Two Sample Shawls Plus Unexpected Skin Surgery

 This weekend I added two sample shawls to my knitting basket.  Here they are:

The photo is not ideal but maybe you can enlarge it.

The brown shawl is sort of like the Outlander-Inspired Shawl for 18-Inch dolls.    I made a few small changes to suit me a little better.  The main change was that I slipped the first stitch purl-wise every row to get a nice chain-like edging.  Since I will use this as a sample, but also as a shawl for one of our Emotional Support Chickens, I knitted about 20 garter ridges then did the bottom eyelet edging, knitted one additional row then bound off loosely.  It came out okay.

The green shawl is also a sample for my friend to choose from when she chooses her shawl pattern.  This shawl is simply the increase rows of Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth then one row of eyelet stitches then binding off loosely.  It also is about 20 garter ridges and will be for another Emotional Support Chicken.  They need their shawls for their own emotional support!!  At least I like to think so...

This was a fun weekend evening project though it would probably have been better to spread out the knitting joy a little...

So about the unexpected skin surgery:  I spoke of it on The Country Wife From Vermont YouTube channel last week if you want to hear it "live"!  Here are the basic details: I went to the skin doctor for the annual "naked" appointment--my mother died of malignant melanoma which spread to her lungs and then to her brain, and since I have a ton of moles, I go every six months to be checked.  Once a year there is an ignominious full-body check.  Last week was the day.  I got there and was helped up onto the bench (I waited for help since good balance is no longer my middle name...) and he started the exam.  A minute or so into the exam he asked if there was anything  new or different.  Well, yes.  The day before my left ear was itchy so I scratched  it and found a smallish lump/bump which I scratched all day and into the day of the appointment.  He looked at it and said, "Huh!  Would you mind if we took that off?  It might be nothing, but it might be something."  Well, what would you do?!!  So I said go for it.  So he did.  

The wound is supposed to Vaselined and covered until it heals or until I hear from the office about the biopsy results.  Of course, you will know how well the bandage sticks to skin with Vaseline on it...so it is now healing in the open air.  If you are a medical person and think I should do something else, please let me know!  Many thanks.

So that is the newsy bits  front from the South today. I hope all is well with you and your family as you are reading this.