I have been trying to three days now to finish the sleeves on my Martha Jo cardigan, to no avail. And no, I haven't started knitting sometime else although the temptation is so great. I know I should finish the second sleeve as I actually enjoy the seaming process, but still, I'm going nuts here, I do about three rows and doze off, or find a magazine to peruse or something else. HELP! Any good ideas out there?
So, I finally unearthed the camera and got updated, at least a little. First of all, pictures of Marta Jo's sleeves -- almost done 
! Then, I decided on Vanessa but I can't decide on the color -- 
I'll have to go back for another visit when I'm feeling up for it. And finally, my cousin send me yarn from Alaska to make a cute retro felted purse. Nothing like surprise yarn in the mail to make me feel better!
So, I'm off to bathe the girls and then make sure everyone is in bed by 8 pm, Mom included.
So I had my one dose chemo on Wednesday and am just beginning to come out of the fog. That's the good news. My Mom and my sister came and stayed with me as my husband was out of town and I can't handle the girls by myself post-chemo. The cleaned and generally took care of everything which was really nice. And just the past 1/2 hour or so, I'm feeling more normal. Hopefully this feeling with hold.
The bad news is that they called from the Cancer Center and none of the six "matches" from the national blood bank are true matches. They all have a problem in two of the eight sectors. Really depressing and just about sent me over the edge today. So I'm not sure of the next step -- maybe a cord transplant or sometime. I cannot give in to this stupid disease but all of these setbacks are making it difficult. I can't believe God would take me from my three daughters, husband, and family, but it's hard to understand this latest news.
So, please pray for strength for me and my family. I really need it right now.
If I had my act really together, I'd post pictures, but not today. Maybe tomorrow. I'm up to the cap shaping on the first sleeve of the Marta Jo cardigan and hope to finish it this afternoon. Although the second sleeve is always such a pain, it somehow goes faster when you don't need to calculate, etc. in the beginning. I'm a fairly meticulous note maker/taker so I just blindly follow my notes and head off. We see.
Then, what's next: my three options are 
this Classic Elite cardigan. Cute and fun to wear with khaki's and my favorite colors. Or 
tea time to wear with a skirt, probably in a similar color -- I like a ss cardigan, and finally, 
Vanessa. Similar but different, again to wear with a floral floaty skirt.
So, I'm hoping I feel up for a visit to my favorite LYS this week. They've been so nice and sent me cards, etc. and I haven't bought anything new in eons . . . . .so, we'll see. I'll need a new project for the hospital anyway. We'll see.
Well, I just learned today that while I am a candidate for a bone marrow transfer, since none of my family members provided a match, we have a long wait. They have to go into the national pool and see if there are any matches, then see if those people still want to donate, etc. All of this could take months. So more waiting and more waiting. And then the actual operation is so tough that survival is 70/30. I'm supposed to keep myself well, active and healthy during this time period. Tough some days when all I feel like doing is crying lately.
I did actually knit last night, first time in months. I started one of the sleeves for the Martha Jo cardigan. Beautiful yarn and stitch pattern. Maybe it will help me calm down.
If you pray, please pray for me, my family and especially my sweet husband. Thanks.
Sorry that I haven't posted in so long but I got the horrible news that my non-hodgkins lymphoma is back. I spent three weeks of december in the hospital, including christmas, and was released on new year's eve. One treatment down and I don't know how many to go. This chemo is a lot stronger and I'm tired and cold all day. Can't even knit, too tired. Say a prayer and I'll post an update when I have one.
That's why I haven't been posting, or even knitting. I have pneumonia and let me tell you, it really has knocked the wind out of my sails. I am so tired all of the time and cannot do anything most days other than lay around, which sounds fun but is not. I'm too tired to knit. I'm on antibiotics which are helping and I'm so hoping I'm feeling better soon. Keep you posted.
just tired of this cancer and all that goes along with it. I've been feeling really bad lately and am still having problems managing my steroid dose with my life, if that makes any sense. Too many mgs gives me terrible indigestion and too little doesn't solve the problem and I have trouble breathing. I'm going in for x-rays, etc. tomorrow to see what adjustments we can make. Mostly I just want my life back. I want to go up the stairs and not be so winded that I have to sit down. I want to go Christmas shopping and get started on the baking and I want my life to return to normal. And I haven't even mentioned knitting, mostly because I haven't been doing any, which says a lot. Sorry for the rant but I've just had it with all of this. And thanks for listening.
I had my first knitting class today and it was loads of fun! I have been thinking about doing this for some time now and lately had a lot of requests to teach people to knit, so I decided the timing was right. Four ladies and me at my house and what a wonderful morning. We practiced the basics -- long tail cast on, knit and purl stitches -- and selected our color of yarn to order. We're knitting a vest pattern I wrote many years ago -- the easy no-finish vest -- and I think they're all thrilled. Anyway, what a delight to share something I love so much.
On my knitting front, have made it up to the armhole shaping on Es vest and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I still have two Christmas presents to work on, but may start something for myself. We'll see.
I just don't have any pictures to show for it! I've gotten to the stage with Es Christmas Vest that I just want it done. Not my best thought process when knitting, but I'm being honest here. I'm still making progress and hope to finish the two big pieces by Thanksgiving, then I can seam and do the armholes, etc. at my leisure.
I am, however, loving the Trek XXL sock yarn in "pastels." So beautiful and so nice to knit -- I'm already thinking about ordering another skein but am trying hard to wait 'til I finish the first sock, at the very least.
Next up: 6 month old nephew Charley's Christmas Vest, a stealth present, and then something for me, I think. I still haven't found a pattern I like for the new Jo Sharp, but I've got one more thing to try before I pull out all of the stops and go through years and years, of VK, IK, and various pattern books. We'll see!
