It's been six months or so since my last post. Why? I've asked myself that often throughout the spring and summer. Not much to write about I'd like to remember later, I guess.
I was able to make it to Convergence in Wichita, Kansas earlier in the summer. I had a seminar first session on the first day of the event. I only stayed a couple of days because of the pain I'll describe next.
Mostly I'd like to forget some of the months of the past year as I've continued to work through problems resulting from hip replacement surgery I had last year. Since then I've had ongoing pain that the orthopedic surgeon could not (or would not) address. Seeking relief from the pain, my primary care physician referred me to a rheumatologist who gave me tests for RA and lupus, among other things. After multiple blood work showed high inflammation markers, she sent me for an MRI that showed inflammation in the hip and thigh. Finally, some clues—after weeks of PT last summer following the surgery, and months of visits and assurances from the man who did my hip replacement surgery that it "just takes time in some cases" for the pain to go away, I found another surgeon. And it turns out I have (and probably have had) an ongoing infection in the joint, the source of the inflammation and ongoing pain.
I've started suppressive antibiotic therapy with an infectious disease specialist recommended by the new orthopedic surgeon. This is in hopes it will keep infection at bay and allow me to avoid a revision surgery (something that sounds ghastly since it involves not one but two surgeries, including removing the existing replacement joint, putting in a temporary one for a few months with antibiotic spacer, then removing it and inserting a new prosthesis—all with no guarantee that I wouldn't develop yet another infection!)
Creative thoughts and actions have definitely taken back seats in my life during this past year. But, thankfully, I was able to finish work on my new book from Schiffer Craft, Marking Time with Fabric and Thread: Calendars, Diaries, and Journals, that will be out in October. I've also written an article about plain weave inlay for Little Looms magazine that will be published next year.
Slowly I've continued to work on the large tapestry that's been on the loom for over two years now, although that's on hold again since I've been told not to weave while I have the peripheral IV line in my arm for daily antibiotic infusion for the next four weeks. But I am continuing my tapestry diary work on a daily basis. But that's about it.
Here's the tapestry as it stands now, a little over half-way up the 72" height. It's 45" wide.
The monthly images in this year's tapestry diary is about the seasonal changes of kudzu. I'm working on seed pods for September, getting a little of it done each day and not straining my arm much.
Before the antibiotic infusions were started last week I was able to get to the Lillian Smith Center for several days. I worked more with gel prints, doing many leaf stencils and layering each print a number of times. I cut up several of those to weave with and then others I turned into small booklets. Those are samples for ideas to use in a class Dana Wildsmith and I will be teaching at John Campbell Folk School next August. I'm looking forward to working with Dana and seeing what we can come up with that might inspire students with both written words and weaving. The course description will be listed sat the JCCFS website later.
So, here's hoping for success with the antibiotic suppressive therapy and that I'll be back to creative fighting form soon. And maybe even writing blog posts more often!
Happy Fall Season!
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