In the past year there have been periods of time that I have been physically unable to sit at the machine and sew. Rather than allow myself to get frustrated and depressed ... as is quite easy for me to do ...... I picked up an old past time of mine ... Crocheting.
At first it bothered my hands a lot but then I found these new ergonomic hooks. There are a few different kinds, so I tried a few till I found one that worked best for me.... it is flat with a small cushioned area in just the right spot. Now I crochet away. There was also another problem .... because of some of the very strong medicine I was on; it was difficult for to fully concentrate to follow the directions. My husband and I had many a good laugh over some of my strange creations. But I happily crocheted odd shaped scarves and hats for friends and family.... who very politely thanked me for the "lovely" creation.
Then I found a charity that was looking for people to make 8 inch squares either knitted or crocheted. A SQUARE !!!!! I can do that !!! Yippee!!! So I made about 100 squares for the orphanages in Rwanda and other places in Africa. No directions to follow and it was good strengthening exercise for my fine motor skills. It kept my wandering spaced out drugged mind occupied. AND the square was actually useful to someone in this world. I was happy.
As time went by and the drugs lessened I was able to do more with the crocheting and made a Granny Square blanket. A very basic design but a major accomplishment for me. The picture below is my blanket:
I found a pretty throw made with hexagons in a granny-square-type pattern. I still had trouble following the instructions but when I could not figure it out, I just made up my own pattern. It all worked except when I made 7 sided motifs instead of 6 ... :-). Below is that blanket ....
The tedious part is weaving all the hanging strains back into the pattern. You can see there are plenty to do via the next picture .....
On my last post I mentioned that we are eagerly awaiting the birth of my niece's (Jenica) second baby, a little girl named Aubrey. It is a happy/sad time for all of us because in April my sister & Jenica's mother, Melinda died very unexpectedly and quickly.
She was at Pilates and started feeling short of breath. By the time the paramedics got her to the hospital she was comatose and expired the next day. She had a massive brain hemorrhage. A very tragic event for all of us but we are getting thru. It is hardest, of course, for my niece. She is an only child herself and her second child is her first little girl.
There were no goodbyes but my sister was a registered organ donor. About 3 weeks after her death we received a letter from the Life Sharing Group that her donation had help over 60 people with organs and tissue donation. That meant a lot to all of us.
Melinda L. Moore
Melinda and her daughter, Jenica
Melinda and grandson, Brody
Thank you for stopping by and reading the blog. I would love to hear from you if you would like to leave a note. Thank you and God Bless. Joanne
PS I will post pictures when Aubrey arrives !!!!
