Thank you!

Thanks to everyone for the good wishes I've received by comment, e-mail and mail. It means a lot. Everyone has been very helpful, especially my hubby, who is doing everything right now. Coworkers are being very generous with fetching and carrying. Friends are amazing. Thank you all.


I'm finally feeling like I may get better. Last week I felt it would never end, but I can feel improvement now.

I'd forgotten much about using crutches. Or maybe I'd never noticed some things. They're very noisy--you can't sneak up on anyone! They're especially noisy when they hit the bathroom floor in the middle of the night because you didn't prop them up carefully. Didn't know my hubby could move that fast.

They fall over all the time. And they're sneaky. At my brother's they'd been sitting quietly against the wall for about fifteen minutes before crashing over. I try hard to find corners to lodge them into, but it's not always easy. Where I need to be doesn't always have a corner and when I find a secure place, the crutches will be blocking the cupboard door or drawer that I need to get into.

Which leads to a serious point about using crutches. They are not stable--you provide the stability and balance. They are just an aide to take weight off of a limb. If you ever need to use crutches, you have to be sure of each step and of your balance at all times. Crutches won't catch you if you begin to fall.

The weight taken off your limb ends up on your hands, wrists and forearms. I'm finally getting used to it and don't ache as much. Another reason to keep up with that upper body strength. Walkers use the same muscles for support. They're more stable but less mobile, imho.

If you have cause to use crutches or are around someone who does, a couple of tips: pockets, belt bags, backpacks, (things that securely attach to your body) and bags with handles (that can be gripped along with the crutch handle) are your friends. They enable you to carry some things (a glass of water is impossible, but a sealed bottle of water can go into a pocket or bag). Not too much or too heavy, but I use them to get papers to the copier and my lunch to the microwave. Trying to carry a ream of paper back to my office was a bad idea. (I made it but it was touch and go.)

Throw rugs are your enemy. Think of them as walking on ice. Get rid of them for the duration.

WIP-land

To stave off boredom while sitting last week, I began a whole slew of projects that I'm rotating between, sometimes a row or section of one then moving on to another. I'm restless.This is a hat, knit with cables in an Alpaca yarn--very soft. It was a kit from Knitpicks from my stash. This is a lacy washcloth and below is another. I have cotton (also from Knitpicks) for a third...which is perfect since the pattern book has three different patterns. The cloths are knit with short-rows. You can see I've learned my lace-knitting lessons--I'm using markers and lifelines, even for something this small. The good thing is that I've learned enough now to be able to figure out where I went wrong and fix it. The not-so-good thing is that I go wrong way too often. This is the completed flower from the needlebook I began way back when and then let languish. I've begun the second flower.
Last is an easy but slow pillowcase project. The first one came to me stitched, with the second stamped case and a few tangles of green floss and perle. I'm using those threads along with some more greens from my stash to satin stitch the leaves. I'll need to get to a store for the variegateds used for the flowers and for some thread to use to crochet the edgings. What color do you suggest I use? Variegated greens is an obvious choice but I'm just not so sure...

Back at It

Here's Dolly having a zen moment at the very nice Gasthaus Motel in Monroe, Wisconsin, on our too-short trip last week. I had fun sitting at my brother's kitchen table, in his comfy chair, on his couch, in our motel, in our car. Sitting is where I'm at right now. (Hubby sweetly planned, shopped, packed, loaded the car, unloaded the car, loaded the car, etc.)And here she is, blinded by the flash, as she visits with my brother and sister-in-law. Below she's eyeing the chocolate tart my brother made for his youngest's 21st birthday. Yowza! (The tart was every bit as yummy as it looks--my brother is an awesome cook.)Birthday boy's in blue, watching his brother make lunch. It was sunny and bright, lovely weather.My sister came up for the day. She's diligently sewing labels on completed quilts. While visiting N and I wound yarn into balls (some mine, some hers). She knitted away on a sweater, that's probably done by now. I did some gauge swatches on borrowed needles (I didn't have the size the pattern called for) but my gauge was too large and I had smaller needles at home, so I pulled out some embroidery. We were busy!Here's the birthday boy, again, trying to escape the camera. Hah! got-ya!And I have a finish. Or thought I did. Looking at these pix, I think I need to add a row of lace at the bottom edge. This is a Pin Cushion Doll and Strawberry Emery from Makeit by Sewing Chest Designs. I've had the pattern and half doll and emery kit for ages. I tried to sell it several times this summer and no one grabbed it. Then, at one of the sales where I was supposed to be selling, I bought a bunch of perle 12 and at home I came across some linen and found a verse I liked better than the one in the original design. I decided to stitch it myself.Here's the verse on the skirt before assembly. I had it all done and was just finishing when the doll popped out and I had to undo quite a bit of the skirt and then redo it, my way this time. Still and all, it didn't take too long to assemble.

taking a break

I'm off for a few days of vacation. No computer, no phone. Just family. Maybe a garden or zoo if we can find a wheel chair for me. This past week has been quiet--I've been back at work and doing anything on crutches takes twice the time, so I've had less time and energy to stitch. I completed 1-3/4 kissing pillow tops while handing out trick-or-treats Saturday and at doctor appointments.I've been working on my cross stitch half doll off and on. I haven't taken any photos. I'm still enjoying those from my visit to Cantigny.See you all next week!

Fall days

When we were at Cantigny two weeks ago the rose gardens were in full bloom. It was amazing.I won't be taking walks like that for a while. The final diagnosis of my hip is a hairline fracture in the top of the femur (trochanter for those in the know). I'll be using these guys for the next six weeks.So, I'm going to stitch and read and browse in my pictures. More from Cantigny--their gardens were wonderful.

At Cantigny they nurtured their mums so they formed perfect mounds.We really liked this golden plant--I think it would be great in a garden.

It is definitely fall here now. We had two days of wild winds and many of the trees are bare now. (Our dead elm lost all of it's bark and now it's shivering naked in the chilly air!

Cars

Before disaster struck, we spent a lovely autumn weekend with the car club at the homes of a collector. Homes is right--one is just for the cars!This is outside of the "real" home. I love bulging the chimney. Car's nice, too. The garages are to the right. I have to admit I don't know what most of these are. I did notice nearly all have current plates and are driven regularly.This is the inside of the swoopy car below. I believe this is a rare reproduction of an extremely rare car. It's really cool.It's an amazing place to just wander around.This the scene in the drive. The owner put little explanatory notes in the windows with stories about the cars. (He does this every year and I probably wrote about last year's event, too.) This is a Facel Vega. Rare. At least I've never seen them anywhere else.This last is me taking pix of the cars inside the second home. Yep, two cars in the living room. Lots of food in the kitchen. A room all about sailing (owns a boat, too), a room of maps, the football game was on. Fun was had by all.

Klutzy Autumn

My klutzy autumn continues. (My toe is still many shades of blue/black.) I slipped and in trying not to do the splits, tore my groin muscle. It's a bit achy but not what I'd call painful. But it appears to have destabilized my artificial hip and the last Wednesday morning something went "pop" and I couldn't move. At all. I'm up and moving again, with help. Hubby has been absolutely wonderful. That's why I was silent last week--I was at home in bed wrapped in ice. I see an orthopedic doc later this week. Preliminary x-rays look okay. We think it's just unhappy muscles and tendons, but anything with my hip pushes all of my panic buttons so I'm being careful.So, I've been busy, since sitting is about all I can do, unless I'm laying about. I made this on my mari. The paper core is not nearly as nice as the rice hulls--the needle and, more important, pins can't penetrate it. But I learned more stitching this one. Both ends are the same.I finished two more kissing pillows and have a fourth underway.Before I fell, I got this block for Deep River County Park pressed and blocked. I'm not thrilled with the green I selected, but otherwise I'm happy. I have a second one cut out but I think I need to find a different green.I had this preprinted ornament panel from Jo-Ann's so I stitched them up.This felt ornament completes the batch of eight that I cut out and began in June. I have more felt and thread but don't know if I'm up to doing more.

I worked on many other things, too, but wasn't up to getting pictures yet. Satin stitch leaves in many shades of green on an old stamped pillowcase for a garden border. I picked up the crewel needlebook that had been languishing in my pile. I designed and stitched four ornament samples for next month's class at the YMCA--I also cut out sequin waste to use to decorate them and I cut out felt shapes for backgrounds. Busy hands help the time pass.