Wip's taking over!!

Well as usual I have too many WIP's lying around and not enough time to get them all done. I am working on a baby blanket for my cousin's son with beautiful colored self striping yarn. I have a doll that I started and got put on the back burner due to some other projects. Let's see a purse to be done for an exchange, but have lots of time for that one. And then 2 things I DID complete were the sun caps shown here on my nieces. This beautiful pattern that I tested can be found at www.crochetgarden.com . Her work is exquisite, really.

Well more tomorrow, hopefully. Notice my posting is past sporadic. Someone stop the world, I wanna get off!!!!!!!!

Today I will crochet.....

Okay, all you crafters and fellow crocheters will appreciate this post,lol.

I wake up in the morning (many at that) and feel a bit sluggish. I know I should relax due to my health so I state in earshot of anyone in the house "I think today I will curl up and crochet". I then proceed to the kitchen and realize it needs to be straightened up. So I clean. Then I state "next I will crochet". Then the phone rings and I catch up with my sister. And then I notice laundry needs to be done. And then I realize the carpet needs vacuuming. And then, and then, and then..................

What is it about a work in progress that gets us to procrastinate and put it so low on the priority pole that it never even gets looked at for the day? You see I have set myself a goal. I am going to submit one of my works. I have put it off for long because I am very hard on myself. I have finally decided to just toss my hands up and do it. However the doing part is coming along slowly, lol. I am pretty sure what it boils down to is I love to do my craft work and crochet. I love it so much, that even if I am completing projects for sale I feel I am having too much fun. Therefore I get up and start doing house work, or tasks that everyone hates but someone has to do. I guess it is sort of a form of self punishment for spending time doing something that I love.

So does anyone else out there understand the guilt attachment, or am I nuts??
(No comments from the peanut gallery on the nuts part thank you!!!!!)

Whirlwind of emotions

Well it has been quite the whirlwind the past few weeks. My health has been on the downside and I have been struggling to deal with it. My grandfather's health was on the decline also. He lived to 93 years old. The cancer he had on his kidney which was inoperable finally became agressive, and he passed on 4/12. That brought up a whole bunch of emotions for me. My grandmother who passed in 2001 was like a mother to me, I loved her dearly. Losing my grandfather was like losing another connection to her.

But of course it didn't end there. My father was ill before my grandfather passed, and just like the trooper that he is, he kept himself going for the wake and funeral. The day after the funeral my father wound up in the hospital with pneumonia! So now I am at his home, helping out my brother to take care of things for my dad. Since things are pretty much under control now, I might actually get some crocheting done while here.

Well I am off for now!

On a tirade about health care

Well let me start by saying the last few days, I have suffered something terrible. This is something that comes and goes with me. I am a sufferer from Connective Tissue Disease, Fibromyalgia, and was born with a deformity to both legs.

Recently I had a discussion with my doctor about long term care to help support pain management. Sure we can get medications. I had fought the doctor to stay off of pain meds for years , and finally gave in. I have two children to raise, and a house to run. I didn't want to have to worry about being groggy. But I did need some relief and finally gave in.

My doctor pointed out that if not for just a physical relief, but a mental one, that we need therapies that we can have weekly to alleviate the stress and pain. I recently had a mini nervous breakdown if you will, and the doctor told me after evaluating me that what I was looking for was a break from illnesses that will never go away. The next suggestion was to find advocates that would help with suggestions on how to fight the insurance companies to pay for therapy or equipment that they might normally decline. But who do you go to? Where do you turn? Talk about frustration!

So now I am on a hunt, and if any information turns up I will most willingly share this with my friends. It is very hard to live day to day feeling like you are up against a brick wall and there is no way around it.

Okay, so I let off my steam!

This and that

Well I am finally up and moving around today. I have had a bad flare with my CTD and fibro and still hurting. I hate when it happens, I fall so behind in everything, including my crochet. I finally finished the doll I was working on. Working on dolls is something I so enjoy. I must not have played with them enough when I was younger, lol.

I currently am working on a felted totebag, have a shawl I want to make that is part of a group project also. And to top that off I still need to get around to making the shrug for my daughter. It's amazing that I get anything else accomplished with all the projects I have lying around, hehehe.

My son also expressed an interest in learning crocheting. I thought hey why not. He is Autistic and has ADHD and it might be a calming hobby for him. He told me the most precious thing the other day. He was a bit under the weather, and was sitting in the living room on his computer. He asked if he could use my shawl over his shoulders. I said sure. Then he proceeded to tell me that the things I make are so special. They are made with love and care, and when you use or wear them they are almost magical because it makes you feel so good. Talk about glowing!!!! I love that kid!

Well off till next time, time to work on a few things while I can...

Being Blessed

While sitting at home not feeling well, I have had a lot of time to reflect lately, basically on things in general. The past few years have been rough for me. Between family, finances, illness, etc, I really thought I was ready to check out.

I realized the other day, that I really have a lot to be thankful for. I love the house I am in now, I was dying to move from the other I rented, I had a slumlord unfortunately. I may be sick, but I get to stay home now and spend time with my kids and enjoy life at a slower pace. My daughter is a 15 year old,and even though she can be a typical brat teenager sometimes she still is a great student and very active in a lot of things. She has high goals and wants to go to college for criminal psycology. My son is autistic and yes it is rough with school and socially for him. But yet I have a child that likes to see the goodness in everyone, a child that gives me hugs constantly, a child I wouldn't trade for the world. My illness has been hard on me, yet my hands still work, even if it's slower, and I get to enjoy my passion for crochet and all the other crafts and fiber arts I do.

Then there is family. Most of all my sister. She is my sister, my best friend, my shrink, my sounding board and many other things. She is always there for me. She is a super mom with 3 wonderful girls that I love like my own. I am so proud of her, she is incredible. My mom makes my world colorful ( you all know how mom's are, lol), and my dad with his excitement about little things like his thrift store finds, or the day's events always brings a smile to myface.

Okay, well I don't want to make this a book. I just needed to note that for one day instead of moaning about something, I wanted to say how blessed I am ; and how thankful I am for that...

Where does the time go?

The last few days I have spent either in bed, on the recliner, or what little time sitting up I had, here. My own fault, I was in a bad flare and went out and decided I was going to run the snowblower to clear the driveway. I won't tell ya how big my driveway is, LOL. So needless to say it aggravated my illness and the last 3 days are a blur.

Anyway, I did manage to finish a baby blanket I was working on and plan to start on a few more things. I probably will do a shrug for my daughter, she has been asking since December! I'll get it done and the weather will warm up, I know it.

Also waiting to be placed in the completed crochet dress I have is the doll pictured here. Vinyl voodoo vixen? Science experiment gone wrong? Nope just Barbie after a day at Chelle's salon, LOL. It took a half hour and lots of detangler to recondition this doll's hair, but finally it all straightened out. Now I am just waiting for the hair to finish drying and I will post the photo of the doll and dress, minus the straight pins!!

Alyssa's Tiara

Well I have finally gotten around to posting. I am so famous for staring things and forgetting or putting them aside to start something else. I am always multi tasking.

Anywhoo, I was very proud of a crochet project I finally finished in time for my niece's birthday. I adapted a pattern I had for a crown and made a tiara to go with her princess dress. She had a princess theme of course, it was really cute. My sister draped fabric and tulle, and hung flowers, it was awesome. I had quite a time getting the tiara to stiffen properly. I used Mod Podge which I often do when I need something really hard. It holds up well to time and humidity. I of course picked apart any little things I realized I could have done better, but doesn't every crocheter do that?

My first blog!

So here I am, finally getting around to creating a blog site. I want to welcome anyone who stops by. I will be posting alot about my serious addiction ---to the yarn arts!lol. Plus family, etc. Enjoy!