Short Update!

 I never seem to have the time to post what is going on in life and work, not that much has been different these past 20 months!  I wake up and hit the ground running, tending to hubby’s needs, then the running of the household.  

I don’t measure days anymore by their names – instead, it’s whether it’s his shower day, or laundry day, or cooking day, or ordering food day.  My head juggles the daily minutiae, whilst trying to remember what day I need to take vitamins D3, K, A, E, and CoQ10. The D3 and K are super important, since doing a Dexa bone scan recently and seeing that I have osteopenia.  Fixable, eh, and preventable.  

I’ve know, for many years, that my VDR gene snps point to needing a lot of D3 to get my levels up, but the workload, after hubby came home from the hospital and nursing homes, derailed my self-care.  When we’re young (pre-meno), self-care can slip a bit, without adverse effects ensuing, but not when we’re *mature*.  

I’ve tweaked the household schedule several times, in an effort to have the time for rest, time to care for myself, and time for my work, which is crucial for my well-being.  The *last* thing I want to be turned into is a drudge, which caregiving can quickly make one feel like.  

Having time to spin and weave gives me something to look forward to most days, as no-one looks forward to the repetitious daily slog!

Although August’s weaving began slowly,  I still managed to make 9 more scarves, just as in July.  New baby alpaca yarns came in, which will keep me weaving through at least September!  

Then I’ll need to get back to spinning to refill the bins.  And, at some point, I need to plan afghans for the floor loom, after I either remove the rug warp that’s been on that loom, aging in place, or just use it up to weave 3 more rugs in the series I began several years ago!

Here’s the first 18 scarves I’ve made.  The all white ones are 2 tweeds, alternating thick handspun with thin (baby alpaca) wefts on the thinner warp.  One scarf used my handspun Falkland Intentional Slub.  And with the last one, I used 6 different smooth and voucle yarns, for allover texture.

Then come the plaids!  I love to chart plaids, but they're not all quick enough or fun to weave, so, some patterns get repeated, whilst others are one offs!

Most are in calming blues, fawns and greys, though I'm weaving more in warmer colors.  They'll all be going into my Etsy shop, but first I need to note their measurements and weight, sew cork labels on, once I re-order them, take all the photos and write up the listings – these things are always a process!

I’ve been using a wool/superfine alpaca, baby alpaca from several sources, superfine merino, kid silk, and handspun Falkland.  The kid silk lightens the fabric and adds froth, the baby alpaca is so soft and adds drape.  

I’ve knit design samples in the wool/superfine alpaca, and love how it wears.  If and when I ever get to design another aran sweater, this will be my yarn of choice!

Onward!
Dawn

SALE!

As I need to raise funds to help afford a home aide, for a couple hours 3 days/wk, I've just posted a 30% off sale in my Etsy shop, for select handspun yarns and handwoven winter scarves!

Life has taken over.

 Life has taken over.  It’s the only excuse I have for not posting in the last 6+ months!  

Caring for my husband still takes up much of my day.  He has 1.5 more months of physical therapy to do, and even once he’s done, he still won’t be able to dress and get his prosthetic leg and brace strapped on by himself.  

As doing this requires many trips up and down off the floor and requires exertion to get the leg pulled up all the way onto the shrinker, it takes a bit too much energy from me, so we’ve begun to look into getting an aide for an hour or so every morning, to get him showered, dressed, and get his leg on.  At which point, he can get about using the walker, with the arm extensions I bought recently.  These should help him be more stable, as his hands are so twisted with arthritis, he can’t grab and hold onto anything easily any more.

Of course, the problem with getting an aide is that Medicare doesn’t cover it, and they all charge more per hour than I have been able to earn with my patterns and handspun yarns.  

But, to this end, I bought a used original Louet S10, which allows me to spin 200 g/7 oz skeins of my Falkland wool yarns, which turns out to have been a good idea – I’m finding that crafters are preferring the larger skeins.  

I just got in a new 29 lb. bump of wool top, which I’ll be spinning up, even as the warmer weather descends (causing sales to plummet).  I plan on weaving with my handspun, as soon as I can get to it, after an AC is installed upstairs, as that’s where the 45” floor loom now resides! 

As it’s May, I *want* to be outside working in the garden, as I couldn’t at all last summer, but I don’t have the luxury of using up my energy on gardening, not yet anyway, when I need to tend to his needs, which includes bringing him food, liquids, and pills 6x/day.  I am NOT a happy camper when I get overwrought from too much work!  Not the least because it makes it impossible to fall asleep, even with the plethora of things I take so I *can* sleep.  

But if I’m lucky, and we can find a reasonably priced aide to come every day, starting in June, it should free up some of my time, so I can re-mulch the beds, feed all the perennials, plant the tomatoes, and make the bamboo teepees for them.  And get to weave.  I’m 67, but I sure could use the energy I had when I was 37!  

Onward, to, hopefully, better times!
Dawn