2014–What a Year

WOYWW visitors – please scroll down to the first post for today.

The second of three posts for today, and the first of two “update” posts – I realised there was going to be too much for a single post, because such a lot has gone on this year. I have therefore decided to devote this first one to personal and health issues and other miscellaneous things, and to make a new post about my creative endeavours during the year, of which there have been many!

I can’t believe it’s that time of year yet again when I look back on the months that have passed and take stock, and look forward, hopefully always with optimism, to the year ahead. This is the fifth annual review post I have made – have I really been blogging this long???

We have celebrated our first year living in our new house, and reaped the benefit of so many months of upheaval, anxiety, stress, joy and fun that took place during the previous year, during the renovations, and this year we have been able to enjoy to the full all the carefully planned alterations which have made life easier for everybody.

One of the things which has been the most fun was finally to be able to move into my beautiful new ARTHaven and get it up and running and planned exactly how I wanted, so that it at last became my favourite room in the house, where I can immerse myself in art and creativity and shed the stresses of the day, in an environment carefully designed and planned by me, and brought to fruition by our wonderful builders, to enable the creative process to take place with the minimum of difficulty.

Heath Issues

The year 2014 has been characterised by a series of health crises for us all – myself, my hubby and my mum, who lives in a flat occupying half the downstairs of the house. Just when we seemed to be entering a more stable period, something else happened, until I got to the stage when I wondered, “What next?” I know that compared with some people, our trials have been light, but nevertheless sometimes they have seemed hard to bear.

At the beginning of the year, now that we were really settled in, my hubby went up country to pick up my buggy (mobility scooter) which had belonged to my uncle, and this was installed in the garage with its own power supply, and enables me to trundle forth at the magnificent heartstopping rate of 4 mph to do my local errands – church, shopping, visiting etc. This is liberating!

In February I caught a nasty throat infection which left me coughing for months, and eventually in the summer I saw the doctor about it, and it became clear that the cough was a result of GORD (Gastro-oesophageal reflux disorder) and I was put on medication for this (Omeprazole) and referred to an ENT surgeon at the hospital for a proper examination, which revealed that there was still evidence of inflammation so I was put on revolting Gaviscon which is a sore trial to take!!

In the summer I also had problems with an extremely dry mouth, but after seeing another hospital consultant, a disease cause was ruled out, and we came to the conclusion that it was just another recurring M.E. symptom raising its ugly head again. I was given some good advice, though, about nasal decongestion which has helped a lot.

I suffered very badly this summer with swollen ankles and again sought medical advice. Several pieces of advice bore good fruit, and I also invested in a Circulation Booster which helped a lot. The cooler weather helped considerably, later on.

Since our return from holiday when I was shocked at how much weight I’d gained, I decided to embark on the famous 5:2 diet, and am happy to report that having hit another plateau recently, with my weight remaining constant for several weeks, I have lost a total of 2 stone 3 lb (31 lb) in six months. I have another 2 stone to lose until I am at the optimum weight for my height, but it is great knowing that I am now officially “overweight” and no longer “obese”!

In the summer also, I was diagnosed with mild anaemia, probably as a result of my ongoing ulcerative colitis, and have been on ferrous sulphate ever since, although now on a reduced dose, with my Hg levels being checked monthly.

In August I had my regular gastro-enterology appointment at the hospital to check on the state of my ulcerative colitis, and I have a colonoscopy coming up in January 2015 (something that has to happen every 2 years). He is pleased with my progress and how I am responding to the medication (Pentasa (mesazaline)).

However, my main health event of the year was a coronary artery spasm causing severe chest pain at the end of July, landing me in hospital for a couple of days. I’ve had no recurrence since, apart from a few periods of much less severe chest pain, all of which have been brought on by stress. I have a nitro-glycerine spray for such events. Coming out of hospital I became a soggy emotional heap, and when that passed, I moved into a period of several months’ mild depression, feeling generally “out of sorts” with myself, which is apparently a very common reaction to any cardiac event.

My M.E. continues much the same. The condition appears to have “bottomed out” and while I am not improving, neither am I continuing to go downhill as I did at the beginning. I have many days when I am pretty well unable to function and need to rest, which can be frustrating at times, but there’s nothing to be done about it and one just has to go with the flow and try and be as sensible as possible. Having a new adjustable bed is giving me more comfort and better nights and I no longer hanker after my wonderful hospital bed that I wanted to take home with me! This is also helping a lot with the reflux. Life is certainly easier with the renovations we had done in the house to suit my needs and also that my hubby isn’t having to run around after me quite so much as in the past.

A few weeks ago my hubby had an accident on his motorcycle and broke his wrist. He was in plaster for several weeks, and is now wearing a wrist splint after the latest X-ray revealed that the bone had knit. He will have another X-ray in a couple of weeks’ time and hopefully then will be back to normal. It feels painful now the rigid support of the cast is gone, and it will take time for it to regain its full strength. The worst part of it from our point of view was that he was not allowed to drive with a cast, and with all the running around he has to do on our behalf, this added to the already considerable inconvenience for him.

Mum’s health has presented us with several crises this year – firstly the common occurrence of minor injuries to her paper-thin skin necessitating hospital visits and the regular and frequent re-application of dressings. She is now very deaf and also needs her ears syringing regularly. She has also started suffering a series of TIAs (mini-strokes) and has been diagnosed with AF (atrial fibrillation) and is now on warfarin, which necessitates weekly visits to the surgery for her blood to be tested to determine the dose. Her short term memory is poor, and since her most recent bout of TIAs she has become more difficult, which is stressful for me, and my dear hubby is trying to shield me as much as possible, by taking on most of the contacts with her. We both experience ongoing low-level stress, interspersed by the high-octane version brought on by frequent confrontations with Mum on various issues. How true it is that whatever one’s personality, this tends to be exaggerated in old age.

It wasn’t just us humans in the family who had health issues this year. Our senior kitty, Beatrice (aged 14), after being registered with our new vet, had four teeth extracted, and was discovered to have a growth in the back of her neck that had to be removed, which proved to be quite major surgery, but was fortunately proved to be non-malignant. In order to protect the wound, she wore a premature babygro!

Then followed a series of urinary tract infections which have become ever more frequent so that she is more or less constantly on antibiotics now, but keeping pretty well, and with a good appetite. She is too thin, and with her delicate stomach has to be on a prescription diet, and requires frequent small meals in order to prevent vomiting. She continues to be a great character and much loved by us all, and she and “Granny” have developed a strong mutual affection and she enjoys spending time with Mum in her flat. The vet, “Uncle Luke,” is extremely fond of her, and everyone down at the vets’ has a huge soft spot for this very unusual kitty who is bursting with character and a bit too intelligent for her own good sometimes!!

All these health pressures have definitely been helped by having my hair permed again in the summer! Luuurve the curls. Thank goodness for good hair days, fragrant baths, kitties, art, and my wonderful hubby.

Technology

I was devastated this year that my faithful old sewing machine (21st birthday present) bit the dust, but delighted to get a new Brother machine, which, as things have turned out, I haven’t had a lot of time to get up and running – just a few boring household jobs to be done, and I still have to look up in the book how to thread it!!

At the beginning of the year I invested in an iMac and after an initial trial period trying to run both the Mac OS and Windows on it via a system called Parallels, eventually came to the conclusion that Windows didn’t work well enough on this for me, and I would continue with my two (now fairly elderly but excellent) laptops for Windows, and use the Mac pretty well exclusively for video. I had a brief experience with an upgrade to the latest version of Pinnacle video editing software on Windows but as with earlier versions, was frustrated by its instability, and decided to bite the bullet and move to Final Cut Pro for Mac which has proved to be a very successful move indeed. With my new video camera setup I can now produce good quality HD videos and the program is a total dream to operate – makes me wonder why I didn’t stop messing about years ago and spend the money and get serious – I’d have saved a great deal in the long run! I have not had as much time to create videos this year as I would have liked – it is a highly time-consuming process but also very creative and enjoyable.

The House

Finishing touches to the renovations included the installation of solar panels in the summer. We had been at a bit of a loss to know which company to approach, but our visit to the County Show was very fruitful, as we were able to speak one-to-one with several companies and come home armed with fliers. It was not hard to make our final choice, and the work went ahead very smoothly.

Personal

The major event of this year was my hubby’s retirement in the summer. He continues to be quite overwhelmed by the tremendous send-off he received, and all the gifts, cards, letters, emails etc. etc. I was a bit worried that he might feel the loss of role quite badly but he has had an incredibly busy time since, being carer for both Mum and myself, and various other commitments, but I am glad that he has been able to fit in quite a few days out doing the things he enjoys the most, and spending time with his friends. In the summer, for the first time he was able to volunteer on the local annual archaeological dig on a full-time basis. Knowing how precious these times are for him, I guard them jealously and try not to add to his commitments by asking that he drive me to things that aren’t strictly necessary, but we have had some nice outings together, and had a wonderful holiday (our first for 4 years) in the summer, coinciding with my school reunion, and the opportunity to immerse myself in some fabulous art. Our major and best day outing was to Bristol to view the Kaffe Fassett exhibition (click on the link at the top of my sidebar for pictures).

Since moving here, I have found an excellent church to join, and was admitted to full membership in the summer. I am thrilled that is is right on the doorstep and takes only a few minutes on the buggy to get there. I have made new friends there and the quality of worship and teaching is excellent.

Two-Year Knitting Project Completed at Last–WOYWW 291

The first of three posts for today. I wasn’t intending to join WOYWW this week but since I’m posting, I thought I might as well, even if strictly speaking this isn’t on my desk! It is Wednesday, though…

My excuse for taking so long over this project is that we moved house in the middle of it, and also had to clear out my parents’ house ready for sale.

I have posted occasionally about this, when I have made any progress on it, but now that it is finished I thought I’d collate all the photos and info into a single post.

Over thirty years ago I bought a beautiful knitted dress from a gallery and in recent years I was unable to wear it any longer because of all the weight I’d gained, but couldn’t bear to part with it, so I unravelled it and knitted it up again as a jumper. The yarn (pure Shetland 4-ply) had to be sorted, skeined, washed and wound into balls.

The skeins hanging to dry.

The wound skeins.

The patterns. I derived the graph patterns more or less from the design of the original dress, but arranged the charted designs according to my own preference, and bearing in mind that the sleeves of the jumper would be longer than the three-quarter length sleeves of the dress, I had to add some more colours. The sheet underneath is the basic design, and this had a few amendments during the course of the project, but basically all I did was draw a diagram of the basic shape of the jumper, with measurements, and calculated from a tension swatch how many stitches and rows I would need. When working the knitting, all I had to do, therefore, was keep the graph design correct and follow the visual instructions on the pattern. Since most of the shapes were basic squares, there was little point in charting out the whole design.

Beginning the knitting. In the background you can see my original Zentangle sketchbook. At this stage of the knitting, I have completed the bottom border of the front.

Working up the main body of the front, in the plain tan colour. I always work with a circular needle whenever possible, as it is a lot more comfortable; with regular needles, I’m always catching the blunt ends on things, and with the circular needle, the weight of the knitting is held in the lap and not by the arms, so it’s a lot less tiring. If you knit continuously on a circular needle, you end up with a tubular piece of knitting, but if you turn the work at the end of the row, like with regular needles, you end up with a flat piece. This is what I did.

Approaching the top of the front, and beginning to work on the yoke pattern.

Detail of the front hem border.

This is what the knitting looks like on the reverse. When working in Fair Isle style (two colours going simultaneously across each row), most people strand the inactive yarn across the back approximately every five stitches, but I prefer to weave in at every stitch, as this gives a neater back, and with less likelihood of the strands catching on shirt buttons etc., when the garment is being worn.

The completed front of the jumper.

Detail of the front yoke.

Beginning to pick up stitches for the first sleeve. After the back was completed, I sewed the front and back together just at the shoulders, so that I could work on the sleeves. I picked up sufficient stitches at the top of the sleeve, and worked downwards, decreasing according to the chart I made, and ending the sleeves with a ribbed cuff. The entire sleeve is patterned.

Detail of picking up the stitches for the sleeve.

Work in progress on the first sleeve. On the right, you can see the shape of the plain body of the garment. When the sleeve is complete, the first part of it is sewn into this piece, and then the sleeve seams and garment side seams are made up as normal. This is a square set-in sleeve; a design favoured in many ethnic clothes because it is easy to make, and with woven fabrics, there is little waste.

Detail of work on the sleeve, where the decreasing begins.

Further progress on the first sleeve.

The first sleeve complete. This picture was taken on the conservatory floor of the bed and breakfast farm we stayed on when we were on holiday in the summer.

The completed jumper.

I always seem to have problems picking up a decent neck – either I have too many stiches, or I don’t have enough, and the finish is usually less than professional! It’s also the worst part of a project for me – I hate doing all the making up, and would love someone else to do it for me, leaving me the freedom to do the actual knitting! (Very Kaffe Fassett…)

Originally I made a double-thickness stocking stitch neck band, with a zig zag pattern in two shades of brown, but it would not lie flat and felt much too thick, so I took it off, and redid the band using the smaller needles (not circular, unfortunately) and three different colours in stripes.

I am pleased with the result this time around. My sister-in-law, whom we saw on Sunday, gave me a few pointers regarding picking up for a neck, including not casting off at the top of the back and front, but retaining the stitches on a stitch holder, and then just knitting on from those stitches, using smaller needles, and working in rib. Sounds like a plan to me!!

In my old age I’m afraid I’ve got rather lazy about blocking out. I find it difficult to kneel on the floor, leaning forward, for any length of time so blocking can be an extremely exhausting operation for me. Instead, I make up the garment, and then wash it and drape it over the airer to dry as flat as possible, and then steam press the garment through a cloth. I’ve never had any problems with that.

Here are some other detail shots.

When making the cuffs, I made them double length so that they could be turned back, and made the centre (fold) stripe with twice the number of rows:

so that when turned back, its appearance is better:

Hope you’ve enjoyed the design, construction and making of this project. I am very pleased with it now it is finished.

Some years ago I made a long tunic-top with a circles motif based on a Kaffe Fassett design, in purples and yellows. Like the knitted dress, this is now too small, and anyway I was never happy with the neckline, so that is the next one to unravel and start again! I just hope that this one doesn’t take two years to complete! (To see what that knitting looks like, have a look at my blog header, on the left.) The circles design is one of Kaffe Fassett’s but the rest is my own. I love that colour combo. Watch this space for progress on this new project.

Honeybee Birthday Card

It’s a friend’s birthday on New Year’s Day and because I’ve been ill, I’ve got very behind with things, and I’m not going to get this to her in time. I have managed to finish the card, but the glue is still wet so it can’t be posted. Like everything else this year, it can’t be helped!

This friend is a keen bee keeper, and to go with the honey soap I have made her, I’ve decided to make a bee-themed card.

I began with a piece of yellowish-cream card which I embossed in a honeycomb pattern using my Cuttlebug and a Fiskar’s Texture Plate. This was inked by smooshing distress inks in Scattered Straw, Wild Honey and Spiced Marmalade onto my non-stick craft sheet, spritzing with water, and pulling the card through the wet ink.

I sprayed the top part with some Dylusions spray ink in Pure Sunshine, and held it up and allowed it to drip.

I blotted up the spatters from the craft sheet onto the card to add a bit more interest. After drying it with my heat gun, I spattered it with water droplets and blotted it off on kitchen paper, and dried it again.

The card base was formed from an A4 sheet of white cardstock which I inked with the same three distress inks, and again I spattered it with water, blotted it off and dried it.

The edges of both card base and topper were distressed with Rusty Hinge distress ink, using one of my home-made blending tools.

I inked the inside of the card with the same distress inks.

Using my Stampotique Big Bee stamp, I stamped the card base using sepia archival ink.

 

I also stamped a piece of cream card with the same stamp, and coloured it with Rusty Hinge and Wild Honey distress inks, using them as watercolours by smooshing them on my non-stick craft sheet and picking up with ink with a wet brush. I added some shading with the two colours to give the bee a bit more dimension.

I cut out the bee and painted the edge with some Walnut Stain distress ink.

Turning the bee over, I embossed it from behind, using ball embossing tools onto a fun foam base.

Stamping the sentiment. I used the “Happy Birthday” from the Stampin’ Up Perfectly Penned set, using sepia archival ink. I also stamped this sentiment inside the card.

I layered the topper onto the card base using my ATG tape glue gun, and inked and stamped the envelope with the same distress inks and water spattering, and stamped some bees using Antique Linen distress ink for a more subtle effect.

The bee embellishment was attached using a thick application of Pinflair gel glue and left overnight to dry.

The wings of the bee were emphasised with a coat of glossy accents, and once this was dry and the bee was firmly adhered, I added some more Pinflair glue underneath the wings to stop them from becoming crushed flat.

The finished card.

Detail of the bee embellishment.

Misc Christmas Soaps Pt 2

Here are the remaining photos of the soaps I’ve made for Christmas presents.

Turned out of the moulds. You can see the brown cameo to the right of the lavender soap.

I was wondering how to highlight the cameo a bit, and then remembered I’d ordered some cosmetic-grade mica powders for my soap making, and used some of the white. I put the cameo onto the top of the soap and drew round it with a scriber, and then with a modelling tool I gouged out some of the soap. I filled the cavity with the melted soap base, scored the base of the cameo, spritzed both surfaces with rubbing alcohol and popped the cameo in place. There was a bit of leakage of the melted soap base but I was able to get most of this off. Unfortunately I lost the pristine shiny surface of the soap straight from the mould but once wrapped, this didn’t matter quite so much. I did a bit more touching up with the mica powder once the cameo was in place.

Here it is, wrapped.

I made a label for the base. All the labels were written with my sepia Faber Castell Pitt Artist pen and embellished with distress inks. In the case of the lavender soap I used Milled Lavender and a touch of Dusty Concord on the lavender flower paintings, and the leaves were painted with Mowed Lawn.

Here are the rest of the soaps, all wrapped in cellophane and labelled. For the gardener’s soaps, I put the main label on the top, and added a small label giving the ingredients on the bottom, as this was a more complicated soap, and I thought the recipients might be interested to know what went into it, making it so suitable for garden and workshop use. The lemon soaps just had the label on the bottom, with the information about how this soap removes onion smells from one’s hands. The gardener’s soap labels were coloured with Spiced Marmalade distress ink, and the lemon soaps with Wild Honey distress ink.

The gardener’s soaps. The orange Stickles glitter glue doesn’t show up on the photos at all, but it is a nice echo of the speckled orange rind on the surface of the soaps, as is the label border.

Single gardener’s soap.

Label on base of gardener’s soap.

A pair of gardener’s soaps, tied with an orange ribbon.

Lemon soaps.

Lemon soap label.

The three teddy soaps, tied with ribbon, with applied decorative bow. Each soap is individually wrapped. They are definitely too small for everyday use, and I shall be sourcing a larger teddy soap mould online.

Three teddy soaps, side view. I had to put the middle one face down because they are not uniformly thick.

All that remains now is to finish packaging the honey soaps I made before. I want to make tags for these, using honeycomb-embossed card and my large bee stamp. I am a bit annoyed that the medium bee stamp is still out of stock, and I have been waiting for some time for an email notifying me that they have arrived – the large stamp is a bit too big for this but I can make something of it, no doubt.

After Christmas being a total non-event this year, everybody will have to put up with their presents being late! This week, I also have to make a bee birthday card to go with some of the honey soaps, and hope I shall retain enough energy to get that done, or it will be another late arrival.