Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Four Corners Dish Cloth

In my quest to knit ALL of the dish cloths I have patterns for, here is the latest:



You can find the pattern here. It's a lot of fun to knit and knits up fast. I'm already thinking about pulling some more variegated yarns out to play with since they work so nicely. I'm also thinking about trying some self-striping to see what the effect would be.

The dish cloth in the picture is not blocked but I still think it looks great. Right now I'm working on "A Christmas Story" as it was next in line in my folder ("4 Corners" came before "A Christmas Story" because of the number in the title). I will post when it's complete.

I'm also working on the sweater for Zoe (like George's) and the black pair of arm warmers for my sister. Bouncing back and forth keeps me from getting bored and they move along instead of becoming UFO's.

Will post photos when done.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Bleeech

That's pretty much how I feel right now. I think I'm coming down with a cold. It's floating around our little community and though I've tried to stay away from people who have it apparently it didn't work.

It doesn't help matters any that the Humira suppresses my immune system, so I'm anxious about getting a cold - or anything for that matter. I woke up with a slight sore throat and at the end of the day I'm getting those runny eyes, sore throat, beginning of a runny nose signs that tell me a cold is imminent. I'm hoping to get rid of it fairly quickly, but the people I know who have or have had it said it doesn't shake that quickly. GREAT!!! Just what I needed.

However, the Humira is working way better than I expected. I gave myself my third injection last Friday. I had a follow-up doctor appointment and he was thrilled that it seems to be working so well for me. So am I. The only thing I can think of is that I bruise a little easier now. I'm going to call one of the nurses to discuss that, but I think it's to be expected.

Actually one other thing that tells me it's really working is the weight gain I'm experiencing. I'm actually going to have to start watching how much I eat. It was an eat whatever I can to get some nutrients and now it's watch what I'm eating because I'm gaining too much weight. I'm not really complaining, but the weight always goes to my bust and my butt first and I feel like I'm carrying a whole other body on my rear end when I walk. I can feel the darned thing moving back there and I don't like it any more. Ms. Lopez and Ms. Kardashian can keep it all to themselves, I want my big butt gone again.

It's amazing to me how heavy that extra weight is. I can't believe I carried that around for so long and was used to it. I can't stand it now. Of course, nibbling on candy corn (as I'm doing as I type this) isn't helping any.

Oh well, there are worse things that could be happening to me right now and I am grateful beyond words that the Humira is working for me right now.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Blue arm sleeves

Here are the blue arm sleeves that were made for my sister Lory. They are a little shorter than the green ones, but they work for her as well.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Dish Cloth update

Here are two of the dishcloths I knitted while knitting the sleeves. The first is from the Starfish pattern:


I used the Sugar n Cream Pinky Stripes. I love the self striping yarns from Sugar n Cream. I must get more!

The second one is called Dishpan Bubbles. This pattern was so much fun to make and very easy. It is a purchased pattern from e-Patterns.com. When I saw it, I had to have it. I love the way the variegated yarn works in this pattern.


That's it for now. There were others (a DW cloth made with Sugar & Cream Fairy Tales) and a windowpane pattern that I don't think will show up well on camera.

Lory's sleeves

Well after months of knitting (knitting a little, putting them down, knitting again, putting them down), some frogging and finally getting threatened to get them done "or else", I finished two pairs of the Silk Sleeves from "One Skein" for my sister.

And after they were finished and the seam was sewn, panic literally set in. I didn't think they would fit a small child, let alone my sister. But she proved me wrong. Here's a picture of the first pair. They are made from Malabrigo Lace 100% Baby Merino Wool in Verdes.


You don't have any idea how happy I am to see that they actually look like they are supposed to look on her arm. I also knitted a pair in Malabrigo that was shades of blue (can't remember the name right now) and the next pair will be black. My sisters only request is that I increase the sleeves by 4 more stitches on the upper arm. I'm hoping it won't be too big, but it shouldn't be.

While knitting the sleeves, I also knitted a few dish cloths and restarted the second sweater that was commissioned for a little girl she knows. Seeing as it is months late, I frogged it and went up one size.

I still have to take pictures of the dish cloths. I also have to make batches of peach jam tomorrow. I'm hoping the peaches I bought are still okay to use. It's been about a week since I got them, but something always seems to get in the way of my making them (like being exhausted when I get home).

So tomorrow, my goal is to take pictures of the recently finished cloths and make the jam. Piece of cake! (yeah, right...)

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Happy September

Another 2 months and we are heading into fall. Here's an update on what's going on:

Crafting

I've done a few dishcloths and two pairs of sleeves for my sister.

I'm not too sure about these sleeves. I followed the pattern and checked the gauge and they just seem so small, but she's a skinny thing and hopefully they will work. There is a lot of give in them. They are made from a very light weight merino. I'll post pictures in the next post.

I've been thinking about all of the patterns I've acquired throughout the years. I'm thinking that I need to stop acquiring and start making them. So I think I'll start working my way through the patterns I've saved on my computer. Just do down the list and do them. I'll have to figure out a way to list them on the blog and cross them off as they are done. It will be a big task, but what's the point of keeping the patterns if you're not going to make them?

Health

I'm still on the prednisone, once I hit 10mg in the tapering process I started having flare up symptoms and called the doctor. He put me back up to 20mg and had me begin tapering off at 2.5mg per week. I'm going down to 7.5mg tomorrow. I started my Humira injections on August 15th. I went to my doctors office to learn how to self-inject and had my initial 4 injections. Two in my tummy and one in each thigh. I decided then and there that I would have all future self-injections into my tummy. The thighs hurt way more than the tummy shots. There was hardly anything injecting into the tummy. (Hopefully I haven't grossed anyone out with the injection story.)

Anyway, I don't know if it was because it was a mega-dose or what, but I felt better in that first week and my symptoms have drastically changed for the better since being on the Humira. I gave myself the next set of injections this past Friday and have had none of the complications assocated that could possibly come up with the injections. So far I am very happy with the Humira and hope it will continue when I'm taken off of the pills (which will hopefully be very soon).

Well I guess that's it for now. I'll have to get out the camera and take some photos of the dishcloths I've done and my sisters arm sleeves. Right now I need to get out and do some chores for the day in the barn.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

July !?! Update

It's already July, half the year is gone!

Oh well, here's what's happening. In my continuing bouts with my Crohn's, I am on round three (or is it four) with prednisone. I waver between calling it a blessing and evil. Because it's really both. It gets rid of the inflammation and makes me feel human again, but at the same time it has a laundry list of evil side effects. My nickname when I'm on it is "Rex" after the hamster in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels because of the moon face I get from the bloating.

The latest is that as the current group of drugs I'm on aren't doing what they should so I will need to move up a level to "biologicals" which involve self-administered injections. Only they have their own laundry list of side effects and bad things. Today I have an appointment with my neurologist to review the three (yes, three) MRI's I had on Saturday to determine if there is any MS lurking in my system. As my sister has been diagnosed with it and now a half-sister also possibly has it they want to make sure I don't have any underlying as the new regimen of drugs could "bring it out" if I do. The thought that crossed my mind whenI heard my gastro say that was "lovely". But I'm thinking positive and we'll go from there.

I've added a link to my sidebar if anyone would like to learn more about Crohn's because they are curious, knows someone with it or may have symptoms and aren't sure what they are. It seems to be showing up in more people lately and I can't help but think it's tied to the crap we've been fed by food scientists for decades now.

EAT LOCAL, EAT FRESH, KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD COMES FROM!!!

Now on to crafting. I'm currently working on knitted sleeves for my sister. They are being knit in sport weight merino on size 9 needles and are very lightweight and airy, but talk about taking a lot of stitches to get somewhere. I'll post pictures if when they are done.

I've also been going through my crafting books (mainly quilting) and boy am I getting excited about quilting again. I have a few tops that are already pieced and just need to be quilted, so I'll probably start with those.

On the crochet front, I found a link through a dishcloth group I'm in for Crochet by Numbers you really have to check this site out. I sent him a picture and he has turned it into a pattern for me. I'm doing the test pattern right now to learn the techniques and then I'll probably do another before I tackle the picture. I'm thinking Christmas present if it works out. It is really amazing and if you crochet, I really suggest you check out the site.

Well I have to get running now. More later.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Sometimes you just have to plunge in

I have been working myself up to learning to crochet for quite some time now. Well after receiving a copy of the Carol Alexander crochet newsletter that featured Thread Bears I joined the Yahoo group Thread Animals and sat down in front of the computer to learn.

I found a web site that has videos of someone teaching you how to crochet. It's called NexStitch.

It was a life saver for me because try as hard as I do, I just can't pick it up from the books. I'm just a visual learner. Anyway, doing the chains and sample stitches got real boring, real quick so I went through the dozens of patterns I've tucked away and decided to try one. It is of a pig with a chicken on it's back and I did the chicken in one night. Here he is:


Other than my hypercritical judgments, and considering he's my first object from crochet and consisted of mainly single crochet and single crochet decrease I think I did pretty good. The next one will be even better. I've done the body for the piggy and have to finish the rest of him, the the chicken can take his place perched on his back.

On another note, lately I've been on a "give me cake-like substances and give them to me NOW!" binge. The reason is I'm back on prednisone thanks to a flare up of my Crohn's Disease. Prednisone always ramps up my appetite and increases my cravings for sugar immensely. So lately I've been giving in to the cravings. It's like a have a little monkey on my back who starts smacking me in the back of the head when the cravings hit. He's a persistent little monkey and he doesn't quit until he gets his fix.

Here's a blueberry swirl coffee cake I made using the ever popular Bisquick recipe. I made a cherry one last week and this week it was blueberry. In case you're wondering, don't worry I am not the only one eating this or you wouldn't be able to get me out of the door. My glaze kind of pooled in the middle because it wasn't completely cooled (it's the monkeys fault), but the end result was yummy nonetheless.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Thread Animals

Yesterday I received the latest issue of Talking Crochet...with Carol Alexander. She talks about a Yahoo group that is for making teddy bears and other animals from thread, needle punch and other sizes of thread and yarn.

They are gorgeous and adorable!! I immediately went to the group and signed up. This has made learning to crochet the number one thing on my list right now and I started tonight I have a disc (somewhere) to teach myself, but I can't find it. So I've found a web site with a lot of how to videos for crochet. As with knitting, the written instructions just aren't cutting it. I need to see someones hands doing it to catch on.

Not to mention there are hundreds of crochet patterns I've been collecting that I want to do (in addition to the knitting and quilting and sewing and cross stitch...I know, I know). There just aren't enough hours in the day.

I can't wait to make my first bear. Some of them are as small as 5/8". That just astounds me.

I'll update as I go along.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Illusion Bunny Cloth

Well better late than never. I started and finished the Illusion Bunny Cloth from the Mid-March KAL for the Yahoo Group Monthly Dishcloths.

It's my first illusion cloth, knitted up very quickly and I love it!

Here's a picture looking straight at it:



And here's one on an angle to see the illusion. (I haven't blocked it yet, so you'll have to excuse the curly edges):



On to the first cloth for April! Glad to have actually knitted something for the first time in a couple of months.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Dragonflies are cool

I've added a dragonfly to my title picture. Just for a bit of background - I was terrified of dragonflies for a long, long, time.

Here's the story. My mother married and we moved to Los Angeles, specifically, Northridge, California. At the time we moved into a brand new family apartment complex. My future high school was right across the street (Granada Hills High School - Go Highlanders!). There was a shopping complex a few blocks away that you got to by walking on an unpaved road. Later on they built a Treasury (think 70's Target) and paved it, but for a good while it was unpaved and had the usual weeds and things growing on it. During the summer those weeds were home to a lot of dragonflys. One day we were heading up to the hamburger stand to get a shake and I swear every time I tried to cross a certain part, the dragonflies would swarm.

Now mind you, I have NEVER been a bug lover. And to see these things coming at me with four wings (had never seen one before we got to Los Angeles) and seemingly only to "attack" me led me to fear and hate them for a lifetime. That is, until now.

Now, they are my friends. I have come to accept the dragonflies and have made peace with them. The biggest factor is that they eat mosquitoes. Which is great because mosquitoes love to eat me. And when they do, they leave huge, itchy, red, hot bumps that cause me no end of misery. Anything that rids my area of mosquitoes is a friend of mine.

Then they are just very cool. I've been doing some research and have found out they are very cool. But one thing that I really thought was cool was this:


Meaning of dragonfly symbol?

Answer

Dragonfly symbolism crosses and combines with that of the butterfly and change. The dragonfly symbolizes going past self-created illusions that limit our growing and changing. Dragonflies are a symbol of the sense of self that comes with maturity.


They are fantastic flyers, darting like light, twisting, turning, changing direction, even going backwards as the need arises. They are inhabitants of two realms - starting with water, and moving to the air with maturity, but staying close to water. Some people who have the dragonfly as their totem have had emotional and passionate early years, but as they get older they achieve balance with mental clarity and control. They gain an expression of the emotional and mental together.


Dragonflies are old and adaptive insects, and are most powerful in the summer under the effects of warmth and sunlight. Their colors are a result of reflecting and refracting the power of light. As a result, they are associated with color magic, illusion in causing others only to see what you wish, and other mysticism.

The are often represented in Japanese paintings, representing new light and joy. To some Native Americans they are the souls of the dead. Faerie stories say that they used to be real dragons.

Dragonflies are reminders that we are light and can reflect the light in powerful ways if we choose to do so. "Let there be light" is the divine prompting to use the creative imagination as a force within your life. They help you to see through your illusions and allow your own light to shine in a new vision.


This just represents everything I've gone through. I feel like I'm finally beginning to know myself and what I want after a life time of not knowing. My time of the year is always the summer, I just seem to grown then. Love the snow (looking at it) and the change of the seasons, but summer is my time. I feel like I'm finally moving into a good space and I am adopting the dragonfly as my symbol.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Guilty Pleasure

Okay, other than crafting, my guilty pleasure is professional wrestling. I mean come on, muscular guys in tights what more could you want? But seriously, I know the storylines are fake, but the athleticism is real and it's a lot of fun to watch and escape from life for a while. So today I did a quiz to see which WWE Superstar I would be and it's The Undertaker. Which is a very good thing because he is my favorite wrestler. So pooh-pooh me if you will, but I love wrestling.



For more widgets please visit www.yourminis.com

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Knitting my fingers away

So while I'm supposed to concentrate on quilting this year, I just can't seem to put down the knitting needles. I've finished the first dish cloth for the Monthly Dishcloths group. It's a football. I didn't have the proper color, but it will do. That pattern is definitely a keeper.

I've also been knitting fishies for and afghan that will (hopefully) be a Christmas present. I've been using bits of leftover yarn and they are so easy to make I'm already up to seven of them. The pattern comes from the Bits and Bobs group on Yahoo. I'm thinking if I can do a few a month I'll have them ready to piece together in time for Christmas.

Out of necessity I started a pair of fingerless mitts last night. I actually finished them in two days. I can't believe how easy they are to knit. I'll be making another pair in a solid color after I knit the mens version (Dashing). This is a great pattern!



I've also got to start the second sweater some time soon for my sister. I've been thinking about the first one and have some things I'll be doing when knitting this one that should make seaming easier. Always room to learn.

On to the sweater now!

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

UFO's

I have decided to finish a number of UFO's I've had on hold for what seems to be an eternity.

One of them is an indigo and cream colored quilt that I've been literally working on for years. Well, working on isn't correct because I haven't touched it in over a year, maybe longer. That is one of the ones that needs to be completed. I believe it is quilted over 2/3.

The other is Eric's quilt which was to be completed two years ago and still isn't done. Then I need to make one for new little brother Nathan. Only he's not that new as he's now 7 months old.

I started cutting pieces for a Double Wedding Ring and a Grandmothers Flower Garden eons ago. Time to finish cutting them and start piecing them. I've also got quilts I've been gathering fabrics for that need to be done. Lots to do this year.

Then there are cross stitch and knitting projects to finish.

I'll start a list and add to it as I come across more. I'm hoping this will be a very productive year on the craft end.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy 2008

Here's to a new year filled with much crafting and joy. I plan on completing a lot of UFO's this year. I have to knit two more sweaters, but then it's a push to finish the UFO's I have hanging around. Time to get them done.