You know, some of the best lessons in life are ones that you didn’t see coming. Years ago, I was a member of a 6th grade instructional team that taught integrated units. The kids were learning about Canada in social studies at that time, and the language arts teacher had them reading Julie of the Wolves. I read the book too even though I was the social studies/science teacher, and one of the lessons really stuck with me. It was advice from Julie’s father to her: if what you are doing doesn’t work, change what you are doing. I am not one to quit easily, but sometimes that isn’t the right attitude.
I’ve been struggling with my treatment plan for months and I finally decided that we needed to do something different. My pulmonologist stopped the medication (Ofev) that I was taking to treat my lung disease (interstitial lung disease) because of side effects and started me on two inhaled medications instead. In the aftermath of this change, every single one of my tendons has decided that it hates my guts. Everything, everything hurts, and my arms are back in braces. I have two canes going so I am never far from one when I walk, and the walker is back out for use in the house. Feeling sorry for myself, I was slow to realize that Hannah had a rash on her tummy, and she was just miserable, licking and cleaning herself so much all the hair was gone and she had open sores.
That yarn that makes up the Nectar blanket is made of recycled fibers, and it includes raw silk. If you don’t know raw silk, it has a slight smell because the proteins from the silkworm cocoon are present. I kind of think that the silk is the problem, so I have packed the blanket away for now because Hannah LOVES TO LAY ON IT!!! Hannah got a bath with soothing anti-itch shampoo and the rash is gone and her fur is growing back. Bad yarn, bad!!
It hurt my hands too much to knit on it anyway. The lace is hard to work, and the purl rows are misery. Goodbye, blankie. You are going into time out for now.
I also packed away the yarns for the La Prairie sweater that I wanted (really badly) to knit because it is a cardigan and is knit back and forth (instead of in the round); all those purl rows on the wrong side will kill me. The yarn is now keeping company with the Nectar blanket in time out.
Obviously, I needed to find something that I can knit. What I’ve been knitting (and want to knit) isn’t working, but by golly, there must be something that I can knit on. Something that is only in the round, almost all knit stitches, and easy to pick up and put down again without losing my place.
These socks were a free pattern on Ravelry, and they are just what I needed. There is no ribbing at the top: just stockinette that curls around to form a rolled edge. The purl row is every 9 rounds, so I can manage that. The heel is made with all knit stitches! I’m able to knit with size 1 cable needles because I push them with the back of my hands without using my wrists.
The socks are slightly oversized so they are easy for me to pull on. I’m slowly making progress and my wrists have improved so much that I’ve transitioned from the hard braces to compression braces on my wrists while I work. I knit outside most mornings with the cats enjoying the birdsong and fresh air, dreaming about the colors to knit a Soldotna Crop sweater in fingering weight yarn.
Soldotna is written to be knit in DK weight yarn, but I think that is too heavy for me to use as a light topper over long-sleeved shirts. I have been messing around looking at other sweaters by this designer that I’ve made that were written for fingering weight, and I think that if I go up a size in the pattern, I can substitute fingering for the DK. Also, fingering is easier to work with while my hands are totally acting like assholes, and stranded knitting is slower knitting and hopefully easier on my hands than my usual speedy pace. Did I mention that there are no purls in this pattern once I’m through the first rows of ribbing?
As usual I am fussing about the colors and the order in which they will be knit. I had completely decided on the first combination (with Mateo in the background) when I decided to play around with a combination that is more colorful by adding in the turquoise multi. Everything depends on the order of the colors in the design; I’m pretty happy with the combination on the right, and I’ve decided that if I don’t like it, I’ll just shop the stash and start over with some other colors. You know, if what you’re doing doesn’t work… The other factor that is causing me to lean towards the more colorful set is that the yarn is a little heavy for fingering, so I have a better chance that it will work in the pattern.
Have I wound the yarn for the sweater yet? Nope. It still seems too exhausting right now, but it is hopefully set out by the umbrella swift in my dining room. Soon, Soldotna, someday soon my wrists and hands will decide to behave themselves and it will be your turn.
Take that scleroderma. You’ve been messing with the wrong knitter!
Notes:
- Julie of the Wolves is one of the books that gets banned from time to time, but it certainly made an impact with me and my students loved it.
- My pulmonologist says that there are two other drugs in the pipeline that I may be able to take when they are approved. Yay, science!
- Hannah was the best girl ever with her bath. She didn’t struggle or even meow while I was washing her tummy and then she let me blow dry her with absolutely no fuss. How about that!
- The color of the yarn that I am knitting the socks with is… Perfect Miracle. How cool is that? Just the color that I need right now.
Yarn, Books & Roses 
Things seemed to’ve been going fairly smoothly for you, of late, Marilyn; so it was time for something to intervene to give you merry hell. 😦
I hope you won’t be offended when I say that I use you as a measuring stick for myself: when I feel hard done by with my hand arthritis or my round-shouldered stoop that necessitates painful physio or my kidneys complaining I’m not drinking enough water or my natural tendency to put on weight if I don’t actually diet .. I just think of you, so much younger than I, carrying the burdens you do with grace, and as much humour as can be extracted from your various ailments.
I can only thank you, my dear ..
The trick in all of this is to focus on what I can do (with workarounds) instead of what has been lost. Actually, the side effects of that drug we stopped were so bad I had become almost completely homebound. It happened gradually so I just kept adapting and adapting without really coming to terms with how difficult things were getting. I stopped the drug so I could manage to go to some medical appointments and then I realized that I wanted more of my life back. I think that I will be more functional once I am though adjusting to the drug change. It finally became a quality of life issue. Hugs to you; it sounds like you are balancing lots of issues yourself. I couldn’t manage without a good sense of humor, but still there are days when it lets me down. I’m going to bop the next person who questions why I’m still wearing a mask!
Oh, do take a selfie with the other hand when you bop the bastard !!! [grin]
Absolutely!!!
Your life is constantly requiring adaptation and. resilience
Yep. It’s almost like I have a progressive, disabling health condition… 🙂 In my mind I’m constantly facing down a dragon with knitting needles.
Poor Hannah. I can empathize with her silk allergy. Contact with those proteins caused a maddeningly itchy rash that quickly went south and turned icky, until corticosteroids were used. I’m glad she’s doing well now. Fingers crossed that you’ll continue to progress on your meds, and this, too, shall pass. I admire your tenacity and positivity in the face of your slew of obstacles.
I put some eczema lotion on her tummy at first (active ingredient: oatmeal) and then read the fine print that said if ingested to call poison control immediately. Yikes!!! I had her in the sink getting her tummy washed within 5 minutes, and the only thing that slowed me down was that I had to fill the sink with warm water, lay out the towels, and get the hair dryer all set up on the floor. Between the cream and the anti-itch shampoo something worked to turn the tide. I’m pretty sure this is what you said: a contact dermatitis. I’m already better this evening after staying in bed for a couple of days. Thank you for your kind words; I do try for tenacity and positivity. 🙂
You bathed a cat and lived to tell the tale? And you still have hands for knitting? Miracles abound. (P.S. I love all the purples and turquoises you choose!)
You had a birthday last month, didn’t you, Colorado ? I hope it was wonderful. 🙂
I’m always a little confused when you talk to Colorado, since I’m in Colorado too…
Yes, I do realise that, I promise ! But Susan (who’s my age but a couple of months older) is a kind of Colorado personal fan-base; so I have thus named her ! 🙂
Still struggling with the idea of becoming an octogenarian … since I’ve never been one before. 😉
Me neither; and I have till early July ..
I seriously did consider for a second that I might get bit, but I had put an eczema cream on her tummy first and then read the label: if ingested call poison control immediately. Yowza!!! I’m so lucky that she was an absolute champ about the whole thing and I’m grateful that her rash is gone (and that I’m safe to knit!). Thanks for the color feedback. I’m going to go with those happy colors.
I’m glad you are both okay. I had no idea silk allergy was a thing.
It’s just a guess on my part. I can smell the wild silk and the yarn has a little tweediness to it; it may be something that is in the yarn when it was processed as it is recycled fiber. Anyway, Hannah’s rash correlates with her lounging on the blankie while I sew the units together. Maybe after I get it all washed it will be okay, but for now I’m keeping her away from it.
Beautiful colours… I admire your determination ☺️
Thank you!! You would not believe how long I’ve been fussing about the color selection for the sweater…
Love your kitties. Oh yeah – and the yarn is pretty too. 🙂 I am so sorry you are having to deal with such painful medical issues.
Thank you! Seriously, I almost never have a run of serious pain, so this is unusual and I expect that it will be over in the next week or so, but I plan to continue to baby my wrists because… knitting!!!
That is interesting about the silk. I have been wondering if JoJo’s favorite wool blanket causes her to do the same thing. Glad you are taking control of your treatment and found something to knit. ❤️
Wow! I don’t know how you managed to get Hannah into the warm water without ending up having to patch up scratches on your body. I’m glad you’re doing better after a few days’ rest. May this be the start of a long period of gradual improvement. The blue-lipped zebra is the only animal I hope will be extinct in the not-too-distant future.
Hannah is a wonder! She had a bad eye ulcer when a piece of metal poked her in the eye and she was so good about letting the vet handle her and then let me put in her eye medicine with no issues. I think that the whole eye experience helped with this rash/bath incident as maybe she understood that I was trying to help her.
I am better without that med, but it was still a hard call to make. It wasn’t as drastic as stopping chemo to feel better, but I finally decided that quality of life is more important and my doctor thinks that I can hang on until the new meds arrive.
Maybe it is time for the blanket to get a good gentle wash? I wonder if the wool (because it can build a little charge) might have collected lots of pollen or other allergens.
I wash it once or twice per season, so I’m not sure. But it’s worth a try.
I love that sock! It’s looking great. And the lesson from Julie of the Wolves is always good to revisit. It’s been so long since I’ve read the book that I had forgotten. Thank you for the reminder!
It was around the time that I was teaching this unit that the wolves were returned to Yellowstone and we found a great National Geographic video to show the classes on wolves. The kids really enjoyed the book and loved learning about wolves. BTW, we now have wolves in Colorado!!
That’s really cool! I don’t think we have wolves in my part of California, but we do have mountain lions (in the hills, much farther away from civilization than I am) and I’ve always loved that. Even if I’ve never personally seen one in the wild (and don’t really want to… too scary).
We have mountain lions here, too. I always carried a hiking pole when I went hiking because they are common in our foothills.
That makes sense! It’s been a really long time since I’ve been hiking near where the mountain lions live, so I don’t usually think about them as frequently. But they’re really beautiful animals.
Oh goodness…who’d have thought a cat could be allergic to silk but then I think why not…lots of humans are allergic to wool. What a shame as she looked so good lazing on it. I hope your pains are easing.
I’m hoping that after the final product gets washed she will not react to it.
You are really an inspiration! What a great approach – you are still working miracles with your workarounds. So glad the bath helped Miss Hannah, and yes, she is the best girl ever 🙂 Hugs to you, Madelyn!
I was going to say that I don’t have a choice, but in truth I do. I can’t control this dang disease, but I can certainly control how I chose to deal with it, and by facing things down and finding workarounds I think that it’s slowing down the progression. 🙂 Thanks for the hugs, some days I really need one.
Very true – you could just say, well that it. I can’t do these things any more. But you are choosing to find workarounds and keep up with things you love. You are amazing!
I hope your pain has started to sort itself out by now, and you can get back to some serious knitting.
The colourful option of yarn will always get my vote, but both sets are beautiful.
I’m back knitting again!!
Hooray!