My Left Thumb and Aja

Here is a bit more of what has filled my time since July

 from the perspective of my Left Thumb.

(Yes, my left thumb!)

My left thumb has registered a significant objection recently.  Who knew that it had opinions!?!  That is an unfortunate evolution because I am in the thick of crocheting 2 sizable projects which I have every intention of finishing and I suspect my new craze - crocheting - is the cause of this thumb revolt. All my other fingers are agreeable to my creative needs.  Since my thumb seems to be full of opinions lately, I thought I would give it an opportunity to express some of them now.

So here we go!

Annie Crochet Striped Afghan Club in Plumberry - almost done.  (Vote from the thumb 👎)

I am nearing the end of this project. I was really drawn to this club because not only did you get a the yarn and pattern instructions for 3 different stripes once a month, but you are given access to the video tutorials.  For me the video tutorials were invaluable. 

I have learned a lot using this club, but I am still not comfortable with the written instructions or the crochet charts with all the odd ball graphic designs the look like Chinese picture writing to me.  Regardless, I love working on this blanket and would consider another Annie’s Club - maybe a knitting club. (from the thumb 👍)

One last pleasant discovery.  The acrylic yarn used is Premier Anti Pilling Everyday Worsted.  I had never heard of it before, but the colors are pure, the feel is very natural, there is no splitting and the stitches are sharp in definition.  My favorite acrylic now.  And it can be found at various yarn websites.

Queen Blanket (vote from my thumb 👎) 

This blanket made with mosaic crochet looks intricate but really it is so simple. The technique of mosaic crochet is a bit time consuming and the size makes this a long term project.  Still, the result is eye catching and very enjoyable to work on. The will be a very big project and will take more than a year so more crocheting is in my future (from the thumb 👎!!!)

Shelley Scarf/Wrap (vote from the thumb 👍)

My left thumb loves this project so I’ve made a lot of progress on this knitted project. 

This project has a simple 2 row repeat and one row is a purl row.  How simple can it get!  Apparently, for me, the simpler the pattern, the more likely mistakes occur.  Luckily, it is fairly forgiving pattern as it is pretty easy to correct a mistake in the previous row from the purl row.  In fact, if you use the right yarn - mistakes can be corrected anywhere in the pattern.  I had to make 2 corrections by actually sewing up errors  (almost like darning) with a separate piece of yarn and weaving in those ends.  Once done, it is pretty invisible.  In a solid color, that might not work, but my yarn has variations of shades.

And now on to my little Princess 👍👍👍:

AJA

Aja is so much fun. Little habits that she repeats and trusted moments that she dispenses (when the time is right for her, of course) are lovely to see. Her latest game is playing catch with our feet as we walk.. Claws are in - and she does a tap tap on our ankles. If you turn, she stops, looks, then runs away. Sort of a version of the game of Tag. At first we didn’t know what she was doing. But she does it frequently with both of us.  

She also is fond of jumping onto my lap in the evenings.  It is pretty much the only pictures I get.  And she doesn’t really care if you have knitting or a computer on your lap.  When she is coming up - she is coming!

When Aja was new to us she was a little 'black box' that was filled with mystery.  When you get a kitten, their black box is totally empty (sort of like their kitten brain - totally empty.) 😁  Adult cats have stuff hidden in their black box.   In her early days with us I made contact with her previous owner through Facebook.  We had a few lovely messages back and forth, and I learned a lot about Aja that she was keeping hidden.  From those Facebook chats there is a phrase that is stuck in my head.  But her previous owner said, “Thank you for giving her a chance.”  Awww ... 

"Giving her a chance...”  I guess that is what it looked like we were doing.  But what Aja and her previous “mama” could not know was - this wasn’t a “chance.”  There was no chance that it might not work out.  There was no “chance” that we would return her to the shelter (which I am quite sure does happen.)  Even if we would only have a marginal distant relationship with her, she was staying.  Aja landed in a home that didn’t rely on chances.  She was ours - for better or worse!  That is how we roll.

That’s all folks!!  

When she is done, she is done.  

I get tapped with her tail a few time in departing and then she is off to other things.

I am a persistent person - if it takes a year - if it takes 10 years, if I want to do something, I am going to do it.  And I wanted to conquer this little cat’s fear and distrust. And I think I have.  But that one comment has stuck with me anyway.  "Thank you for giving her a chance.”  Aja has proved she is worth many, many, chances.  As many chances as it takes - and almost all pets deserve that - unlimited chances because the circumstances of their past lives are really not of their making. She was lucky on several counts.  She had a good life before us and she has a good life now.  We love our little Aja, and I think she finally loves us.

I checked on Facebook and her former mama has removed her Facebook page content.  Only her name is there.  I left a message for her hoping she gets it.  I got the sense she really loved this little cat and was upset that Aja was in the shelter 2 weeks before someone took her.  I can’t imagine how hard it was to know her little Aja couldn’t make the move to another state with her.  I am hoping she remembers to check in on this blog to see how Aja is doing.  She is doing just great. (from the thumb 👍).

👍 

Now that I have given the stage (so to speak) to my left thumb, I am hoping that it will start to settle down.  A compression glove, cold packs, no crocheting for 3 weeks and regular applications of Penetrex (an inflammation cream) have had limited success.  Maybe giving it the opportunity to get a few things off its chest (do thumbs have chests?) will do the trick!

So what have I learned today.  Thumbs have opinions, perspectives and chests. Thumbs hate crocheting, but thumbs can’t speak so they are limited to emojis.  I have also learned to be grateful that this little 2-3 inch portion of my body is the only part putting up a fuss.  At my age, that is a fact to be celebrated.

(Now hunting around to find some wood to knock on!!!)