Once I had my dinner and a bit of a rest, I felt pretty restored.  Still, it was enough of an adventure for a first time out on my own,  in a long while.   I need to build up some stamina and rebuild some muscles and that will go forward now with some help from the physio guys.  I am kind of looking forward to seeing what he wants me to do.   

It may seem like a pretty average day for most of you but for me, it was huge.  Huger than huge.  Bigger than big.  Epic even.  I am am proud of getting this far and I am thrilled that I managed as much as I did.  

And I am tired.  I am going to hit the hay early tonight and I am going to sleep really really well.  I am also going to give myself a gold star and a pat on the back just because.  

A Good Plan

I am sure you recall my embroidery project of a four year old Marcus' drawing of a volcano.

 

And Carter's is going to get started as soon as I can use my thumb fully but I have long wondered just what I was going to do with them.  Framing them seems so useless for a nine year old boy.  As usual, my wandering here and there mind came up with a genius idea.  

I have some clear vinyl  from back when I hoped to make some project bags for myself.  I am not sure that I will make bags of my own, not for a very long time.  I have tons of other sewing to do.  The vinyl I have is just sitting there.  I started thinking that maybe I should just make a clear window in a purchased bag so I could more easily see what was stored inside.   Then my mind wandered to how pretty it would be to put an embroidered panel under vinyl so it would stay pretty.  

And whammo, that is what I will do for Marcus' bag.  And everyone else's too.  Then the kids will have a nice big bag to have clothes in when they go for a sleepover and a good large bag to use for toys or books.  You can always use a good bag.  

I sear searched to see if I could find a black bag with a zipper.  There is just no way that the beige of my sweater storage bags would work for kids.  And voila.  

I found them.

Now doesn't that look like a good plan?

A Tiny bit of normal

I did the smallest bit of knitting today.  

I thought about starting with something small, but my heart wanted to give something different a shot.  I pulled out my sweater.

I knit precisely two rows through the day but it felt very normal.  It was only as I got near the end of each row that my hands started feeling anything at all, and it wasn't pain.  I could just feel the smallest bit of almost tingling but more as if they were just tired.  So very close but not where it needs to be too pick up and knit.  It is close and that is delightful.  

So, the puzzle still goes on.  It is a real challenge and it has become a pleasure again because it finally feels like it will be done someday and that someday is going to be soon.  I was working on the green areas between pieces this evening and almost before I knew it, it was well past my normal time to start my evening routine. 

In between I baked buns which I haven't done in a good long while.  And then I had a really nice chat with my mom, who is preparing to move into an assisted living facility.  It was a good day and I hope to repeat it tomorrow, especially the good day part.

Busy busy, busy.

Keith and I worked a fair bit on the puzzle today and I am pleased to say that only the hard parts are left.  hahaha.  

I worked on the green jungle sky and Keith worked on the water.  After that we watched the F1 race in Saudi Arabia.  It was though this I was introduced to the the  Arabic and Egyptian treat, Umm Ali, by Carlos Sainz.

It sounds delicious and I may have to try it.  I love deserts like this.  Plus, it was a really enjoyable race weekend, with exciting qualifying, really enjoyable F2 races, and the Grand Prix.  It's just wonderful that the season has begun.  My weekends are much improved.

Once the race was underway and those couple exciting first laps had been established, I picked up the blanket and knit a row. 

Just a row.  I did not want to push to far and by the end, my hand was feeling as if I had knit for a couple hours.  Time for a break.

After the race I worked on the puzzle again and whiled away the afternoon.  I am feeling better that the thing will be done before I grow too much older.  

After supper, I hit youtube and enjoyed some of my favourite knitting vlogs, Finnish Knitting Stories and Cosy Up Knits.  I have a few more to catch up on too, but I am leaving those for tomorrow.  It has been hard to watch the vlogs lately because I can't knit along.  I felt just a wee bit jealous if I am honest,  but tonight, while I was watching, I did this.   

It is the toe of a second sock from a ball of one of Kory's lovely sock yarns and a ball of plain charcoal or black.  Two ridges were done in the afternoon and the rest while watching.  The second sock will look very like this.

I am planning on knitting a bit tomorrow if my hands feel good overnight, as in they don't wake me with pain or feel spongy when I wake in the morning.  I did my excersizes and did not knit more than ten minutes at a stretch today.  I will be sticking to that again tomorrow and will do it in small bits of time until  I am confident that the long knitting drought is done.

Pssst

Pssst

I knit two rows on a sock toe and I wound 4 skeins of yarn for Marcus' sweater.  Everything went really well and no hand pain or sponginess at all.  

Don't tell anyone lest I jinx myself by saying this out loud.

On a Friday

I thought about sewing today, but it just didn't feel like the right time.  I have my head in a project that I need to print up a new to me pattern so I have to wait.  There are tons of things to sew but I don't feel like it so I shall wait.  I might cut out fabric tomorrow.  I have some black and white check and some pink fine wale corduroy that I want to make a few more warm shirts for winter.  Maybe tomorrow.

I did try the smallest bit of weaving today.  

Just two wee squares to see how my hand would do and it was okay, but I wouldn't want to push it.  I rested in between doing it and took my time.  it was kind of fun.  

After that I kind of putzed around.  It was the first day of an F1 weekend so thankfully, that took up most of the morning.  After that I set puzzle.  I was doing okay, sorting and organizing and setting a bit here and there.  keith came home and he did a bit and then

Whammo.  It feels like we could actually get this one done.  It is going slower than the other really big one, but I knew that right from the start.  It is so much blue and so much green in and around and between.  

I thought about baking but the problem with baking is that then you have to eat it and that is where I am vulnerable.  So I don't bake and instead have another cup of tea.  

Knitting won't take too much longer but it is increasingly hard to leave it be till my wrists are healed. I keep looking at the bright yellow and dream about the sweater I will make.

Boring and then...

Today was a sort of long and terrible day.  The puzzles are no longer that much fun alone and I find myself generally bored to tears.  I decided to do a very little bit of sewing and made myself a promise to stop after an hour and to watch how I held my hands as I worked.  I managed to get the shirt done.

And I thought about what I am going to work on while I wait for my toner cartridges to arrive so I can print out another pattern.  I do have another couple of shirts to sew and possibly a dress out of some buffalo plaid for the chilly winters.  Can't you just see the warm cozy of a skirt pulled over my knees and feet tucked while I knit and watched a movie?  I can.  However...I don't know if my machine could manage to wash a dress out of such heavy fabric.  I think I had better stick to pj pants. It's what I need more.  

It was a very good day for mail.  A few weeks ago, I purchased some beautiful soft grey from River City Yarns as a farewell to their lovely brick and mortar store.  

I tried to get some mohair dyed in the same colourway.  Sadly it was not to be but this ought to do nicely.  

Twelve hundred metres of lovely soft silk mohair from YorikoOki.com.  It might not be grey but it will work wonderfully with the soft delicate Adam and Eve.

I also received an impulse purchase.  I seldom purchase on impulse any longer.  I usually think about all other lovely things I already have to knit and resist, but it was a cold miserable day and I wasn't knitting and my soul really needed a lift.  I saw the wonderful yellow tonal at Arcane Fibre Works and fell for it.

My spirit is lifted considerably.  This is just the perfect vibrant yellow tonal to take the gumption out of winter. I even know what I want to do with it.  I can't wait.

I did pick up one other wee treat.  I picked up a skein of a soft colourway called Sea Shells.  

It is just so delicate and pretty.  This will be a cowl to go with the grey and mohair sweater.  

My boring day turned out pretty fine in the end and I feel reinvigorated and fresh and new.  

Truly, this time is it, right?

Another week. 

I think I have been saying that for months now, but truly, this time is it, right?  It's a good thing I am on good drugs or I would surely be deeply depressed.

I did have good news today.  I no longer have to use the oxygen at night.  The bipap will continue. This is wonderful news.  I get to the keep the bipap which has been life changing but I no longer need the oxygen. I will talk with my RT tomorrow to check what she needs me to do but I no longer have to have the very noisy but  oxygen pumps running all night.  They are noisy and I am looking forward to the peace.  

 I set puzzles today.  It's driving me batty.

It feels very like the other big puzzle.  I feel like I am picking away setting a piece or two but when I check the box, there are fewer and fewer pieces in it.  I must be getting somewhere.  Right now I am picking out water pieces from plain green jungle pieces.  We have some of the bigger creatures set.  There is a very large tiger under the box as well as a couple birds and a monkey and a few butterflies.  I can't wait till it is done because that means I ought to be able to knit a little bit.  

I have done many crafts and things in my life but the only thing I never tire of is knitting.  It is endlessly fascinating to me.  It can be plain or complicated. It can be the simplest garter stitch where every stitch is knitted or deeply intricate and complex series of positive and negative spaces. It can be dense and waterproof or airy and light.  It fills me with wonder every time I pick it up.

I miss my knitting and I cannot wait.

Enormous Satisfaction.

My hands have been feeling better again and I feel confident that in another week that I will be back to knitting.  It has been so long.  

Everything I am wearing today, everything but my undergarments that is, is hand made by me.  That gives me enormous satisfaction.  

I am wearing a pair of thick handknit socks,

my linen pants and my cotton and linen shirt, 

a light fingering weight sweater,

and a shawl I made a few years ago. 

I am cozy and comfortable and immensely pleased and proud that I did these things.  

Disappointing

Remember how I ever so confidently sewed the other day, Wednesday, I believe?  I sewed for about 4 hours punctuated by tea and a snack and lunch.  I thought I took adequate breaks but my hand said no and my thumbs both ached in the night.  I was so dispirited by it.  I only set puzzles and listened to audio books.  It hurt again Thursday night and felt buzzy through the day.  

Sewing was too much for my still very tenuous hands.  I was doing so well too.  

Friday, as a treat for my very self pitying soul, I picked an easy puzzle.  

this one is on wood, which had a most delightful click each time you put a piece in place.  And you could have hung it all by itself on your wall without glue or framing.  It also came in this pretty net bag.  Very impressive.

By early this morning, it was done.  It's lovely but like the other couple in this soft sweet picture series, was not a difficult puzzle.  Still it was fun.  I seriously debated gluing it and hanging it.  It was such a pretty scene.  However, my walls are filled with bookshelves and needlework and there are already things that have no place to go that I would love to have up.

The next challenge awaits.  I have one easy puzzle and one more of the 2000 piece puzzles that Keith bought for me.  Do I want to have another easy one or do I want and easy one to finish off with when my hands really are well?  

I decided to go with the big hard one.  If it is anything like the first, it's going to be a healthy week to get it done and it is possible that it will take longer.   

So many greens.  Oh so many shades of green.  Oh well.  In for a penny, in for a pound.

We had the first side set after about three hours of work and once that was done, it didn't take too long to get the rest.  We are missing a couple pieces on one side but that is par for the course.  Not we start picking at the many shades of green and so it goes.

Aaaaaaand

Done.  Not saying anything else.  

Another day in Paradise?

Just another day in puzzle paradise.  ??

Well maybe not.  

Keith figures that we have about two hundred pieces left to go.  The bottom of the box has pieces but they are all turned up and there are very few major features that have not been connected to the whole.  All in all, we are pleased with how fast it is coming together.  This puzzle was a challenge and interesting and fun but not more fulfilling than the puzzles I have done before.  It keeps me busy and it passes the time in a not awful way and that is exactly what it is meant to do.  

I miss my knitting.

I did do something else today and will again tomorrow.  

Back to my sewing.  In the fooling around with pleats yesterday, I had almost forgotten this shirt.  When I woke this morning, I decided to sew.  I stopped just after I attached the collar and front facings.  They are not finished, just attached.  Getting there was enough for one day.  Finishing that and getting the sleeves, cuffs, side seams and hems for tomorrow leaves me with another full day of sewing.  I am trying not to go too fast.  I need time fillers as much as I need clothes.

In great news, may hands did not quibble at all today.  No feeling tired or puffy or anything.  I have a feeling that my wee pin loom was partly the reason this has gone on for so long.  Once I am back to knitting, I doubt that it will make it worse because the motions are so different to knitting.  However, on a injured wrist, everything makes it worse.  I am going to wait till after the weekend though.  I might try on Sunday, just a little to see how it feels.  

In the meantime, more puzzling, maybe some more sewing.  There is a buttonhole day that should happen before too long and there is a ton of fabric to wash and prepare for cutting.  Lots to do.  And yes, as ever, the house is still not cleaning itself.  

I am jumping up and down with joy.  I can knit soon.  Really soon.  yipeeee.  

A Different Kind of Puzzle

I did set the forever puzzle for a while today.  It is coming along really well, but I can't reach or see the middle very well.  So I go through the pieces and set what I can and Keith fits the stuff I set when he gets home.  Even he says it is too big.  We will set the other eventually.

I did other stuff too.  A puzzle in a way.

I have a pattern for a top that is gathered at the neck.  What I really wanted to do with it was not to gather it, but to pleat it.  I gave it a test today to see if I was going in the right direction.

Step one was to mark out the number of pleats that I wanted to have on either side of the button bands.

And then the marks were transferred to the fabric.

Then all there was to do was the sew the pleats on the marks and give it a good press.  I think it works even though it looks awful with the dark thread.  Still I am really glad I did it with the dark thread. 

 It shows up that I need to do a bit of adjusting or something on the tension.  

I do like the look of the pleats on the right side.  That is the look I had in my head, but the surprise to me is that I also like the wrong side.  It does show up the imperfect lines and spacing though.

But I am still hankering after my knitting.  I am preparing.  I ordered some more stitch markers.

I was going to go for plain markers, but there are many times where having a different style marker would be very handy.  It's just a wee almost spring treat for myself.  Just a few more days should do.

Puzzling days again.

Still setting puzzles only.  I didn't even sew this weekend and it is making a difference.  My hands are feeling much better but there still is some healing to go.  So ...

I will stick with puzzles for another day or two or until that first puzzle 2000 piece puzzle is complete.  There has been an awful lot of time invested in this thing and darn it all, it will be finished, if only to get my WIP bin free.  The puzzle setting surface is perched on top of the raised lid of the WIP bin.  From what I can tell, we aare a little more than halfway complete.

I say we because Keith has really been enjoying the things too.  I am a bit surprised at this and yet not really.  He did like puzzles when he was small.  And if Marcus was here and Carter too, we would probably finish in no time flat.

I am missing my knitting a whole bunch but my head is filled with plans.  And there is going to be some sewing play tomorrow as I experiment with pleats.

Puzzlement

I didn't feel like sewing today.  I felt frustrated and bored and grumpy.  I did a bit too much stuff yesterday and my hands were buzzing this morning.  I really need my knitting.  

I didn't do anything other than laundry and watching practice one and two from Bahrain.  At lunch time, I asked Keith to pick up a puzzle on his way home.  I didn't think they would have a huge selection, but I was sure they would have something.  

When he came home, he calls to me and says, ' I picked up two thousand piece puzzles'.  I was thrilled.  A thousand pieces fits nicely on my puzzle storage roll.  Perfect.

Hahaha

Exactly like he said.  Two thousand piece puzzles.  The joker.

By the time I finish these, my hands will be healed.