between a rock and a hard place...

my weaving problems are just getting worse.
i've been weaving a little on and off over the last few days, doing everything but throwing the shuttle with my left hand.so, last night my shoulder was a little sore (i'm still working on the huck towels and have to whack the weave pretty hard). i'm laying there trying to go to sleep thinking about my aching shoulder and it hit me...i'm not supposed to do anything with that arm at all that might put injury or stress to it! this is the side i had the lumpectomy four years ago.i'm not even to let anybody take bloodpressure there.
they also removed several affected lymphnodes then. so any stress or injury could cause my arm to swell up permanently. so now i'm really in a bind: do i risk the swollen arm (which is irreversible) or agravate the carpal to the point where i need surgery(which is 15%-90% succesfull, depending who you ask)?
my weaving future really looks bleak right now (there might be a loom for sale in the near future :'(
(Seems after a few days of light weaving my soreness is gone, maybe it will work out to the good !!)

meet Toby

meet the newest addition to our mini -farm:
TOBY:

isn't he handsome ?
he is a hand raised, domesticated wild tom turkey. my stepson brought him yesterday.
Toby knows his name and answers to it by gobbling( is this an actual word?) loudly.
He is a total people oriented bird, he slept on the porch in front of the door of my studio last night(of course he left a couple of not so pleasant gifts behind). he stays close to the house and when you come out or talk to him through the window he talks to you. he lost one of his tail feathers in a fight with the boss rooster shortly after getting here. Toby won :). well i better go hose off a certain porch .

p.s: i feel back to normal today , thanks to all the well wishers.

montezumas revenge...

this weekend was supposed to be filled with fun( taking the boat on the river and horseback riding ) but, instead i've been hugging and sitting on the porcelain throne since yesterday
morning .

i can confidently say that i'm clean through and through.
it's amazing how a little bug you can't even see can make you feel sooo crapy. at least this morning i feel somewhat better.right now i'm chewing on a dry piece of toast, hoping it'll stay down.
maybe this afternoon i'll be able to weave on my towels for a little bit.
right now though i think i will go and keep the couch company (maybe i can sit up without getting sick, that way i can knit a little).
looks like it's going to be another gorgeous day,80's, blue skyes,no wind, well i wont be enjoying it...

surgery?...

so i went to the bone and joint clinic and after some unpleasant tests was told that ,yes, i have tendonitis in my elbow and severe carpal tunnel syndrom ! the median nerve is not reacting at all.
so now i have the option to wear a brace and hope it will help ,(which will probably interfere with knitting(i know it will) and weaving ,not sure there, would have to try.spinning? i don't know, same , will have to try.
or.. surgery. ahhhh, i dont really want to.... but... if this brace will hinder me too much or the numbness problem will show up again, i probably will.
i am so tired of beeing cut on, poked at, scanned, x-raid, hurting.... this stupid cancer has already changed my life (and me ) so severely that i don't hardly know myself any more and now i cant even knit, spin, weave in peace. dang, i'm pooted !!!....
and then i'll have to get back with my regular doc to discuss what to do about the tendonitis. hopefully she can put me on ibuprofen, aleve,loracept, pot,morphine ... just kidding...or the dreaded shot in the joint :(
i've been weaving on and off since yesterday and so far it's not hurting. i do all i can with my left hand( i'll probably wear that one out too after a while) .
life really sucks most of the time....

new owl baby pics

just caught the mama and baby sunning. there seems to be one owlet, at least thats all i've seen so far.

SWEET!!!

I'm done with the towels!

i just cut them off the loom.

They came out a lot better than i'd hoped for. i'm tickled s%#tless .

I noticed one mistake where i missed a row, other than that the pattern is good.

my selvage is even, but i didn't use a floating selvege so the first thread on either side is loose in places, but i'll sew them over anyways so nobody will know but li'l ol'e me :)( and you of course ).

So, now i was going to weave a crossover scarf next ( i got all kinds of yarn horded for that one), but i think i will weave another set ( or two ) of towels first (those things are addictive!!).

i picked out the "friendship towels in huckaback" from the interweave press "design collection #18". so, off i go to figure out the warp and weft (skipping away ...tralalala....

Ps. so far no complaint from "the arm".

sock order finished...on to new project

I finally finished this huge sock order i've been working on for several weeks.
This is just half of it...


now i will try to finish the towels on the loom ( i hope my arm will be ok) and i already have picked out another set of towels using hand dyed 8/2 cotton yarn.
i also want to play with the little diy inkle loom i made a couple of weeks ago.
Plus i need to dye some yarn and card some fiber to stock up my store. and i need to wash all these pounds of raw fleece i have stashed away since last year plus i want to spin some too... so much to play with sooo little time...
i guess i start with the towels and get them off the loom first.
i got an appointment at the bone and joint clinic wednesday ,so i'll stress my arm a little the next couple of days and see if it flares up again, if it does i'll see what the bone doc has to say about it...

owl baby

I am happy to report that finally after several weeks of observation and waiting i caught a glimpse of at least one owl chick saturday.It's a little hard to see ( that's the best my camera can do)but it's the little light spot in the middle, little round face ,two dark eyes. I can see it much better with the binoculars. It should be much better to get some decent pictures in a couple of weeks when i can get closer ( right now i don't want to spook the parents).

WISHING EVERYBODY A HAPPY EASTER

home made inkle loom...

I found this diy inkle loom in the new march/april #144 issue of hand woven magazine.since i will be unable to use my big loom for awhile yet, i thought this would give me a chance to weave a little (also will make a good , very inexpensive sampler loom).

So i went to Lowes and got all the parts, i spend $13 and some change on them.

Cut the pieces as instructed.....

and put them together...

i then tied the heddles and there it is, ready to go....

took about 20 minutes to make.

as soon as i get a minute i'll warp it. this should quench my weaving hunger a little until i can get back to the big one...

after the storm...

Just a couple of pic's i want to share i made yesterday of the most stunning sunset i've ever seen, the whole sky was on fire..

.

Owl update

I just took a peek at our owl mama and as usual she's peeking right back at me... I dont know how long the incubation time is for an owl (21 days like a chicken?) but i expect little ones any day now.

Daddy owl is taking good care of her and brings her food daily.Poor thing hasnt left the nest in over 20 days but for very short breaks , just a couple of minutes at the time,i guess to get her a drink.will update when babys show...

Good news...

Well' i'm back from the doctors office and as i thought i've got a tennis elbow due to the pushing down of the levers.
But... it can be fixed :).
I've got a six day supply of a cortisone medication that will,hopefully, cure the inflamed nerves in my arm. If that does not work or it comes back i'll have to get a shot right into my joint, yes i know, i don't like that thought either, so we opted for the less painfull option first.But i was told that the shot more than likely will fix the problem permanently if not at least for 6-12 month.
Nonetheless i see a foot operated loom in my future.
I'll have to lay off weaving for the next 8-10 days to let this heal and then i can get back to it... (doing the happy dance..).
So meanwhile i just have to entertain myself knitting, speaking of which i better get to it...

Weavers elbow?

So now i got a problem.
Seems that pushing the levers on my loom has given me a weavers elbow(that's what i call it, same as a tennis elbow , but since i don't play tennis...).
My right arm is in a throbbing pain radiating out to my fingertips and into my shoulder.
I noticed it first while i was weaving the peacock shawl but thought it was just soreness from the unaccustomed movement and would get better in time after i got used to it. Well it's gotten worse on top of the pain my whole right hand is constantly going to sleep.
I've made an appointment with my physician for this morning to see if there is anything that can be done about it short of quiting to weave.:(
If not i guess i'll have to sell my loom, save up some more money (which will take me forever, especially since hubster lost his work two weeks ago), and buy one with foot pedals.
I'm sooo pooted about this, i just want to cry...
Well, i better get ready to go see the Doctor, wish me luck, maybe they got something i can take to make the pain go away.