Things You Learn

It's been almost a year since my last post...and what a year it's been! You see, last August, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Everything happened very quickly-diagnosis followed by total hysterectomy, then chemo beginning in October. I finished my treatments in January, then promptly started falling apart. ....first, I fell off my Danskos in February and hobbled around for days. Next, my chest port became infected and landed me back in the hospital for four days. Finally, I had a spontaneous internal bleed caused by the blood thinner I was taking. This caused a deep hemotoma that put pressure on some nerve on my left side. It was very painful & made walking pretty much impossible. It also put me back in the hospital where I received 3 units of blood to replace what I'd lost in the bleed. I began physical therapy to help me with walking and am almost back to normal. I still have some numbness in my left thigh though. Then there's the neuropathy in my feet from the chemo. Oh, well - it's not stopping me, as I walked another 3.2 miles this morning. Only my heel blisters are slowing me down. Grrrrr.

 



 So, what did I learn through all of this? The main thing I learned how much love people have to give AND how much I am loved. This was very humbling and overwhelming. Despite the medical issues, I feel so blessed. I have always been blessed, I know, but it took having sucky cancer to open my eyes to just how much. I never-ever want to forget that again....everyday I am blessed and so are you. Don't forget it! It's easy to get overwhelmed with daily crap.....be positive, count and acknowledge your blessings each day and give thanks for them. ( Here's one of my blessings pictured below)

 



I also learned that some people give me energy and others, though well-intentioned, drain every ounce of energy right out of me...right to the bottom. I still love them, but have had to work at learning to put up my deflector shields. That was an eye-opening experience.



I learned that under all that hair I do not have a Tweety Bird head. My head is actually on the small side and has a very nice shape. My hair is growing back now and almost looks like a really short hair cut. BUT - it's not as red as before.  Maybe the second growth, after cut #1, will be redder.



Well, that's where I've been and what I've been doing....lol. I also had neuropathy in my hands and fingers, so knitting was not enjoyable at all. I started knitting FULL FORCE about a month ago and have heaped my knitting plate FULL for the summer. I think I'm up to three KALs now, plus two other shawls still on the needles. Below is WendyKnits Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl Clue A. I'm knitting it in Wollmeise 100% in Frosch.

 



To add a little more joy and distraction to the summer, DS#3 helped convince me to adopt cat #3. Meet Augustus, named after Augustus McCrae from Lonesome Dove. He's feisty like Gus and fits in just fine with Gunston and Bella.

 



There's even more fun on tap for this summer, but I'll save that for
another time. Now get busy! Go and tell someone that they are one of your
blessings!





 

Fleecey 4th!

DH & I ventured out to the "wilds"of West Virginia and spent the 4th of July at his brother's river "cabin", although I think we're now calling it a "lodge".


Yep, it was pretty lazy out on the river.


But not inside, as Merry and I began the process of spinning up my newly carded Jacob batts. After two afternoons of spinning, I ended up with two pretty evenly weighted bobbins of singles.


Then my dear m-i-l presented me with a little bag of black fluff, the sheddings of her little dog, Buddy.


Since I was already in spinning mode, I spun him up, too. Look! He's almost blue!

Prior to our long weekend away, two new additions were added to my spindle addiction, I mean collection.

They are Bosworth Minis in 1. Cedar, and 2. Purpleheart/Tulipwood. Love-love-love those minis!


This week there will be more spinning, more knitting, and some time visiting with dear friends. Goodness, but I love summer break!

Summer Break: Week 2 - Fleecey Progress

So....this week I made a little progress with the Jacob fleece. Dear Friend Janice loaned me her drum carder, and I began the process of turning the locks of washed fleece into fluffy batts. Here are a few photos:
First, I spread apart the lock onto flat surface of the carder. Then, being very careful to keep hands, fingers, & kittens clear,


I cranked the handle and watched as the locks were straightened and combed onto the drum barrel of the carder.


When I was done, I used a brush to smooth out the batt. Once removed this is what it looked like.


Then I gently divided the batt into fourths and put it through again. I currently have a pile that looks like this:

I'z excited!
The stuff I'm carding now is really short - second cuts I guess. Looking ahead, this is going to be hard to spin. I already know that I'm going to spin this on my wheel.

Problem is - I haven't spun on my wheel in a bit (been a little preoccupied with spindle prettiness!) so this week, I'll spend some time getting reacquainted with Merry. That way we'll both be ready when it's time to start spinning!

Pottery update: At last Monday's class, I learned how to trim the pots I'd made in previous classes and practice sessions. Trimming involves placing the "leather hard" pot upside down on a wheel and using a tool to trim away the excess clay. If you have a bowl, you can carve a base, or foot into the bottom to give it a more finished look. Even though I have not yet actually made bowls, some of my "cylinders" had a more bowl-like appearance, therefore, I learned to carve feet! By Thursday's practice session, I finally got a little height on my cylinders, and a more evenly distributed bottom.

Thursday-


Other fun happenings last week, Week 2 of Summer Break:

• Got to have dinner w/ J & K not once, but TWICE! Lucky me!
• I got a new toe ring....lol.
  
• On Saturday, I attended the wedding of a wonderful school friend/colleague and got to spend the afternoon with some of my very favorite people-the folks I teach with! Love them so much!
• This Regal Moth chose to wait out a rain shower under our ferns. Lucky me again! Gorgeous!!!

What's on tap for Week 3? Stay tuned to find out!

First Fleece

DS#3 texted me on Friday night. He was visiting our neighbors who own a petting farm. His text said, "Barb wants to know if you want a fleece." Me: "What kind?" Him: "Jacob." Me: "YEEEESSS PLEEAASE!" So Saturday morning I went by and met Barb and she gave me a recently cut fleece.

After consulting the process as found in "Start Spinning", I decided that I should proceed.

Step 1 - Dumping the fleece out of the bag and skirting.


The parts of the fleece were a little jumbled, making the skirting process a little more difficult.

Right or wrong, I went through the fleece in sections, taking away the dirty lumps, and leaving the soft, cleaner stuff in a separate pile.


Step 2: Washing the darned stuff.

There were two hot water & detergent washes, followed by a hot water and white vinegar rinse, followed by a plain old hot water rinse. I was nervous, afraid that the fleece might felt.....that would've been very sad. :(


Step 3: Putting it out to dry.

After the final rinse, I tipped the clothes basket up on its end to drain our as much water as possible.

I found some old towels, and rolled the fleece up inside, gently pressing the excess water out. There was not a lot left.

Next, I spread it out on our screened porch table and turned on the ceiling fan.


Maybe it will be dry by Tuesday. Janice has reminded me that she has a drum carder, so I'll beg to borrow it, and after a quick tutorial, will begin the process of turning the fleece into roving, all ready to be spun up! Excitement! Kind of! ;)

Summer So Far

We're one week into summer vacation and I'm having fun so far. That's no surprise, I know! Here's how I've been keeping myself occupied:

• catching up on reading for pleasure via my ColorNook. I've read The Help, The Personal History of Rachel Dupree, Home to Holly Springs, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society so far. I am currently giving Smila's Sense of Snow a try.
  
• I started a pottery class with Nan Rothwell, a friend and very talented local potter.
  

I've made seven cylinder-like object so far. (mine are the fat ones on the right)

It feels both weird and good to be learning how to use my hands in a new way. After playing the piano since age 9, and knitting and spinning all these years, shouldn't my hands just automatically do what I want them to do? Ummm no, they should not and DO NOT!

• Cindy La. & I were invited to lunch with Cynthia H. in the southern parts of our fair county.

We toured her Dad's art studio and enjoyed the river views. Nice!

• The first week of vacation was blessedly cool. There was a good deal of porch sitting going on here. Thanks to our MiFi, I could take my Ravelry friends out on the porch too.

I also worked on spinning up the Coopworth I bought at MDSW - only 6 more ounces to go!

This process was slowed because Miss Priss, Bella, wanted to "help"
.

• At night, I've been working on my Moonfleet shawl.
  

It involves lots of beads, so is not very portable, :( , but it's still pretty and a fairly easy knit. It's been zzzz-ing for exactly one year. Bad Cindy.

• DH & I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary at a Washington Nationals' baseball game. Our DS#1 and his lovely gf, along with many of DH's siblings were there, too. Nice night!

Time for week 2 to begin - I already know there will be more pottery practice. And early morning walking. And dinner with friends, and a wedding. Goodness, but I LOVE SUMMER VACATION!

Newly Finished Shawlette

I just finished knitting the Clover Bud Shawlette found in the book Sock Yarn One Skein Wonders. I like the pattern because I could easily keep my place and there wasn't too much garter stitch.


The pattern called for 5 repeats of the lace pattern, but I did 6 because I still had a lot of yarn after I finished 5. I used Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga - love that stuff! The colorway is Stitticus Jumping Spider.


I love how the color moves from dark red, to purple/pink, to almost tan/browny bits. I added triangular glass beads on the bind- off edge. This pattern would be a great quick knit for gift-giving!

Knitting/Spinning and All the Rest

Sooooo - this is my new knitting project -



- the kid/silk mohair was purchased at MDSW & actually started there. It will make a nice light-weight scarf when the weather turns chilly again.

There's also a stealth gift project in the works. I'm thinking of using this:


and making a quick shawlette pattern for end-of-school gift giving.

I've been spinning more than knitting. This Coopsworth and Bossie were both purchased at MDSW. I love the subtle coloring in the roving, and also in the Bossie Mini - Dogwood with a Bloodwood shaft. Minis are my faves!



Today, despite the rain, DS#2 & I finished a garden project. About 5-6 years ago DS#1 helped me install a small pond. Over the years, it brought us lots of enjoyment, but in recent years, especially as the boys have grown older, it's become a pain to care for. About two months ago, I asked DS#2 to remove the pond liner. (if you are local, and are interested in a 65 gallon pond, please call me!) Today, in the drizzle and then thunder, we replaced it with a fountain. This took lots of attempts at leveling and even getting DH involved - but at last - success...


-just as the harder rain started and the thunder was echoing off the hills.

It's not quite finished. I have to move around some more rocks, re-mulch, and replant my Creeping Jenny and a few hostas, but I really like it so far!

Now on to the stealth decisions!