I just loved that extended paw propped up on the CD storage tower.  Even after I disturbed her (How dare you pet me when I’m basking!!), Jade put her paw right back up there.  She amuses me no end :)

I managed to finish two things over the past few days.  The first is a blanket for my father.

I had started this quite a while back to use up the mohair that was left over from making my own Lace Blanket.  Originally it was intended to be back-up for me but I had a better idea.  Dad, being old, has trouble keeping warm and since mohair is about the most insulating and warming thing I know of, it occurred to me that he might enjoy having a mohair blanket too.  I asked him one day if this was something he might find useful and he allowed that it was.  So I got down to the business of finishing it for him.

You can refer to the above link for the procedure for making this but I can tell you about it in a few sentences.

1.  Make 5 or 6 scarves in your choice of fiber and color.
2.  Sew or crochet them together along their long sides.
3.  Do an edging of some sort - simple, complex - it’s all up to you.

Ta-dah!

This is plain stockinette for the most part.  However, when I so bored with that I was practically sleeping with the needles in my hands, I threw in a row or two of eyelets - just for something different to do for a few minutes :)

I had pretty much decided that my crocheting days were behind me at this point.  Crochet seems to require finer motor control than knitting and the numbness in my fingers doesn’t allow for much of that.  I had tried it a couple of times and found that when I wasn’t dropping the crochet hook, I was having a tough time getting the stitches right.  However, when it came to assembling the blanket, I felt that crochet was my best bet in terms of looks and solidity - so I decided to try it again.  And I discovered that - somehow - my hands had figured out how to do it without constantly losing the hook (I only dropped it once).  Got the stitches right too!  I was very pleased and not a little relieved.  I could certainly live if I never crocheted again, but it’s nice I don’t have to worry about that any more - well for the time being :)

I also finished the scarf for my oncologist and am pleased with how it came out.

I still have to run in the ends, but that will only take a few moments.  I do need to get it done this evening though, because tomorrow is the last time I’ll see him.

This is the Open Cable Scarf pattern.  Despite the fact that there are cable crossings on every right-side row, this is really simple to work.  You don’t even need to look at the pattern after the first couple of repeats.

Since I have sometimes complained bitterly about the conditions and service in supermarkets, I feel compelled to share this as well.  A week or so ago, I went to the deli for half a pound of liverwurst and asked the young man behind the counter how fresh it was.  He held up the end of a stick. 

“I can probably get half a pound out of this,” he said, “But I can open a new one if you’d like.”
“Would that be okay,” I asked, “You won’t get in trouble?”
“Nah!” He smiled and proceeded to fill my request from a fresh stick.

When I got up to the check-out, I asked the cashier to pass along to the management how pleasant and helpful I had found the store’s deli personnel to be.

“That’s what we like to hear.”  Then she gave me an impish smile. “And how about the cashiers?”

I had to laugh.  “Absolutely!”

I have been working on a blanket - yes, another one!  Actually, I’ve been working on two blankets but the second one will have to wait till later.

This is based on Kristina’s beautiful pattern - Vortex Shawl.  It’s knit circularly from the center out and I worried about getting the cast-on right.  As it happened, I didn’t have any trouble with it and was off and sailing in no time!

The beginnings went quickly, as always with a design like this.  I have, however, gotten to the point where I can only do a couple of rounds at a time.  That’s not a problem :)  When I’m not focusing on getting one thing done on a timeline (like the scarf), I can do a couple of rounds every day - sometimes even four rounds if my arm holds out :)

I have no idea where this love of making blankets comes from but around late May/early June the blanket bug started biting me so I started looking around.  I had also had the hankering to make something redredred.  When I found the pattern for the Vortex Shawl, I knew I had found my blanket and out I went to yarn shop!  I’m using Patons Wool and, as usual, finding it very pleasant to work with.  I’m on the fifth ball now and haven’t encountered a single knot yet.

I don’t know yet how big this thing will grow.  I started out with the idea of making it 70” in diameter which would be suitable for a double-bed, say.  But I’ve recently become aware of the advantages of a lap blanket - something just big enough to cover the lap and legs and it’s about that size now.  There’s also the matter of a border or an edging.  I would like to do one (the Godmother’s edging from Walker’s second treasury keeps s[peaking up) but I can’t decide whether to do it in the same red as the body of the blanket, or in a contrasting color.  Cream?  Black?  Purple?

It’s a good thing I don’t have to decide today as I tend to be notoriously slow about these kinds of decisions :)

I saw a film this afternoon that I’d like to recommend.  It’s called The Golden Boys and stars David Carradine, Rip Torn, Bruce Dern and Mariel Hemingway.  It is a gentle and charming romantic comedy set in Chatham, MA of 1905.  The movie was filmed entirely on Cape Cod and great attention was paid to period authenticity.  The musical score is also quite wonderful.  A word of warning though - this is not Die Hard.  There are no heart stopping car chases, no breath-catching perils or traumas and almost nothing in the way of sex or rough language.  This is an older style film.  If you’re over 45, you’ll probably enjoy it :) 

I loved it!

Apparently I’m not quite as ready to hang up the blog as I had thought.  I doubt that I’ll be posting very often, and it’s likely that many posts will have little to do with knitting.  Some will of course, but knitting is a slow process these days and I don’t get much done nor do I get anything done quickly.

Still, something in me seems to want to continue this digital diary, so I’ll just go with it for now :)

Most of you probably know that I have been dealing with a terminal cancer situation.  Funny thing - most of the physical problems I have stem from side effects of the chemotherapy drugs I’ve been given rather than directly from the cancer.  And there have been a lot of drugs.  As we move down the list they become less effective and have more serious consequences.

During this time, my treatment has been managed by a very good oncologist.  He has been sharp and has organized things ably and quickly when necessary.  He has listened to me - up to and including taking my observations about my condition and research into its treatment into consideration.  He is, in addition to being a good oncologist, a good man.

Yesterday I was informed that my doctor has taken a position in another hospital and will be leaving at the end of September.  I have the option of transferring my treatment to the other hospital or being assigned to another doctor at the one where I’ve been getting my treatment for the last nine years.

Initially I was pretty upset.  It is hard for me to be comfortable with doctors and I felt some resentment that now I would have to deal with a new one.  I could, of course, transfer to the other hospital but it hasn’t had the best of reputations in the past and is not in an area I’m comfortable traveling to.  In addition, I’m familiar and comfortable with the hospital and staff I’ve been seeing all along.  Do I want to pull all that up, as though I were transplanting tomatoes, and go elsewhere - where the doctor would be familiar but everything else would be up in the air?

Finally I realized that this cannot have been an easy decision for my oncologist.  Whatever his reasons are, perhaps it is time for him to move on.  I have had his care for the better part of a decade and am deeply grateful for it.  Maybe it’s a good things that others will get to experience his kindness and expertise.  And maybe there are things I can learn from a new oncologist.  So I think I have decided to stay where I am.  I could change my mind, though I don’t think it likely, and will wish my old oncologist the very best as I try to meet my new oncologist with an open mind and heart.

I do, however, want to give him something a little more personal than a hearty handshake before he leaves so I started an Open Cable Scarf this afternoon.

I was a little nervous about managing the cables because my hands and fingers are about half numb due to neuropathy.  I have become very clumsy :)  To my surprise and pleasure, things didn’t go badly at all and I was able to make good progress.  I’m using Paton’s Classic Merino (which has been discontinued, I understand) and it’s nice and soft.  If I can keep up the pace I managed today, I should be able to finish this in a week.  It doesn’t seem like much, but I hope he will enjoy it.

Jade is pouting in the hall because Myria has been busy and I have had either a keyboard or my knitting in my lap all day.

She’ll live :)