2 Projects in the Works...

I've got 2 new projects in the works.

Projects other than crocheting.

I should be more specific. LOL

Project #1 is another scarf that I'm knooking.

It's for my niece, Z.

Her school colors are purple and white.

So, the scarf is being done in Red Heart Amethyst.

I'm using my size I knook hook.

Sounds cool, doesn't it?

I started this project yesterday.

Project #2 is a baby blanket that I'm trying to knit on my new circular needles.

I have to admit that I really like using these needles.

It takes a bit to get used to, but honestly, it's almost easier than using regular needles.

I don't have very much done on it so far, but I'm ok with that.

I just started it yesterday.

I'm using Lion Brand Pound of Love in White and US size 9 circular knitting needles.

I have yet to set my daily goals for how many rows I would like to get done, but I'll do that soon.

Fishing In January!

Here in my neck of the woods, it was 73 degrees yesterday!

That's unheard of in January!

It's sure been a weird winter!

Anyway, Big C came home from basketball practice yesterday afternoon and said "I'm going fishing".

I was thinking "yeah, right". "Nothing is going to be biting".

Well, I was wrong.

He came home with some crappie.

Some nice sized crappie.

That Big Daddy had to clean. :) (so glad it wasn't me)

I swear, I will try NOT to doubt my child again.

At least, not anytime soon. LOL

Way to go Big C!!!!!!

Bohemian Pillow - Free Pattern

Good morning!

I finished up another pattern over the weekend. But due to cable problems, I have been unable to share it with everyone until today.

This is the front piece of the pattern.

This is the back piece of the pattern.

This is a close-up view of the pattern on the front piece.

Just so you can see the details.

And this is the finished product.

Small T loves it.

A couple of my sisters love it.

And Big Daddy loves it too.

So that's high praise indeed!

Anyway, back to the pattern.

Bohemian Pillow

Materials Needed:

Lots of different colored yarn. I used all those little balls of Red Heart yarn that I had leftover.

G crochet hook

Fiberfill or other stuffing of your choice

Note: special stitch is as follows: sc in next st of previous row or the row directly below

Note 2: pattern is worked in 2 (4 row) sequences or 1 (8 row) sequence

Pattern:

Front Piece

with color A, ch 71.

1- sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across (70)

2- join color B, turn. ch 1, sc in each st across (70)

3- join color C, turn. ch 1, *sc in next 4 sts, sc in next st of row 1 (or previous row of crochet), repeat from * across, ending with a sc in each of the last 5 sts (70)

4- join color A, turn. ch 1, sc in each st across (70)

5- join color D, turn. ch 1, sc in each st across (70)

6- join color E, turn. ch 1, sc in each st across (70)

7- join color F, turn. ch 1, *sc in next st, sc in next st of previous row, repeat from * across, ending with a sc in each of the last 2 sts (70)

8- join color D, turn. ch 1, sc in each st across (70)

9- join color G, repeat row 5.

10- join color H, repeat row 6.

11- join color I, repeat row 3.

12- join color G, repeat row 8.

13- join color J, repeat row 5.

14- join color K, repeat row 6.

15- join color L, repeat row 7.

16- join color J, repeat row 8.

rows 17 - 56 : keep working the pattern, alternating rows (9-12) and rows (13-16). Keep changing your yarn colors too as per the color sequence.

At the end of row 56, finish off.

Back Piece (solid color)

ch 71.

1- sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across, ch 1, turn. (79)

rows 2 - 56: sc in each st across, ch 1, turn. (70)

at the end of row 56, finish off.

Finishing:

Holding the Front and the Back pieces together, with wrong sides facing, sc evenly around the edge of the pillow, putting 3 sc in each corner, leaving an opening for stuffing. Once the pillow is stuffed, finish closing up the pillow. Finish off, weave in ends.

That's it for the pattern. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

As always, this is my pattern. Please don't claim it as your own. However, you may make as many of these as you want and you can even sell them. Just please give me credit as the pattern designer. Thanks a bunch! And happy crocheting!

SOS (Star Ornament - Stuffed) - Free Pattern

I've come up with another free pattern. The idea itself is NOT my idea. I borrowed the idea from a knitted star that I saw (somewhere). Whenever I figure out where I saw the idea, I will post the blog link. I loved the whole knitted version but since I'm not a big knitter, I thought "hey...why not make one in crochet". So I did. This is what I've come up with.

This is the finished product.

I did the 5 pieces (or diamonds) in separate colors so you could see them better. The same goes for the stitching that holds the 5 pieces together.

I'm going to share my free pattern as follows:

SOS (Star Ornament - Stuffed)

Materials:

Worsted Weight Yarn (I used Red Heart)

I crochet hook

Fiberfill or your choice of stuffing

Yarn Needle

Button

Sewing Needle and Embroidery Floss

Diamonds (You need to make 10 of them....5 for the front and 5 for the back)

1- ch 2, sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 1, turn.

2- 2 sc in sc, ch 1, turn. (2 sc)

3- 2 sc in each sc, ch 1, turn. (4 sc)

4- 2 sc in 1st sc, sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in last sc, ch 1, turn. (6 sc)

5- 2 sc in 1st sc, sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc in last sc, ch 1, turn. (8 sc)

6- sc in each sc across, ch 1, turn. (8 sc)

7- sc 2 tog, sc in next 4 sc, sc 2 tog, ch 1, turn. (6 sc)

8- sc 2 tog, sc in next 2 sc, sc 2 tog, ch 1, turn. (4 sc)

9- (sc 2 tog) twice, ch 1, turn. (2 sc)

10- sc 2 tog, finish off. (1 sc)

Once you've made all of the diamonds, take the first and arrange them as shown above.

Sew 2 of the petals together from the inner corner to the middle edge where the diamonds no longer meet each other. Do this for all 5 diamonds.

Once you have them all sewn together, you will have something that looks like this.

There will be a hole in the middle. I used the tails of my yarn to close the hole by pulling the yarn through the opposite color with my hook. Once I had them all pulled through, I tied them all together.

I ended up with something like this. It's not tied so tightly that it is out of shape though. I just had it positioned like that in the photo.

Once you've got the yarn tied together, cut the yarn strings. This is what it should look like. This is the wrong side of the star.

I have weaved in the ends that are yellow already. The yellow yarn is what I used to sew the diamonds together.

This is what the right side looks like.

Now I will weave in the last of the yarn tails.

Then place the two stars together, with wrong sides facing.

I threaded my yarn needle with a long piece of yarn and started stitching the sides of the star together.

This shows that I have most of the star sewn together and am reading for stuffing the star.

Once I got it stuffed how I wanted, I closed up the final edge.

Then, I used my sewing needle and embroidery thread to attach the button to the center of the star. When you do this, make sure you pull the thread tight so the button forms an indention in the star.

At this point, your star should look like this. If I'd had a bigger button, I would have used it, but this is the biggest one I had.

For a hanging loop, I used my yarn needle threaded with yarn to create a loop at the top point of one of the diamonds. I cut the yarn and tied it in a knot. And I was done.

That's it. That's how I made the SOS.

Hope you enjoy the free pattern.

If anyone knows where the knitted version of this is found, please let me know so I can give them credit for the idea. All I've done is created a crochet version of it.

Working on...

Well, I've been feeling like creating again.

This is the beginning of a pattern.

Doesn't look like much at this point, does it?

I've gotten my inspiration for this from a knitted pattern I found.

All I'm doing is making the crocheted version.

Can't claim the idea though.

Hopefully I will have a pattern to share soon.

Another project that I'm working on.

I'm using my scraps.

I've got a ways to go and then I hope to share the pattern for this too.

Hope you liked the sneak previews!

:)

The Replacement

Do you remember all those stockings I made before Christmas?

The ones for my sister Lea's clan?

All 10 or 11 of them?

Well, their dog Bo ate one of them.

Or at least, he chewed it to pieces.

So...a replacement was needed.

Here it is...

It's black and royal blue Red Heart worsted weight yarn.

I used a K crochet hook.

The pattern I use is called the "Easy Crochet Christmas Stocking" and can be found by following this link http://www.knitting-n-crochet.com/free-crochet-Christmas-patterns.html . Just scroll down the page and you will see the pattern.

Hat Models

The girls wanted to model the slouchy hats last night.

Without further ado...

Let me present...

Small T and Aerie...

The slouchy hat models.

Can you hear the crowd roar?

Hmmm...

Me neither.

But don't tell the girls.

LOL :)

Just kidding.

Small T does read my blog once in awhile.

I don't need to be in trouble with her.

At least...no more than usual. :)

Star Blanket

Blue Boy's Star Blanket is finished!

Woo Hoo!

I think it turned out pretty nice!

The blanket was made with Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Yarn" and an I hook.

The rest of the particulars can be found in a previous post from this week.

After I finished this, I whipped out a quick slouchy hat for one of Small T's class mates. They had made a run to Wal-Mart the other night and bought a skein of yarn for it, so it was the least I could do. I use Simply Soft yarn for the slouchy hats and they picked out the color Mango. I don't have a photo to show you yet because I'm waiting on Small T to take one. But apparently, her hair isn't right for the photo, so it will be a 50/50 chance that a photo will even be taken. Oh well, at least I know I got it done. :) By the way, I use a J hook for the slouchy hats. I've made so many of these in the past, that I'm sure you can browse a bit and come up with the pattern link and other particulars. If not, shoot me a comment and I'll post them for ya.

That's it for my crafting posts for the day. I don't have any other projects started at this point, but I'm sure I will have a new one (or two) come tomorrow. See you then!

Alternate Earflaps for the Teen/Adult Earflap Hat (Free Pattern)

I have been using an alternate earflap on my teen/adult earflap hats. It is a shorter earflap instead of the one on my original pattern. As promised, here is the pattern:

Earflap #1

With seam facing you and hat upside down, count 8 sts to the left of the seam. Join yarn in 9th st.

1- ch 3, dc in next 11 sts, turn.

2- ch 3, dc 2 tog, dc in next 6 sts, dc 2 tog, dc in top of ch 3, turn.

3- ch 3, dc 2 tog, dc in next 4 sts, dc 2 tog, dc in top of ch 3, turn.

4- ch 3, dc 2 tog, dc in next 2 sts, dc 2 tog, dc in top of ch 3, turn.

5- ch 3, (dc 2 tog) twice, dc in top of ch 3, turn.

6- ch 3, dc 2 tog, dc in top of ch 3, turn.

7- ch 3, sk 1 st, dc in top of ch 3, finish off.

Earflap #2

With seam facing you and hat upside down, count 19 sts to the right of the seam. Join yarn in the 20th st. Follow the same instructions as for Earflap #1.

Edging

Follow the same instructions as for the original pattern except that you will work 6 sc in the corner point (the area will you will add the braids) of the earflap instead of 3 sc.

That's it. I hope you enjoy working this style of earflap as much as I do!

Star Blanket for Boy Blue

One of my oldest nieces, the beautiful auburn haired Momma K, is expecting another baby in March of this year. Her first born is the little guy I call "Muffin Man". Baby #2 is supposed to be another boy and I will be calling him Boy Blue or Blue Boy. I'm leaning towards Blue Boy though.

Anyway, Muffin Man adores the star blankets that I made for him so Momma K brought me some yarn for a blanket for the newest baby boy. The yarn is "I Love This Yarn" from Hobby Lobby in the colors Pale Denim (solid) and Denims (variegated). I'm using the pattern called "Star Blanket" from www.bernat.com . This is the pattern that Momma K picked out while yarn shopping. I normally use the pattern "Beth's Little Star Afghan" but they are basically the same thing.

Here's a photo of the blanket that I started about an hour ago.

I think it's turning out nicely.

Love the color combo!

More Pillow Cases

I've finished up 5 more crochet embellished pillow cases!

Woo Hoo!

That makes 9 of them that I have done now.

I'm making pretty good head-way on my gift items for Christmas 2012.

This makes me EXCITED!

LOL

Race Flag Afghan - Finished Project

I've been slowly working on this afghan the past week.

I finally finished up the main body of it today.

This photo shows its condition before adding the border or edging.

Small T is trying it out for size. :) LOL

She's trying to make sure it will be big enough (or long enough) for my nephew. He's a couple of inches shorter than she is. But he's a lot of years younger than she is too.

This is the final finished product.

I added a simple dc border around the whole thing.

This makes one more Christmas present finished and ready to be wrapped and stored until Christmas 2012. Woo Hoo!

2 More Pillow Cases

I embellished 2 more pillow cases.

The one on the right actually has lavender flowers printed on the fabric, you just can't see them very well. I like the edging I did on this one. It was 1 sc, 4 dc, 1 sc in each space. The only problem with that type of edging is that I used an extra skein of embroidery floss.

The blue pillow cases is my favorite so far. I did the basic edging of 4 or 5 sc in each space.

Gift Idea - Crochet Embellished Pillow Cases

This might be a fairly long post. So fasten your reading glasses on good and tight. ;)

As I've stated before, I have a lot of sisters. Yep. A lot.

My four younger sisters and I made a pact with each other at the beginning of January. We decided to plan for Christmas the entire year in 2012 instead of being caught unawares in November. Between the 5 of us, we have 21 children. Imagine what gift buying (and making) can be like when you wait to get started on it.

We've been texting and emailing each other with our purchases and things that we've made. We also have started putting some extra cash back as well. We're keeping each other on track as well as motivating ourselves when we get discouraged or run out of ideas. I mean, after all, times are tough for every one right now, regardless of our incomes.

Some of the items that I have been thinking about are crochet embellished pillow cases.

I have been looking at thrift stores and buying up single pillow cases when they have the $1 a bag sale. I haven't been too picky about the pillow cases in regards to the patterns as I think the wild patterns are "in" right now. The only thing I make sure of is that the pillow cases are not stained or torn. I've also bought a few pillow case pairs for 75 cents. That's still a bargain!

While I was watching TV tonight, I sat down with 2 of the pillow cases and some matching embroidery floss and whipped out a basic crochet trim on them.

The one on the top has an orange trim and the one on the bottom has a pink trim.

I used 3 skeins of each color. (It feels weird calling these little bundles of floss a skein.)

I did not separate the floss but used it as it came. That way it would be more substantial on the pillow case. I didn't have any trouble threading my needle with it either.

I used my tape measure to mark 1/2 inch intervals on the inside of the pillow case edge and then did a blanket stitch all the way around. I found it was easier to thread the entire skein of floss into the needle and stitch away. If I had to tie the floss off and add more along the edge, it was a pain as well as not too good looking. It takes about one skein of floss to go around the entire edge.

For the crocheting part, I selected my size B hook and grabbed one end of the floss and started crocheting along the blanket stitch. I was able to put 4 or 5 sc's in each stitch area without it bunching up or being too far apart. In the end, I think it turned out quite well. I used less than 2 skeins of floss to crochet all the way around the edge. When I ran out of one skein I tied the other skein to it and hid the ends as I crocheted.

As for cost, these two pillow cases were bought a few weeks ago and a pair (even when they didn't match each other) of them cost 75 cents. Divide that by two and I paid roughly 38 cents each. Add 3 skeins of floss at 35 cents each and the grand total is $1.43 per pillow case.

I am hoping that my nieces and sisters will enjoy getting a few of these as part of their gift from me! I am loving them and might keep some for myself as well!

Race Flag Afghan

Since I have a lot of black and white yarn, and also that I live in a huge Nascar household, I have decided to do a race flag afghan. I don't know if it will look like a checkerboard flag when I'm done, but that's the intention.

I'm using one of my favorite patterns for the afghan. It's the dottie angel ordinarily extraordinary blanket pattern. You can find the how-to here http://dottieangel.blogspot.com/2010/06/ordinarily-extraordinary-blanket-how-to.html . The pattern is super easy to follow and I love the fact that the blanket is joined as you go. I've made this type of blanket several times before and I always love how it turns out.

As for the particulars, I am using Red Heart yarn and a J hook.

I whipped out my measuring tape a bit ago and the afghan is a few inches over 60 inches in length. That should be adequate for a throw. I hope. My family is constantly reminding me that 3 of the 5 members are much taller than Small T and I. I apparently have a history of making things for short people. LOL

A Day Of Goodbye's...

This morning started off with coffee at my mom's and ended up with a big wave goodbye to my monster friends.

They now have a new home with my sister Marie.

This makes me wonder...

Do the toys really wake up and play while we are sleeping or away?

Hmmm...

I just hope Buzz and Woody take them under their wing and keep them safe. :)

And now...

we will admire the fact that I have finished more than 46 inches of the knitted scarf.

But that's all the admiring I'm going to do.

I swear.

I hate the scarf.

Yep, I said it.

I hate the thing.

Truly.

Admit it...it looks like a pile of poo.

Even though it's a pretty good length right now, Small T said that in all good conscience, she just cannot wear the ugly thing. After all, she's got good fashion sense. LOL

So... with one last "adieu"...I say goodbye to you...ugly brown poo scarf. All curled up like a turd.

I cannot wait to rip you out.

Kahlua

I finished my last monster/witch doctor.

This one is called Kahlua. The luau girl.

She's having a bad hair day. It actually looks much better than this.

She's waving!

And here's the whole gang!

Looks like Jemima is mad.

Has her place as the femme fatale among the guys been taken away by Kahlua?

The Wing-Ed one sure is smiling!

:)

Sometime tomorrow, these four friends will be given to my sister.

Hope she likes them!

Jemima

Introducing...

The Jemima Monster

I'm not sure how I feel about her as yet.

I do like that her apron is coming undone though.

In typical monster fashion.

Here she is...meeting up with the other monsters.

She does NOT look thrilled, does she? :)

Edit: Big Daddy says that Jemima looks like an ant. Hmmm...I think he's right!

Winged Monster

I started working on another monster this morning.
The only thing I really wanted the monster to have was wings.

I meant for them to look like bat wings and instead they look like butterfly wings. *sigh*

The Wing-Ed One with Small T.

Which one is cuter? Hmmm...let me think. :)

Monster buddies.

I now have 2 of the 4 monsters finished for my sister's order.

I'm off for a nap and hopefully I will come up with some ideas for the next monster while I'm sleeping. I need inspiration!

Majestic Afghan Finished

Well, I've had some great motivation these past couple of hours (cause I'm mad at Small T) so I worked out my frustration and anger by finishing up the Majestic Afghan. I did a simple border of sc around the blanket. Two rows of it.

Honestly, I don't think it should be called the Majestic Afghan anymore. It just doesn't look majestic. Really. The only thing royal about it are the colors...purple and red.

I think I'll rename it and call it the Dr. Seuss afghan. This has been at the back of my mind for some time now, so it's only fitting.

Here's a final photo of it.

I also spent about 30 more minutes knitting on the scarf.

It's about 30 1/2 inches long now.

It needs to be around 60 inches long, so I'm just at the half way point.

I'm still mad at Small T but I've got to try and get some sleep anyway. We'll see how I feel when I wake up. I detest going to bed mad. So...I'm praying for sweet dreams.

See you all tomorrow.

Update - Majestic Afghan/Blanket

I've finally done as much as I'm going to on the main body of the Majestic Afghan/Blanket.

I added 32 rows of single crochet on it today.

In total, I've used 2 Super Saver sized skeins each of Amethyst and Cherry Red to make the main body.

Now, it's time to start on the border around the blanket.

By the way, I apologize for the haphazard way this is laid out on the carpet but I've got a stomach ache and didn't feel like bending over and messing with it very much. (Small T vomited all night last night so I'm hoping that the flu has not entered my household.)

Anyway, Big Daddy has strongly suggested a white border around this blanket, so even if I don't agree with him, a white border is in order.

As for the other WIP in the house...the knitted scarf...I did 20 rows on it today. This makes up for not doing the minimum 10 rows yesterday. It's coming along nicely now and I'm getting some length going on with it. I think when I get it finished, I'm going to sew it up along the long side and add fringe and then Small T can have it. I hate to rip it out after working this long on it.

That's it for today's crafting.

See you all tomorrow!

What A Day!

We spent the entire day at the auction.

My mom is now the proud owner of a very nice lift chair.

I hauled it home and my boys installed it in her living room.

She's been using it ever since. :)

And I am the proud owner of this lovely box of yarn.

It cost $20 and was the cheapest box of yarn sold today.

I got a really good deal.

The box contained 6 Super Saver size skeins plus 13 regular sized skeins of Red Heart yarn.

When you compare it to the Wal-Mart price of $93 plus tax, I saved a bundle.

And I don't mind that it's all black and white yarn. I use a lot of it.

I didn't feel like spending time on my WIP's tonight, so I grabbed my bag of scrap yarn and made this two-headed monster.

Here he is again.

I think my sister will like him.

This is the first of four monsters she has asked me to create in time for Valentine's Day.

The same sister that wants the monsters bought me a bag of goodies at the thrift store a couple of weeks ago. I finally got the bag and went through it. Boy, did she get a good deal!

It contained a bunch of partial skeins of yarn as well as 35 little squares already crocheted up. It also had a box with 2 rosette makers (plus a bunch of instructions and patterns) and a pom-pom maker. I was pleased as punch to get this. And guess what...she paid 75 cents for it all. I'm a lucky girl...that's all I've got to say.

Well, it's been a long day so I'm off to bed. I'll see you all tomorrow.

Good night!

This Morning...

This morning I'm off to take my mom to an auction. She's been looking for a lift chair for quite some time now and there's one at this auction in the next town over to the west of us. Since I'm the only kid with a pick-up truck, I got roped into taking her. (Not really, I would have done it anyway.) So, I'm thinking that she is planning on buying the chair if the price doesn't go too high. In her manner of persuasion, she also mentioned that there are 5 large boxes of new yarn as well as craft books, etc. that are going to be auctioned off. Of course, this got my attention. She also added if they didn't go very high in price she might be me a box or two of the yarn. Of course, that meant I just HAD to go and see for myself. LOL After all, what could be better on a cold, snow laden day than to have some new yarn! So...if the price is right, I'll show you my bounty when I get home this afternoon.

Have a good day everyone! And I might be showing some photos later on this evening. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Shelly

Something Exciting...

Something exciting happened on my blog today. I am so thrilled and so pleased to be able to share this. Especially on a day when I have been feeling so low. Anyway, I had 240 page views on my blog today. The most I ever had before was just over 100 views in a day. Wow! What a glorious thing to have happened! I would like to thank each and every person that viewed my blog today and every other day previously for making this blog such a happy place for me. I love being able to share my family, my crafting and my love of other things with each and every one of you. I truly am blessed!

Arthritis

Some of you may know that I suffer from arthritis. Sometimes, pretty horribly. I have this throughout my body, but particularly in my hips, spine, knees, and back. In Sept., after my heart problem, I was also diagnosed with it in my chest area including my shoulders, breast bone, ribs, etc.. I also have a problem with psoriasis. I developed psoriasis on my hands 2 winters ago. During the past month, I've been having more and more problems with my hands. My fingers started curling when I was 38 so that was nothing new to me. However, not being able to turn a door knob and open my kids' bedroom doors was something totally unexpected that has happened lately. I haven't been able to open bottles, etc. for about 6 months and I figured that was just due to weakness. Boy, was I wrong.

This past Monday, I went to see my doctor again about my arthritis problems. Particularly the pain. And not being able to use my hands like I am used to. I have started another series of tests and I'm also taking a series of steroid shots now. My doctor said he thinks he has misdiagnosed some of my arthritis. I now have a form called psoriatic arthritis. Just great. I can continue to lose the use of my hands. As well as other parts of my body. Much quicker than I had anticipated. I already have 3 types of arthritis: osteo, gout, and rheumatoid. For those not familiar with arthritis, osteo arthritis is also known as degenerative arthritis. This affects the joints.

Anyway, I wanted to share some of my struggles with arthritis this week. It's horrible. Much worse than I've ever experienced before. And I've lived with this since I was 17 and about 7 years ago when my fingers started turning at the joints, my doctor suggested that I find a hobby that requires constant use of my hands and that this would keep them in working order much longer than not using them on a daily basis. Since I already knew how to crochet, I just made crochet a part of my daily regimen. I crochet something each and every day. Until this week. I have struggled and struggled just to hold the hook. Crocheting one row of something is taking longer and longer and is more painful and more painful. And today, when I woke up and couldn't move two of my fingers on my right hand, I got scared. I called the doctor's office and went in for another steroid shot. Since this is my second shot this week, I will have to wait awhile now before I can have another. What am I going to do? This is all I can think about. Not only do I work at jobs that require the use of my hands (somewhat), but I can't imagine a life of not knowing if my hands will work today when I wake up. So...I'm trying really hard to think of positive things that I can continue to do and I'm trying hard not to "bring on trouble" when I already have enough of it in my life, but honestly...sometimes it's so easy to wallow in my despair. With that being said...I'm using this post to get rid of my worries and get on with things. The shots make me sickly and I end up in bed for many hours after receiving them but hopefully they are worth it. They have given me a low dose of pain pills and even cutting them in half still makes me ill, so they will not be a regular part of my regimen. Whenever I had a moment today, I made sure to sit down and pick up my crochet hook. After many attempts and tries, I finally figured out how to hold the hook with the least amount of pain. I also managed to work out a little bit of the kinks in my fingers after several hours of crocheting. I even managed to knit 18 rows on the scarf a little bit ago while watching TV. So, even with my troubles this week, I am feeling blessed. Yes, blessed that I am still able to do my crafting that I love so much. Regardless of the obstacles that will come my way...I will persevere. No more pity for me, only positive steps and actions in the future. Thank you so much for reading my arthritis story and for being there in the future when I become low or when I feel uplifted with this struggle.

Much love,

Shelly

Current WIP's

I thought I'd share a few quick photos of my current WIP's.

This is the Majestic Afghan/Blanket.

aka The Dr. Seuss Afghan.

I have 31 stripes (4 rows each) of sc. A total of 124 rows. When I put the afghan away, I think I had 96 rows done on it. I will have to do some research on my blog and see if this is true.

I'm using Red Heart yarn in Amethyst and Cherry Red. And a K hook. So far, I'm on my 2nd Super Saver sized skein of each color.

I'm wondering if I am using the wrong size hook or if I'm crocheting too tight now after having it put away for a few months as the rows I'm working on now are much tighter and smaller than the previous rows. You can't really see this in the photo as I moved it around a bit to look more uniform. I'm going to have to think on this for a bit.

Also, the blanket is intentionally worked in a vertical stripe.

Here's a current photo of the scarf I'm knitting.

I'm basically a new knitter. So...I have no idea why the scarf is curling along the edges. Anyone have any answers as to what I'm doing wrong? Do I need to frog it and start over? I hate to keep going on it and have a rolled up scarf when I'm done.

By the way, I'm trying to add a minimum of 10 rows to the scarf each day. So far, I'm sticking to my "vow" and getting these rows done. I figure if I make myself do it like this, then I'll have it done before too long. This is what I did while making the knooked scarf.