When It Rains...

It's been a bit crazy here.  Between my dad's death and his funeral, I ended up being admitted to the hospital with Atrial Flutter. It's kind of like the more common A-Fib, but I'm way too queasy to explain the difference to you. What I can tell you is that when your heart isn't working right, you feel just awful!

The good news is that it can be fixed with a procedure call ablation. The bad news is that I am so queasy that I almost passed out when the cardiologist tried to explain the procedure to me. "I usually don't put patients out for this," he said, "but I think I'm going to have to in this case." I second that!

My dad as a boy. I think his openness and sweetness really shows itself.

I was out of the hospital in time for the funeral. For the first time, I really understood the Jewish tradition of family and friends placing the first shovelfuls of dirt on the coffin. There is something very comforting about being part of that process, although it was extremely emotional for my mom.

He hasn't been his "real" self for many years, but the finality of death is always difficult to grapple with.  He was a kind, smart, funny man who wanted to help others. One of our struggles after the dementia set in was that he wanted to donate insane amounts of money to public schools and other good causes. His goodness was appreciated in my hometown, so the funeral was well-attended. It was a fitting end to a life well-lived.

Because it was such a crazy week, I don't feel like the loss has hit me fully yet.

As you can imagine, I have not gotten much knitting done. It is taking me forever to finish the second sleeve on my Vodka Lemonade sweater ... but I'm almost there!

This weekend I've been reading blogs and enjoying catching up with you!

It's Always a Surprise

It's been almost exactly a month since I last posted.

I hope to be back online soon, but for the next week I'll be focused on my family. After a decade of struggling with dementia, my father passed away this morning. It was surprise. In my experience, it always is. My first father-in-law was in a coma for days before he died, and still it was a shock when he left us.

Out of respect for my dad, I haven't said much about his illness. It has been a very difficult decade. He suffered from frontal-temporal dementia, and it turned the sweetest man in the world in to a very angry person. The kind, funny, smart man who raised me hasn't been around for quite a few years.

He is in a better place. I will always miss him.

Finally Some FOs...and a Start

I started out 2018's Secret Sock Society run by the talented Helen Stewart with great enthusiasm, but I've gotten distracted by embroidery and quilting. Still, I completed a second pair of the Winter Rose socks. 

This pair is gray and is for me. This is a great pattern than I highly recommend. It does require you to knit 3 stitches together occasionally, but you get used to it.

Don't faint from surprise, but I have a second FO. This is a Sockhead Slouch Hat. 

It takes some time because it's knit in fingering weight, but it is perfect for a gorgeous gradient skein. I used yarn from Knit Circus. Truly perfect mindless knitting!

As for my start, I have to thank Kathy B! I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner that my father needs a Twiddle Muff. 

He does indeed have restless hands, so I'm hoping this will keep him happy once I add some texture, bobbles, and i-cords.

If he likes it, I may knit up a few more for other residents in the Memory Unit.

Busy, Busy, Busy

The combination of school starting, the High Holy Days, and another health issue made September an absolutely exhausting month for me.

Still, there were plenty of good times. I love the services, and my friend Richard always makes amazing challahs for the Yom Kippur Break Fast. Those white dots you see are coconut. It turns out that coconut challah is delicious.

And we always have a good time eating in the Sukkah, which is in a friend's back yard. Usually we freeze while we eat in it, but this year the weather was warm and the problem was mosquitos!

School is as crazy as ever, but I am lucky to work with great colleagues and kids. I enjoy it, but there's just too much of it. When I come home, I'm drained and all I want to do is knit. So, I have made some progress on my Vodka Lemonade sweater.

I'm getting close to the end of my chaotic embroidery project. I'm just finishing up the white background, like this:

I just don't like the way it looks on white fabric:
 
Nancy asked me what kind of embroidery hoop I use. Until recently, I used the cheap plastic ones from Joanne Fabric and other big box stores. But I've discovered Morgan hoops:

This is the best hoop I've ever used. By far. It is truly a no-slip hoop. I found mine at a local fabric store, but I've since learned you can buy them online from a number of sources, including Joanne Fabric.

As for the health issue: Did you know that if you see flashing lights in the periphery of one of your eyes you need to get medical attention immediately? I didn't. Fortunately, my friends did. I do have some attachment issues with my right eye, but not a full retina detachment (whew!). 

Keith and I were going to go away for my birthday weekend, but the weather is rainy, so we decided on a staycation. (Six years to Medicare -- Yay!) I also want to take a vacation from Supreme Court news. I am so upset that a man who was part of such a drunken, sexist group of young people could even be considered for a lifetime job on the highest court. I work with hundreds of young people every year, and very few of them would even want be part of the 100-Keg Club. That behavior is neither normal nor acceptable. That's all I'm saying. I'm on staycation!

Chipping Away

 In the whirl of school and the holidays, I haven't had much time for crafting or blogging or blog reading -- though I've squeezed in a bit of that. I have chipped away at a few projects during my morning coffee.

I'm almost to the heel flap of my Winter Rose socks.

My unnamed embroidery is getting more filled in.

I made my sketch group for the first time in months at a cafe in Verona, a Madison suburb.

The cafe where we sketched had this sign:

I have to mention that there's a yarn store in Verona. My friend wanted to go in, so we did...and I came out empty-handed. No yarn was acquired!

This weekend I'll be cooking for the Yom Kippur break fast that I host every year. It's always fun, but it's a big event and it's a relief when it's over.

It's THAT Time of Year

Well, it is if you're a teacher. Today was freshman-only day, and I'm exhausted! I did stay late for an IEP meeting, so that doesn't help. But I'm excited for tomorrow when the rest of my students show up. I want to hear how their summers were.

 There hasn't been a lot of time for crafting. My weekend was busy with driving to a family gathering in Chicago and working. But I did finish a Winter Rose sock and get a start on the second one.

 And I assembled another mini-quilt. I want to go through the whole process soon -- before I forget everything I learned at the workshop in August.

And along with the start of school, the High Holy Days start at sundown on Sunday. I took this photo of our communal granddaughter at services this past weekend. I told her that we stored all the good girls on this shelf, and she climbed right in!

I'm hoping to get back to work on my Vodka Lemonade sweater this week. Do you have any projects that you've been neglecting?

Unravelled Wednesday.

I've added a few inches to my slouchy hat, some of which was done during professional development. The knitting actually helps me pay attention.

I finished reading Sisters by Lily Tuck, which is really just a novella, which is not about sisters at all. It's about the second wife of a man who is obsessed with his first wife. I'd recommend it.

I chanced on I Await the Devil's Coming by Mary MacLane at a small bookstore in Minneapolis, and I could not resist it. It's a diary written by a young woman in Montana in 1903. She is depressed and lonely, but also believes herself to be a genius. The book was a sensation when it was published -- a time when confessional writing wasn't done, especially by women. It's short, yet it is dragging because there is no plot at all. More of a curiosity than a real book.

Our cats are usually near one another, although not usually this close. Nagi regularly grooms Kola, but I've never seen her return the favor.  

I'm joining Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.

Back to Stitching

On Monday, we had torrential rains in Madison like we've never seen here. Many businesses are closed; lots of basements are flooded. So far, we haven't had any water in our house. And the levels of the four lakes in the city limits are still rising. 

This is one of the roads that Keith bikes. It's hard to believe so many people don't accept climate change as real. 

With more rain predicted for tomorrow, the danger is far from over. I plan to stay home, do some cleaning, and hopefully have creative time

I do have a knitted FO to share with you. This is my second Quill, a Taproot pattern, in Cascade 220. It's a pretty fast knit.

 I just love the gansey texture.

And my workshop quilt is officially done. This is the first quilt I've successfully quilted on a machine, and I am very proud of my crooked lines.

It's not a crooked as it looks. Some of the crookedness is the way I took the photo.

I've been working a lot on this embroidery piece. It may look familiar. Actually, it's new; but its partner is being framed. One just wasn't enough.

When I'm done with the color, I'll fill in the rest with white. I love the look of fabric that is 100% embroidered.

I go back to work full time on Monday with mixed feelings. I enjoy the students and the teaching, but there's always the paperwork hanging over my head. It reminds me of being in college and having homework all the time!

The End of Summer

Although we don't get paid until next week, I am one of many teachers who have been showing up at school. For me, it is worthwhile to start on the paperwork and make get-acquainted calls to my new students and parents.

So, now it seems like ages since my wonderful week Up North with Joni, shown here with her quilt:

I can't say enough good things about Judy Coates Perez, our teacher, or Chris Daly, owner of Woodland Ridge Retreat. It was a week of being pampered in a beautiful setting, learning and exploring, and making new friends. I can't think of anything more wonderful!

Judy and Chris

There are trails right outside the retreat, which is nestled in the woods. One morning, I snapped this photo of a swallowtail:

Before we went to Woodland Ridge, Joni and I had a few days in Minneapolis. Right in the middle of the city is a park with the Minihaha Falls.

My favorite clothing designer, Gudrun Sjoden, just happened to be featured at the Swedish American Institute.

I loved the exhibit because it showed her process:

Most of all, I loved having a week with my best friend!

You Have To Remember...

...that I had to cancel my travel plans last summer and the summer before that due to surgeries. So when I tell you that I am at an art retreat -- after my other trips -- don't judge me too harshly. I've never traveled this much, so it feels a bit weird to me.

Judy is an incredibly generous teacher.

That said, I am having an amazing time at a quilting retreat at Woodland Ridge Retreat in northeastern Wisconsin with Joni, my dear friend from California. I have wanted to take a class from Judy Coates Perez for years, so I jumped when I saw she was teaching in Wisconsin.

We have spent the week learning to dye and print cloth with acrylic inks. Here is one of my dyed pieces:

This is what it looked like after stamping and adding Thermofax images:

Today we pieced quilts. Most participants are experienced quilters making large projects, but Joni and kept our quilts small so that we'd be ready to quilt tomorrow. This is my quilt top:

The black-and-white fabrics are commercial, but I designed the rest. 

Woodland Ridge is an amazing place. Nestled in the woods at the edge of tiny Downsville, it has luxurious rooms with whirlpool baths. Breakfasts and lunches are included -- and have been healthy and delicious. I am not sure I have ever felt so pampered.

Small as Downsville is, there is a darling coffee shop where Joni and I go for coffee every morning:

It is going to be sad to say good-bye to all our new pals tomorrow when the retreat ends.