The previous post was written just after the beginning of this course of radiation and is based on previous experiences.  I’ve done this before a few times and, no doubt, will be doing it again in the future.  I finished this set on Friday.  I should have been done Thursday but Myria and I came down to a flat tire Thursday morning which pretty much messed things up for that day.  So, Friday it was.

I’m almost desperately glad not to have to set the alarm for an ungodly hour any more.  But to tell the truth, I will miss some people - two in particular.  The first is one of the radiation techs, a man of about Myria’s age who was a fount of information on popular music - from the ‘30s right up to the present.  Since this is a particular interest and love of mine, we had some wonderful conversations while I was on the table - everything from Tony Bennet’s version of Once Upon a Time and the soundtrack of Grease to Def Leppard and the evolution of musicians like Paul McCartney and Sting.  It’s wonderful to be able to converse about something you love with someone of a like mind.

The other was a woman who was also being treated for breast cancer.  She was a dear little thing (so small I think I could have put her in my pocket) and was there with her husband every day that I was.  They are lovely people and her prognosis is good - thank heavens.  On Friday, they gave me this…

Of course I cried and we hugged each other fiercely both of us hoping and praying for the best for each other.

I haven’t done much knitting, to tell you the truth - I just haven’t had the energy.  There has been a little though, but I’ll tell you about that and the circumstances that brought it about later.  There’s also a lace shawl in the planning stages, but later for that too :)

This past week, Myria opined that another blanket, while not by any means required, would be more than welcome.  After looking at patterns and thinking about styles, I remembered something I had worked out years ago - I mean like 25 years ago when I was a sole and devoted crocheter.  So I dragged out some “practice” yarn (ignore the colors; I’m not making this for a male golfer!) and went to work.

First there was this…

It was remembering how to put together those interlocking rings in the center that was the tricky part - but I did get it eventually.  I tell you, 25 years ago, when I had worked out how to do that, I felt like I could maybe walk on water only to discover in the very next crochet magazine I bought, that someone else had worked out very nearly the same thing :)

This is the largest block - about 8” square.  Those center rings started with a chain of 18 sts and were filled with 36 dcs.  The block isn’t bad, but the spaces (read: holes) created by the relatively large rings are just too big.

So I tried it again…

Myria and I both felt this was better.  These rings started with a chain of 12, joined and filled with 24 dcs and the block was about 6.75” square.  The holes were much smaller and I felt that the whole looked better.  Except for the colors (yucky), Myria was very pleased with it and I thought we were there.  So I packed things up and put them away - after, of course, making sufficient notes so that when I get the materials later, I’ll remember how to do things!

And then I got to thinking - always a dangerous thing.  And I dragged out the materials again and made another block, this time splitting the difference between the sizes…

I felt this was better than both of the previous two.  The spaces weren’t so big that the wind could whistle right through them, but they weren’t so small that they detracted from the interlocking feature - which I kind of felt was the problem with the smaller block.  This one is about 7.25” square and when I showed it to Myria, she agreed that it was the best of the three.

It was her suggestion, after viewing the first square, to put the lightest color in the middle and then work out to the darkest color.  I know it’s a matter of individual taste, but I think I agree with her on this.  I’m going to acquire materials this coming week and am looking forward to getting started on the project.

I hope all of you dear people had wonderful holiday seasons and that your new year is full of promise!