Yesterday's mail brought 3 new patterns from Halcyon Yarn (another favorite - fast shipping, very nice company). I am not one to re-invent the wheel without looking around to see if somebody else has a wheel I like. I wanted to make a rectangular shoulder wrap, a cabled tea cosy, and some felted animals, and found the following patterns which were just what I was looking for: this wrap Cupid's Arrow Shoulder Wrap, this tea cosy pattern Braided Cable Tea Cosy, and these cute little guys: Felted Llamas.

Back when I first got into felting as an addiction, oh, probably 2+ years ago now, I bought some Baabajoe's Wool Pak at my LYS. Didn't like the felt for wearable items - too hairy for my taste. But the colors are cream and gray, and the hairiness would be perfectly suited to these llamas. The tea cosy is just what I had imagined when I started noodling around with the idea of making one, and now I don't have to do all the trial-and-error of figuring out a pattern myself. Lazy? Yes, I am.


I've finished another six mice and two Pink Lady bags. The last of my Threadbear order - the lovely pink, goes onto the needles later today for the last of that batch of bags. I may have a bag or two in me after that, but then I think it will be time to move on to different small, portable projects. The lighting where I sit in the nursing home isn't good enough for socks, and the knitting conditions aren't good for complicated patterns, so it is somewhat challenging to find the right sort of "mindless, but not too mindless, portable, easy to see, and yet still useful," patterns. Hence, mice and bags for the craft table. It gets me through the day.


I spoke to the kids yesterday, so here's the public update on my husband's condition - he alternates between sleeping deeply and periods in which he's awake, but floating in and out of hallucinations. This is a common thing when one is near the end of life, however, it's a bit complicated in his case because the brain mets could be causing the hallucinations, so it's not necessarily a signal that the end is that imminent in his particular case. His vital signs are still strong. It appears that it will be soon, though. I hope it will be, this nightmare has gone on far too long. His pain appears to be managed well, and I can't say enough good things about the staff at that nursing home. The facility is old and a bit ratty looking, but the staff is first rate. I wish he could be here at home, but it's just not possible with his physical care needs - he needs round-the-clock more-than-one-person care, and home hospice can't staff me with help to do it here. Fortunately, his mental state means that he's not really aware of how often I'm there or not, and I have no indication that he misses me when I'm not there - he greets me by name, but he's mostly in his own world at this point. Still, it's difficult to deal with the reality of keeping the rest of life going - paying bills, dealing with the administrative aspects of his care (a full time job in itself at times), taking care of the house and the animals, checking in at the office, etc., and spending as much time as possible with him, without burning myself out. The repetitive motion of mindless knitting is the best stress reliever under these circumstances, I can't imagine what I'd do if I didn't knit, and I'm not kidding.