In Recovery

Well I made it through another horrible hospital experience. Exactly 2 weeks ago I spent 3 hours in the operating room. Thankfully I was able to come home the next evening. I've taken it easy and feel so much better than I did a couple of weeks ago.
These two weeks have been quite an adjustment as I'm so used to doing everything for my family. Thankfully my parents came into town and helped me with the groceries and carting the kids for the first week. This week I was blessed by a fellow homeschooling Mom who carted my kids everyday to a day camp at NIU. My husband has taken many hours away from work to help with other things as well and I'm so thankful for all his help.
I've been able to complete a couple of knitting projects since I won't be sewing for a while.
My orange Gable turned out ok. This isn't one of my favorites despite the multiple times I tried it on as I went, modifying the pattern to my liking. The top "lace panel" was rolling a lot so I crocheted an edging around the neck which helped. I used Lion Brand Cotton Ease and love the way this yarn knits up.


I completed my second Tomato Top. I used the new KnitPicks Comfy yarn. It's a really soft, inexpensive, non-wool yarn. I still have to block it but I think I'll wear it as often as my "green" Tomato Top.


Back in the spring I couldn't wait to go on vacation. It has been 16 months since I've taken a trip outside this Northern Illinois area. In March I planned a trip for the first week in July to upstate New York to hike and enjoy the beautiful Finger Lake region. I never expected to be recovering from surgery but here I am. Instead of hiking I'm parking my chair near a beautiful waterfall and enjoying every minute away from these flat corn fields. My road trip is 1527 miles. I bought a special lumbar seat cover equipped with massage and heat and I'm packing tons of cushioning pillows. I'm taking a detour on the way out to show my kids and husband Niagara Falls. As a kid my parents would take us up there a few times a year and it took my breath away every time.
My husband says I'm crazy for wanting to follow through with our trip. I say life is too short to sit around wishing we took more time off. At the end of my life I'm not going to be saying "Man I wish I had spent more time working away from my family."
I'm so thankful for every friend and family member who sent me well wishes for a fast recovery. Just knowing I had you all thinking and praying for me got me through the past two weeks.
Many thanks to all of you!

Good Times

We made it through a double feature(Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones 4) at a drive in last night. The theater was packed with families and we had a great time despite arriving back home at 2 am.

What's up Wednesday

Well, it's been so long since I've been over here I'm not sure where to start.

I celebrated my first year of business over on Etsy. I can't believe I've sold over 1000 little bags this past year. Thanks to all my customers for making my first year such a fantastic experience.

On the medical front, after getting a second opinion and spending over 5 months going to countless different doctor's in various specialties I've decided to have surgery next week. I'm not looking forward to the recovery of 6-8 weeks but if it relieves my pain it will be worth all the "down time".

On the knitting front, I have so many works in progress I'm sure not to get bored during my recovery.
I started working on a second Tomato this week. I'm using the new Comfy yarn from Knit Picks. It's shedding like crazy and it feels like it has much more acrylic in it than the label states but it's knitting up fast.(Here's a view of the back.)



I recently "swapped" goods with local Etsyian, Carolyn of Stitch Candy, for some cute stitch markers and put them to use making some slippers.


My Orange Gable is on hold as I tried it on over the weekend and I need another 5 inches of stockinette before I add the bottom ribbing. This kind of boring knitting is what I need to fill the hospital recovery time so I'm packing it with me next week.


I modified the fit of this pattern quite a bit to be loose fitting. I wanted to wear it soon and I'm not going to be wearing any tight fitting clothing any time this summer so loose and comfy is fine with me. I'm not sure what I'm going to do to the front lace panel curl. Is it going to bug me enough that I won't want to wear it?