Surgery over! New yarn

be patient. i'm typing with one hand. my surgery went well this morning as expected. all the people at cmc-mercy are very kind and supportive. didn't know i had so many friends until today. toby not only took me and waited patiently, but even dressed me to come home. steve returned from his business trip to find me partying. hope the no pain thing continues. Thanks to all for the emails and well-wishes.

pre-surgery, one just needs a present. okay, that's a weak rationalization and I don't want to hear about no stinkin' stashalong resolutions. i needed comfort. the kind that only noro can bring. this is iro, color 54, lot a. i only bought 8 skeins; i could have bought more---if remi had had more. It will probably be a vest. maybe entrelac, maybe side-to-side.
Also bought this bag from knipicks. it's this darn chartreuse binge i'm on. someone please take away my credit card.

Home Dec and Swedish Ingenuity

Post surgery knitting is best done on large, long needles which allow you to fake it with the infirm hand. Also stockinette or garter pulls least on the incision. With that in mind, what the @#$ do you make? See below.
A valance for the new bathroom. Yarn from stash (see slightly smug face here). K1C2 Tartelette ribbon, #17 needle, co 80 stitches, four rows garter, then stockinette to length.Here's my coolest discovery about this--I didn't bind off. I just slipped the stitches to a tension rod, tied off the last stitch and hung it. (squint hard at the top right corner and you can just see the effect) I didn't know how much gravity would affect the length, so I have left it easily adjustable. Plus I like how it grows out of the rod rather than is sewn around it.

Next project---lamp shade decor. Steve is beginning to fear I will wrap the entire house. More stash yarn--no label--and merely a #15 needle joined by a #13. I don't know where the second #15 is. This one is bound off and sewn around the lampshade, like a turtleneck. Size??? Didn't bother to plan that. Hey! I'm recovering.


From my surfing and blog reading: You must go look at these pictures.
I was reading Nanette Blanchard's blog and she linked to this Korsnäs Tapestry Crochet site. Wow. This group uses a combination of knitting and tapestry crochet to make gorgeous Scandinavian sweaters. They get the drape of knitting with the ease and sturdiness of the crochet.
Best pictures for me were the sort of "knitting bee" shots. They were knitting the body of the sweater on many dpns, as is traditional, but they sat in a circle and several knit on the same sweater at once. Too clever!

While you are on Nanette's site, go to the Lulu store link. Such beautiful patterns and the download price is to love.

First post surgery knitting

Here's what I had to work with:

M-W, this was my bandage. Impressive isn't it? No, Paul, that's not a duplo. I started knitting Weds. morn. Used a twisted e-loop cast on. 14" size 8 needles. CO 26 sts.
Weds. night, DH and I removed the big bandage and this is what I have now. Ho-hum.

Knitting had to be done with left hand, so I just knit the garter st backwards. Worked fine. I could do one or two rows before my hand complained, and then I rested. Tension isn't perfect, but that's not a concern.

Ta-dum. The finished 6" square for the Charlotte Knitting Guild's service project.

I'm counting on it looking better after blocking.
DH gave me some very personal Thanksgiving wine he found at Harris-Teeter.

Jake got his new T-shirt. Sorry about bad photo, but I only have one hand. The back says "Mama's boy." So true.




I can feel all that knitting going on out there and it soothes me. Keep it up.