Dick will be having heart surgery on July 29. He tricuspid valve has a severe leak. This has thrown us for a loop. It was discovered in a routine physical. Dick takes no medication and has never had a surgery. He bicycles 14-18 miles four times a week and is very fit. He is asymptomatic. His primary care physician heard something different he'd never heard before. We've been on this treadmill since March. When Dick started giving Wealth Magement 101 to me, I realized how afraid I was. Tomorrow we go in for a heart cath, next Thursday for re-op testing then the surgery July 29. I have made a reservation for Murphy in his favorite kennel, a reservation for me at the McCauley Inn on the campus of St. Joe's, filled my iPad with books and picked out hospital knitting. If I am not as regular at Knitting: A Love Story, please forgive me. I will do what I can, when I can. I am sure it will be a great way to re-channel my fear and anxiety. In the mean time, thoughts and prayers would be great.
Sorry but I just couldn't find a word beginning with "f" to complete the alliteration. I did complete the bag, carry all, attache, purse though. This is where it all started. Me falling in love with a bag in the Noro Spring/Summer magazine. What is not to love about this? Right? I get to try out a new fiber, Noro's Rainbow, I get to knit with great colors, I get to use entrelac then I get to felt it. WOW!!!! Is this perfect for me or what?!?!?! I even waited until I was visiting Silver Threads and Golden Needles in Franklin, N.C. to buy the fiber. Of course, I bought two different colors of Rainbow, the one in the picture and this. . . Why did I buy two? It is a bad habit I have. If I love a pattern, I buy at least two different colors in case I really love it and must knit it again. Because, what if I love it and can't find the yarn that is perfect? I know it makes no sense but it does add lots of great yarn to the yarns in the Stash Studio and the projects in the queue. At the time of the purchase, it made more sense that it does when I explain it to you. Well, let's get into it and see. There it is during the knitting when I was feeling very overwhelmed about all of my present knitting responsibilities. (Oh WOW! Where did that come from!?!?!?!?! It almost sounded like this was "have to" rather than "want to" knitting. Well, you do get a little insight into my frame of mind. More about that to come.) I learned so much from this project. I love projects that I learn from even when they don't turn out perfect. Noro Rainbow is more like roving than yarn. It is so very fragile that it is exactly like knitting with cobwebs. (Now how would I know what it's like to knit with cobwebs!?!?!?! I did love the knitting. The color, entrelac, the rhythm, the excitement of knowing the magic of felting is just around the corner. TaDa! Finally it was done. The directions said to sew the sides up with the Rainbow doubled BEFORE felting. I was sure it was wrong. After all, would the front and back stick together forming one heavy, 2 sided piece of fabric?!?!?! I called my favorite people at Silver Threads and Golden Needles, and guess who answered the phone. . . Laura, the wonderful young woman who waited on me the first week in May. Just hearing Laura's sweet voice sent me back to my experience in Silver Threads and Golden Needles in May with Laura. It is a fabulous memory. Laura asked around and assured me the front and back would not felt together. The phrase "trust me" may have been uttered. This is my Rainbow Bag getting ready to have a life changing experience. I was a little nervous. Many people told me to be careful because the fiber would felt quickly. I guess my definition of "quickly" and other's is different. I set my washer to small load, water temperature to hot, threw in my Keens which always accompany my felted object and we were off! After about 10 minutes I was getting nervous. What if I had gone past the time Yikes!. I checked by pulling the soon to be "purse" out of the water. If anything, it had stretched! It was stretchy, enormous and fragile! I dropped it like a hot potato. One cycle ended and it was still not finished. I started another cycle. Finally it was ready. This is after I had tugged and stretched the section above the sewing. I pulled it out and freaked. Every place had felted differently. The area that was sewn together felted pretty true except for the top, it was all ruffley. Both the top and bottom edges hadn't felted nearly as much as the rest making the top and the bottom look a little "wonky." Thank you to my friend Thea for giving the the term "wonky." Sometimes it just says it all. ALSO, the flap felted much more than the part sewn together so that the flap was probably 2/3's of what the bag was. I wished I had taken a picture of that but I screeched and began tugging and pulling. You can see a little bit around the top of the bag where things aren't exactly equal. See the ruffley edge?!?! Then I had a brainstorm. I knew exactly what I would do to fix this. Even through it is not perfect, the colors POP which makes me a very happy girl. I made a pleat at the top of the bag to take up the extra fabric from the edge felting less than the rest of the bag. I covered it with the strap. Then I cut point around the edge of the flap to make that edge not ruffle. It's not perfect, I am growing to love it. I love solving knitting problems, don't you? Once this was finished, I realized I was still feeling very, very overwhelmed. Then a realized it is not about the knitting.
Dick will be having heart surgery on July 29. He tricuspid valve has a severe leak. This has thrown us for a loop. It was discovered in a routine physical. Dick takes no medication and has never had a surgery. He bicycles 14-18 miles four times a week and is very fit. He is asymptomatic. His primary care physician heard something different he'd never heard before. We've been on this treadmill since March. When Dick started giving Wealth Magement 101 to me, I realized how afraid I was. Tomorrow we go in for a heart cath, next Thursday for re-op testing then the surgery July 29. I have made a reservation for Murphy in his favorite kennel, a reservation for me at the McCauley Inn on the campus of St. Joe's, filled my iPad with books and picked out hospital knitting. If I am not as regular at Knitting: A Love Story, please forgive me. I will do what I can, when I can. I am sure it will be a great way to re-channel my fear and anxiety. In the mean time, thoughts and prayers would be great.
3 Comments
Lynne H
6/29/2016 06:50:04 pm
Oh Jan, healing thoughts & prayers winging your way! I'm sure your husband will be fine- modern medicine is so great!
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Lori on Little Traverse Bay
6/29/2016 08:06:25 pm
I'll keep you and your husband in my prayers. St. Joe's is a fine hospital, and you can be confident he will receive good care there.
Reply
Jan R
6/30/2016 09:12:52 pm
Jan, I will be praying for you and Dick. Heart problems are so scary, but St. Joe's is a good hospital. Surround yourself with friends and family to help lessen your load! Let me know if there is anything I can do for you. Jan
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jan parsonThis blog is dedicated to Mary Helen Growt my first knitting teacher and the woman who changed my life. The mission of Knitting: A Love Story is to preserve, share and promote the love of knitting. Archives
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