Painting

Took hours. I started before noon—with a good 20 minute soak of the shawl to get it good and wet—It really takes a long time for wool to be throughly wet. Then I squeezed out the excess water, and rolled the shawl in a towel to remove more water.

Previous to that, I had prepared my work area—the floor was cleared, vacuumed and washed, plastic put down, and then my styrene panels. Pins were at the ready, and the brushes, water and the paints.

Finally I spread the shawl on the prepared surface and stretched it out. I could have stretched and blocked it harder (It went from just short of 60 inches to 66 inches)But—my priority was painting, not blocking.

Still just pinning it out took an hour. By then, part of the shawl had already dried a bit—and so it got misted with water to re dampen.

Then came the painting. I started in the center, and worked my way out—Reaching to the center (from the side) was possible, but starting on the second tier--(second chart, too) I had to get up, walk around the perimeter, and re-position my self. The third and forth tier needed several re-positioning maneuvers.

And by the fourth (outer most) tier, a re-misting—too. By that time (3 hours later!) part of the shawl were in direct sun light—and drying out faster than other--an open door to the outside (terrace) and nice breeze contributed to the quick drying.

I wasn't done with the painting till close to 4PM—and by then I was exhausted!

Tuesday evening I went to knit night—and was already feeling the effects of all the squatting, bending, twisting and reaching—both my legs and my back were registering their disapproval of the afternoons work.

Yesterday—(and today) I still have residual discomfort--I am feeling my age--(this would have never bothered me in the past)--but on the other hand--it's not so bad---I took some aspirin to sleep--but I really wasn't in pain all day--and was able to get stuff done--some discomfort, yes, but agony? NO.

But—who cares? Like Monet said, the pain passes, and beauty remains. I love the results. The colors are paler and more muted than on the swatch—but the results are still glorious. I won't steal the show at my daughters wedding (Her dress? Stunning, breathtakingly stunning!)--but I won't be a wall flower either!

I coddled my aching body yesterday—and realized, by the uncomfortable tickle in the back of my throat, that I have caught a cold--that is just starting.   A second good reason to take some ease. And some Vitamin C—I swear by extra Vit. C for a cold—not mega doses—but rather small ones--(100mg)--but 1 dose every hour. This keeps my body  awash with plenty of the vitamin. 

Mega doses really don't work as well--your body excretes the excess-and it can only really use 60 to 100mg in an hour.  Many small doses are really much more effective than a single large dose.  

It might be just wishful thinking on my part—but I am convinced it works. It's not harmful, its cheap enough—and it makes me feel better. But between the achy feeling in my legs and back, and the uncomfortable feeling in the back of my throat--I didn't do much yesterday.  Well I returned the living room to a semblance of order—the blocking bits are put away, area rug is back in place--(but the vacuum and mop still haven't been put away--but then I have more cleaning to do--you might remember--I just repaired my vacuum 2 weeks ago--so there is a backlog of cleaning to do)

Mostly what I did was admire my handy work! (and made frequent checks to Facebook and Ravelry to garner praise.) I don't feel much worse today--but different.  My legs and back are less painful, but my nose is a bit congested--and I am sneezing and showing other symptoms of a cold.   I plan to take it easy the next few days—I don't want to have anything more than a cold--(no complications of nasal infections, or bronchitis.)

I got a little bit more of the Diamond Brocade Vest done last night—skein 4 has bit the dust—and the length is just past 9 inches—This is working out fine. One more skein for length--before I divide up the work into fronts, armholes and back.  I'll have half the wool (5 full skeins) to work the top 8 or so inches--with plenty left over for binding the armholes and other finishing details.  It will end up being a nice long vest—and I'll have it finished just in time for the cooler weather.

Today the plan is to continue to take it easy—but also to get some sewing done--(there is this dress I need to make!) I can't just wear the shawl alone!

This weekend is the NYC Makers Faire—I am volunteering to work (teaching Knitting for the TNNA)

and my DIL Sonya will be in town, too.  -(She is a Maker at the fair) If I want to have energy for this weekend, I need to take care of myself for the next few days.