Butterfly Blanket for Baby Anna :)

It started out as a bag of yellow and white yarn.  And a request from my Mom for a baby blanket for my twinner’s expected baby girlie.  Twinner and his wife have waited almost a decade for another little one to join their family.  I knew the nursery was decorated in colorful butterfly fabric – a lot like this one:

 

So, I thought it would be fun to add a few colors into the blanket.  I wound up with a colorful pile of squares.

Notice that bright red at the bottom?  Yeah, well… sigh.  I sketched the design out 6 or 7 times.  And in my sketches the red looked sooo cute.  Not so much in real life.  And of course, the clash wasn’t obvious until the squares had been sewn in and several rounds of border added.  But everytime I set the blanket down, all I noticed were those red squares!  So, out it came.  It was a chore and a half picking out those 2 red squares and making them into orange ones, haha.  But it was very much the right decision.  The colors in the finished blanket are much more in harmony and there is a nice symmetry in the pattern. 

I think every project (yarn or otherwise) has something to teach us.  In this one, I learned that sketching out a design is helpful in planning but is a bit like predicting the weather.  There are so many variables involved in a creative effort and the end result can surprise you, lol.

 By the way, I found a great use for the red yarn and butterflies that were taken off of the blanket

Cuteness, right?  The color wasn’t right in the blanket but it made for some pretty headbands. 

There’s been a whole lot more yarnin’ goin’ on around here.  Stay tuned for some more pretty projects

Have a great day!

PS.  If you read this, Twinner and SIL, your sweet little girlie is gorgeous!  So worth the decade waiting   Congrats to you and your sweet little family <3  Hugs!

 

Window Rock after a hard rain

 Today was a great day   My parents picked me up in the morning and we went to breakfast.  Then we went to choose a frame for a painting my Dad is giving to me. 

My Dad has always been so talented and creative.  He used to entertain me all through church with little doodles on a scrap of paper.  He would draw a bit, I would add to it and then he would draw a bit more.  It was fun and kept a little girl quiet

When I needed help with artwork for an assignment, my Dad would help me create wonderful drawings, lettering, charts – whatever I needed.

To me, he has always been an artist.  But about 7 months ago, he decided to start taking art lessons.  I thought “He doesn’t need lessons.  He’s already so talented!”  I think I finally understood it today though.  I was standing in line at JoAnn’s and eyeing a gorgeous knit lacework swatch.  I like to think I’m pretty good with yarn but I really wanted to sign up for that class right then and there, lol.  And then I understood the reason my Dad wanted to take art lessons.  Even if you know much about a subject and are quite skilled at it, there is always something more you can learn – something more to add to your skill sets.

That being said, my Dad is an amazing artist!  His paintings are all beautiful.  I keep telling him he should sell some.  He said he is waiting until he gets ‘good’ at it.  Dad, you have arrived at more that good <3

When my Dad started showing us the paintings he was creating, I was so impressed.  Each one is so beautiful.  But there was one in particular that I loved most of all.  So when my Dad offered me a painting to keep here in my home, I was really hoping that one painting would be among the choosings.  And it was

Isn’t that beautiful?  It’s an adaptation on Window Rock  painted from a photo as an example.  I love how my Dad painted water trickling through the rock formation

and I’m just in awe of each detail in the rock and foilage

I picked a frame that would go well with the wood elements in my front room.  The place we went to for the frame stapled the painting in for us.

Breathtaking, isn’t it?  It’s now the nicest thing in my house   It’s just waiting for hubby to hang it on the wall

Thank you Mom and Dad for such a nice morning and thank you Daddy for the painting.  You are amazingly talented <3

Hugs!

 

(this is a little slide show of the pics I just showed you if you are interested in seeing it.  I put it together and emailed it to my Dad with my thanks )

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Twisted Knit Stitch/E-wrap Pictorial

I’ve put together a little pictorial  for creating the twisted knit stitch (also known as the  e-wrap)  It’s been added to my Let’s Learn page and will also be added to the Learn to Loom Knit section in the Loom Class group on yahoo.  I hope it will be helpful. 

Have a great day!

Knit to Crochet

It hasn’t been ALL clinics and doctors and tests around here.  I’ve managed to squeeze in some yarn play too.  And I’ve been meaning to talk about an exciting project that I’ve been working on for a while now. 

Back in October, my wonderful friend Gail, from Straight Jacket Knitting and the ADHD Knitting group on Ravelry, was looking for help in converting some of her patterns from knit to crochet.  After making sure she didn’t have any particular deadline in mind (hey, I’m slow, haha), I timidly offered to help out. 

I started out small.  I picked Gail’s Oh My! Baby Booties pattern to start out.  I had to learn a new knitting trick on this.  I’ve never picked up stitches before and I needed to for the knit version of these cute little booties.  I knit the bootie from start to finish, then matched the gauge with the same yarn and some trial and error until I found the right hook for the task.  Then it was time to figure out how to replicate the construction of the knit bootie in crochet.  I think I did pretty good with it.  Here’s a look at what I came up with:

I’m really happy with how closely I was able to match the knit version.  You can find both the knit version and the crochet version on Ravelry now.

After I finished up with the booties, I chose a bigger project.  I wanted to be able to work on one of Gail’s most popular patterns.  I figured this would be the most helpful to her.  After debating on a few, I chose to work on her Curbing Bag.  I was intrigued by the curbs and wondered how to create them.  I didn’t knit the entire bag in this case.  I worked enough of the bag to understand the creation process and get a gauge comparison.  Then I set about working on the crochet version. 

This project was larger so it took longer but it also had to be put on hold a couple of times for the Knifty Knitter project dvd that I was lucky enough to participate in and then Christmas to-do’s had to be seen to.  Gail has been so sweet and patient.  She told me at the onset of this undertaking that she never has deadlines.  Love that!   

I have to say I was excited to figure out how to create the curbs in crochet.  It’s not really something I’ve ever seen done in the decade plus that I’ve been crocheting.  I think the bag turned out super too.  I do think that when I make another, I’m going to work with just 3 main colors – a dark shade and a light shade for each color.  The curbing bag I created for this pattern was a stash buster and somewhat eclectic.  It actually makes me think of the fabric rag rugs or baskets my Mom loves, lol.  Anyway, here’s a look at what I came up with:

Not too shabby, right?  This is a super sturdy bag.  I need to reinforce the I-cord strap with some coordinating grosgrain ribbon because it’s rather stretchy but I’ll bet I could carry a bowling ball around in the bag with only minimal stretching of the main body, haha.  I don’t have a bowling ball so I went with a beautiful loom and some yarn for the photo take, haha.  Both the knit version and this crochet version for the Curbing Bag are now available on Ravelry too.

I’m still thinking on which project to tackle next.  It needs to wait a little bit while I finish a cute granny square project so I have a while to mull it over

Have a great day!

Dear Body,

Dear Body,

A handful of doctors and triple that in testing proclaim that you are in good health.  Well, there is that little CFS thing but hey, nobody’s perfect.  Now snap out of it and play nice

Signed,

The Zombie Wife

A few years of mentioning fatigue at each annual exam (plus a few other symptoms), then about 6 months of aggressively pursuing the issue have finally yielded a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  This has to be arrived at by eliminating other possible conditions.  Sooooo, I now know I don’t have a ton of things, including Lyme disease, Mono, Diabetes, MS, etc.  I am weird, I know, but I didn’t want it to be Chronic Fatigue.  My silly logic?  A few things.  It’s not really treatable.  It’s not really understoood.  There’s no way to tell if or when it will end.  And the big one for me – some people don’t even believe in it.

When you tell someone you have Chronic Fatigue, you feel like you are just saying you are tired.  So why not take a nap?  But naps actually make me feel even more tired.  Little household chores exhaust me and exercise is like torture if I overdo it.  Then there are the other symptoms.  I’m learning to rest when I need to and not tax my system too much.  Oh, and that I’ll still be tired in the morning, lol. 

 

Have a great night!

Today…

wasn’t easy.  But this is the song that popped  into my head almost immediately

Greeting the New Year :)

 

A brand new year stretches out before us.  I have rather simple goals this year.  I want to make more time for the things that matter.  I want to see more smiles on the faces that I love.  I want to play together with my kids more and build meaningful memories with them.  I want to cheer and brighten where ever possible.  Simple wishes, that bring great joy.  I wish you all great happiness in 2010 

Welcome back, Crafty Mojo :)

My crafty mojo has been oh so low.  This month has been busy with appointments and my energy has been way down again.  Down time has found me getting out projects, only to look at them and think “Maybe in a little while.  I’m too tired.”  Boo! 

I was starting to think I wasn’t going to be handcrafting any of the Christmas gifts this year.  But in the nick of time, I was able to complete a few special gifties.  Yay! 

 First up, we have an assortment of hats, key rings, bracelets and a soft scarflet

 Next up is a neat giftie for hubby’s Mom.  I picked up an unfinished craft crate at Michaels, painted it, hot glued clothes pins to the side and added some fun wood accents.  The intent is that she can put her miscellaneous mail (like catalogs) in the crate and clip important bills or wedding invites in the clothes pins.  I am totally making one of these for me

Last, but not least – I made a beautiful beady watch band for my Mom.  She already has a few and the watch face so I knew she would love it.  I also made her some matching earrings but I didn’t take pics of those.  I probably don’t need to say that I am totally making one of these for me also, haha.

We had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you all did too.  We have much to be grateful for this year and many to be grateful too, for that matter.  Wishing you all the best in 2010!  <3

Snow

silent, fluffy bits of hush

drifting from a muted sky

a soft blanket unfurling

Peace on Earth.

 

 

 

 

Wishing you a wonderful Winter!

 

November review and Goals for December

I did pretty good sticking to my fitness goals last month.  Overall, I completed more than 93 total miles on my recumbent bike.  I also did pretty good with the strengthening work.  I did skip a few days.  I’ve been tracking my workouts on Daily Mile and that has helped me a ton.  I can better track my efforts and I’m more motivated to keep on track so I don’t have empty days, haha.  Days skipped for November? 

Nov 1 – Migraine

Nov 20 – Don’t recall why – probably fatigue

Nov 24 – Also probably due to fatigue

Nov 28 – Bad Migraine

Nov 29 – Bad Migraine

Nov 30- Extreme Fatigue

So I skipped 6 days.  Not all of the days I did work out on were aerobic either.  Some of those days were strenghtening work only.  Week one was 5 aerobic wo, week 2 was 4 aerobic wo and week 3 and 4 were 3 aerobic wo each.  Overall, I am pretty pleased with my efforts.  I think I did my best considering what I’m up against. 

So that brings me to this month’s goals.  Currently, stress is high and fatigue is extreme.  Despite my work outs, strength in my limbs is very low right now.  Like everything has been sapped out of them.  I think it’s temporary but I’m going to listen to my body and take it a bit slow this month – or at least until I spring back. 

Goal for this month is daily exercise.  No mile limit, no time limit.  Just some sort of strengthening or aerobic effort each day.  I’m going for all green on the Daily Mile   I think I’ll stick to the 100 marker on days I feel good.  That means at least 100 push ups (or weight lifts when my arms won’t support my body due to weakness), at least 100 reps of some sort of ab work and to try to burn at least 100 calories aerobically each day.  And on the tough days, whatever I can manage.  Even if it’s just 1 mile.  Or 10 pushups.  Or whatever I can manage   I’ve already missed Wednesday because I was completely wiped out.  I actually had to nap twice just to get through that day :p  Hopefully that will be the only skip this month.  So, we’ll see how it goes

Wishing you all a healthy and happy holiday season!