Many of you know about Purl’s swallowing problem. She coughs, gags and tries to swallow many times before she can swallow one little piece of puppy food and chokes when she drinks, with water running out of her nose because most of it doesn’t go down her throat. She has had this problem since the day I got her. At first I thought it was a matter of finding the right food, but nothing made it easier for her. Then I hoped very much that as she got bigger it would get better. That hasn’t happened. Then I was ready to just do the very best I could for her and try to keep her as healthy as it was possible for her to be, despite the threat of choking that hovers over her every time she eats.
Now, though, through the research efforts of Janice Starsnic (retired M.D. and fortunately experienced in researching symptoms), we think that the problem is a very rare congenital condition called cricopharyngeal achalasia, which happens when a muscle involved in swallowing either doesn’t relax or relaxes at the wrong time, thereby trapping food between her mouth and esophagus. If this is what she has, there’s a good chance that fairly straightforward surgery will be possible to open up that muscle and allow her to eat normally. So this week she’s going to Metropolitan Veterinary Hospital in Trooper to see an internist and start the process of diagnosing and, I so hope, correcting the problem. I’m so eager/anxious about it that it seems even harder to have hope that she’ll be able to eat normally and live a regular life rather than being resigned to her having a very difficult life.
Okay, enough about Purl, I only wanted to update everyone who knows her about what’s going on.
So, what’s new at the shop, Trish? Well, I finished the Mythos Cardigan in the Bamboo I talked about about last post and it turned out great. I love it!
It’s an intermediate project because the back is grafted together and there are short rows to shape the bottom, but if you’re comfortable with those techniques, it’s fairly simple. And if you’re not comfortable with them, maybe it’s time to learn! The yarn is just what you want for a summer yarn. I liked it so much, I just ordered a bunch more, something I rarely do for summer yarns since they usually fail to thrill me. This is a good one, possibly great!
Okay, I had to show you that first because it’s the only darn thing I accomplished over the last several weeks. There is not a lot of concentrated knitting being done in my house right now because of you-know-who. Fortunately we have many wonderful projects to show you from our talented customers!
Mary Ann Posey made two more of her lovely beaded lace shawls, one in pink with pearls and one in blue with dark blue beads. They are lovely!
Anne Nordhoy is another fabulous knitter. She made this lovely classic jacket from an old favorite book of mine: The Best of Knitter’s: Jackets. The projects from the old days of Knitter’s Magazine, when it was the best on the market.
Gorgeous!
Danielle Smith has been busy at work and we haven’t seen too much of her lately, but she’s knitting, using up some of the beautiful yarns she has stashed over the years. Here are pretty cowls she made from a few skeins of Manos Wool Clasica:
Lory Fleischer made another sweet little dress for her granddaughter (you remember the little red sailor dress from the last post?) Here is the front:
And here is the back, with the perfect buttons!
Too cute for words!
Heather Christie is a new knitter who is so in love with it that she can’t stop! She just finished Janet’s Felted Tote class, and look at the tote she designed and how put-together she looks:
If I could get out of the house looking so coordinated just once, I would consider it a red-letter day! More next week…
Trish
