High Fiber—Flipping Out!

I finished my first woven scarf:

If you look up close you can see very uneven selvedges and tension on the right end (where I started), but what you can see on the left side (where I finished) is my improvement as I went along. This scarf will be a great reminder of how far I've come! The second one is going better. My weaving is much neater and more even.

I also finished the lap blanket, which I wove before making the scarf. I used the warp that was already on my loom:

What I learned from finishing these projects: It's much easier to hemstitch your project while it's still on the loom. My temporary knots kinked up when I blocked the lap blanket, not so much with the scarf. I trimmed with a rotary cutter, but will have to re-trim after each is washed again. I snuggled up in the lap blanket Saturday night. It's warm!

Common Threads met on Thursday at Joanie's. Georgette came early to get set up and bring some upside-down cake for us to eat. Lynda brought some fruit.

This is the towel Joanie made using the warp she left on the loom for me. It was her last project from her loom (now my loom). She hasn't washed it yet, but otherwise, it's all finished. The warp is cotton and the weft is cotton chenille. It's reclining on her elevator chair. I think it looks great!

It looks very different from my lap blanket, even though it was made with the same warp. Just goes to show, when you make a project all in one color, the texture shows up better. When you use different colors, the pattern looks different.

While I was at Joanie's, I took a photo of the quilt she and I made together in 2006. The colors are shades of brown, gold, forest green and gray. We had a lot of fun. Our friend Julie quilted it.

Joanie commemorated the fun with a great label...with an insert with our names!

Now to the "flipping out" part. I almost didn't get this blog post out! On Sunday, I had what could have been a close call. I fell outside the grocery store on my way home from church. I think I got tangled in my long skirt and turned my ankle, which created the momentum that took me down. I thought I was OK when I got up, walked into the store, bought my three items, said hello to people I knew on the way out and drove home. I felt a little stiff when I got home. We Skyped with DD's family while I had an ice pack on the affected area. When I got up from that I was in serious pain. The urgent care clinics were all closed, so DH drove me to Emergency. I could hardly walk, it was so painful. After taking my history (total hip implant on the side I fell on), they took me into X-ray and took pictures of the hip. The diagnosis based on the X-rays was: possible dislocation of my artificial hip, although the doctor couldn't understand how I could even walk, let along not be screaming. More consultation with the orthopedists, more X-rays from a different angle (because metal on top of metal looks the same as metal inside metal), more waiting while I prayed it would work out. Finally, the doctor said the new X-rays showed that the implant was clearly OK. I have contusions, tissue damage, muscle spasms, but no dislocation and probably no fractures. The doctor said to "keep moving." I have some pain pills and later today I'll get a muscle relaxant. I'm taking a kitchen stool around with me, using it like a walker. It's good to live in an area where there are many more orthopedists per capita than average because of ski injuries.

DH is still the dislocation specialist (finger, shoulder), and no new joint replacement for me (to add to total hip and both thumbs' trapezium/LRTI).

Now for your baby fix: Zachary is 11 months old! Here he's doing pattycake (or maybe just applauding my fantastic moves in front of the grocery store). I need to give him some cards to hold up, all with a "10!"

I will be skipping Silver Sneakers today! However, Benjamin Levisay will be premiering his first podcast, starting with an interview with Debbie Macomber! Check it out!

What's on my needles: Christmas Waffle Cardigan, more progress made this week, and Dogwood Blossoms.

What's on my loom: My second scarf, about 24" long now.

What's on my Featherweight: Still the Delectable Pathways blocks, about 8 blocks to go. I'm not sure about the stairs, but maybe no entering my fiber studio downstairs for a while.

What's on my wheel: Still the Full Circle Roving in "Pigeon," almost finished.

What's on my iPad: Listening to the Weavecast podcast, and The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jaimie Ford from Audible.com.

What's in my wine glass: Salmon Creek Merlot, 2011. The big bottle! It will last a few days. Or maybe not. It's my painkiller of choice. I'll do a makeup day after Easter on my Lenten fast.

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the MacBook, using the iPad for photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

Tags: accidents, baby, friends, hip, knitting, labels, quilting, weaving

0 members like this

Comment

You need to be a member of Knitting Community to add comments!

Join Knitting Community

Comment by Peggy Stuart on March 25, 2013 at 4:55am: She must have taken up knitting for those bones to heal.

Comment by Buffy Joseph on March 24, 2013 at 9:58pm: Thanks, Cheryl. Only one of the grandbabies is her's (the other is on my DH's side of the family), but since Alicia lives in a downstairs apartment at my parents' house, my mother still gets to see a lot of her!

My mom goes to the doctor for a followup on Tuesday (they will x-ray through the cast to make sure things are healing right), so fingers crossed for that. I will be visiting again next Sun - Weds.

Comment by cherylbwaters on March 22, 2013 at 8:03am: Hope she is doing better quickly, Buffy. Has this put a damper on her ability to enjoy those grandbabies?

Comment by Peggy Stuart on March 20, 2013 at 7:47pm: Life of an elderly non-fiber-fiend isn't pretty!

Comment by Buffy Joseph on March 20, 2013 at 5:01pm: Glad to hear you are healing.

My mom slipped on her outside stairs last week (did I already mention that?), and we thought she had sprained both ankles. Turned out she badly sprained her left foot, but broke her right ankle! So she now has a cast on her right foot/leg, and she's not supposed to put weight on it for a month or more. Not very easy when her left foot is sprained! She is mostly in bed, with a wheelchair to get to the bathroom & back. Too bad she doesn't knit or crochet or hand sew.

Comment by Peggy Stuart on March 20, 2013 at 4:06pm: Gee, I might be able to find a fiber project around here somewhere!

Every day is a little better. I'll be back to hiking soon...by the time the snow melts.

Comment by Dawn S. on March 20, 2013 at 3:17pm: Oh Peggy, it sounds like you need real rest time, sitting time and time to heal for a couple days at least. You need a fiber project to do where you just lay or sit still. I am sure you have one of those projects, or can find one. I really hope today that you are doing a little better after resting last night to sleep.

Comment by cherylbwaters on March 20, 2013 at 3:11pm: Well, I can clean and I usually thoroughly clean when I do, but I absolutely hate doing it.

Comment by Peggy Stuart on March 18, 2013 at 6:28pm: Hi, Dawn! Good to see you here! I got one block of my current quilt done, and I'm shot. Too much getting up and down, turning, moving from one task area to another. Now my knee and hip hurt. I did get some knitting and weaving done, and I plan to spin (ply) tonight. But first, I'm going to spend an hour or so on my butt.

Comment by Dawn S. on March 18, 2013 at 3:30pm: I am glad you are doing better Peggy. It is nice to take a break from HW and enjoy the fiber full time, while we heal our bodies. I do that when I am "down" but I can't do it often.