Hiatus
I haven’t been on in awhile as I have begun physical therapy. Learning to walk with a prosthetic is hard work. Well, today was the first time in a long time (I can’t even remember the last time) that I didn’t bring any knitting, and it’s the first time I showed up an hour early for my appointment. So on this very busy day I have an hour with nothing to do so I am updating the blog with no knitting. How pitiful.
At least I’ll post a picture of my current leg that I have shrunk out of, new leg soon, I hope!
Pillows
So as I am going through the process of getting my first prosthetic leg, I am distracting myself with mindless knitting–back to the garter stitch. I did add a little bit of design just to keep it interesting and I will post a pattern later. I happen to have a garbage bag full of pillows from IKEA just waiting for covers. Extra cotton yarn that is coming out my ears sealed the deal. The cotton washcloth yarn knit up extremely soft pillow, my kids love it. So I am making a second pillow this time in their school colors.
Here’s the first pillow
And here are som crocheted hacky sacks that have also kept me distracted through the waiting and resting between fittings
And here is me trying out my test leg, I won’t be able to take my leg home for a week or two but I did get to walk some.
Pretending to be Patient
I may seem patient on the outside, but I am full of anxiety, excitement, and anticipation as I wait for my new prosthetic leg. It has been a long summer, knitting has distracted me for the most part, but always there are nagging emotions just waiting to explode. In less than a week, I get my test socket. School has started life is falling into a routine and I wait. One more week and I can take normal steps, probably just a few as my stump toughens up. I want to watch my boys run cross-country, walking from checkpoint to checkpoint cheering them on rather than sitting in a wheelchair or riding a scooter. I hate being dependent on others and actually look forward to cleaning my house. But I can’t yet, soon. I wait and knit. I am finishing some projects, things I lined up before surgery to give me purpose through the recovery process. Socks, pillows, washcloths and hanging towels have been most of my projects. Now if only the anticipation didn’t weigh so heavy on me, I might enjoy them. For now, they are just a distraction as I pretend to be patient.
Casting my leg so my prosthetic can be made, less than a week until my test socket is finished. 
Fiber Festival
I went to the Michigan Fiber Festival today. This was the first time I have been able to go to a fiber festival. Seeing all the booths and animals was so much fun. Meeting designers and learning about spinning. I wasn’t able to spend the whole day but even in the short time we spent there I have come home with plenty to do. I picked up a drop spindle and roving and found a pattern to knit from Lost City Knits. My kids had fun seeing the animals and even were able to watch some sheep herding. I will definitely be visiting next year and hopefully attending some other yarn inspired events in some bigger cities too. I loved being able to check out so many different labels and now I think it would be fun to have sheep someday, maybe.
Twin set and update on me
So it’s been awhile since I have been on here. Sorry about that. I am doing really well since my amputation, much better than my first amputation. My previous amputation was traumatic due to my foot having gangrene caused by treatment of the AVM throughout my foot. Now I am just resting from my second amputation, right below the knee amputation. The Dr performed an Ertyl amputation using a cadaver bone to bridge my two leg bones. He did a great job the X-rays look perfect. So now I am recovering. I knit some but not as much as I would like but the medications I am on don’t make concentrating easy and the phantom pain makes it impossible without the medicine so I guess my knitting will be slow going. I did finish the twin set I’ve been knitting for my new nieces. I just need to sew in the ends and connect the I-cord that keeps the mittens in pairs. So this is my update post, I haven’t forgotten my blog just been busy healing (physical therapy and nurse visits wear me out and they come to my house, well maybe the seven kids that are here exhaust me too 😊)
My X-ray 
The twin set
Surgery
I am sorry it has taken me so long to post about my surgery. The surgery went awesome, smoother and quicker than the Dr had anticipated. He was able to perform the exact same surgery just before mine, which is very rare. A relief to me too, since my surgery was just his third of this particular procedure. (Well, worth it, if it heals properly it should be the strongest type of stump that can be formed via amputation.). My healing process has been great, nothing at all compared to my first amputation as I am learning now, was considered a traumatic amputation making recovering much more difficult. I am being well taken care of, a nurse visits my home 3 days a week to help us change my dressings, it takes two people to properly put on the shrinker sock without causing more than necessary pain. (Staples+Shrinker sock=very unpleasant). My oldest two sons (17 and 15) and my husband take turns helping the nurse apply the Shrinker sock. Everything is healing well, I haven’t counted but it looks like around 32 staples that remain for three weeks. Once a week my physical therapist comes out to help me stay strong and prepare for my prosthetic. He was originally suppose to come more often, but seeing my six kids and the exercise equipment I already owned, he felt once a week is plenty, which makes me happy, less poking and prodding. My kids have stepped up for the most part, but being kids they do on occasion take advantage of the fact that I am not up and about and break the rules that kids abhor (such as no eating in the living room–I gave up on that one a long time ago but I’m pretty sure this one will give my husband a heart attack 😊). So all is well, I’m not knitting as much as I would like to, I sleep at odd hours and I’m back to watching anything since I’ve already watched everything. Thank you for your prayers and concern! I am getting more excited each day as my strength increases my medicine decreases and I’m a day closer to getting a new leg! Thanks again and I hope you all have a great day!
PS even though the knitting has slowed my knitting list increases by the hour, there are so ma y things I want to make right now….next time I’ll share some!
first time up in a chair after surgery
my youngest and I get ting comfortable today
this is my sons joke, he had us laughing do hard……”that moment when you realize your arm is gone”
Procrastination
What I should be doing is getting my home ready for my 8 weeks in a wheelchair but instead I’m typing after a day of knitting. I am nervous and dreading the impending pain as I avoid thinking about my surgery to remove my right lower leg. A year from now will be great with many more opportunities than I have now but having most of my foot amputated already makes me just too aware of the process. So I knit. Anklets, two at a time and toe up. The color is cheerful and bold. Maybe a little boldness in color will keep me bold in spirit as I put off my preparations. Just a few more days….Tuesday morning my summer of rest begins.
Wednesday’s socks
Nerves
I am getting anxious. My surgery is scheduled, in less than six weeks, I will be a right-below-the-knee amputee. So much to do and all I can do is sit and knit at the moment. I have most of my foot amputated at the moment and my stump is acting up. I’m trying to avoid things that aggravate it but the weather is beautiful and being sedate is awful. As I shout orders from my recliner, I am going to work on the dishcloths and hanging towels. I like to have a stash of knits to give to people who stop by with meals or help us during my recovery from surgery. Our to-do list seems long and I am realizing that priorities may need to shift as I cross things off our list or just drop some things from the list. So with my ice pack on my stump I will get back to my towel.
My favorite summer washcloth pattern
Three Easy Washcloths
The hanging towel pattern
Toe Up
I decided to get Knit Picks Fancy Feet Anklets. It is the first time I have tried toe up socks. My first pair I used smaller needles and some yarn on hand to make a pair for my daughter. I knew my daughter has smaller but thicker feet. Now I am starting another pair on larger needles and Knit Picks Stroll Sock Yarn. I really like how soft and stretchy the stroll yarn is versus Deborah Norville’s Serenity Sock Weight. I do like the convenience of picking up serenity at JoAnn’s but the color and texture of stroll yarn is superior. This has been my purely for pleasure distressing knitting, unlike the gifts I’m working on for family. I don’t think I will ever tire of learning new techniques. I even ordered, The Knitter’s Book of Socks. Great book! I originally saw it at my local yarn shop, but couldn’t afford to spend that much but when I was putting together my order on Knit Picks I couldn’t resist the 40% price tag. I read through chapter after chapter breaking down socks right down to the fiber. Love learning new details about my latest obsession. It’s a good thing I sell enough to feed my knitting addiction!
Something different
I had another request for a newborn hat, specifically a sock monkey hat. I myself hadn’t made one yet so I was excited to make something different. Upon looking at the dozens of hat patterns on Ravelry and realizing the best choice is to crochet one. I haven’t crocheted something in a few months and due to crochet-trauma when I first attempted to knit booties I get nervous I will distort the pattern (one bootie fit my Aunt and the other was child size and neither was suitable for a baby) I have recovered enough to crochet quite a bit, with occasional flare ups of insecurity. The hat turned out great, my customer seems pleased (she hasn’t seen the original yet just a photo) and I think I want to make my kids the hat minus the monkey face (teens can be funny about what they are willing to wear).
Time to Knit 