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Crazy Days of Summer!

Well the heat is here. Not loving it, lol. I am having to get up much earlier to go walking, also not loving it, haha.

However, we have a new member of the family! Meet, Cerberus. He is a 5 year old Border Pit, Border Collie and Pit mix.

Cerberus

What a sweet lovable boy he is! And between him and Duke I am being more motivated to walk everyday!

Duke

I picked up Cerberus this last weekend while on a trip to attend the Crochet/Knit Addicts of North Texas Facebook Group monthly meeting. It just happened to be on the same day as World Wide Knit/Crochet in Public Day!

Me at Starbucks in Plano Texas

We had such a great meeting! Stay tuned for more on the next project we will be doing!

How is your summer going?

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May May be Productive?

Beginning of a new pattern.

I have several things on my needles and my hook to be finished in May!

Therefore I am hoping that May is a productive month. I was not sitting around in April. However I had a couple road trips which slowed down my production line a bit!

I talk more about some of it in this video 😊

https://youtu.be/EVXePoGJFuk

I have another new pattern coming out with a collaboration, and I am so excited! But I can’t say more until the pattern is back from testers!

Collaboration with PawPlyYarn!

I am also working on some fantastic new tutorials for my YouTube channel and I can’t wait to see how they are received 😆

What are your plans for May?

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Trade Days

Laela Martin of “The Stamping Ground”

I managed to get out and go to a local Trade Days event last week! It was almost completely outside, and despite being a bit windy and chilly, well attended.

I went specifically to see a friend of mine who lives close to me and is a fellow crafter! Her name is Laela, and she makes the most beautiful handmade cards! She is also a crocheter, and nomad crafter like me!

We had a great visit. I brought home a few of her cards too! I will show them in another video. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy my little clip of her beautiful work.

Have fun today!

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PRESENTING: My New Pattern! The Willow Arches Shawl ❣️

https://theessentialblossom.wordpress.com/product/willow-arches-shawl-pattern/

I am so excited to bring you my first design! This is my Willow Arches Shawl. I came up with this design after using one of these stitch patterns in my Be “Squared” Crochet A Long.

I made mine using Willow Yarns Denim Grace, a medium 4 weight acrylic wool blend. This is a lovely yarn to work with and worked up beautifully!

https://www.willowyarns.com/product/willow+yarns%26%238482-+denim+grace+yarn.do

This is an advanced beginner pattern. I have tutorials for both left and right hand on my YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/5JXZkEY07aA Right

https://youtu.be/Yk0j7nbtlNM Left

This has been such a fun process! With getting the feedback from the testers to seeing their photos of their shawls, to filming the tutorials!

I hope you enjoy it! ❤️

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Baby It’s Cold And Let’s Catch Up!!

Well it’s been a hot minute since I posted. However I am not letting the grass grow under my feet over here! Haha!

I finished two hats….

Custom order #1.
Custom order #2.

I finished this cowl and am working on a tutorial for it.

The yarn for the cowl is a lovely cotton from Made In America Yarns. One of their lines called Florafil. It’s so light and fluffy for a bulky cotton! Love it.

The Be “Squared “ CAL is gaining speed! We have 11 squares under our belt now!

And here’s a sneak peak at my first go at designing a shawl!

It should be going out to testers soon! So exciting!!

Stay warm everyone! Spring is coming 😊

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Fibromyalgia and a new way of eating.

So recently on a trip to Colorado to help my Dad, I got sick. I am always tired and have limited energy. Of course I know that being in my mid fifties is totally part of that!

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia shortly after I returned to work, after my oldest daughter was born. Now there was not a lot of research back then. Mostly we were all told it was in our head.

Dad had a procedure on a Friday and I was in the emergency room by that Saturday. Of course because it all started with high fever, tightness in my chest and uncontrollable shakes, I was a Covid risk. I was given a thorough work over with chest X-ray and c t scan and blood work and the dreaded stick up my nose to my brain. Thankfully negative !

Some of the blood work though got me thinking it’s time to lose some weight gained after quitting smoking, and being home after retiring from the beauty shop.

I met a lady in Joann’s who had a sweet little service dog with her. We stroke up a conversation about how one obtains a service dog and what qualifies. She mentioned fibromyalgia. Well, I thought I knew quite a bit about it. However there has been a great deal more research done. There is now a test which is quite expensive. Dolores, the lady in Joann’s, mentioned a book. I ordered it from Amazon and it was waiting for me when I got home.

WHAT YOUR DOCTOR MAY NOT TELL YOU ABOUT (TM): FIBROMYALGIA: The Revolutionary Treatment That Can Reverse the Disease https://smile.amazon.com/dp/153871325X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_wuUPFb793B1RG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

That’s the book.

I have started the protocol set out by this doctor. It has been a difficult week, with severe headaches and nausea and vomiting. I believe the worst was from coming off of caffeine and sugar. I am feeling better today and am getting the hang of how to cook differently.

Spinach and feta omelette with avocado and strawberries.
Beef stroganoff and salad with creamy homemade dressing.

I am struggling to get in enough water. And have to remember to eat several times a day to satisfy my blood sugar. But I have already lost 8 pounds! So not a bad start 🙂

I will have more about my journey. And I welcome any others who are fibro-warriors to leave me a comment and let me know what works for you!

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Reconstructing Patterns

So I had a great visit with the neighbor while visiting my Dad here in Colorado. She is so good to him by always sending over treats and cooked meals.

I know she is a crafter but this is the first time we have gotten to sit and work on something.

She has a blanket her grandmother made all the kids for their weddings. She is wanting to make one for her daughter as well. Of course, it is a vintage pattern.

So we got started with her reading the stitches she saw in the finished piece, and me trying to reproduce it.

Turns out we did a really good job! She found the closet pattern to it online and is now making some as well!

The closet pattern we could find is a Vintage Rose Afghan by McCalls circa 1978 or so.

I plan to do one of these as well, when my wip pile and Christmas projects are done!