Shawls on my Mind

re: Shawls on my Mind

AmyPalmer — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:26:26 GMT

@afteryears That is a beautiful story about knitting through (or perhaps, to?) recovery! Thank you for sharing it. and please stay safe with crazy weather! Good thing you had knitting to keep you occupied. :)

@Julies sorry to hear about your un-knitting, though it is sweet that your little one just had to give you a hug. :)

re: Shawls on my Mind

Julies Yarn Shoppe — Tue, 24 May 2011 16:41:32 GMT

I just finished the Rose Lace Stole from Interweave Knits (Spring 2011). It was the first lace item I knitted and I feel great about it. I used a custom milled Alpaca/Merino blend in a reddish brown. It took me 2 and a half weeks to get through it. the extra half week is probably because I ended up dropping 3 stitches on my 3rd-from-the-end row on the first side (My 5-year-old son just wanted to hug me in the middle of a complicated row). All the "yo's" just unraveled down about 10 rows. Cause I was afraid it would keep unravelling if I just ripped it loose, I un-knit those 10 rows and then re-knit them. Anyway after nearing the verge of tears, I got that side done. Needless to say, when I got to the other end, I only knitted when my boy was in bed at night; I was NOT going to go through that trauma again.

re: Shawls on my Mind

pleasantknitter — Sat, 21 May 2011 17:22:16 GMT

Hi AfterYears, I'm sorry to hear about your back surgery, how painful! I'm glad you're recovering. God's blessings on you and your family,

Patricia

re: Shawls on my Mind

cassel63 — Sat, 21 May 2011 15:32:02 GMT

I echo Afteryears' comments - basic knitting in garter, stockinette or easy rib is so therapeutic when you don't have the mental energy for anything more complex. I have a cardigan that I knit while I was in hospital for 2 weeks. I had a lace pattern at the front closure, but the rest was all stockinette stitch. The repetitiveness lead me to a meditative state, helped me remain calm and focus on my recovery. It also helped me feel better, in that I wasn't just 'sitting there' but also accomplishing something at the same time as recovering. I now have that project posted on Ravelry as my 'Recovery Sweater' and wear it with pride.

Now, years later, after a hard day at work staring at policy and legislation, I use my 'simple' projects to unwind - no thinking, just doing... it's great.

re: Shawls on my Mind

KathyD@4 — Sat, 21 May 2011 15:15:53 GMT

Thanks for your sweet story of recovery from back surgery. I, too, loved knitting the helix scarf. I had bought some dark green sock yarn that didn't work out for socks, but made a lovely scarf. A life-threatening flood--what a great excuse to spend the day in a yarn shop!

Kathy

re: Shawls on my Mind

afteryears — Wed, 18 May 2011 21:53:14 GMT

Oh how I know about lack of brainpower! I had back fusion surgery (L5-S1 for those who can relate) in late February and have spent the last 12 weeks more or less semireclined and resting. Before surgery I thought that this would be a great time to knit - I have a fair isle languishing on the needle - but I quickly found out that was not a good idea. What made me think I could knit while heavily medicated, I have no idea. I couldn't follow any kind of complicated instructions. Horrors!

I did discover the Helix scarf pattern - there were only 3 rows to remember, 30 stitches to work, and I wouldn't have to frog too far if I made a mistake (I frogged a lot). I had some elsbeth lavold wool/silk (can't remember name of the yarn - go figure) in a lovely raspberry. I actually managed to complete the scarf in 8 weeks. That was really an achievement. There are a few little 'spots' but I love it. It represents my struggle to heal and triumph over pain.

I liked the pattern so much that I bought some ella rae super merino and have started another one - the colors remind me of the pansies blooming at our back door. I'm about 4 weeks into this one. It is progressing faster as I am doing better. This will be a gift to my dear friend, the driver-to-the-yarn-shop, tea drinking & knitting companion who has helped me keep my sanity through this. We literally avoided 2 tornadoes and skirted floodwaters to go buy yarn. While we were at the shop we were stranded there for 3 hours when a flash flood caused the creek (so picturesque!) that runs between the shop and the highway to overflow the low-water bridge and block the exist. It happened. Really!!! No - there are pictures... it wasn't an excuse to stay there all day.