Can you believe this? I have been offered driver training by County Driver Training Ltd. in Weymouth Dorset. They are in the UK. I am in Baltimore, MD, USA.

Good heavens! What were they thinking?

Last May, when I was in the most manic phase of my recovery from ME-CFS, I could not sit still to stitch. I couldn’t bear to work on the Elizabethan embroidery I’d been laboring since January to learn. You may remember that hanging on my portable design board was a piece of orange silk scarf with some sample swatches of silks and some novelty threads. It had been there for a couple of years, I think, while I wondered what I might do with the materials. Here’s what it looked like.

Yesterday I finished the project I’ve been calling my crazy recovery improvisation. Now it looks like this. (Click to enlarge.)

You know that when I began, I had no idea of what I was doing. In fact, this piece is just a doodle cloth. There was never any design. Whenever I could make myself sit still long enough, I’d grab needle, thread, beads, or whatever came to mind and do something on this cloth. (By the way, every swatch, every patch, has been embellished.) I didn’t even count on keeping the darn thing. It was just a way to make myself do some stitching, something creative, something productive.

The closer I got to completion, however, the more I liked this crazy patchwork, this wild thing. So, how to finish it? How to make it presentable for display? It had to be stretched over foamcore to keep some of the sequin waste, motifs, and stitches in place. It couldn’t be a quilt-like wall hanging. It had to be firmly mounted. It also had to have a border, as I had stitched right up to the edges of the orange fabric. That made adding a border problematic. See what happens when I don’t plan?

I knew I wanted to use the purple scarf for the border, but it is thin silk, not sturdy enough in itself. I pulled out all my fusibles—6 or 7, looking for one that I could use to back the scarf.  No. Wouldn’t work.

I just folded the scarf so that I could use it doubled.

As you can see here, I had almost no margin of orange fabric to which to attach the border.

Moreover, the border fabric did not give me enough material to wrap around the foamcore and it is not strong enough to take the lacing to stretch the piece.  As backing and extension, I opted for more of my salvaged bedsheet. I hand-sewed strips of the cotton as extensions for the purple border, which then had to be hand-sewn to the orange fabric. Here’s the border, backed with white bedsheeting, pinned to the edge—barely.

With the border attached, I was ready to mount the piece over padded foamcore—padded with two layers of Pellon fleece, wrapped over the edges of the board and glued to the back. Then began the lacing. Does anyone know a better way of stretching a large work like this over mounting board? I used fine crochet cotton for the lacing and the biggest-eye needle I could find.

Using pins to hold the yarn/thread in place, I estimated how much I would need

And what a lot of loose “string” I had to deal with, repeatedly tangled, of course.

But here it is, successfully laced and stretched taut.

Now, with such an opulent front, I couldn’t leave the back like this. Did I have a piece of fabric large enough to cover the back? The first piece in my under-bed stash that caught my eye was Tibetan brocade, the kind that’s used to border thangkas. I’ve had it and some other pieces of Tibetan fabrics for years.

This brocade had to be hand-stitched to the wrapped-around border with the foamcore underneath. Not easy. Not easy.

And after I’d done that, I belatedly decided to put a label on it. I printed the label on cotton, then stitched over the printed letters and numbers. To attach the label, once again, I was stitching to fabric already stretched over board.

What a job of work I made for myself when I started this project—without a plan. Everything about it was so much harder to do than it would have been had I planned it out in advance, had I known what I was doing.

Nevertheless, I am surprised at how pleased I am with this project. Not elegant. Not, definitely not, impeccable stitching. Not refined. As far from Elizabethan embroidery as I could get with a needle and thread! Wild, exuberant, flamboyant. Crazy!

As crazy as I’ve been feeling since I began to recover. Though I am 100% functional, can do anything that my circumstances allow, I am still dealing with residual symptoms of ADHD—agitation and anxiety, restlessness, and difficulty getting to sleep. Some evenings I pace the hallways, sometimes seeing one or two other, perhaps equally frantic, inmates. I am not the calm, content, reclusive contemplative I was for 15 years or more. More work to be done, figuring this out.

Anyhow, my recovery crazy patchwork improvisation announces that I have recovered, right in the entry-way of our apartment. At Ernie’s suggestion, it is attached to the wall with Velcro.

Now I have to prepare to teach my course. I’m having even worse panic attacks!

Like Rembrandt, Cezanne, Van Gogh, and other great artists, I have had my work stolen.

(Click to enlarge.)

This crazy patchwork piece, which I blogged about here, was part of a touring exhibit in Australia, organized by The ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society of NSW.

You can see some of the exhibit, including my piece, at this YouTube clip

Last night I received a phone call from Sydney by a very concerned, upset woman who told me that my work had been stolen from a library where it was on display and where there had been hundreds of people viewing the exhibit.

My reaction was, “Somebody wanted it!” How exciting, having my work stolen.

I told her it was okay. I am not distressed about it. They should not be distressed about it. It was okay.

My piece has already been included in the book Creative for a Second.

Below is the caption that accompanied the patchwork piece in the exhibit.

Here’s my signature on the back of the piece.

As most of you know, this was a practice cloth! It was never intended to be mounted and displayed. It lived in a notebook until Kirrily Anderson saw a shot of it at my Flickr site and asked if she could use it.

Now, I hope, it has found a home where it will be enjoyed.

On Saturday I spent the afternoon at my daughter-in-love’s fitness studio, Transform Fitness, where she put me through a 90-minute workout. Throughout the workout, she was making notes, which she developed into a plan for me.

For the past six months or so, for half an hour after my swim, I have been doing abdominal and strengthening exercises, some remembered from post-partum days, some found online, and some I made up. I’ve been using a 7-lb dumbbell. Now, thanks to Anne, I have been given a customized workout program with instructions for doing the exercises correctly, with good form. (I love trying to do things correctly, with good form!)

My immediate objectives are to straighten my back, which has begun to curl old-lady-like, and to flatten my abdomen, which bulges, also old-lady-like. Anne added a long-term objective—the stronger I am, the healthier I’ll be, the less likely to have falls, the more functional as I continue to age.

By putting a folded blanket under my husband’s old stretching mat, I’ve made myself a floor mat to use instead of my bed.

Here’s my workout program.

MONDAY/WEDNESDAY/FRIDAY
Plank:
When you lower your buttocks to take the body to a parallel position with the floor, be sure to squeeze the abs, the gluteals, and the quadriceps very tight so the lower back does not take on the work.
HOLD plank for 15 seconds, rest in Prayer Position for 15 seconds, Repeat an additional 5 times.

Bicycle abs:
Whatever you had been doing, continue to do.

(In the picture of the mat, you can see my new 10-lb dumbbells under the chair on the left.)

Seated Overhead Press:
Sit upright in your chair in front of your mirror.  Hold the weights in your hands and position your palms so that they are facing the mirror.  Squeeze the shoulder blades together draw them down your back so that you chest lifts.  Push the weights straight up and slightly inward over your head.  Return to shoulder position.
Use your 7lb weights for the first 3 sets — 7lb x 10 repetitions x 2 sets   REST 30 seconds between each set.
Then use your 10lb weights for the next 3 sets — 10lb x 4 repetitions x 2 sets    REST 45 seconds between each set

Side bends with weight:
As best you can, use the mirror to be sure you are keeping your torso in line with your legs.
Hold your 7lb weight in your right hand.  Open your legs wide, keeping your feet parallel to each other.  Keeping the weight straight up, slowly bend to the side.  Allow your free hand to trace down your left leg to help keep your torso aligned.  Go directly to the side, do not allow the torso to come forward.  Squeeze the shoulder blades.
4 times  REST 30 seconds and repeat on the other side
REST 45 seconds and go through each side an additional 4 times but this time begin with the weight in the LEFT hand

Skater’s squat:
Be sure that you move the hip before you bend the knee and try to keep your body upright for as long as you can — do not pitch forward with the chest until you have to to balance the movement.  The free leg should travel behind you in a straight line, not curving inward or outward.  Keep the free leg bent.
4 squats on the right leg   REST 30 seconds
4 squats on the left leg      REST 30 seconds
Repeat 1-2 more times, each time alternating the starting leg.

(I’m doing this standing on the floor, on one leg.)

Triceps pressdown:
Attach the YELLOW tube high on the door, above your head.  Stand very close to the tube.  Bend the elbows and hold them tightly to your sides.  Do not let the elbows stray from your sides as you bend and extend the arms.  Stand up straight, with your shoulder blades squeezing together and your chest lifted.  Push the arms straight down by your sides.  Return to a ninety degree bend at the elbow.
10 repetitions x 3 sets   REST 30 seconds between each set

(For this exercise, I’m using these stretchy tubes:)

TUESDAY/THURSDAY/SATURDAY
Modified V-ups:
Begin with a v-sit balance on your tailbone.  SLOWLY lower your shoulders and your legs simultaneously until you are nearly parallel to the floor (bed), then thrust up to catch your legs back in the v-sit position.  REST a moment.  Repeat 5 more times.
Then do the modified v-sit that you showed me as many times as you are used to doing.

Modified fish:
This is the exercise that you made up to target your pelvic region.  Do this exercise as you have been.

Single-leg reach:
Stand up tall.  Take one foot off the floor and bend forward from the hip to reach the hand to the floor.  Bring yourself back to standing upright.  As you get good at this exercise, keep the foot off the floor throughout the entire set.  In the beginning, let the foot come to the floor each time you return to upright.
4 times each leg x 2 sets  No rest necessary unless you need it
Go slow on this exercise, it is about finding internal balance.

Stand-ups: these are optional
Sit in a chair and stand straight up.  Keep your feet approx. shoulder width and slightly toed out.  Press into the heels as you stand and squeeze the buttocks.  Squeeze your shoulder blades and draw them down your back to keep the chest lifted throughout the entire movement.  If you can, hold the arms straight out at chest height, parallel to the floor.
8 stand-ups, rest 10 seconds, repeat 7 additional rounds

Tube high pull:
Attach the RED tube high on the door (above your head).  Stand with your feet hip width and staggered, one foot forward one foot back.  Relax the knees and pull the abdomen in tight.  Stand up very tall with the shoulders back and the chest lifted.  Think about pulling the elbows (not the hands) back.  Squeeze the shoulder blades in and pull them down as the elbows travel back.  Lift the chest even more.
8 repetitions x 4 sets  REST 30 seconds between each set

Tube reverse fly:
Attach the YELLOW tube at chest height as you are seated (above the doorknob).  Sit up tall with the shoulder blades pulling in and downward.  Chest is lifted.  Straighten your arms but keep the elbows relaxed.  Keep the wrists straight.  Pull the arms wide without changing the elbow or wrist position.  Feel the shoulder blades squeeze together.
8 repetitions x 4 sets  REST 30 seconds between each set

(I do this seated on a chair.)

Bicep curls:
7lb x 10 repetitions x 3 sets   REST 30 seconds between each set  Be sure to stand or sit up tall with the shoulder blades squeezing in and down.  Extend the arm all the way straight and curl upwards.

At Transform Fitness, I was eager to see what I could do, how strong I am, and I was very pleased that I could do everything Anne instructed me to do—not the repetitions, but I could do everything at least once. I was also impressed by how much Anne knows. She’s a very competent trainer and I loved seeing and experiencing her, doing what she does so well.

I am going to be a strong 80-year-old. Thanks, Anne.

I cannot open Outlook Express, nor can I get help from Microsoft. So if you are trying to reach me, use this address: jowynn3037@gmail.com

Even though it’s been a gray, cloudy, rainy week here in Baltimore, the fall colors are still spectacular. Here are some shots from my window.

The Aquatic Center where I swim is just to the left of the shuffleboard court.

Looking down into our courtyard.

You already know that I swim half a mile at 7:00 a.m. six days a week. Today I asked our pool attendant to record me swimming. Even though I have edited the videos from about 15 minutes to a few seconds and a couple of minutes, no one but my husband will want to watch minutes of me swimming laps. If you just want a peek, here we go.

This video shows some close-up shots. You may notice that on the return, I do not breathe with every stroke. In fact, I can swim the length of the pool on one breath, and that’s how I start. I’m not fast, but my form is good and I can swim forever. Endurance, not speed, is my strength.

Most mornings two men swim at the same time I do. Here I am greeting one of them.

When I first tried to swim as fast as the other man (Good Neighbor), I couldn’t. In a little while I could keep up with him for one length of the pool. After many weeks, I could swim at his speed for three laps. Now I’m swimming faster than he does. Has he slowed down, perhaps? In the next video you can see him in the foreground, well ahead of me. By the end of the video,I had come even with him and after Darrell had stopped recording, I was well ahead.

I stopped to tell Darrell that we would see how good an artist he is.

And I thanked him.

Our pool is beautifully located. I can see it from my window. With skylights above and glass doors on three sides, it’s almost like swimming in the open. Not like swimming in a lake, though!

Thanks again to the videographer. It’s always a pleasure to have Darrell on duty.

When I said to Darrell one day, I being the only person in the pool, that watching me swim laps must be boring, he replied, “Not at all. I’ve watched Michael Phelps swim laps.” In person, here in Baltimore, where he trains.

Well!

Okay. I finally figured out, with technical support, how to trim this video so you can see just a bit of me dancing. I was outside the dining room, not on the dance floor.

As you know, since about the beginning of May, my recovery from ME-CFS has been explosive. No amount of activity has been too much. Saturday night I danced most of 2 1/2 hours and could have danced all night. That was after swimming half a mile in the morning and walking more than a mile in the afternoon. But this excessive energy has been driving me crazy. Often it’s as though I have Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder—out of control.

And that’s what my Recovery Improvisation project reflects. It is crazy, and anybody doing the work on it that I’ve been doing has to be crazy, too. I want to show you what working on this project looks like.

I hold the unwieldy frame against my table and various parts of my body, turning it frequently to put the stitches or beads where I want them. Because I started with no plan and have been working randomly, many areas to be stitched are hard to get to, no matter how I position the frame. And when I tried using hoops for small areas, I couldn’t. There are too many hard bits—wrapped plastic rings, clay beads, and glass beads; and places too heavily stitched—to put hoops where I need them. When I tried putting the frame in my floor stand, I shattered some beads—the work is so close to the edge. In fact, I’ve even stitched right against the wooden frame! Anyhow, I have to keep turning it too frequently for a frame holder to be of use.

The work has taken a terrific beating, as I toss it around to get to where I want to stitch. In the sequence below you can see some of my contortions. (I’m wearing magnifying lenses; I guess I was attaching beads.)

Here I was bracing the frame between my knees and holding it in various positions as I stitched.

It is really, really difficult to work this way. I  must be crazy, doing this! Here are some damaged areas that I have to re-work.

One of these beads went missing. I re-attached all five of them for security.

Somehow, in the rough treatment, the Sculpey bead with the glass bead in the center got broken.

Here’s where I smashed a glass bead by clamping down on it with my floor stand frame holder.

And here, the bottom oyster stitch has come apart.

Now, though, I’m eager to finish it, and for a few weeks, I’ve been able to work concentratedly, several hours at a time, many days. I seem to be settling down, getting calmer. Meanwhile, the piece keeps getting crazier. I think I’m almost done.

Nina asked where did I stash my cameras? In here:

It was the perfect size. It held both cameras and extra batteries for each of them. I left it on my table while I used one camera and while I danced.

I bought this retro bag at the Treasure Sale for $1.00, intending to harvest the beads and maybe even find a use for the "apparently” knitted or crocheted fabric. Not only was it the right size, it looked just right, too. Perfect colors.

In my balantine were my every-day glasses. The lenses in the big red frames are an old prescription and I was afraid I would not be able to tolerate them through the evening. After enough Scotch, I didn’t even notice that I was not wearing the correct lenses. The dark red frames were to be seen, not for seeing!

Did I enjoy myself? Oh my yes.