The Preamble

Since my "return" post I have been flitting here and there in the blogosphere filling up on juicy bits of bliss and wisdom. Most of these are listed in my sidebar, but I thought I'd point out places where I've been spending my computer time (besides Ravelry!). I love Lucy at Attic 24 and her truly bright outlook on life in her corner of England. Her crochet is wonderful and the colors cheerful. The other fiberly connected blog that I have been hanging out at is Juniper Moon Farm. I love all the great information and sweet pictures of the flock and Susan is a wonderful correspondent (unlike those of us who disappear for weeks at a time!). The rest of her site is just as full of fibery, sheepy fun as her blog! For nourishment on a deeper level I have been truly enjoying the challenge of keeping track of Joy at Unfolding Your Path to Joy and her beautiful outlook on the changes and joys of living life truly connected to the Universe. The other place I've been getting filled up and lifted up is Goddess Guidebook. I really admire what Goddess Leonie does and is and I love to read her posts on her adventures through life.

A lot of this has been fueled by avoidance. I knew I had promised to tell my story, but I hadn't really liked the way any of my attempts had gone. My voice wasn't genuine. So I looked to people who have a genuine way of writing to get past my own frustrations. They each have a story to tell, and in the case of another blog I've been following, BlissChick, the story is as raw and fresh to her as mine is to me.

So, with a few months of preparing and a whole collection of posts about being authentic to self and embracing fear over the past few days I am getting ready to hit publish on a post in which I tell my story. Stay Tuned.

Lace Preview

While I was gone, a friend profiled a picture of a doily I made for her on her blog. Kimberly Shaw makes some beautiful cards, and I love being able to share them with my friends as a suprise in the mail.

I have enjoyed the challenge of doilies and finally got some pictures of a few of them, thanks to my dad and his light box. I'll throw a few around on my blog now and then - like this one:

More to come...

An Update and Some Felted Flowers

Things have been busy around here... I have an appointment with a doctor in a couple of weeks to start the process of getting to know them and developing a new network of specialists. When I was first diagnosed with IIH I had a team of caregivers including my optometrist who first noticed something wasn't right, my primary care physician, a neurologist, and a neuro-opthamologist. Doesn't that sound exciting? In all honesty, it was the best care I have received so far. Once my insurance changed I was assigned to a doctor and neurologist who told me that "it was all in my head" and that I was simply making all of this up to get attention. The neurologist even scheduled my therapeutic Lumbar Puncture (aka spinal tap) just to make me stop telling him something was wrong. It was such a horrible experience of care that I have avoided doctors for the last three or four years and successfully managed to convince myself that I wasn't feeling any of the symptoms again. Thank you to everyone who expressed support for me on this journey of learning to be compassionate with myself through all of this. I do suspect that I will be keeping you somewhat abreast of what happens as there is little out there about living with this condition. If it can help someone else who is living with this then I will do what I can. Perhaps it will even keep me honest with myself about taking care of it.

I have also been crocheting flowers like crazy. The flowers turned out quite lovely, and I even managed to remember to take a before picture of the last two before I felted them! Below is a picture of two white roses - one large and one bud, that I took prior to felting along with two similar felted flowers.

Below is the collection of flowers I delivered to At Home With Laurie Ann, a local design store that I made this particular batch for. We had lots of fun dreaming up places to put felted flower pins, and I did in fact put one on a felted hat that I had made a while ago. It looks really cute! To the center left you can see the large white rose from the above picture while the white bud is next to the turquoise flower to the right, both after the felting process.
I hope to have some more pictures up soon of the projects I completed as Christmas presents this year. I know it is a bit late to be showing of Christmas projects, but I used my dad's camera to take the pictures and then forgot that they were there until recently!

Yarny Fun

It seems early to some, but I have begun working on Christmas presents recently. It all started with a coolish day a few weeks ago, when I pulled out some yarn and began on a special afghan. Then I remembered a baby shower coming up in early November and that got me going. The blanket for the baby is finished and I have my patterns picked out for almost all of the rest of my Christmas projects.

I have to admit that it feels really good to have my fiber projects going again. Over the summer I focused on small cotton projects - sets of cleaning cloths and a few hair ties and kerchiefs. Of course, my list keeps growing of all of the crafts I would like to do around the house! A pillow or two for my living room chairs, finish a doily or two that I have been working on for what seems like forever...

Almost all of this is exclusively crochet, which is my strongest skill. I'd love to pick up the whole knitting thing again, too. I keep thinking about all of the beautiful sock patterns I've seen (though I've seen quite a few crocheted ones popping up) and how there is so much fun sock yarn out there just waiting for me. I've also admired the knitted sweaters with all of those fun cables and different laces that I haven't been able to reproduce in crochet. I guess this winter it will be time for me to focus on using two (or more) pointy sticks instead of one hook!

Perhaps this winter will also be the time I finally open my Etsy shop. I've been talking about it for almost a year now but have been afraid to take the plunge. Much of it is fear that people won't like my work, but I need to get it out there so that I can find out!

Rippled Baby Blanket

The wind caresses my face, cool and gentle. I look up to watch the clouds burn away in the face of the mid-morning sun, grateful for the soft touch of it's rays through the window. I am sitting with a ball of yarn idle in my hands, thinking for the moment about what it will become. It is a fluffy, bulky mass of pale green and blue baby yarn and I am looking for something simple. A treat to play with, but not so involved that my focus is absorbed in remembering the pattern from moment to moment. Being baby yarn, I am thinking about a simple, small traveling blanket - one sized for a car seat. Ripples, to go with the watery colors. So I pick up a large sized hook and begin my chain. Simple rhythm takes over and I am lost in soft seas that undulate gently around me, dreaming of a future and a past. The simple ties of yarn and hook that travel the generations from my grandmothers to me, and perhaps, if I manage to teach someone else the joys of yarn and hook, a future generation. Perhaps I am crafting an heirloom that someone will save from the time when their baby was young to share with a grandchild later on. Perhaps not. But what I am crafting is peace.

Recent Projects

Things have been busy here at the Cottage. A while back I promised pictures as soon as I figured out how to get them out of my camera. (Sometimes I have to remind myself that technology is a friend) and here they are:

These two are baby blankets I made for family friends who have had babies in the last couple of months. The star was especially difficult for me because I kept losing count of my stitches, but it turned out great!

From left to right, above: Ruby Grapefruit Marmalade (my first attempt at a jelly of any sort), Lemon Curd, and Pickled Beets. All homemade, and all delicious!

Two hats that I have made recently. The top one is now on the head of a friend from choir, and the bottom one matches a coat that belongs to my godmother. I have had a lot of fun with hats and have made quite a few. I just don't happen to have pictures yet!

I love the way hats and baskets (another crocheting love of mine) grow so organically from the yarn choices I make. Lately I've been playing with some lovely yarns - wool, alpaca, blends with wool and silk... enough to make me dive into a basket of yarn and stay there!

The animal yarns (alpaca, wool, etc..) are especially fun because I can felt the finished product and change it's character even more. Many of my bowls, baskets, and bags are felted because it also makes the end product stronger and more durable.

Eventually I want to open an Etsy store, but am always looking for people who are interested in having unique custom pieces made for them. Until my store is ready, if you are interested please contact me and I would be happy to work with you on colors and give you a quote on the price.

Cozy Day at The Cottage

Grey skies and rain - a perfect combination for curling up on the couch with the dog, the cat, some yarn, my crochet hooks, and a pot of lovely spicy tea. It doesn't happen often enough to suit me, so when it does I like to make the most of a day like this. I have several projects in the works and perhaps I will be able to finish one or two today.

I've been really into designing hats recently, and as soon as I figure out which folder they disappeared into, I will post a couple of pictures of hats that are now on heads of friends. I really think hats can be quite classy, not to mention useful. I started wearing them as self defense when it was discovered that I can sunburn (quite badly) through a thick cloud cover and sunscreen, and then noticed that it helped keep my glasses dry on drizzly days! Now I am experimenting with different patterns to create a whole wardrobe of hats for various occasions. It may be overkill, but until they come up with a 100 SPF sunscreen that is easy to wear, I'll be putting on a lot more hats!

So now it is off to curl up with the "kids", my yarn, and some tea in my favorite brown betty teapot and earthenware teacup. I'll be making a spiced tea:

Good quality black tea (use one teaspoon per cup, plus one for the pot)
A pinch of whole cloves, slightly crushed
A good sized piece of candied ginger
A cinnamon stick, broken into small pieces
A piece of nutmeg too small to grate without removing the tips of your fingers
A piece of star anise
An allspice berry or two, crushed into largish pieces
If you really enjoy a truly spicy chai experience, add several peppercorns as well

Put the spices into a tea filter or muslin tea bag (especially good if you can only find ground spices) and add to the water. Bring this to a boil and let it steep for ten minutes. Bring the spiced water back to a boil and pour over the tea leaves or bags and let it steep for four minutes (this should avoid the bitterness of over-brewed tea). Remove the spices and tea and pour into your serving cup. This is good sweetened with honey if you like your tea sweet, and served with a little milk.

Enjoy your day!