The Tale of…The Claw

<Cue creepy music>

In the last episode we left our brave Damselfly attempting to hold off The Claw from getting worse and prevent it from ruining her Solstice. Uh, nope. I fought The Claw and The Claw won. (Are you all groaning now? How many trite expressions can I come up with? Mwahh-ha-ha!!)

Yes, I finally broke down and went to Emergency on Saturday afternoon right after I wrote the last post. Things were getting ugly. And my timing was actually good because I ended up having to go four days in a row! At least it didn’t end up overlapping Christmas Day. Whew! But I’m getting ahead of myself. Back to the beginning.

Emergency in BC’s largest and busiest hospital is…an experience. You need vast reserves of time and fortitude. A patient patient. They will take good care of you but it happens at its own pace and you have to be prepared to wait until they can get to you. After all there are many others waiting too, some in much more serious states. They keep track – even if it seems kind of haphazard when you’re in the middle of it all. It’s nothing at all like the TV shows would have it. Thank goodness.

So we gathered all our patience and walked (in the pouring rain, of course) because parking is a PITA and we only live 2 km away. I’ll spare you all the minute details because that would be as boring as the waiting. Here’s the Coles Notes version. That first day, Saturday, The Claw was getting nasty so they took a pus sample (ewww), decided that I needed IV antibiotics (sigh), had trouble getting the IV catheter in my left hand (ouch, bruise), poked me again with a temporary one (double-ouch), gave me a Fast Track paper and told me to come back the next day for more fun and games. Which of course was Solstice at my son and daughter-in-law’s so I whined enough for them to schedule things early enough to hopefully get out in time for dinner.

Day 2 (Sunday) was an ultrasound to make sure there wasn’t any more lumber embedded (gooey), the stitches finally removed (HUGE ouch-ouch-ouch), a proper IV catheter in my right hand (much less ouch), IV antibiotics (again), and a line drawn around the reddened area to see whether it was responding properly. At least the stitches were finally gone and, although the nurses were grumpy about having to put the catheter in my ouchie hand, I still had one more-or-less functional hand left instead of both being incapacitated. Fun sleeping with the IV catheter in though. I spent Solstice with The Claw looking like a mummy or a small turkey roast:

My darling son had to cut my dinner up for me into bite-sized pieces so I could eat it with my left hand! Had a delightful family time anyway, in spite of being semi-incapacitated.

Back to the hospital again for Day 3 (Monday) and this time just the relatively quick IV antibiotics. Things were already clearing up. Day 4 (Tuesday) and the last dose of IV antibiotics and the catheter out. The Claw is gone and, although not 100% yet, well on the way to health and function. Yippee!! I still have to take a week’s worth of oral antibiotics, the ones that I didn’t have a chance to take when they put me on the super-antibiotics. They won’t go to waste anyhow. I’m using soothing aloe gel and slathering Vitamin E and lavender oil on the scar to hopefully minimise it as much as possible.

Hint: the infection started to clear as soon as the stitches were out. They did NOT dissolve but festered instead. Mystery: solved. I knew they needed to come out properly a week ago and I should have insisted. My Dear Family Doc is not in my good books at the moment. Any snipping they did just made it harder in the end to remove the stitches completely. Lump of coal in your stocking, doc! We will not discuss how much time was wasted and pain suffered during this two-month-long Splinter Incident. It would just make me cry.

I’m still taking it easy on poor old Righty now that I have her back. It hasn’t even been 24 hours yet! Even though I’m chomping at the bit to get back to the studio I don’t want to push things. I’m still revelling in having a bare hand that doesn’t hurt. Gotta appreciate the small important things. I have the best Christmas present I could wish for this year!

And the Scheffmas Tree is now sporting my two hospital wristbands as decorations. Hah!

Wishing you and yours all the very best of the Holiday Season! Now that I can type again, I’ll be back as soon as I have something new to say. Off to darling daughter’s tomorrow along with 25 or so of our closest relatives. Merry-Merry!!

Another Update on The Hand

Now referred to as The Claw! The darn thing somehow got infected and, after waiting 3 hours to see my doctor on Wednesday, I’m back on antibiotics. It’s not improving so far. Of course it would have helped if I hadn’t accidentally smacked it hard yesterday right on the stitches while trying to open the coffee canister to make Thom’s morning cuppa! Doh. So painful! If things don’t start improving soon (I’m giving it until Monday) I have been ordered to go to Emergency. Sounds like fun, huh? This close to Christmas and all. Tomorrow is our family’s annual Solstice Party at my son and daughter-in-law’s. I’m NOT missing it. Meanwhile I’m taking my meds and probiotics and trying to keep The Claw out of trouble. Wish me luck.

Hope you all have a very Happy Solstice! It’s at 3:03pm PST (recalculate for your own time zone) tomorrow, December 21st. Yes, here in the Northern Hemisphere the sun is coming back and the days are getting longer! Yay! We need some positive energy and light around here for sure.

More when I can type better.

The Good, The Bad & The Not-So-Pretty

Hello, my dears! I know it’s been awhile but, you know… The Hand. I was going to write a really whiny post here because I’ve been having some very uncomfortable nerve zap issues since the surgery. But suddenly things are feeling quite a lot better today. Perhaps they’ll be better still when I get the stitches out next week? Really though, aren’t they interesting? (Please look away if you’re squeamish!)

Not to question the resident hand doc’s sewing skillz, but I believe this is going to leave a serious scar. Which I don’t really care about too much as long as I have the complete use of my hand back.  I’m still hoping that I’m just being too impatient and quick to judge the results. It hasn’t even been a week yet. Patience, damselfly.

These guys will now cover up the horrific view:

Yes! I have my own Minions!

So. Enough complaints already. Moving right along. Naturally I don’t really have much to discuss since I haven’t done much of anything except walk (when I can because the rain has been crazy), read, and watch Craftsy classes. I’m super-happy with the Fairy Bra Mother, Beverly Johnson’s bra making class! It deserves to be the hit that it is on Craftsy. You can sure tell she’s done this one a jillion times in real life! I already own two of Beverly’s books and have made 4 or 5 bras but even so, I’ve learned several helpful new things from watching her class. I want to sew. Now! Shut up. Patience, damselfly.

The only other exciting thing I’ve done is scan a vintage sock pattern booklet donated by my mother-in-law, Hand Knit Socks by Regent Vol. No. 20. Surprisingly, it’s listed on both Etsy and Ebay and in Ravelry.

It must have been a popular pamphlet back in the late 1940’s when it sold for a whopping 15 cents! Nana says she knit argyle socks for Thom’s dad using one of the patterns in here. This copy is quite well-used indeed. Besides the argyles, it also has some textured socks, cabled socks, socks with moose and maple leaves (so Canadian!), some ladies stockings, plus 2 sweaters. There’s a couple of pairs I wouldn’t mind trying:

And especially a mysterious technique for knitting diamond patterned socks in the round just might need to be explored:

When I can actually knit properly again. Patience, damselfly!

Anyway, to that end I scanned all the pages, printed out an enhanced copy that was much more readable and then put the original in a heavy page protector to keep along with the printout. Now I’m trying to remember way-way back in ancient history – old Canadian/UK size 13 needles are 2.25mm, yes? I remember when I thought those were really tiny. Now I knit most socks on 2mm (old size 14’s) and have been known to go even smaller on occasion. Anyway, this pamphlet is like an archaeological dig! I wonder how the old yarns compare with modern sock yarns?

In other news, I hope you have gone and checked out Wendy’s Blog Hop post that came out on Monday following Myrna’s last week. Next will be Gayle’s linked from Wendy’s and you won’t want to miss that one either! So many great creative garment makers out there, plus other crafty stuff! I feel really blessed to be part of such a great collection of delightful, artistic, thoughtful and inspiring women.

Whilst I wait (patiently!) for healing to happen, Thom is being a huge help and is learning more about cooking than he ever wanted to know! So far I can’t chop or lift anything heavy with my right hand. But together we’ve managed a lot of basic housekeeping and kitchen stuff that I usually do by myself, me directing when necessary. At least I finally made a pot of tea without assistance and washed most of the dishes today (with The Hand sporting a disposable nitrile glove). Baby steps. So frustrating though when I want to be flitting about in my usual manner! Good thing all the Holiday Stuff is elsewhere this year (I so appreciate my responsible adult children!) and the minimal gifts are ready to go. I can’t imagine if I had to make the usual full-on turkey dinner for 25+ family members only a couple of weeks from now. Yikes! Normally it would be no problem. Not this time, honey. I haven’t even put the decorations yet on Scheff, my very large and very old Schefflera arboricola who lives in the dining room and has been serving as my Christmas tree for a number of years now. OK, so he’s not a fir tree. But he is an actual live plant and enjoys the decorations! So much so that we never find all of them when we try to put them away and he ends up sporting some leftovers all year around. Sneaky thing! Doncha love it when your houseplants get uppity on ya?

More soon. Less moaning. (I hope.) Maybe even a photo of Scheff in full holiday regalia.

2 X 4

Just a super-quick update (because it’s really hard to type with one hand) – yesterday I had my appointment at the hand clinic. Resident checks the spot, asks all the important questions, and then tries to put the surgery off to another day. That’s when I whined at him. Noooo!! Sliver has been in there for over a month! I want my hand back. Get it ouuuutttt!!

Luckily it worked and they found me an operating room right away. Semi-hysterical granny power. Yay! The doc was actually surprised and I was shocked when the piece turned out to be a wicked-sharp chunk nearly 2 cm long. Yikes! So now I have 3 stitches and a bigger scar than my granddaughter’s bed is sporting. At least I’m wood-free and can get on with healing. Meanwhile I’m going just a little nuts not being able to do much with one hand. (For starters it somehow took a whole 12 hours for the anesthetic to fully thaw.) But I’ll be back crafting up my usual storm PDQ.

One question though – why are nurses so bad at bandaging? You’d think they would get enough practice to do it really well! This one is coming off ASAP. It’s barely hanging on the wound but the rest is way too tight. Sheesh. I could do better with one hand…

YOIKS!

Well that was a terrifying experience!!! I got stung by a wasp yesterday and didn’t use my epi-pen!!! The reaction, while uncomfortable, was normal and I didn’t go into anaphylactic shock the way I did the last time I got stung. That was quite a few years ago now. Why didn’t I have the same reaction this time? No idea. But I was reluctant to use the pen immediately because then I would have to go to the ER right away – a total waste of at least 3 hours of my life if it wasn’t necessary. Unless I really needed to use it of course. Saving my life is definitely a priority!

Instead I took a couple of antihistamines, iced the area (right in my soft belly near my belly button) and waited, monitoring my skin and breathing. The last time the reaction was pretty immediate with a blotchy red face and neck and difficulty getting a breath. Nope. This time all was fine apart from some pain and itching and swelling around the puncture site. I can still feel it today and the area is a bit red and very itchy but otherwise I’m fine. Had to find something soft and non-binding to wear so I’m swanning around in my handwoven Celadon Dress.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I probably shouldn’t have hesitated but we live only a short distance from the hospital. If necessary Thom could have gotten me there almost faster than we could dial 911. It ended up being the right call anyway. Possible crisis averted. So what did I do to deserve getting stung? Nothing! Unlike a lot of people I’m not afraid of wasps or bees. Usually we have a truce: I don’t hurt them and they don’t hurt me. This time I was innocently sitting at my kitchen table reading a book when I felt little insect feet scrabbling under my shirt. Before I could unbutton it, the beast stung me so I flung off the shirt and my pants too because I couldn’t find where it had gone and didn’t want to get stung twice. Thom found it later by the window looking a little the worse for wear. Serves it right, I say!

Back to more crafty things where I’m currently warping up the loom for another project. This weave will hopefully go easier than the last one! (Gee, how can it not?) I’m making a one-off scarf using a pattern from the free e-book How to Weave a Scarf from Weaving Today: 7 Handwoven Scarves. This is #3, the Big Bumps Scarf by Madelyn van der Hoogt.

I’m calling my version the Mountains & Valleys Scarf because the natural silk tweed reminds me of snow-capped mountains and the black Jagger superfine merino represents the valleys. So far I’m at this point:

About 1/4 of the way through the threading. It’s going very quickly compared to the last project! This weave structure is (I think) a 2-block deflected double-weave where the two different warps are woven only with their own respective wefts and just float over each other rather than interlocking. Here’s part of the draft so you can see what I mean:

The actual texture doesn’t happen until the cloth is wet-finished and in this case is even more dramatic than regular deflected double-weave with the added action of the shrinking (fulling) vs non-shrinking areas. As soon a I finish warping and get some woven up I’ll take another photo. In this particular weave the wool is sett 10 ends per inch (1 per dent in a 10-dent reed) but the silk is sett at 20 (doubled in each dent, except for the last thread in a group which is sleyed singly). When I go to weave this I’ll have to be sure to only press the wool into place carefully or it will be beaten too hard. The spaces are needed so it will have room to full up properly leaving the silk which doesn’t shrink to bubble. It’s 14.25” wide in the reed but is supposed to end up at less than half that width and correspondingly you have to weave enough for the length to shrink bigtime as well. So much fun on 4 shafts!

What else do I have going? Oh yes, the second pair of toe-up short socks are nearly up to the gussets. They are slow because they’re alternating with the Ophicleide Cardi which is partway down from the underarms now. The yoke is quite pretty in the navy noil silk:

This is lighter than the true navy colour but otherwise you wouldn’t be able to see it! The white at the neckline is the provisional cast on. I’ll have to finish it with an i-cord edging at the end. So far it fits fine though I did do some increasing just before I split off for the sleeves to give more bust room. The body shape is swing so there should be plenty of room for the rest of me.

Anyhow I’m laying a bit low today to give myself a chance to recover from yesterday’s excitement. It’s been very hot and sunny here but I can’t complain that we’re actually having summer this year. Thom has been busy pressure-washing the deck in preparation for giving it a fresh coat of water-repellent stain. Gotta make hay while the sun shines, right? In my case I should be making bean pickles. I have a whole fridge full of them and more in the garden!

Oh, and if you’re interested here’s a great read. I totally agree with the sentiments in this post on creating and time – the infinite list.

More soonest!

Spring Flop

Just a quick note to say that I’m still here but feeling a little under the weather at the moment. I picked up another dose of the same bug I had the last time I got sick. It’s not exactly a cold and not exactly the flu – just a bit of sore throat, occasional sneezes and some coughing. Plus of course the nastiest symptom – an absolute total lack of energy. It like gravity has suddenly doubled! I’ve mostly been hanging out in a semi-reclining position and only doing the most pressing of tasks, like getting more tea, making food and watering my plantlets (which are starting to become desperate for transplanting). It means that I’ve gotten a lot of reading done but surprisingly not a lot of knitting. You know things are truly bad when I’m not really interested in knitting! However, this annoying illness passed fairly quickly last time (3 or 4 days at most) so I’m hoping I’ll start feeling better very soon. Yes, I’d better! I have things to do and places to be! I already missed an excellent birthday party. Bleh. I have no clue but I would love to know where I caught the darn thing so I can do my best to avoid it next time! Nobody else that I know of has been sick.

Anyhow, spring marches on with or without me. My asparagus is starting to come up! More soon.

Germ-a-lerm-a-ding-dong

Help! Cold germs ate my brains! Yes, your poor damselfly succumbed to the Winter Plague thanks to a very cute but snot-nosed 3-year-old, Grandbeastie Rosebud. That’ll teach me to wipe her nose and not decontaminate after. Yuck. Exactly 2 days after the snot incident we spent a delightful but foggy Sunday out at Reifel Bird Sanctuary with brother, sis-in-law, and Nana feeding the chickadees, geese and ducks:

Here I even had one little female mallard with her head between my boots eating seeds that Thom chucked at me. They tickled! Now I have to wash my poor boots off too since they’re covered in duck breath and webbed footprints.

Unfortunately it was colder than I expected and I got a little chilled. (Hey, in my defence it was sunny and several degrees warmer when we left home!) Later that evening as we celebrated Thom’s brother’s birthday with fondue I started to feel a little sore throat coming on. Blech. Hope I didn’t share this with anyone there. Today I had to reschedule my dentist appointment too which was supposed to be tomorrow. At least there’s nothing else on the schedule until next week now which should give me time to recuperate.

Meanwhile, Before Bug, I managed to sort out some stuff in my basement dye studio/laundry area.  No m*ths down there either! Yay. I got all the Indian cotton scarves washed and freshened up, 16 in total. (Yes, I have a lot of them.) The area still needs more sorting and cleaning though. I have too many dyes and assists all jammed into 2 cupboards. Things are falling out when I open the doors and I can’t find what I need. Not a good situation. It’ll have to wait until I feel better though. I’m not tackling any dust when I already can’t breathe!

I know I shouldn’t wait so long to clean and sort the stashes but you know how it is. Time zips by too fast and before you know it, more years have disappeared in the rear view mirror. I’m not a messy person. I like to be organised and reasonably tidy but not scrupulously so. And I live with another crafty person who has his priorities too which I always have to take into consideration. Unfortunately his neatness standards are a bit lower than mine and he understandably won’t let me sort his stuff for him. So I have to work around them as best I can. Many years of negotiations have gotten us this far anyway. Heh.

Nothing much more to report really. I got the pearly handspun yarn dyed a deep red-orange semi-solid. The angelina fibres dyed even deeper than the wool and it’s very pretty! No photo yet though. Sorry. It’s still hanging on the basement clothesline. I also found a few items to over-dye (which isn’t happening yet), including a sweater-coat that goes with nothing in my wardrobe and a couple of shawls that I’ve joined together into one blanket. The latter were the results of long-ago sheep-to-shawl contests and, although not from the same fleece, they’re the same weave structure, Dogwood Lace, an Atwater-Bronson lace design. (If you’re interested, there’s more about this structure here.) So they kind of went together ok. It remains to be seen how they will dye though! I don’t really care as long as this thing isn’t white. I’ll be putting it on my bed for extra warmth. More on this when I get to it.

We’ve had so much fog lately but today it’s raining. I don’t care. I’m not going anywhere! Instead I bought myself another Craftsy class with a sale that was offered. I’ve really enjoyed the two that I’ve been alternating watching: The Ultimate T-Shirt with Marcy and Katherine Tilton and Knit Lab: Fit Your Knits with Stephanie Japel. They are both excellent, full of great tips and neither too fast nor too slow for my attention span. I think it helps that the instructors are fun, vibrant, smart people who are comfortable in front of the camera and very able to explain their topics in clear terms. Hopefully the new one I got, Custom Fitting: Back, Neck, Shoulders by Kathleen Cheetham will be as helpful to me. The Tilton class is short on fitting these very critical areas and Lynda Maynard’s Sew the Perfect Fit doesn’t go into it in enough depth so I’m hoping this one will fill in the gaps.

I must like this format – I’m now up to 13 classes! Quite a number were free and I tried to get the others on sale rather than pay full price so it’s not as crazy as it sounds. I’d certainly rather buy a specific class and have unlimited access on my own time schedule than pay a subscription fee. If they go that way they will just lose me. I think I already have enough information in my library to keep me happy for as many years as I have left anyhow! And there’s still lots of free sources on the web. You just have to watch the quality of the information.

OK. I’m done babbling incoherently. More anon.

Zombie Plague

And I was doing so well too. I’ve been magically avoiding any illness all winter and congratulating myself on remembering to wash my hands if I’ve been out and about. Phooey. I’ve become plague-ridden this morning and I think it was all my son The Ninja’s fault. He was obviously not as over his bug when he gave me a kiss on Monday. Darn zombies.

I was coughing a little when I went to bed last night and this morning it was accompanied by a sore throat. Hopefully it won’t add get much worse and will go away quickly. Sadly I have to miss my Spectrum Study Group today. I’m not risking sharing the Zombie Plague with anyone else. Back to my regularly scheduled hermit status. Sigh.

The upside of course is that I have an excuse to laze around all day in bed in my cuddly robe and hand-knit kneesocks knitting and reading with a cup of tea to hand. Not quite what I had in mind but sometimes there is no arguing with The Universe. Or zombies.

Who Is That Old Lady In The Mirror?

You know things are bad when - for once – I’m not wishing for more hours in a day. I’m wanting to pass quickly to the day when I’m healthy again. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I certainly don’t do sick very well. Right now I hardly recognise myself. And no, I’m not going to show you because frankly you don’t want to see. I don’t want to look either. I’m poochy and gray and my lips are peeling. There’s big bags under my eyes too. I think the cough has eased up a lot but I’m afraid to say so unless I jinx it into returning full force. I’m waiting impatiently for it all to just go away. Waiting and waiting and waiting. And mostly missing this gorgeous sunny and even warm-ish (finally a more seasonal 14C) day. I’m headachy, a bit dizzy and totally lacking energy. I’m finding it particularly hard to concentrate so I’m mostly just reading and knitting bibs for Rosebud. (2 done, 2 to go.) Anything more exciting than that either exhausts me or is just too complex for my meagre little snot-filled brain. Everything else is just going to have to wait along with me. This too will pass. Because it has No Other Option. So there.

I had to do an emergency hanky wash yesterday because I was running out of the dozen-plus big man-sized hankies and ended up having to boil them in soap and soda ash to get them clean and disinfected. (Bleach is NOT AN OPTION in my world.) Only after that extraordinary step would I put them into the regular laundry load. They came out quite sparkly so it was worth all the trouble. I totally prefer hankies to kleenex even if you can’t just toss them when they’re gross. It fulfills all of the 3 R’s: Reduce (no trees chopped for pulp or garbage created), Reuse (over and over until they finally disintegrate), and Recycle (a number of my hankies once belonged to other family members). Yeah I know they use energy to clean but normally they don’t need such drastic measures as I put them through yesterday and a few hankies don’t take up much space in a regular load of laundry. When I think of the number of boxes of tissues I used to buy I wonder why I didn’t switch a long time ago! I plan to keep an eye out for suitable fabric to make a new bunch. Linen would be so cool! Or how about bamboo? Has to be a very lightweight weave though.

Oh look. Another post with no photos. And a lot more whining. How boring. Nothing to see here. Do come back another time.

Hackety-Hack

Trying not to cough up a lung here. Ick. Also trying to recuperate after I sucked it up enough to look after the Grandbeasties yesterday. T-Man kindly came home early from work to help. We had their car seats so we could take them to see their mom in hospital. She’s not actually sick, but is undergoing a series of tests and is currently attached to a bunch of monitors. And bored out of her gourd! They are trying to pinpoint the source of her epilepsy so maybe they can go in and do something about it. She has been having seizures since she was a little girl and the meds she’s currently taking are not very effective anymore. This is her only other option. We are all very hopeful and nervous at the same time. It’s a Big Deal. I hate those things. Especially when they happen to people I love.

Meanwhile the kids are being passed around between grandparents and daddy while he tries to keep his comic book shop open and cope with housework all at the same time. Good thing he can juggle! Keeping several balls in the air was good practice for real life, doncha think? And the Beasties have been pretty well-behaved, all things considered. Only a few fights and a meltdown or two. Pretty par for the course as far as 4- and 6-year-old siblings are concerned. It’s also handy that Super-Princess is out of school for spring break this week. Adding extra dropping-off and picking-up duties to the list would be near impossible since their other grandmother lives near us in Vancouver and they live a half-hour away in Port Coquitlam. There’s at least one more day we’ll need to take them (Saturday) before the docs will release their mom, perhaps early next week. Hope I can survive.

Today I’m lying very low. I didn’t end up with any other symptoms except a sore throat and coughing so much that my ribs hurt. Unluckily the Beasties and their parents already have something similar so I won’t be accused of passing on the plague. As I’m wiping snotty noses though I’m hoping they won’t infect me with a different bug! The one I have is quite nasty enough. Oh and I remembered that I did have something similar but milder for a short while in January. So I had no cause to boast about how well I’ve been anyhow. Life has a way of smiting down the smug, no?

On the crafty front, I’ve gotten another repeat or two of the lace pattern done on the Abotanicity Tunic. Not a lot. And I’ve been messing about with my pattern fitting. Haven’t actually cut anything out yet but I’m going with the current urge to trace, chop and tape tissue paper. I found a tape that doesn’t shrink or wrinkle up under the iron: green painter’s tape. It’s a bit heavy and ugly but it holds the pieces together so it’s fine. Better than pins that tear the tissue and fall out. Yes, I’m being overly fussy about adjusting my patterns but the whole point of sewing my own clothes is so that they will actually fit my body! Not somebody else’s idea of a “standard” body. Who actually has one of those anyway?

I’m also debating whether I need to make a muslin for any of my planned garments. I think I would have to be confronted with the combination of complex pattern and expensive fabric to bother. The fabrics I have are either fairly cheap or have been in my stash for so long they don’t count anymore or both. Some are even inherited from others’ stashes. I would like what I make to be wearable but it wouldn’t be too heartbreaking if they don’t come out the way I had hoped. I’m not counting my time as important in this equation because it really doesn’t matter how long it takes to achieve acceptable results. Within reason of course.

Sorry no photos to enliven your day. I’m not getting up to do more than pour myself another big cup of tea. I need to feel up to going with Milady Daughter and baby Rosebud to the clinic tomorrow to see the shoe guy. Hopefully he can do something for her blisters since nothing else seems to be working very well. Otherwise they might have to go back to casting her leg for awhile until she’s a little older. Not sure which is more awkward but those are the only two choices. Fun times!

Potions

Well. That will teach me to boast that I managed to get through a whole winter without getting sick. Now I have a sore throat, a cough and am feeling very tired. Some bug or other decided to teach me a lesson in humility! Bleh.

I did get some work in the garden done this weekend. It was quite pleasant out even with the alternating sun, cloud and a drip or two of rain. At least the temperatures are finally mild and forecasted to stay that way for awhile. I got both of the woad types transplanted, along with some salad greens seedlings and the pea seeds are in, including the poles and nets. Before April 1st this year! Yay! T-Man was working on expanding my dye garden further so now I have oodles more room to plant in. Maybe I need to plant more Japanese indigo seeds? I wonder how close together they need to be?

So now I have some pots free to transplant some of my tiny indoor babies into. I just seem to cycle them around. New for this year is cabbage and we’ll see how they do. These are small ones as the regular-sized cabbages take up too much space. And T is building me a box to plant butternut squash, also a first. He took out one of the laurels beside my garden and the box will go on the remains of the roots rather than try to dig down. It gets a fair amount of sun there anyhow. We’ll see what happens. Every year is a different story.

As well as mucking about in the dirt, I finally got around to making some “potions” with my supplies from Voyageur Soap & Candle:

Clockwise from the top-left that’s Hemp & Oat Infused Cream, Shea & Hemp Body Butter (already dipped into!) and Black Cherry Lip Balm. This time I didn’t put scent in the cream or butter and just left them natural, though I’m tempted to mix at least one jar of the cream with lavender and sweet orange just for fun. The slight green tinge in the butter and cream is from the dark green organic hemp oil which is common to both recipes. It made the cream a lot darker than it usually is. I’m happy my potions all turned out well and T-Man’s been using them too.

The Hemp & Oat cream recipe comes from my friend Sandra and is the most complicated because it has so many ingredients. Over a dozen items with lots of careful measuring necessary! Besides all the ingredients you also need a good scale that weighs in at least half-gram increments and a thermometer. You gently melt the butters, waxes and oils in one container in the microwave:

• 37 g Hemp Oil
• 28 g Vegetable Glycerin
• 16 g Sweet Almond Oil
• 18 g Shea Butter
• 18 g Mango Butter
• 7 g Vitamin E 1000IU
• 18 g Calendula Oil
• 10 g Stearic Acid (may add less for thinner lotion)
• 25 g Emulsifying Wax
• 3.5 g Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) as a natural preservative

Don’t overheat or you’ll compromise the ingredients! When everything is melted, cool to 140F. While that’s happening, in another container heat to the same temp:

• 150 g Oatmeal Water (soak raw oatmeal overnight, pressing to remove infused water)
• 150 g Aloe Vera Gel

You can use a stick blender or I use my craft blender to whip the hot oils while slowly pouring in the hot oat/aloe mixture, just like making salad dressing. Not edible though. Finally add:

• 2 g Germall Plus as a preservative
• Essential Oil or Fragrance Oil for scent, if desired

Blend some more, then pour into jars and allow to thicken and cool. This recipe makes about 1 lb. or 8-2 oz. jars. This stuff is super-great for healing and moisturising anywhere. Totally worth all the fuss of making it.

The yummy lip balm recipe is here on Voyageur’s blog. I reduced the recipe by 1/5 to make 50g for 6 little jars. I also subbed black cherry for peppermint since it burns my lips uncomfortably. So I guess that makes it not-quite-organic but I’m happy with the results. The recipe for the Shea Nut & Hemp butter is here. I made half of the recipe for just one 75g jar. Only 3 ingredients! I like it for my super-dry feet and itchy shins. It’s easier to spread on the skin than straight shea butter.

There you have all my not-so-secret recipes. The initial outlay for ingredients is quite steep but usually allows me to make more than one batch of everything – depending on what size containers of each that I buy. Watch out though because many items have a limited shelf-life so I try not to get too carried away and to plan on using them up within a year or so. The jars are also available at Voyageur. They have such fun stuff there! Really. I’m finding myself inspired to start making everything from scratch.

Did It Again

Skipped nearly a whole week again, didn’t I? Not to worry – I’m not feeling a rant coming on or anything. I’m just kind of full up with family things and not much to blog about really. I’m nearly finished The Ninja’s birthday socks. Just have the toes to graft and a celebratory bath and blocking. Not bad for just over a week since I cast on for them. These are the largest socks on my Sock List so I think that might be some kind of record. They are just plain socks though so that might also explain the speed with which they were executed. As long as I can read at the same time, knitting gets done pretty quickly. Picture and more info to come. Sorry about the lack of things to look at today.

Of course the recipient of the Green Ninja Socks didn’t get them on his birthday or at his party at his MIL’s on Sunday because they weren’t done yet. However he did get to start his first batch of red wine with his dad. T-Man learned how to make wine from his dad and now he’s passing it on. One kit makes 20+ bottles (though in our house they seldom make it into any bottles). It is soooo much cheaper and the results are very good – definitely not “plonk”. Later they will start some white wine as well. One large cupboard in our basement is dedicated to wine-making and gets constant use.

Then Milady Daughter and I had a lovely morning of knitting yesterday before we took baby Rosebud for her weekly cast replacement again. She is growing fast and we managed to get them to weigh her when she was starkers so we could get a real idea without the added weight of the cast. She’s officially 11lbs 14oz which is pretty great for not quite 8 weeks old. She can smile now and nearly holds her head up by herself, just occasionally has a “stabilizer malfunction” as her daddy calls it. She is eating and sleeping a lot so we know she’s going through a real growth spurt. So fun to watch my grandbaby grow! So cute to get her smiles when talking to her! Adorable.

OK – a small rant. I can’t help myself. Why is it that just when I’m feeling tip-top after the last health issue that something new comes up? Yeah, I know I’m no spring chicken but this has been going on for decades! One thing after another. Nothing really earth-shattering. Just annoying and uncomfortable. And yeah, I know it could be worse. Much worse. So I guess I should quite my complaining and move on, right? Oh, this time? Possible ovarian cyst. At least it’s not too uncomfortable and it’s improving. I have a tender spot and an occasional crampy feeling on the right side. So I have to go get an ultrasound today, my first ever. I’m just a wee bit nervous – if only because it’s somewhere I’ve never been and I have no idea of the exact procedure. T-Man very kindly offered to come home from work early to drive me. Yes, I’ve done my research on this condition and it’s likely not serious and will go away by itself soon. Google is my friend.

Meanwhile I’m back to knitting on my Zip-Front Vest just because it was lonely and neglected for the last week while I worked on the socks. It’s coming along – past the waist and nearly up to the underarms. I’ve cast on for my niece’s socks also and plan to take one with me to work on at my appointment this afternoon. At least if there’s any wait time and I get a chance to knit. Who knows?

Grousing

And not the birdie kind of grouse either. I caught Milady Daughter’s cold when I spent the day with her last Wednesday. Last night’s sore throat made it hard to sleep. Do you think this is the ’Verse’s way of laughing at me for choosing “Acceptance” as my word for 2011? Now I must accept being sick for the first time since the middle of last summer. Drats. Typhoid Mary Milady Daughter also managed to share her bug with her baby and her husband. Hope I don’t continue to pass it on. Nasty one, this! I’ll have to suck it up tomorrow though because I get to help with Rosebud’s cast removal and bathing before they head off to get another cast on her not-so-curly-anymore foot.

On a more cheerful note, I finished several projects recently about which I haven’t blogged yet:

Rosebud’s First & Second Socks

 

For: Granddaughter Rosebud

Begun: January 2, 2011 & January 5, 2011
Completed: January 4, 2011 & January 8, 2011

Yarn: First pair - leftover scraps of DGB Confetti Stretch, 70% superwash wool/23% nylon/7% polyester, colourway 25.02, dyelot 8123. Second pair – leftover scraps of Opal Mexiko (discontinued), 75% superwash wool/25% nylon, colourway Veracruz. Approx 25 g each.

Needles: Clover Takumi bamboo 5” dpns, 2mm.

Pattern: On 44sts, leg 2/2 rib for 3.25”, foot 3.5” before toe secs, dec to 5sts each needle, dog ear reduction. Finished sock measures 4.75” circumference and 4.5” long.

Comments: First pair’s yarn is a small amount of leftovers from her cousin the Princess’s sadly unworn legwarmers. I thought I had run out of yarn before I finished but I managed to find another little ball in the sock yarn scraps box. These have to be a little large to fit over her cast but she’s still going to have to grow into them.

Second pair is knit with well-aged stash leftovers and slightly shorter, only 3.25” foot before toe decs. They’re 4.25” long and might fit a little better. Still too big of course! Rosebud has teensy feet. Must take after her daddy there, not her mommy.

I also have this project that’s been done for awhile:

Dark o’the Moon Knee Socks

For: me

Begun: December 6, 2010
Completed: January 2, 2011

Yarn: Zitron Trekking XXL, 75% superwash wool/25% nylon, colour 325, dyelot 19214 (very dark navy with dashes of purple and black). 100g = 420m. 1.5 balls (50g left).

Needles: Clover Takumi bamboo 5” dpns, 2mm.

Pattern: Used to be Ann’s Knee High Socks by Ann Ackerman but I’ve changed them quite significantly.

Modifications: Pattern is adjusted for regular sock yarn. CO 88, cuff 5”, 3” straight before calf shaping, place markers: 12 st on either side of centre back st, dec every 4 rounds just inside markers creating a v-shaped gusset, last dec is a centred double-dec. 64 sts rem after dec, 6” straight after calf shaping & before beg of heel flap. Complete rest of sock as usual to fit foot.

Comments: I changed the name of these socks a couple of times but am happy with what I ended up with! Next time I would go 4” straight after the cuff and before the calf shaping and then 5” after the shaping is completed. I meant to do that this time but forgot so added an extra inch to the bottom straight section instead. Otherwise I think I’m edging ever closer to the perfect-fitting knee sock for my leg. The deeper cuff definitely helps keep the socks up without garters.

I’ve started a new project with the leftover Berroco Remix, plus additional balls. I liked the idea of Quincy’s Vest by Leigh Radford from Interweave Knits, Summer 2002. But I didn’t like several things about the fit and my yarn is more worsted or aran instead of the called-for bulky. So I used the main style points (sleeveless, zip-front, twisted rib side gussets etc.) and re-plotted a pattern with my own measurements and gauge using my Knitware software. I made it a bit longer and fairly closely fitting and adjusted the number of ribs upward to fit the finer gauge. I debated putting pockets in this vest but talked myself out of it. Pockets are very useful but also add a lot of bulk right where I don’t need it. I also planned it to be knit in one piece from the hem up rather than seaming the sides. I’ve only knit a few inches and am just about to start the waist shaping but it’s looking very nice so far. I hope to get a lot of wear out of this garment when it’s done.

However, I’m going to have to put it on hold for awhile because I have a 90th birthday shawl to knit for Nana’s sister, Auntie M. We’ve been invited to the party on the Sunshine Coast (pretty scenery, a ferry ride and all) and I have less than a month to finish. Already located the pattern and yarn. More on this later. Meanwhile, I think I’ll carry on with the vest today. And read in front of the nice fire in the woodstove. Be Gone, Cold Germs!

Is It September Already?

Whew! Finally got a photo so I can post a final Finished Object.

Stargazer’s Johnny Boy Sweater #2

Begun: June 24, 2010
Completed: August 21, 2010

Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Design Line Kaffe Fassett, colour 4252 (blues/greens), 75% superwash wool/25% nylon, 210m = 50g, 3.5 balls.

Needles: Addi Lace circulars, 2.5mm, 3mm

Pattern: Johnny Boy by Berocco Design Team, size 4.

Comments: I never did a gauge swatch or even measured it after the fact so I have no idea what it was! I just knit it the same way I did his first one that I made when he was 1-1/2. Only now he’s 3-1/2! So I followed the pattern for size 4 instead of size 2.

It didn’t really take me that long to knit it. The delay came with the assembling because my hands have been too cracked and sore. It took several hours of sewing to put it together finally the day before I was to give it to him. Just barely had time to wash and dry it on the sweater rack in the sun.

The original sweater got lots of wear so I hope this one does too. Looks like the sleeves and body are too long still which is great – gives him some growing room. Kids always grow taller before they get wider.

I forgot to take a photo of the finished sweater so his mom coerced him into this one still in his jammies! Apparently she had trouble making him stand still long enough. Cute little beastie, isn’t he?

When my hands are up for it I’ve been knitting a wee bit – a row or two at a time – on my little handspun scarflet. It’s coming along slowly. I find it interesting that will all the colours blended into the yarn it mostly looks like blue and red stripes when knitted up. Unless you look at it v.e.r.y closely. Only then do you notice the greens and oranges mixed in. Creates a greater depth of interest, yes?

I’ve got three friends (plus myself equals half of the Spectrum Study Group) coming over tomorrow for a Woad Day where we’ll try to use up the rest of it, including the Chinese woad. I have no idea how much colour there is left in the leaves after all the cool weather and rain but it’ll be fun to find out. I’ll try to remember to take photos. I want to do some itajime (folded and clamped resist) so I need to go hunt for some appropriate fabric.

In other news, even though my skin is only a little better I’m feeling emotionally more stable these days. After the 2 dermatologists at the Skin Care Centre put the idea in my head when they were confused over what my disease was, I did some super-serious research. I think I now know what I actually have and it’s not psoriasis, though the symptoms are quite similar and the prognosis just as murky. However convincing Dr Serious Dermatologist to even reconsider his diagnosis is going to be extremely difficult. What I suspect is very rare and he may never have seen a case of it before. Plus he’s not going to take the opinion of some little old female patient (albeit one with Killer Google Skilz!) over his own education and experience. I hope to get him to at least do a biopsy, which he should have done in the first place. (Not that I really want one. Ouch.) And perhaps get a second opinion. If it’s really impossible to get him to agree with me - or preferably come up with it himself without my prompting – it doesn’t essentially matter because most of the treatment options (such as they are) are the same anyway. We’ve already tried and rejected the main one, the evil Soriatane. I’ve already stopped using the tar and have cut down on the other strong meds in favour of shea butter, petroleum jelly and other moisturisers and I’m already seeing improvements. Go figure! Though it would be satisfying to have it official, the truth as I see it helps me feel much more in control of things and that’s what really counts. More on this when I’ve seen him again next week. As my dear old mummy would say, “We’ll see.”

Apologies

I spent a good long time on Saturday sewing up grandson Stargazer’s new sweater and…forgot to photograph it before I gave it to him on Sunday. Rats! Now it won’t be easy to get a picture for my notes. However I will try, starting with a request that one of his parents take one for me on the boy. We’ll see how far that goes! Anyhow I did finish it. Some small accomplishment makes me feel better about my languishing crafts.

Speaking of which, the rag quilt project got kind of stalled at the ironing phase. My hands could only take doing a few pieces at a time. I hope to carry on some more this afternoon and get the last few pieces done. I want to start cutting out the flannelette inner layer and see how many squares short it leaves me. It will be an adventure trying to find a comparable substitute to complete the total 256 approximately 7.5”-8” squares I need. Their actual size will depend on how close the measurements work out on the sheets. The seam allowance can be anything from 1/2” to 1” depending on how much fraying you want and I haven’t totally decided yet the exact size I’m going for.

In other news, the P-Word is improving a little. Two steps forward and one step back though. At least that’s what it seems like. My feet are mostly clear enough that I can walk again but if I go too far, I’ll regret it the next day with small splits. My hands are able to escape gloves for short durations during the day but I need to moisturise them constantly. My fingertips are thick and dry and clumsy and the palms are sensitive to pokes and rough edges. The rising tide seems to have slowed (or maybe even stopped, dare I say?) after covering my breasts about where my bra does and my inner arms up to my armpits. My legs are fairly clear now however and the skin is slowly going back to a more normal colour. I still spend way too much time gooping myself up with various potions but I’m feeling a small glimmer of optimism. At least it’s better than the alternative, right?

After perusing the Internet and chasing down as many leads as I could find, I’ve come to the conclusions that a) doctors really know spit about how to treat psoriasis and b) that leaves the door open for snake-oil salesmen of every stripe. Persons With P are desperate for something to relieve symptoms. The fact that what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another and that what works for a time doesn’t necessarily continue to work just compounds the desperation. “If you just use this cream/eat this diet/get this light you’ll be cured!” Hah. Personally I’ve already used something like 8 different prescription meds, 4 over-the-counter creams, my own handmade cream and shea butter with varying success. My pharmacists know me on a first name basis. I’m actually getting a tan after decades of avoiding the sun. I don’t wear anything that shows tar and grease stains or that I care about at all. Right now at least, this disease is dictating my life in a big way. Which is why you, my gentle readers, are being subjected to too much of my babbling about it! I don’t have much else to talk about really.

Off to water the garden. Again. The weather is lovely – sunny and hot-but-not-too-hot in the day but cooler at night. Perfect.

Aitch. Eee. Double-Hockey-Sticks.

Man! Yesterday had to rate as one of the worst days ever. It was so bad that I’m truly glad it’s now today instead. Just so it’s not still yesterday. Horrible.

Oh, you’re curious, huh? What’s got ol’ damselfly’s tail in a knot? Well, appointments with Dr. Serious Dermatologist are uncomfortable at the best of times. But this time I was running late, scooting along on my bicycle and…caught my skirt between the back brake and the tire rim. Took me several minutes to get free and tore a hole in my skirt. Finally got to the dr’s office and his receptionist was away. No, he doesn’t have a sub. He just carries on by himself. So it was “slam-bam-thank-you-ma’am”: stop this, restart that, do the other, here’s your prescriptions, call if there’s a problem, ‘bye. Any questions from me were given short shrift. Why does he insist I only have palmo-plantar (hands and feet) psoriasis when obviously it’s covering about 2/3 of my body? And it doesn’t resemble anything I can find in my research. He actually said, “Everyone’s psoriasis is different.” Ohhh-kayyyy. Is he covering up that he doesn’t really know what’s going on?

So then I had to go to one particular pharmacy to get a refill on the black tar since they’re the only ones in town who can make it for me. It took much too long so I had to leave for my next appointment at the skin care centre. I would have to go back later for the prescription. The skin care centre was interesting. Everyone was friendly. But…I was examined by a young dermatologist and he called in a resident and they debated and questioned and checked and double-checked and…said that I should not get light therapy right now. My condition was too sensitive. It would be too painful. They questioned the treatment ordered by Dr Serious and really scratched their heads over me. They finally weren’t even sure whether or not I really had psoriasis! The first doc said he would talk to Dr Serious and then I have to find out if any treatment should change. But of course nobody could get through yesterday if the lovely Erika was away sick leaving nobody to answer the phone. I still haven’t called. I’m too upset still.

Then I went back to get my tar at the first pharmacy plus I had two more prescriptions to fill at my usual pharmacy. Of course they couldn’t fill them right away because they always have to order the stuff in so I still have to go get them later on today. The only good thing was that by then I was starving so I bought myself a yummy Beard Papa chocolate éclair and a cup of jasmine tea. Unfortunately that didn’t really help me feel any better about the day’s frustrations and disappointments. And that’s not all. There’s more!

So I rode my bike home all tired and dejected and was right at the corner where my house is when I miscalculated the turn at the curb and missed the ramp up. Thankfully I was nearly stopped by then but my bike fell over with me not able to get my foot down in time so I fell under it. I couldn’t lift the bike off myself because that darned precious battery is so heavy so I had to crawl out from under it. I scratched up both myself and poor Rideau (the bike) but luckily not too badly. Much of my skin is rather fragile these days, as you might imagine. Now I had a torn skirt and a road rash behind my knee to go with it. At least I was only a few feet from home. And I’m not leaving again until I absolutely have to. No, it was not a very good day at all.

So far today is better. The sun is out and it’s not too hot. Let’s talk about something else, shall we? Because the lack of it was driving me nuts, I did a teensy bit of knitting on Sunday and a bit more on Tuesday. I used the Aurelia superwash wool that I had spun up for Andrea:

I decided that I needed to knit something that didn’t have a specific yardage necessary since I only have this single 50g ball to work with. So I started with 3 stitches and am knitting mindless garter stitch, increasing 1 stitch with a yarnover one stitch inside each edge on each row. So far it looks like this:

It’s a little scarflet and is coming out kind of a boomerang shape which I like a lot. I’ll just carry on until I nearly run out of yarn and then bind off. If I want to, I can always knit or crochet an edging on later with another yarn. Should be superwash too though, shouldn’t it? Maybe add some beads? Right now though I’m not knitting any more until my fingers are healed some, hopefully now that I’m not taking that nasty med anymore that caused them to peel so badly. I already had to cut longer fingers on a new pair of gloves because they weren’t protected enough with the short old ones. Just the tips of my fingers stick out from these and I can’t tension my yarn properly. Sigh. But at least my hands are more comfortable.

Now I’m going to go put on my gardening gloves and play in the dirt.

It Lives!

Queue the thunder and lightning and old organ music with lots of swirling heavy chords…

Feeling quite a bit better today. My head is up and I’m starting to focus on all the things I was missing: like the poor neglected garden and the messy house. The hard part is not to overdo right away and put myself back in veg-mode. The Kick-Ass Cough Syrup™ has ensured a better night’s sleep for both me and T-Man. And the Itchy-Peelies are less uncomfortable now that the tops of my feet and my lower legs are pretty much clear. However there’s still an awful lot of me that still looks like an old porch chair left in the sun too long. And there are yet more new psoriasis patches showing up on the back of my hands and up my inner arms past my elbows. It ain’t over yet. (Why, oh why?)

The biggest annoyance by far are my hands. See why I can’t knit or spin or do much of anything?

The other one looks pretty much just like it. Just thought I’d show you that I’m not being a big baby and whining for no reason! Oh all right, I am a big baby! It is justifiable though, don’t you agree? Sorry for grossing you all out. I’ll behave myself now. Maybe.

The good news is my doc checked me all out and says that everything else is hunky-dory and my blood pressure is excellent. Not bad for an old broad, huh? Speaking of which, what exactly is a “senior” these days? I’ve seen 50, 55, 60 and the government’s criteria of 65. Excuse me but 50 is downright youthful these days and even 55 is pretty young. Maybe it’s my perspective from nearly-60 or the fact that so many of my older-than-me friends are not your stereotypical “old people”. And we’re just generally living longer, like T’s remaining auntie who is nearly 30 years beyond that 65 line. Needless to say, our lives are like a piece of string – they are just as long as they are. And most of us wish for more.

As always, I suppose things could be worse. Hey, I’ve even lost about 6 lbs. Yay! I don’t have any signs of the more common aging problems (touch wood!) like diabetes or heart disease. (One of T’s cousins-by-marriage just lost a leg to diabetes, poor guy.) All you can do is the best you can, right? At any rate, if you’re only as old as you feel then some days I’m as old as my grandson and some days I’m as old as Auntie. Mostly I feel about the same as I did 15 years ago. Better in some ways. The mirror tells a different story though! But it tells lies, doesn’t it?

OK, enough navel-gazing. Next post something that is not about me and my flakey anatomy! Promise.

So Who Said Life Was Fair?

I apologise right off the bat for being such a splotz (new term, invented by me, expressing the whining, whingeing, depressing, crabby, sick, blech, lazy, good-for-nothing blob of barely human woman I’ve recently become). My psoriasis looks worse than a deathly case of leprosy up to my waist, my tummy is still somewhat bubbly and unhappy, and now I have a sore throat, post-nasal drip and a huge lack of energy. Currently I’m curled up in bed with my knitting and my netbook, along with a hot cup of tea and feeling quite sorry for myself. So there.

If T-Man wasn’t also sharing in the tummy and the sore throat I would be tempted to consider them side effects of the new and rather scary meds that I’m on for the psoriasis. At least so far, none of the evils have shown up, but you never know. I haven’t even been taking the pills for a week yet. There’s still time for my lips to peel, my hair to start falling out, my eyes to dry up etc. Are we having fun yet? If only it works on the psoriasis I won’t mind.

I did get one thing done – I finally finished painting the last four of the flour-pasted cloths that I started months ago and left in my studio to get dusty:

Not to worry if you can’t see them very well in this sun-dappled photo of my deck. They don’t look like much until the paste is scrubbed off anyhow. So far the fabric paint (Setacolor transparent) colours the surface of the paste as well as the fabric in the cracks. You get a better idea of what it really looks like on the back. I left them alone several days for the fabric paint to set before I scrub the paste off. Maybe if I have any energy later on today.

So T and I both sat around splotzing most of the day on Saturday but roused ourselves on Sunday afternoon to pick the garden produce (peas, raspberries and blueberries) and water everything. Later we took the bikes out to check for magazines (none) and get a few groceries. We also spoiled our miserable selves with a chocolate éclair from Beard Papa’s and the delightfully friendly Maggie at their shop in City Square. Yum. Works pretty well to cheer one up. At least a little.

Have I mentioned how much I love my new bicycle? Yes? I don’t mind saying it again. But I’m finding it interesting when I take one of the city’s designated bicycle routes. Cycle traffic! Yikes! I have to get used to the speedy Lance Armstrong types passing me while getting stuck dinking along behind the poky ones. If I pass them, they pass me and then I’m stuck behind them again. It seems rude to zip by everyone using my throttle! We end up meeting again at the next light anyway. Urp. I don’t usually travel with so many other bikes around me and it feels strange. Nice to see folks out riding though. The weather has been perfect for it.

Yes, it’s hard to stay a miserable splotz when we’ve recently had the most perfect summer weather one could wish. Temps in the low 20’s C, perpetual sunshine, coolish nights for sleeping – absolutely ideal. May it continue on indefinitely.

And may the illnesses that infest me go away. Immediately. I want to enjoy the summer while we have it. It’s quite an ephemeral beast at the best of times and needs to be savoured, petted and rolled in. Sitting around in bed reading and knitting can be done any time of year. Preferably when it’s rainy, cold and dark.

All right. Enough with the splotz already.

Body Image

Now that I’ve been hanging out with my buddy Debbie Double for awhile and getting to know her (and my) shape better, I’ve figured out a lot about where I’ve gone wrong in the past in trying to make clothes fit. It explains why I have trouble buying off the rack too. I have:

• forward shoulders
• sloped shoulders
• slightly forward neck
• C-cup (or maybe even a D?) bust
• short arms
• full abdomen
• wide hips
• sway back
• low seat
• short legs

Sounds pretty bad, huh? Of course much of this has happened to me slowly over the years. I’m pushing 60 after all! Unfortunately pattern companies can’t take into consideration all the various shapes that people come in so they draft patterns to fit the “average” body, whatever that might be. Almost everyone has some deviation from that “average” body. Even if we aren’t making our own clothes, it’s helpful to know our shape and what looks good on us. Be honest with yourself. Lumps and bumps are normal, especially as we age, and it doesn’t mean that you’re any less beautiful!

Unfortunately fashion magazines, TV and the movies aren’t helping anyone’s self-esteem by emphasising overly thin and muscular figures. Think of it as just the current fashion and fashions change constantly. If you go back to Marilyn Monroe, everyone’s ideal of sexy womanhood, she was downright fluffy compared to today’s popular shape! Don’t compare, just celebrate what you’ve got.

OK, so back to the fitting books.

I’ve found the best one finally! “Fit for Real People” by Pati Palmer & Marta Alto is definitely opening my eyes and my brain. Sandra Betzina’s “Fast Fit”, Nancy Zeiman’s “Fitting Finesse” and the long-titled “How to Use Adapt, and Design Sewing Patterns” by Lee Hollahan are good as far as they go, but IMHO they don’t go nearly far enough. I want details. I want why. Pati & Marta get full marks for clear illustration and explanation. Even repetition. You can tell they have taught many different women (because really they are discussing only female “people”) how to make commercial patterns fit their body, not some mythical standard. They understand what changes the years make to the female form and how to accommodate those changes. After reading this book I really feel like I finally have a complete set of tools to make clothes that fit me.

So what’s wrong with the other books, really? The one I’ve had longest (about 15 years!) is Nancy’s “Fitting Finesse” (published 1995). What I don’t like is her pivot and slide method and her more modern book “Pattern Fitting With Confidence” (2008) uses the same technique. It makes my brain hurt for some reason. I’d much rather tuck and fold, slash and spread, or even redraw the darn thing entirely. It’s just the way my brain works, not a diss. Otherwise, the book just doesn’t give me enough of the kind of detailed information I want. I’m greedy like that.

Lee Hollahan’s Book With The Very Long Title (published 2010) tries to fit too much in too small of a space. (Hmmm…maybe the title was a clue?) She combines basic fitting with pattern drafting, both of which are complex subjects and ultimately could fill their own book, sort of like the 500+ pages in Connie Crawford’s pattern drafting book. I found it very interesting at first but ultimately unsatisfying on both counts. Not enough detail for me. The photographs are very clear though. I like that part a lot.

Sandra’s “Fast Fit” (first published 2001, my softcover 2003)is all about the individual fitting problems and how to fix them which is great. Except that her illustrations of actually what to do are kind of vague and hard to see. The bodies are large cartoonish sketches and the patterns are tiny photographs. I would really prefer it be the other way around! She follows the wrinkles to decide what needs to be done and has her adjustments in two formats: “fast fit” (or the quick and dirty) and step-by-step. Sandra also recommends you make muslins or, as she terms them, “pre-tests”. She includes a lot more information than the first two books but it still seems somewhat unsatisfying to me. Is there any point in mentioning specific pattern numbers without either showing what it looks like (photo of the pattern envelope perhaps) or realising that it likely might be OOP by now? Sandra has great style herself however!

Of course you get a slightly different perspective from each of these books. The Palmer/Pletsch one (originally published 1998, second edition 2005, mine the updated 2007) uses tissue-fitting and doesn’t require a muslin pre-test. Though the nervous might not want to use the really expensive fabrics until they’re sure of the techniques. Like Sandra, Pati & Marta use the wrinkles to tell what needs to be done to make things fit. I’m certainly going to use their technique of reinforcing the neckline and armhole of closefitting patterns with tape. I’ve already experienced rips! I also like the way they pin pattern tissues down before taping thus maintaining perfect flatness. See? I’ve learned a bunch already. Three scissors up!

So why haven’t I done anything useful yet? Seems like I’ve been stalling for weeks, doesn’t it? To tell the truth, I’ve been feeling somewhat under the weather, blue in spirits and lately a couple of days with a tummy upset. My appointment with Dr Serious Dermatologist on Wednesday got me all stressed out. Now my psoriasis rates as serious, instead of mild. Lovely. I have to stop one of the ointments, use more of another, still with the black tar, plus take some nasty side-effect-laden pills. Pills, I might add, that cost over $100 for a month’s supply that Isn’t Covered At All by T-Man’s extended medical for some reason unexplainable by my pharmacist. Sheesh. They had better do something useful, that’s all I’ve got to say. Especially if I’m going to start losing what’s left of my hair and not be able to drink T-Man’s yummy wine now and for 2 months after I’m done with them. Maybe I’ll lose some weight? Be positive, damselfly.

I also have an appointment in August with the skin care centre to begin light therapy. Finally. (Apparently I lucked into an early date. Someone must have cancelled and left me a spot or it would have been November.) Maybe it will work better than the sun exposure I’ve been trying to get regularly. At least we’ve been having some nice sunshine recently.

Anyway, I need to print out this quote on a small card so I can hand it to well-meaning friends, relatives and acquaintances – all of whom know something that I should try:

“Allergies, infections, dietary deficiencies or excesses, or nervous tension do not cause psoriasis.” 

And on the other side it should say:

“Psoriasis is a chronic, non-contagious, lifelong immunologic skin disease. What works for one person with psoriasis might not work for another. There is no permanent cure.”

Since this body is totally not the image I want to see, I will envision it clear and normal - not all blotched, cracked and peeling. Be positive, damselfly. I guess that means my actual shape is not a problem?

Skip (most of) This Post

I’m taking time out for another little whining whingeing rant. Please feel free to skip over this one. Especially since you’ve probably heard it all before. I won’t be hurt if you jump straight to the end – where things get more interesting.

I’ve had it with The Evil Psoriasis. <Stomp-stomp-stomp!> I’m really trying to spare you from the worst of it, but somehow it makes me feel better to complain. At least occasionally. It takes some of the pressure off poor T-Man, who unfortunately shares a life with The Not-So-Silent-Sufferer.

Anyhow, I do feel I have a perfect right to bitch these days. Anyone would complain about cracked and bleeding feet that feel like you’re walking on eggshells. Cramps my style for sure. Plus the irritating itchy-bumpies that have now crawled up as far as my panty line. I’m doing everything Dr Serious Dermatologist says to do and it gets a little better and then – whammo – it gets a whole lot worse. I’m running out of patience. And options. And faith in doctors and medications. And most of all, in myself to heal.

Of course, stress plays a large part in this auto-immune disease. And naturally I feel stressed and frustrated which isn’t helping at all. I need to calm down and relax. So I’ve been knitting but not on my not-so-Happy Legs Tights because who wants to wear anything nice over these itchy, greasy legs. I can’t even contemplate socks for someone else. It just makes me grumpy. Instead I finished the back and started the front of a new Johnny Boy sweater for Stargazer because he grew out of his old one.

And I did this:

My first Zentangle*, aka a glorified doodle. It’s not wonderful but not bad for a first effort, I think. I started off pretty well with the leafy shape in the middle but kind of ran out of steam on the left half. I don’t have the original Zentangle books (which keep selling out at my online bookstore) nor their expensive beginner kit and I don’t believe you need those really. I’ve been finding all sorts of examples all over the Internet to inspire me. Besides the original website, there’s this great tutorial at Joggles (where Barbara made me start down this crazy path!) and this page at Squidoo. The rest you can invent as you go along. It’s fun, relaxing and as addicting as a solitaire game.

Not nearly as hard as it looks either. You just draw a square (or any shape – Barbara likes hearts) and begin with a “string”, a curvy line to divide the shape up into smaller segments, and start filling each one in with a pattern. I, Damselfly-The-Rebel, didn’t even use any of the recommended items. I used a piece of <gasp!> creamy yellow bond paper (instead of nice white cotton rag paper) and a Faber-Castel Pitt pen size S (which is much thicker than the Sakura Micron Pigma pens) and any old HB pencil laying about and just went to it! I’m sure there’s more to come. I need practice to get the shading right and learn/figure out some new and better “tangles”.

Tomorrow is another day. I’ll be off to play itajime (clamped-resist dyeing) with my Spectrum Study Group buddies. Hopefully then we’ll be back to your regularly-scheduled Super-Positive-Damselfly.

ETA (just to satisfy their copyright requirements, though personally I think they're being overly protective. However, far be it for me to stop them from trying to benefit from their work if they can...):

* The Zentangle® art form and method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. Zentangle® is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.