Finally - I stitched the buttons on

Finally - after 3 or 4 days of just looking at the black cardigan I stitched on the buttons. I am not a particularly good sewer upper, no matter how hard I try, which is probably why I am such a convert to Doris Chan's patterns as there are very few seams (if any) to sew up on any of her garments. I try hard to match patterns up at seams and sew tails in securely but I invariably have little sprouts of tails that work there way to the right side resisting all attempts to darn them in up, down and sideways. Short of superglue I guess it is something I have to put up with.

The cardigan is crocheted in Sirdar Wash n'wear 4ply which isn't perhaps the prettiest of yarns to look at, and maybe shunned by some as it is all acrylic, but I would recommend it for durability. It has been a best seller for years and it's no wonder. It truly does wash and wear. I used to use it for my son in 4ply and DK when he was young and his sweaters used to come out of the washer, without pilling, and look good despite his rough handling. I have garments in my wardrobe that I made 15 - 20 yrs ago that I can put on and know that they still look good and I could not say that about a lot of the luxury yarns.

Yesterday I went to the hospital (Thanks for the lift Deb you were a lifesaver) for a spinal appointment. The specialist did look at my knee for me and agreed that all is not well. He wouldn't, of course, comment upon the operation but said the scans and X rays of my knee were not good and in fact the cartilage was non existent and it's just bone rubbing on bone in the knee plus I have grade (some number - 3 perhaps?) arthritis which is the worst that it can get. He also examined my wrist and thumbs and said arthritis was in there as well. He is going to get in touch with my GP about changing my medication to something suitable for arthritis as I mentioned my Gp was reluctant to prescribe when he didn't know the results of my bone scan tests. The good news was that the bone scan showed that my hips are OK at the moment ( Thank goodness for small mercies)

My Neoprene knee support arrived yesterday and whilst it is too soon to say it is making a big difference I do feel more supported when I walk and am hopeful of it making a difference to my distance walking. I am a hobbling advert for Neoprene supports at the moment. As I refuse to stop crocheting, no matter how much my wrists ache, I am sporting wrist straps as well when I am crocheting. At least they are all navy blue so I do co-ordinate.

We had a bit of a floor show at the hospital which passed away the waiting time. Some poor guy slid off his wheelchair and had a really bad fit. He was rolling around and thrashing about. The medical staff came running to try to help him but they got accidentally kicked as they tried to stop him from hurting himself on chairs and pillars. A friend of mine is epileptic but she has never fitted as badly or violently as he did. I do have a black sense of humour and although I was concerned about him I could see the funny side. Luckily there were not many people in the waiting area but the staff are asking us to move out of his way as the chairs were getting kicked etc and as it was an orthopedic clinic is was funny to see people trying to hobble out of the way quickly. They put screens around him for his privacy but he kept kicking out at these and one almost fell on Deb so we had to move even further away. If it hadn't have been serious it was like a scene from a Carry On Film as staff were dashing about with pillows putting them in front of anything that he might hit his head on. Eventually he stopped fitting and everything calmed down. Deb said she heard him tell the staff that he wasn't an epileptic when they asked him about his medication so I don't know exactly what happened to him but the staff took him off to be examined. If it was his first fit at least he picked the right place to have it with all the medical help at hand. If he had been in the street he could have been badly injured.

The sun is shining today so I do hope that we have a better day than yesterday. I am off now to don my wrist straps and do a bit of crochet as not a lot gone done yesterday. Tomorrow I will post some photos of the blue All Shawl. I had an e mail from Lisa yesterday to say that she has got the Granny Takes a Trip jacket (I had left it with Bev as Lisa was away) and is thrilled with it.