Hello October, already almost half gone.
Recovery has taken me longer than I had hoped, and there was some period of sitting and staring as I realized that this will be a process that will take months and months. This was a thing I knew intellectually, I can recite back the statistics, but which hadn't fully embedded itself into my emotional resilience reservoir, that part which was still thinking that "done" meant normal. Ha. Anyway, now I am ready to move onward, realizing full well, that there may yet be several more molting seasons ahead.
> Slowly, slowly, activities resume. I am knitting, not always as much as I might prefer. I am slowly becoming a little more ambitious in the kitchen. I have found my way back up to my studio, although most of my efforts there so far remain knitting and yarn related. Baby steps.
> The second sleeve to the raspberry confection cardigan is almost finished; I shall finish knitting it today. The photo above was taken yesterday morning, when I was about half-done. 19 rows, in the sleeve cap, remain. I will finish the actual knitting today, although knitting is still slow. Whether or not I actually manage to get it pinned out for blocking today or tomorrow will depend on many things. However, it will be done, as I do want to finish this sweater; I want to wear it and I am determined that it will be ready when the weather cools enough to make that feasible.
> The Stephen West Shawlography KAL has started and I am very eager. I watched the first clue and am eager to start, but I also had to finish those sleeves first, competing desires, erratic energy levels, and all that. I did manage to wind the yarn into cakes. That killed my right (dominant) hand for a day, the neuropathy again and some other pinched nerve issues, or something, due to the positioning of my arms for radiation therapy. That is yet another issue to be dealt with. But I will at least begin this week, before the next clue comes out.
Sunday into Monday I also managed to knit a gauge swatch with the shawl yarn, so I know that I will love knitting with the yarn, and that I am able to knit on size 4 needles again. I will be happy to be knitting with a yarn that is mostly wool, without the slipperiness of silk. A month ago, knitting with a size 6 needle was too painful to bear, so this is progress, even though it continues to amaze me since generally, at least until the last six months, I have preferred knitting with small needles.
>I am still winding yarn -- yarn for a blanket project. I can only wind a few skeins at a time so this is a multi-day project. The blanket will be knit in Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande on larger needles, so it will provide relief for both fingers and for those days when my brain is simply too tired to follow shawl directions. Alternating projects with widely differing needle sizes and complexity is good therapy. Both projects are fun and anticipated but neither has a fixed deadline. Until I can resolve the issue with numbness and weakness in my right arm, knitting, and perhaps needlepoint or embroidery, once I regain a little more fine motor control, remain my best options.
> And, in another reversal of direction, I have come to terms with the baggy Summer Sunset tee, which I wore yesterday with the yellow chinos seen in the above photo. I had already realized there was room for adaptation:
- Part of the issue was simply wardrobe related. Wearing clothes is obviously necessary, but clothes that fit, and somehow clothes that fit the person I am in late 2021, both physically and emotionally, is much like piecing together a puzzle.
- The sweater is linen so it will soften with wear and with washing.
- In knitting the armhole trim, I intentionally drew the arm openings up but I could in fact release those stitches and make the opening looser, and more vest-like instead of tee-like.
So far, a few passes through the washing machine, and a pair of chinos that actually fit, for the moment at least, have made a tremendous difference. I still have another 10 pounds to knock off, although I would be perfectly happy if that took months instead of weeks at this point. But I can learn to adapt through whatever process.
Hopefully regular updates again soon.
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