Ending January

Gosh, this week has felt long, but it did have a lot of good moments in it. On Sunday I went to knit group and there was a good group there, and it was nice to be back in that space with those people. I've almost made it to the halfway point on my blue scarf, and I'm looking forward to starting the second ball soon. After knit group I took the bus down to one of the local thrift stores, and while I didn't find any of the things I was looking for, I did find an elephant humidifier! I've always loved this model, and with the air in my apartment as dry as it's been the past few weeks, I was super excited to come across him in the home electronics aisle. 

I also went to my favorite thrift store after work on Thursday. I haven't been in a few months, but I'm so glad I made the trip out there, since I found the raincoat of my dreams! I've been looking for a quality raincoat for probably at least a year, and while I really wanted a classic yellow one I was prepared to be content with any well-made raincoat. I'm so thrilled, and I'm actually looking forward to the next time I have to run errands in the rain.

I haven't made much progress on the baby quilt this week, but I'm definitely planning on putting in a few hours over the weekend. I only have eight more episodes of GBBO to catch up on, so I'm going to have to figure out what to queue up next to keep me entertained while stitching!

A New Project

How come a four-day week after a long weekend always feels longer than a normal week? We've had a couple of super cold days here, and the air in my apartment is so dry that I'm shocking myself every time I touch a light switch. I have two pots of water going on the stove to try and get some humidity, but it hasn't reduced the static yet.

After banging out a bunch of knitting last week, I've slowed down a lot this week. I'm mostly focusing on the scarf, since I need the needle it's on for the body of my green sweater, but I've reached the point in "long rectangle" where it's hard to get in a good groove and make significant progress. I'm well over halfway through the first of two balls, so it is coming along, just more slowly than the first foot or so.

Part of the reason knitting has slowed down so much is that I've picked up a big non-knitting project with a deadline! I did quite a bit of knitting for my friend's baby, but I knew since their pregnancy was announced that I also wanted to make a baby quilt. I found this cross stitch quilt kit at the secondhand crafts store back in the fall, with a beautiful pattern of sunflowers and bees. I put it in the quilting frame on Monday and started stitching, and while I wish it was going quicker, I've been able to stitch enough every day that my progress is definitely noticeable. 

Part of me imagines that I'll get this finished before the baby gets here, but the smarter, more realistic part of me realizes that this is a big project to finish in less than two months. It's fine, it's not like the baby will know if it wasn't finished by their birthday.

Back in the Saddle

Happy Friday! I got my right hand stitches out on Monday, and my hands are doing well. It's still easy to overuse them, but I'm taking it pretty easy (and also doing my OT exercises). As I thought, I'm able to knit again, and oh boy does it feel great to be back. I finished the Newborn Vertebrae that I started for my friend's baby back before my first surgery, and I cast on a scarf and a sweater for myself.

(I can't believe I've knit this much of a sleeve in three days, it feels absolutely wild.)

My best friend brought me this yarn from Ireland when she went there in 2014 (!!!!) and it feels so good to finally be knitting it up. I've had a few false starts with this, but I'm so pleased with this pattern and I'm actually really enjoying knitting it.

I also busted out a quick hanging basket for some of my office squishmallows. My desk was Too Cluttered, so I looked up instructions for how to make a granny square, finally figured it out, and one skein of kitchen cotton later (plus some extra in a different color to tighten up the edges because my gauge is all over the place), these guys have a new home on the wall by my crafting bookcase. I've never actually managed to make a granny square before, despite trying every couple of years, so this was really satisfying to whip up!

I'm looking forward to a three-day weekend here. I'm especially excited to go back to knit group after over a month and a half away!

A New Year

Happy January, friends! I had quite a busy end of 2024, so lots of catching up today!

Firstly, my left hand carpel tunnel release is healing very well, and much more quickly than I anticipated! It'll still be several months as the scar tissue settles down and the nerve endings around the incision settle down, but I'm very pleased with the results so far. The incision site itself is still tender, especially when I'm resting that part of my palm on something, but I am massaging the scar tissue and am hopeful about its continued healing. I had my right hand done last week, and much to my surprise the recovery has been easier than the left side! Usually the dominant hand is worse, and I don't know how much of this has been just knowing what to expect, but I've been very pleased with how smoothly this recovery is going. I get to take off the surgical dressing tomorrow and I'm very excited to get the stitches out next week. 

I finished my mum's Christmas socks back before my first carpal tunnel surgery, and they were well received! She and I both love the colors in this pair, which I knit up just using my plain vanilla formula:

I went out to my mum's for Christmas, and the whole family was together, which was nice. I took a Greyhound, as it was significantly cheaper than flying, and the experience made me really hope that next time I go back I either have my own car to drive or money to fly! It wasn't awful, and most of the time I did have two seats to myself, but it's still almost 21 hours each way in a narrow bus seat, and even overnight the bus stops and the lights come on every couple hours to let passengers on and off. Fortunately, a few nights in my own bed fixed me up, even if my poor sleep schedule took over a week to re-regulate.

I got back home in time for the third night of Hanukah, so I decided to (very halachically) just light the candles for nights one through three back to back. Coleslaw even got her own Chanuka gelt from my sister!

I did manage to do a little bit of knitting for a couple days in the week leading up to my second surgery, so I'm feeling good about being able to start knitting again in another week or two. I tension my yarn with my left hand, so as long as I can hold a needle in my right hand I'm not too worried about the strain on it, but I think at this point I might just wait to get my stitches out, just in case. I've been missing knitting, and while I have a couple quick projects to finish up for my friend's baby, I'm itching to cast on a sweater project for myself.

Since I haven't been knitting as much, I've been doing lots of puzzles! I'm hoping that I can keep my table clear this year and have puzzles going more regularly, because I do enjoy working on them and I miss having them out when my table is covered in doom piles. 

In a surprise to no one who actually knows me I absolutely over-prepared for my carpal tunnel surgeries and my freezer is still chock full of prepared meals and apple cake! I always think it's better to have more of what I might need rather than risk running out of something, so I'm not too upset.

Last Friday was my sixteenth "diaversary," and I can't believe my diabetes is old enough to drive now! Longtime readers of the blog might remember that my diagnosis anniversary is a sort of second birthday for me, and I always have cake to mark the date. Two years ago I bought a frozen cake because I was in the middle of moving, and this year, for only the second time in sixteen years, I also had frozen cake since there's no way I can bake with my right hand in stitches. I had planned on getting cupcakes from the gluten free bakery, but they're still closed for the holidays, and I was lucky to find one gluten free chocolate lava cake in the supermarket so I didn't miss the occasion!

Left Hand Down

Well, I had hoped to check in at least once before my first surgery, but best laid plans, am I right? I'm four days out from my first surgery, and the first 48 hours were rough. It's still sore, and I'm struggling with some basic tasks (and also occasionally using my left hand more that I ought, but I do tend to catch myself pretty quickly). The procedure itself went very smoothly, and I love my surgeon. My fingers are all moving as they ought, soreness in the hand aside. 

I did manage to finish several of my planned knitting projects before surgery, including an adorable pair of trousers for my friend's upcoming baby and a pair of thick house socks for myself:

I also finished my bulky vest AND got the buttons sewed on my brioche vest. The neckline on the bulky vest came out a little lower than I intended, but I think it'll be fine, and I've already worn the brioche vest a few times.

 

I spent the last couple of days before surgery in a flurry of preparations, getting my apartment cleaned and dealing with my hoard of apples. I realized a few weeks before surgery that I wouldn't be able to cut my apples one-handed (I need both hands to get my apple slicer through an apple), so I had pounds and pounds of apples that needed dealing with. I tried to eat as many as possible, and then I made four batches of apple cake for the freezer.

I still ended up with eight apples left in my fridge the night before surgery, and I sliced those up and soaked them in salt water for a few minutes before rinsing them and storing them in a ziploc bag in the fridge. They've started browning a little, but I'm almost finished eating them, so it all worked out fine.

Since I can't really knit right now, I cleared off my table to be able to work on puzzles, and I finished one last night! I got this one off the free sharing table at work, and I really enjoyed working on it. 

Most of my puzzles are in my front closet and a bit difficult to get at with just one hand, which was perhaps a little short-sighted of me, but I do have at least one dinosaur puzzle just on a shelf in my living room, and I'm sure I can dig more out of the closet as long as I'm careful.

An Unwilling Model

We are now less than three weeks away from my first carpal tunnel surgery, and prep is going well. I made two big batches of burrito bowl fillings for the freezer, and I currently have one reserve loaf of freezer challah (though I do hope to make at least two more). I also finished my one xmas knit this week, as well as the first knit for my friend's impending baby.

Coleslaw absolutely hates modeling baby booties, but the concept was just too cute to leave untried.

(Yes, those are duck feet baby booties, and yes, they are too cute for words.)

I'm also officially into my busiest two weeks of work, but if I make it through the next nine days then I get the whole week of Thanksgiving off as a reward. I'm hoping to use that week to finish up a few more baby knits as well as my current vest project (which hasn't progressed since the last time you saw it, but it really doesn't need too much more work). 

This week I also attended a bookbinding workshop at my local library. We did two types of non-sewn bindings and made mini journals. Both techniques were new to me, and I'm really excited with the possibilities they offer in terms of my own projects as I get more into bookbinding as a hobby. 

one day at a time

So. Here we go again. 

It was not foolish to feel hopeful.

I cast on two baby knits this week for a baby one of my best friends is currently working on. Partly because I needed a distraction, and partly because I'm less than a month from surgery and I don't know how much knitting time I'll have between the end of my recovery and the baby's arrival.

It's a good reminder that we do still have a future, and we do need to care for it.

This baby won't arrive for months, and it is already so deeply loved by so many people.

Even when the world feels terrible, good things still happen.

No matter what, life goes on. 

One day at a time.

Halloweening

Happy November! I hope you all had a great Halloween! I don't get any trick-or-treaters (I live in a secure building with only eleven units and not many kids), but I did buy candy for myself to munch on! I won Halloween Trivia at work yesterday, and I watched Bram Stoker's Dracula last night (a bit of a tradition here). I didn't have a proper costume for myself, but I wore my Vincent Price dancing with a skeleton costume, and for my work Halloween party I had a hockey mask, at least. 

Yesterday morning I had my first round of trigger point injections, and I was very sore the rest of the day and ended up logging off work early and resting for most of the afternoon. I'm much less sore today, thankfully, and I should feel the effects of the injections next week. 

Coleslaw and I tried the cute viral ghost photoshoot with...extremely limited success.

She hated having the cloth over her head, and it was impossible to get her to hold still long enough to accurately place the holes. Fortunately, she tolerates her wings very well, so she spent the day dressed as a demon.

(It is perhaps less of a costume than a self-actualization.)

I still have not sewed buttons on my brioche vest. Yes, it has been almost five weeks since I finished knitting it. 

I did make some great progress on my stockinette vest! The back is done and I have passed the underarm bindoff and am halfway through the armhole decreases on the front now. I should have just enough yarn to finish—fingers crossed!

Last weekend I went to the art museum on campus—I live right by campus, so it was really easy to get to (except for a band competition going on that closed a major street, whoops!). I didn't sketch as much as I'd hoped to, but I did spend lots of quality time with a Rothko from 1949. I love Rothko, and this was my first time getting so see one in person, so it was very emotional and meaningful for me. Someday I definitely need to get up to the Art Institute, which has two of my favorite Rothkos in their collection, as well as the Chagall windows, which I've been aching to see for years.

(The photo really doesn't do it justice, I sat with this painting for well over an hour, taking it all in, and I'm already planning to go back for another visit.)

I made a challah and a batch of tomato confit this week, so I'm back to challah toast with tomatoes and melty cheese for lunch. What can I say, it's a comfort food. I also picked up some turkey so I can make breakfast sandwiches and use up the remaining english muffins in my freezer to make room for my challah stash before surgery. 

Coleslaw with a Bow

Happy Friday, friends! It's been a bit of a disjointed week for me. I was supposed to have an overnight trip for work last weekend, but we ended up cancelling the event last minute. I was happy to not have to drive and be away from home! Because I'd been planning on leaving that afternoon, I brought Coleslaw to camp in the morning, so she got to spend a day playing with all her friends there before I picked her up after work. One of the groomers even made her a little Halloween bow, which is shockingly still in place a week later!

Last year she really hated wearing sweatshirts and coats when it was cold out and she would chew on them if I didn't take them off as soon as we got back inside, but she hasn't touched the bow at all. I think it makes her feel pretty, so she's tolerating it, but I'm hopeful that she's matured some since last winter and will tolerate cold-weather wear better this year!

I did manage to cross the halfway point on my one knit xmas present, which is a relief. I haven't touched either of my vests, but I'm hoping to get some work done on them this weekend. I'm so close to finishing the back of my current vest, and with any luck I'll be able to convince myself to finally sit down and sew buttons on my brioche vest.

I've also been continuing to plan for my upcoming carpal tunnel surgeries, and I cleared out a gallon and a half of veggie scraps from the freezer to make broth with. I want to have room in my freezer to stock up on breads and cakes so that I have them handy when I'm recovering, but there's still a bit that I'll need to work through before I can start baking. 

October So Far

I feel like I blinked and we're already halfway through October! October and November are busy months for me at work, and I never really manage to quite feel prepared for them. Last week I was at a conference, and while I really enjoy going to sessions and hearing about what other people in the state are doing, travel of any kind is very stressful for me. I am very much a creature of my routines, and being away from my home and my dog is tough. Add to that having celiac and needing to research where I can eat when traveling and I get overwhelmed very quickly. Fortunately, I made it through last week's conference in one piece, and while Coleslaw had an amazing time at camp, she was also very excited to see me come home and we spent a long weekend catching up on cuddles.

I've spent the past week getting back into my normal routine as well as preparing for my next work trip. I have one trip coming up very soon, and then two more trips before Thanksgiving, but they're all just one night, and I'm doing my best to make them as low-stress as possible for me. In the meantime, I'm focusing on having lots of good food in my apartment, including these incredible royal corona beans and kielbasa in broth, which I've been eating for the past few days.

I haven't knit much this week, but I have been knitting! I have a list of projects I want to get done before my first wrist surgery in case I'm not able to manage knitting during recovery. I have a sweater vest that's almost half done that I'd love finished, and I have one xmas gift that I managed to get a quarter of the way into during conference sessions last week. 

I also have this sweater vest, which I finished knitting a couple weeks ago, and is just waiting for buttons. While I've known how to do the brioche stitch, I've never actually finished a brioche project before. I was happily surprised at how smoothly it went—I only ran into issues with shaping the upper fronts, and I had to rip back and re-knit each side twice, but that was probably more due to the gin sodas I was drinking while knitting than my own inexperience with brioche decreases. Obviously, I need to sew on buttons, which will take less than ten minutes once I sit down and actually do it, and I'm really looking forward to having this vest in my wardrobe!