RED HEART SUPER SAVER!

I went a little crazy today at Wal-Mart. I bought 11 skeins of the variegated. They were all the same dye lot and I wanted to make sure I had enough for the project I have planned. I am going to use this to make the munchkin an afghan. I plan on replicating an afghan that she uses a lot now. It's a single crochet ripple afghan that was made for me when I was a baby. I can't wait to see how it works up. But I have to finish my log cabin before I start on this one. I am so excited. I know it's only acrylic, but I think it's beautiful. And besides, for the amount of wear it's going to get, I want to make sure that it's going to hold up.

Bacterial Infection

There's a really good reason that I haven't posted yet this weekend. Friday night around 11 p.m. it all hit the fan at our house.

I was in bed reading my book and heard the munchkin crying. Of course, I hoped she would just go back to sleep. But after a little bit, I could tell that wasn't going to happen. So I went in to get her. She only has a night light in her room at night. When I grabbed her out of the crib I noticed a strange odor and her pajamas seemed to be wet.

Once I turned on the light, it was immediately apparent what we were dealing with. She had thrown up all over herself, all over the sheets, the blankets, and everything.

So I got her out of bed, gave her a bath to clean her off, set her down with the hubby, and went to work trying to sort out what needed to be done with the bedding.

Got that under control and was sitting in the chair with her so I could keep an eye on her throughout the night. Around midnight she threw up again. This continued all night.

At 7:45 I decided, even though the emergency room had said if it didn't clear up by mid-morning she should be seen, that we had had enough. I had done more laundry in the middle of the night than I do in any normal week during daylight hours.

Munchkin had her blood oxygen checked, blood taken, a pediatric urine collector applied, ears and throat checked, and pretty much everything else they can do to piss off a toddler.

In the midst of it all, munchkin kept asking for "Papa". So, we called my dad. Once she got to talk to Papa for a while, she seemed to do a little better.

In the end, the blood tests came back saying that her white count was elevated. She has a bacterial infection. They're suggesting that it could be a UTI, but we won't know anything until we can collect a specimen. I'm not even going to go into all the trouble we've had with the pediatric urine collectors!

Once we had picked up her prescriptions and some groceries, we came home. She slept for about 6 hours. I got around 4. Then, she proceeded to sleep for 12 hours last night. The poor little thing has been a real trooper through it all. It's obvious she doesn't feel well, but she's doing better now. She's playing more and beginning to laugh again. It's nice to see her smiling again.

Friday night was a long night. I can't remember the last time I was that tired. I'll be glad when she's better. I hate seeing her uncomfortable.

Seaside Scarf

This is one of my favorites. I love the color so much. It measures 4" by 8'. It's amazingly soft and snuggly. You could feel it around your neck.

Another finished scarf

My cousin tells me these are all the rage. I did one for her. This one measures 26" in diameter and 12" high. It goes straight over your head and bunches around your neck. Does it looks like it wants to come live with you?

Shall we call it an obsession?

For better or for worse I've chosen my next obsession. I want to spin. Yarn. Not the exercise. Only one problem with this plan. The wheel I want, the Ashford Traveler (check it out here) will only cost me around $500.

And once I have a spinning wheel, then I have to have something to spin. Raw fiber of any quality costs $5 per pound.

And once you have raw fiber, you have to card it to make it into roving. Hand carders, like these run from $55-60. Or I could get a drum carder, like this, and save my poor arms and hands. That's another $300-700.

So as you can see, it's going to be a while before I get to spin lovely, homemade fibers with which to crochet beautiful things. But my day will come.

Early morning dreaming

Early this morning I was having a dream about my mom's mom. She died a couple of years ago. Since she was the one who taught me to crochet, it was a big loss for me. I've always heard that when you have a dream about someone that's passed on, that's their way of telling you that they're OK. In my dream she was wearing the same kind of housecoat that I always remember her wearing.

Then today we went over to my parent's for Christmas. As part of my gift, I received Hooked: A Crocheter's Stash of Wit and Wisdom by Kari Cornell. I read the first essay before taking a nap. It talked about how crochet is passed on from person to person, generation to generation. As I said, my grandmother taught me to crochet. And now I'm passing the craft on to others.

I'd like to think that she's looking down on me and that the dream was her way of telling me that she's proud of what I'm doing.

Washing machine mishap

For a while now I've been working on a Christmas surprise for my father. It's now safe to write about it as both parents are off for the holidays and don't have internet at home. Two years ago my dad's dad died. I had taken two pairs of my grandfather's overalls and was crocheting a rag rug with them for my dad.

I spent hours cutting them into strips and crippling my hands working them into the rug. It really was beautiful. One pair was blue and white striped and the other was just solid denim. I alternated with 5 rounds of each. There were two stripes of each type. I finished last night.

Are you ready? If you can't stand the carnage, you really ought to just walk away now. I'm serious. I won't hold it against you.

I washed it.

Shouldn't cause any problems, right? WRONG! My washing machine ate the rug. If it had just been the edge that wouldn't be a big deal. I could have frogged the edge and given him a slightly smaller rug. However, it ate the center too. I'm devastated. I can't even stand to post an image. It's too frightening.

And the worst part? I now have no overalls with which to make anything. I killed them.