March 2007Monthly Archives

Sorry I haven’t updated in so long. The past month has been a bit rough for me both physically and emotionally. I’m hanging in there though. There’s going to be lots of little updates in this entry just because it’s been so long since I’ve updated. Sorry for not giving more details on things, but if you have any questions, just ask in a comment or email and I’ll get back to you.

On the stitching front, I’ve done some more work on Taj Mahal. Here is my latest progress pic at 66 hours of stitching time:

I’ve also been stitching on The Token by Long Dog Samplers. I don’t have a progress pic on it yet because I’ve just started working on it. I’m stitching it over 2 on 40-count Vintage Basketweave Lakeside Linen using Vikki Clayton’s Kodiak Bear 5141 (formerly Wenge). I really love how it’s looking so far. I’ll try and take a picture soon.

I’ve also been learning needlepoint/counted canvas. I’m really loving it! It’s been a nice change of pace from cross stitch and I love all the texture you can create with it. I have an ornament happy dance already and will soon have a sampler finished as well. Here are a couple of pictures: (I’ve actually done quite a bit more on the sampler, but this is my most current pic.)

My next project is going to be a Halloween piece called Pumpkin Patch. It’s an absolutely adorable piece with 3 pumpkins on it and a glow-in-the-dark moon done in a big Jessica stitch. Here is a picture of my fiber toss and canvas for that piece:

I got lots of goodies from the birthday exchange I’m in this year. Rather than posting a lot of individual pictures, I’m just going to post a link to that album in my photo gallery. I did get one other gift from Wendy, but I’ve not gotten a picture uploaded yet. She set me several skeins of overdyed fibers. There is also a picture there of the package I sent to Jenny for her birthday earlier this month. Here’s the link:

Birthday Exchange Album

Lastly, on the medical front — I had my latest appointment with my neurosurgeon yesterday. He finally got the MRI films from the orthopedist and had a chance to review them. It turns out that not only do I have one herniated disc in my neck, I have two! I also have a pinched ulna nerve in my right elbow that’s been causing all the numbness in my right hand. So, I have the joy of needing two surgeries. If at all possible, he’s going to try and do them both on the same day. He will do the spinal fusion first and if everything goes normally and there are no complications, he’ll do the elbow surgery after that. I’m not sure yet exactly when it will be, but it shouldn’t be too long. It will take 7-10 days for the approval from the insurance company to come through and then we’ll schedule an actual date for the surgery. He said I should expect a recovery period of around 12-14 weeks. I’m trying not to let myself be too anxious about it, but it’s hard not to worry when one knows they’ll be going under the knife.

Well, I guess that’s it from me for now. Happy stitching!