This fall I have developed an awful bout of tendonitis that has stubbornly refused to go away. Eight weeks of physical therapy helped, but only to a point. I’m still taking more Aleve than I would like to, and every evening is spent first with an ice pack, then a heating pad and stretches. In the midst of all this my knitting and quilting projects really suffered, and I confess there were a few times when I dumped the yarn basket on the floor and just sort of petted my skeins of yarn because I missed knitting so much. An affliction of a different sort, I suppose, but my hands need to be kept busy.
And then, of course, you people keep insisting on having babies. Alas, I cannot stand the idea of babies not having handmade things, and so I am learning to pace myself. A little knitting here, a little quilting there, and the VEB good-naturedly picks up the ice packs I absent-mindedly leave around our respective apartments and puts them back into the freezer for me. Rinse and repeat.
(A long time ago someone told me I needed someone to look after me and I vehemently disagreed, but then the VEB came along and I totally understood. Because of course I do.)
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I finally got around to knitting a Baby Surprise Jacket. This is a whole entire post in its own right, because of Math, but I’ll save that for another time. Meanwhile, these are the buttons that it took forever and a day to pick out. They were a little expensive, but worth it in the cuteness!
Simultaneously I found this goldfish fabric, which I paired with some other fish fabrics and various and sundry other fabrics. I sewed & cut them up into what is called “disappearing 9 patch” squares. It reminds me of an aquarium, so at least in my head I refer to this as the “aquarium quilt”. It’s been ages since I hand-quilted anything, and I’m a bit out of practice, so for the moment I’m just doing a simple curved pattern that sort of resembles a wave. Not exactly “baby” colors, but I like that it is bright and cheery.
Calypso Kitty likes it too: