Thankful

 While church was by live feed yesterday, it was still good to be fed by Scriptures to start the day!

I decided that pushing through the deep fatigue is going have to be a decision and not a feeling,

I pulled out the new wicker furniture fabric  I bought weeks ago to make new cushion covers.

The sun baking on the porch fades the outdoor fabric in a few years. 

 Grateful they are an easy project.

I still have one more to make, for the couch, but it will wait for another day!

 The cat hammock quilt has a binding, was washed and dried and is now folded in the donation pile.

The ceremony to present these 25-30 quilts was postponed but I will be able to make a few more before then so it will be a good delay, right?!

The panto used was a bit of a comet shape in shifting colors.

The backing is done in tie dyed colors-like the block on the middle left!

No fever last night for the first time in 2 weeks! 

Smile with me!

Socks on Sunday

 Stroll fingering yarn from KnitPicks, in Tulip Fields are completed!

Toe-up, gusset and heel turn over 64 stitches, #1 needles, k3, p1 leg ribbing.

What great therapy for me!

So much so, I went right to the stash and started a new pair!

Rewards of Spinning

 Yarn, 690 yards of Polwarth yarn, to add to the original yarn.

(which is a slightly different color brown--think similar but different yarn dye lots!)

I spelled it the wool breed wrong yesterday, it is POLWARTH , a breed from the southwest of Australia and also bred in New Zealand.  It is a cross between Merino rams and Merino/Lincoln ewes which means the fiber/yarn is next to skin soft with a bit of bounce!

Since it is what I do well now-sitting-I picked out the next small spin with only 4 ounces of Cotswold wool.  But more on that tomorrow!

(See who is on my lap?  It is the quilt crasher!

I did finish that last 24" of the quilt on the frame first thing in the morning

so I could remove it so that it would not be a hammock one more time! lol

When I removed it, I reached for the phone to snap a pic and realized I left it    w  a  y    b  a  c  k

in my room.  When I can manage sewing a binding, it will be given its proper attention then!)

Spin and Ply

 

 I  do the best for the first few hours of the day;

after lunch the fever rises and makes upright impossible.

I plied  the four ounces off the bobbins without too much trouble.

 It is nice to see the ease of spinning the singles carried over to plying.

 355 yards of yarn is the result.

I have 2 more ounces to spin and I will be done with this Polworth fiber.

But the knitting will be wonderful-this fiber is that soft and lofty.

Look at what my orchid is doing!

It is a bit behind it's usual bloom time which is February 

but I will be happy to see them again no matter when it does so!

Busted!

 Each morning as I take my stroll from one end of the house to the other, 

I kept finding my quilt-on-the-frame severely HAMMOCKED!

 Last night, I covered it with little squares from my adhesive lint roller

because I was out of contact paper-- desperation, people!  

It worked!

This morning I found another dent on the quilt, the squares were disturbed 

this one was on the floor!

 Upon closer inspection, I knew who the culprit was!

And it doesn't look like he had an enjoyable snooze--he really struggled to get these off of himself!

Our one and only male cat,

the heaviest one of our cat family, Puff Daddy!

I've got to get better so I can get the last little bit finished on this quilt

and get it off the frame!

Here was a very slow project I worked on-

cleaning off my mantel-both from clutter and from dust! 

No when I move from my bedroom, down the hall into this room, 

I am pleased from the fruit of my minuscule labors!

Test Results!

So thank you for the prayers and well wishes

while I have been so sick for the last 10 days;

the test for the COVID-19 came back negative

which is wonderful but leaves me feeling in a bit of a conundrum.

What have I been dealing with?

Not Strep, Not Flu, Not Covid....

Oh, great, there is another virus out there waiting to pounce

which is also pretty miserable in every way but not fatal!

My medical advice is to

 1. wait out the fever by several days and resume normal life

2. go back to my Primary Care Dr for redirection

3.  take another COVID-19 test if I am still sick in another week

I am going to go with door 1 !

 I managed to finish the gusset, 

turn the heel, work the ankle

and then begin the k3, p1 rib up the leg!

 the only place where pooling appeared is at the ankle

but as you can see, it quickly corrected itself when the stitch count returned to 64 stitches!

 The heel is nicely patterned on the back, too.

I took copious notes because, let's face it, I (we) won't remember 

exactly what we did at which stitch number if it isn't written down!

And while working on sitting up today instead of lounging in bed most of the day,

I changed up my activities to some spinning which I haven't done in a long time.

This is the Polworth roving which I am loving as far as spinning ease and softness delights....

it's just a bit boring to spin the same color for miles!  Poor me!

Physical Therapy!

I didn't hear from the DOH with test results yesterday so today will be the day!

And thank you so much for all of the love being sent my way--

from all of my faithful commentors who brighten each post

to several who risked coming out of lurkdom to wish me well;

thank you all.

For my PT yesterday, 

 I took the big walk from my bedroom to my studio to wind some sock yarn into a cake!

It is a long walk-150 feet!

Want to hear a funny story?

The door behind the swift goes to the garage (where my DH  putters).

We have determined,

 after several spontaneous discussions,

that I will lock the door when I pull out the leaf to the table to wind yarn

thereby avoiding him plowing the door into the leaf and coming to an abrupt halt,

scaring both of us!

This is how old married folks work things out; 

 if you are a young couple,

may you soon learn the compatible joy of compromise!

And this is what I did with the new cake of yarn-plain vanilla socks!

(they are toe-up obviously but will have the new gusset construction I am working on memorizing!)

I have just begun the gusset increases which will increase the stitch count by 20 stitches

for this woman's pair of socks.

The shawl knitting is being set aside for only a bit of time;  

the #8 needles and hand spun yarn had grown too heavy for my arms.

I am still at a 'newborn with a little rattle' stage right now! 

Go ahead, laugh with me!

Fact from Fiction

For the first time in a week, 

I could pick up knitting needles and make some stitches!

Albeit garter stitches--like when you first learn how to knit.

I couldn't handle too much more than this--

 I am using some different colors of handspun Shetland I pulled from the shelf

 in my room; I didn't have to take more than a step to look for it.

Another good point in  the choice of a project.

 And you can't go wrong with one of Joji's patterns.

I am still running a fever but improving because I am feeling antsy.

The knitting will help with that for now.

Health Update:

I went to have the 'nasal swab' for COVID-19 test from my DOH.

I  had a nasal swab on Thursday for the flu-

this test is similar except that it extends beyond  your nasal passage into your brain!

I burned for over an hour afterwards.

Just add it to the pile.

I do have to wait 24-48 hours for results.

Contrary to the false information you might be hearing or ignoring-

this illness begins with a fever, sore throat, headache, fatigue and a mild, dry cough.

I was told too many times that if I could breathe with ease, 

I didn't have anything to worry about.

(I will be calling these professionals to correct their pat answers.)

I was told I had to have been traveling or exposed to someone before I would be tested.

Not true.

You are contagious 1-2 weeks before you exhibit symptoms.

This is why it is so easy to spread.

In my state, more than half of the cases are from people like me

with no idea of who, where or when they caught this.

That's all for now-

I have weeks before I can leave the house

and the same goes for my dear husband , the nurse!

COVID-19 Science Fiction Meets Real Life

I have been very sick this week--the first few days are a blur.

Thursday Bill dragged me to Urgent Care for a flu swab which was negative.

Today, I'm doing something I have never done before;  

going to a designated health department site for testing to see if I have this novel Corona  virus.

It is like a science fiction movie except I am in it instead of watching it!

Bill can drive me there--grateful for that--but he can't get out of the vehicle.

I have to approach the locked door with nothing in hand
but my ID card (licence in my case).

Outside the door, I must don a mask and utilize the hand sanitizer,

show my ID through the window and then will be allowed entry.

Each patient is the ONLY one at the premises at a time-no lines-no spreading of this virus.

I will submit to a nasal swab and then immediately leave.

I have 15 minutes allotted to me to fulfill these instructions.

I will receive a call with the results and until then, remain in my home.

This is not for whimps, people!

Later.

We Interrupt This Life

I didn't feel well Sunday night but got really slammed with fever/sore throat last night.

I am pretty sure it is strep but will go to doctor's to be sure.

Bill had to cancel a golf trip-I can't drive myself to the dr.

I hate to ask for help on the best of times.---

I've got invalid guilt to add to my symptoms.....

Will keep you posted.

A Good Knit

I haven't done well at the knitting machine lately

but things went well today.

Well enough to have a double sided hat done perfectly in just a few hours!

I added a purl row at the half way row so that the hat had a good turning ridge;

it worked out beautifully.

Nice for a change!

This is the yarn-a single strand of chunky yarn that is soft and pliable

so that the hat still has drape even though it is double layered.

I also managed to put the binding on this one.

I worked at the frame for a while but I didn't last too long.

It will wait for me until Monday.

And I ripped out two shawls that I never wear 

but would like to use the yarn for something that will get some use!

One for a hat from the green superwash

and the Shetland will become another shawl with this additional skein of the same fiber.

What did you work on yesterday?!

Factory Work!

 The PRE-FELTED birdhouse is completed along with 60" of I-cord for hanging from tree.

I need a round balloon for the felting--the designer recommends putting the balloon 

inside to control the size.  I will let you know how it goes!

 I was a quilting machine myself today--I got a lot done and still have the binding to go on this one.

 And half of this one on the frame needs stitching.

 These three are washed and dried.

The bunny is going into the donation pile, too. 

 We are collecting little stuffed animals, etc, to go into a little bag which will accompany the quilt.

(when all of the quilts are done, I will give a little quilt show of all of them!)

 Lena has become a constant vocalizer and what does she want?

Why to be brushed!

What do you think of this face;  purr-fect rapture, right?!

This is a Good Room After All!

 I took on the binding for the small tumbler block quilt and put it right into the washer!

 I then finished the one on the frame, squared up the outside and

then made the binding for it.  First thing tomorrow I will be sewing it on to finish this one, too.

I immediately loaded up a new one on the frame right away!

I want to keep the rhythm moving.

 While things didn't go terrible like yesterday,  I did sustain an injury.

I am pretty careful around this open fly wheel, being sure my hair is pulled back so it won't get caught in here while stitching.

 I am behind the quilt when I do a pantograph using these handle bars to steer.

 I didn't think first and quickly pulled my arm across the sharp metal--I have since added the duck tape so that another 'slice' into my forearm will not happen again!

Whoever said that quilting is sedentary is so very wrong! lol

 While I was working in the studio, Bill took on the job of brightening up the sidewalk.

We now have a beautifully blacktopped driveway but the sidewalk which was pretty ugly before

but now stood out even more pitifully!

We chose the same terracotta paint as the veranda.  

This new sidewalk calls you right up to the front door in style!

Ha to Plans!

It started by heading in to do some frame quilting and seeing that one of the cats used the quilt as a hammock and popped half of the pins holding the backing in place.  

Second, it was covered in hair and third, insult to injury, said cat barfed on the quilt top

 so that  the top absorbed the juices.

I cleaned off the solid matter, used a sticky roller to remove the hair, 

re-pinned the backing and waited for the barf area to dry out.

When I went back to do the quilting the second time, 

the laser light to use for pantograph quilting was dead.  

I put it on charge and walked away again.

WALKED AWAY!

I spent hours making a mess and trying to see any learning acquired as positive 

but it was a very discouraging few hours!

Eventually I did get to work at the frame and finished the barf quilt. 

 I cut the binding but didn't get it made.

A new goal for today.

 But I did load up another. quilt which I will hopefully get finished today also!

Tomorrow is a new day.

(Kalanchoe in bloom.  )