On My Needles

I was a little more productive in October.  I have been knitting on these socks since May.  Of course I stopped all knitting (and quilting) in June and didn’t pick up anything until September.  So I am very pleased with where I am on these: I am almost ready to begin the heels.  I will be doing the FLK heel on them and, after several viewings of the videos, I assume that I will have no problems with them.  Then just a short leg on each and these should be done, hopefully, by mid-November.

I have other socks on needles.  They are going to be my leftover socks using only leftover yarn from earlier completed socks.  I don’t know how they are going to look but I think they will be fun to knit once the different yarns come into play.  However since I only have the toes done I have quite a ways to go.







I do have 5 finished washcloths which I will consider as one finish.  These are my mindless knitting projects and I really do enjoy making and using them. 











Health Report:  Today I had my monthly oncologist appointment.  Every month I have had to have blood drawn and the lab report is sent to him.  He then determines how I am doing.  So far my blood has told him that both me and the medications are doing well.  However, for the next two months I have to do this every two weeks (bummer).  Each time the doctor has to decide if I continue on the medication based on my blood work.  So far I haven’t had any of the side effects that are listed on 2 pages but I don’t have any control over what my blood tells him.

One more piece of good news is that I am being dropped from Home Health because I am doing so well.  This means no more aides, no more nurses, and only 3 more physical therapy sessions over the next 2 weeks.  I have really appreciated the help I have received from these workers and will miss our talks but I am also looking forward to not having to plan my days around when they are coming.  I know that I will need their assistance again when this disease really takes over so I am going to enjoy this respite for as long as these medicines give me.  And maybe I will be able to get strong enough to be able to get back to quilting.

Speaking of quilting, I have downloaded the instruction sheet for Bonnie Hunter’s mystery that begins on November 27th.  I plan to pull as many of the colors she has chosen from my stash as I can and then see about another fabric shopping trip.  I have done only one of her mysteries but I started the last one and still have everything boxed up hoping that I can get back to it.  This time I am thinking of making a small throw and not a full quilt.  Also this time I am thinking of using the same colors as Bonnie.  I wonder if I can do it, I usually want to take off on my own. 


We had company last weekend, our oldest son and his wife came to check on us.  And for most of the day our puppies were all over them getting as much love and attention as they could.  However all that activity eventually tired out the most energetic of them. 



Sadie was completely worn out and fell asleep on two pieces of furniture.  I guess there wasn’t enough room for her on the footstool so her head had to go onto the table close by.  Poor baby.







And now I had better get busy doing my exercises before the PT person gets here to check on my progress.  Have a great week everybody,  Gari

Kenny G & Me

Guess where we are going?  Guess who we will be seeing and hearing?  I am so excited.  This is an early birthday gift from DH (my birthday is on Thanksgiving this year). 

When I got my HQ I found that I enjoyed quilting best when I was listening to jazz so I started buying Kenny G albums.  He, along with others, has gotten me through a lot of quilts. 





These are the fruits of my labor for the beginning of the week. 


















This is one of the smaller owls.  The pattern calls for a pieced border around but I am thinking that I will use a sashing fabric for each of the blocks.













And this is my most recent fish.  I have tried to use this green fabric a couple of times but this was the first time this fabric fit a fish. 













I also spent this afternoon picking out fabrics for Bonnie Hunter’s new mystery that is starting the day after my birthday.  The colors she has picked out are the ones I used for last year’s mystery so I had to put my thinking cap on and come up with my own combination.  I have pulled yellow, moss green, blue, and rust, for now.  I am not really sure of this as I would really like to use purple, I think.  I really don’t like mysteries because I like to know what I am doing.  But my Easy Street from last year turned out so great that I am willing to give Celtic Solstice a try.

Now, I think I will spend some time cleaning the studio so I don’t loose all those little pieces Bonnie is going to have me/us cut.  I had baggies all over the place last year so I figure it will be the same this time.  And without some clean surfaces I will loose those little parts and just have a mess.  So I have 23 days to get my space ready…..better get at it. 
Gari