The Green Ripple

 One of the unfinished Christmas gifts is finished. 

Green Ripple for Ruth

Pattern: Shaded Ripple afghan by Melissa Leapman

Made For: Daughter Ruth

Size: 52 x 68 inches

Yarn: Maximum Value by Mary Maxim
Content: 100% Acrylic, Aran Weight
Colors: Aran, Light Green, Medium Green, Dark Green

Needles: Circular size US 9 (5.0 mm)

Started: October 3, 2025
Finished: February 2, 2026

Comment: I can't believe it took me 4 months to get this done. The daughter is happy with it, thankfully

Here's a close up of the stitch pattern. The hills and valleys aren't as wide as the purple one because she didn't want me to stretch block it out like one usually does with a lace pattern. She likes it the way it is.

Ripples are so fun to knit.

Zoey has given it her seal of approval.

I have bought yarn for a 3rd one. I want to make one for my oldest daughter and her partner. I guess I'm in an afghan knitting frame of mind.

I am working on finishing up the mittens now. The body of the first mitten is done and I'm about a third of the way through the second one.

I'm hoping to get them done by the end of this week.

This is my back yard as of earlier today when I took this picture,

and this one.

Notice the lack of snow. The first week of February and there's no snow! It actually got up to 50F degrees last Wednesday. It's been an unseasonably warm winter. There is very little snow up in the mountains. We've had plenty of rain though. I don't know what to think of it. I am a little worried about my flowering plants. They are starting to bud out. It's too early. Now we run the danger that temperatures will drop down to where they are normally this time of year and all the buds will be frozen, killing them. I hope I'm wrong.

Two weeks ago I saw an Orthopedic Surgeon about my knees. I got to see the x-rays of my right knee taken earlier in December. They were very interesting. The doctor explained to me what I was seeing. There is no cartilage on the inside half of both me knees. Plenty on the outside half though. He also showed me the arthritis. It was horrifying to see. Arthritis is bony growths on the bones. I figured they were small bumps. They aren't. They're huge triangle shapes pushing into everything around them causing a lot of inflammation and pain. I've been told my knees are pretty bad and I should think about knee replacement surgery. I'm surprised. I didn't think they were that bad. 

I have a high tolerance for pain, which I did not know. I've always thought I'm a real wimp. I don't want to replace the knees yet. I want to start with physical therapy first, so that's what we're going to do. I've been referred to one just a couple miles from my house. I'm supposed to wait until they call me. I'm not to call them. I expect at least a month wait, maybe a couple weeks longer. In the meantime, I've googled some mild exercises to do while I wait and they are helping quite a bit.

I've been beading the last couple weeks. I've made 5 bracelets and 1 necklace and I'm really having a good time doing it. I've been doing two-needle Right Angle Weave. More about that later.

That's it for now.

Live long and prosper. \\//