Wednesday, June 22, 2011

2011 FO #5: Alpaca Abyssal

One of the pleasant side-effects of recuperating from a major illness is massive amounts of time sitting around on my arse.  I'm not fit enough to go back to work yet*, so after I finish the two hours of exercise I have to complete every day my time is my own.  This means lots of time for watching movies, cooking shows and knitting up a storm.

Here's a little something I whipped up last week:

I wanted a scarf that was squooshy and soft and made out of stash yarn (another benefit of not being able to go out when I want is that I can't go to the wool shop whenever I feel like it...this is definitely a good thing!).  I had some gorgeously soft baby alpaca left over from my much-loved and often worn endpaper mitts, and when I saw this shawl last week, I knew what I had to do.




I used the grey as a contrast colour on the feather and fan section to use up as much stash yarn as I could.  I also changed the body of the scarf from stockinette to garter stitch to maximise the squooshiness.


 It was a quick, easy knit that sits perfectly, looks fantastic and makes me feel good about reducing my stash and spending too much time sitting on my arse.

Pattern: Abyssal Shawl
Yarn: Baby alpaca bought in 2007 (!!!)
Notes/modifications: Listed above.
I really love this shawl!






* I would like to go back to work.  I worry that my brain is shrinking a bit from underuse!  But I am taking a glass-half-full approach to my rehab and looking at the sunny side.

Back home again

It's been almost two months since my last blog post and I'm happy to share that I am finally home!  I was in hospital for over two months and it was a hard, hard slog.  Here are some things I learnt while recuperating:

1. I understand why reality TV contestants spend so much time talking about their 'journey'.

It's sounds very cliche, but my time in hospital felt like a personal journey or quest, like heroes took in mythology.  I think it feels like a journey because so much life-changing stuff happens in such a short time.  Five days after my accident, my entire day's tasks consisted of sitting up, sitting on the end of the bed for five minutes then lying down again.  To complete this task took almost an hour and involved tears, painkillers and much much pain.  Every time I stand up unassisted now I remember all the hard work it took to get me here and I thank my lucky stars that I have made it as far as I have.  It's only been three months but I feel like a different person because of the 'journey' I have been on ;)

2. You find out who your real friends are.

Some of my friends are superstars and some of them will never hear from me again.  I'm glad this happened so I know who my real friends are :)

3. Appreciate your freedom.

Even now three months after the event I still can't do what I want to do whenever I want to.  I can't drive or walk very far yet, so most outings involve taxis and wheelchairs and working around other people's schedules.  I miss the freedom to do what I want when I want.  The thing is, for me it's only a matter of time until I have it back again.  For some people, a simple accident means the freedom to do what they want when they want is lost forever.  

4. My cat may have missed me a little bit (maybe) but she loves the present I brought her back from the hospital.


I'm glad to be back!