Happy Surprise

Well, apparently I did make some progress after all. When I bound off the top of the wrap, planning to then add short rows around the piece to lengthen and widen it, I crocheted rather than knit it off. I used a slightly smaller hook, and the result was that it pulled the whole edge in somewhat, so the tails now hang to my knees instead of to the floor. This also added some fullness to the width. So I think that I can pick up stitches from where I bound off, and continue on for a while, using some of those yarns I never got to. This should bring it all closer to the original shape that I wanted.

Here is a view of the modified shape so far, compared to the original longer version, which can be seen in the previous post, or on my project page.

Making Progress?

10/17/09
Well, it's been 4 days since the cast came off, and it really has made a big difference. The brace is almost like the cast, in that it's a bit uncomfortable and quite restricting; but after knitting for a while without it, (which is a breeze, compared to with it) putting it back on does seem to relax the wrist and arm a bit.

I'm getting some work done on the Road to Taos Wrap, but it seems that for every few inches finished, there are a few rows that have to be frogged. I had to redo 2 1/2 rows (190 stitches each) because somewhere in those rows I lost a bunch of stitches. It was a furry, eyelash kind of yarn, and it was hard to find where I had gone wrong, so I had to rip back to where that yarn started, and begin all over again.

10/20/09
Since I started this post, a lot has happened. I got a lot done on the Wrap, and last night decided to check how it was doing, size-wise. Disaster! I seem to have increased too much too fast, and it's now as wide as it should be when finished, but no where near long enough down the back. My first thought was that I'd have to frog whole sections, and redo them without increasing so much. But that seems such a waste of time, and work. So I think what I'll do is add a section at the bottom of the back, before putting an edging around the whole piece.

I know that will work, but it's a shame because I still have some yarns I wanted to use at the top (which would be the part that hangs down the front). I guess I'll have to save them for another project.

The Cast is Off!

The cast came off yesterday, as planned. At first I was a little concerned, as it didn't look all that good to my untrained eye. But the Xrays showed that the bones are healing as expected, and should only need a couple of weeks more. The Doctor gave me a brace, but I only have to use it "as needed" and NOT when knitting or crocheting, which he said are good exercise. And without the restrictions of the cast or brace, I can knit without discomfort for longer periods. Hooray! He also suggested going for PT, which I know will help me get back to normal.

Besides working on my Taos project, I've started to catch up on my squares for the 2009 BAM/CAL project; I have between 4 and 6 squares to do for September and October. That should keep me pretty busy.

But the Taos wrap is still top priority; I really want to finish this. I am totally obsessing over it, partly because of all the lost time, and partly because one tends to obsess over Jane's designs. You just want to keep going until you finish. As soon as I make a little more headway I'll post a new progress picture.

Tomorrow's the Day!

Well, tomorrow's the day they take off the cast, and I hopefully switch to just a brace. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will really be back in business then.

In the meantime, I've gotten some more work done on my Road to Taos Wrap (also known as Sunset over a Mountain in the Desert). It's coming along pretty well, I think. I've been having trouble trying to get a picture with the true colors, but it's looking very much like my inspiration painting. You'll just have to trust me on that.
I'll report back after my visit to the Orthopedist tomorrow.

Cats Are #1

Cats Are #1,
originally uploaded by Meet The Breeds with AKC & CFA.

Knitting Again

Hooray! I finally am able to do some knitting in earnest. After 2 weeks of discomfort, I called the Ortho's office, and it was decided that the cast was probably too tight, and yesterday I went in to have it replaced. But the cast tech said it made no sense to put on a new cast when it's coming off next Tuesday. so he sliced it down the 2 sides to relieve the pressure, and best of all, cut away the part that was digging into the inner base of the thumb. The minute he did that, I knew it was going to be OK.

When I got home, I immediately tried both crochet and knitting, and I could do both. Granted, there is still a little discomfort, but nothing like the pain I was feeling before. There, I've actually said the word: PAIN. I didn't want to acknowledge the fact that it actually hurt, because I usually have a very high threshold of pain, and it bothered me that this hurt as much as it did. That usually means that whatever is hurting is pretty bad.

But the main thing is that I got about 4" of my Taos project done. I actually had gotten more done, but had to frog 6 rows of garter stitch, because the color wasn't right. I probably overdid it a bit, so I'll have to pace myself from now on.

Today I went to Tucson Yarn Company, my LYS of choice here in Tucson, and found some more yarns to possibly use in the Road to Taos Wrap, and started playing around with them. I'm trying not to do too much knitting at one time, so as not to aggravate the wrist; so I'm spending part of my time sorting out the yarns I have, and deciding which ones to use in what order. Not that those decisions are set in stone, but it helps to eliminate or add yarns until the mix looks good.

I've also done some crochet as well; I am so far behind on my squares for the 2009 BAM/CAL. I put in a little time on the September bonus square; but that's all I have so far. There are still the 2 regular September squares, the 2 October squares, and a bonus one for October, too. I'll have to see how many squares I really still need for the Afghan. I may skip some of these if I don't need them.

That's it for now. I'll be back when there's more news.

Home At Last

Since I've been home, almost 3 weeks (where does the time go?) things have been anything but normal. Until today, I haven't driven at all, and haven't been much out of the house for that matter. I got to see a local Orthopedist 2 weeks ago today. He took off the cast, did some new Xrays, and concurred with the Dr. in Los Alamos that the scaphoid was probably not broken. He then put on a new cast (a better Purple than the 1st one, and waterproof to boot)

I asked if I could knit, and drive, and he said yes to both. But the reality is, that while it's OK to do both, I'm not really physically able to knit, or crochet. Every few days I would try to work on my project from the Jane Thornley workshop in Taos, but it would be so uncomfortable that I couldn't get very far, and, in fact, usually had to frog what I had done. So I wasn't making any progress, just doing the same parts over and over. I had been putting it out of sight, thinking that would keep me from being tempted; but I would keep thinking about it, and go seek it out to try again. After taking one last stab last night, and still being very uncomfortable this morning, I had to admit defeat. It will have to wait a while before I try again. This is as far as I've gotten.

I didn't know about the driving, because until today I didn't try. My DH has done the driving whenever I needed to go anywhere. Which wasn't often: the above mentioned Dr.'s appointment, to the Synagogue for Yom Kippur, and out for dinner to celebrate my Birthday. But today, for the first time, I drove. I've always been a mostly one-handed driver anyway, so it wasn't too bad. Harry, the DH, came with, in case I ran into any problems. I didn't really, but got tired after most of the errands, so he drove to the last one and then home.

I'm due to see the Orthopedist again next Tuesday. He's supposed to remove the cast, and if all goes well, replace it with a brace. I assume that it will be less restricting, and hopefully I'll be back in business. In the meantime, I'm using my knitting/crochet time learning to use my birthday present: a much needed new laptop.

After the Fall: the next step

On Monday, after arriving at my friend, Donna's house, I saw an orthopedist in Los Alamos, who looked at my Xrays, removed the splint, and after probing around a bit, said that he didn't think the scaphoid was broken. This was good news, as it meant I could probably use the thumb much earlier than expected. He then put me in a short, lightweight, Purple cast, and said I should see a local orthopedist when I got home; Friday or Monday would be fine.

Heidi, my daughter, arrived mid-afternoon, and we spent the rest of the day settling in and visiting with Donna and Wilbur. On Tuesday we started out on our way home. Heidi didn't want to drive the whole 8 hours in one day, so we decided to stop off at the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio, NM , and then stay overnight in Truth or Consequences. The wildlife was almost non-existent at the refuge, but the scenery was beautiful, although a bit overcast.

On Wednesday, we started the last part of our journey, and stopped at Rockhound State Park, outside of Deming, NM. Unlike most of our other stops in NM, it was quite hot there, and I couldn't stay out in the heat very long; so after a while we took off. Heidi did find some very nice rocks, however, and I got some smaller stones inside the Visitor's Center. We then had our lunch at a scenic Rest Stop, (we had shopped for provisions before leaving Santa Fe) and continued on home, arriving around 7pm. I don't know when I've been happier to get home from a trip.