ow.

I managed to break a bone in my hand.  I did not go to the doctor for 6 days because although my hand was quite swollen and bruised I thought I just pulled a muscle or sprained my wrist. I’ve never broken bones before, so I didn’t know what it would feel like/what to expect.  I decided though (after much urging from pretty much everyone) that since it is my right hand and I do so many activities with my hands that I should probably go get it checked out, because I would not want to mess up future knitting and crocheting, music playing, martial arts, calligraphy, etc.

The doctors did an X-ray and I could see where the metacarpal that connects to my pinky was messed up; a little chunk came completely off right at the base where it connects to my wrist. It was a little late then to do much about it other than wear a splint for a few days (I took good care of it for the first 6 days even though I didn’t think it was as bad as it turned out to be), and I’ve been wearing various braces and Ace bandages pretty much nonstop ever since.

How did I break a bone in my hand, you might ask?  Well, it was completely my fault; it was during a kung fu class and I threw a bad punch. Since I didn’t think it was serious though I finished the class, which probably wasn’t good for my hand.  I haven’t been back to class since because I needed to let my bone heal a little bit, and to be honest I am a little embarrassed. I will have to wear a brace during class for another few weeks at least and it will definitely get in the way, but my Sifu told me that I shouldn’t let it stop me from coming because we would find things that I could work on.  I think I am going to go tonight. I’m feeling a bit reclusive which is probably my anxiety and depression and I kind of just want to stay home, but I know that going to class again will be good for me. I’ll just have to be careful about my hand, that’s all.

Needless to say this means that I have not been doing a whole lot of knitting or crocheting. I did actually attempt to knit some on the third or fourth day before I went to the doctor, and while it didn’t exactly hurt it was slow and just wasn’t working. It’s been maddening not to be able to go to my kung fu class or to knit or crochet or practice calligraphy or play musical instruments. I’ve been sitting around the house doing a whole lot of TV watching and not much else. I don’t think I’m really even supposed to be typing so I’m using the dictation feature on my computer to put this text in, and I’ve been having to do the same at work with all of my paperwork, which has been frustrating.

Luckily, the doctor said that bones usually take anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks to heal, which is faster than I expected, although it still kind of sucks. He also said that it could potentially still feel bad for a while after that, but I’m not too worried about that. It doesn’t hurt at all when I’m just resting or even moving around, it just hurts when I try to use it to pick up stuff or open doors (occasionally I will forget that it is broken and start to do something like that, only to immediately stop).

So yeah, that’s what’s been going on with me. Sorry there weren’t any pictures in this post.  I will have a really good post up on Sunday however, which just might involve a giveaway, so stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

pattern release: quick & simple granny shawl!

The Quick & Simple Granny Shawl pattern has been tested and is ready to go!  Read about & download the free PDF below.

Quick & Simple Granny Shawl

DIFFICULTY:

Easy/beginner

SIZE:

56” (142 cm) wingspan before blocking, 68” (173 cm) wingspan after blocking (but adjustable to your liking by just adding or subtracting rows)

MATERIALS:

  • 6 skeins of Lion Brand Landscapes (New Aran) in colorway 204 Desert Spring (pictured above) or 882 yards (807 m) of an aran weight yarn of your choice
  • 6.0 mm/US J hook
  • Finishing items: scissors, tapestry needle, blocking pins & mats

GAUGE:

Gauge is not important, just crochet until the shawl is the size you want!

NOTES:

  • Blocking is not required, it is up to your personal preference
  • Keep in mind that adjusting the size will also change the required amount of yarn
  • The other pictured example below uses a DK weight yarn, King Cole Riot, with the 6.0 mm/US J hook for a lacier feel; this is a great example of how you can customize the pattern to your liking!
  • Pattern testing & the King Cole Riot example were done by the lovely Claire, owner of the blog Mollie & Claire. Thank you Claire!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREE PDF!

Quick & Simple Granny Shawl

pattern release: the olympia cowl!

 

I’m so excited to share my very first knitting pattern with you!  I worked very hard to get it just right and I hope you enjoy making it.  If you have any questions or problems, please let me know!

the olympia cowl

difficulty level:

medium

finished size:

22″ circumference, 20″ H

materials:

  • 2 balls of We Are Knitters Meriwool in the colorway Sprinkle Fantasy or 297  yds (272 m) of a worsted yarn of your choice
  • US 10.5 (6.5 mm) 24″ circular needles
  • cable needle
  • stitch markers, tapestry needle, scissors

the olympia cowl

download free PDF pattern

If you have any problems or questions, feel free to comment or send me a message using the contact form available in the menu bar!  I hope you enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

The Olympia Cowl

Finally, some crochet!

Knitting has sort of taken over lately, but I’ve been missing crochet and have been searching Ravelry for the perfect crochet pattern or idea.  Inspiration came instead from Instagram, and I started a simple granny triangle shawl:

img_7857

It’s more rainbow-y than what I usually go for in terms of the wide range of colors — usually my ombre yarns are more subtle and just shift through the hues and tones of two or three colors.  I think this looks great for fall and winter though.

The yarn is Lion Brand Landscapes (new Aran) in 204 Desert Spring.  It’s 100% acrylic & each ball is 147 yds.  I have 4 balls but I think I’ll need more to make a decent sized shawl.  If you are interested in getting this yarn, go to Wal-Mart, if there’s one around you, or order it on their website, where it’s under $5 per ball.  On other online sites it can be upwards of $6.

img_7858

The yarn is soft considering it’s acrylic and I hope it’s warm too — it’s finally starting to get cold here, at least in the mornings.  It dropped below freezing for the first time this season last night!

Well that’s all for now.  This is working up quickly so hopefully I’ll have an update soon!  Hope everyone stays safe traveling if you’re in the US and celebrating Thanksgiving!

No.

I’m ashamed of my home state, my current state of residence, and the electoral college representatives as well as about half of this country.

My husband says I may be overreacting to the results, but I am very scared for so many reasons it’s ludicrous, and I think as a woman I might just have cause to overreact in fear and anger.

This is the only place I feel safe talking about this even a little bit — facebook is a disaster and I don’t want to divide myself from friends and family even if we do have different views.  Here I hope you’ll forgive me for having this convo but I’ve got to get out at least the basics.  This is not a place for details because this is not a political blog and I don’t want a huge nasty argument because there’s no point now.

So the basics: I’m offended (and no, not just because I’m a millenial), I’m hurt, I’m scared for myself in many ways, I’m scared for the kids Chris and I want to have some day, and I’m scared for other women and people of color and people with disabilities.

I can sit here and not do anything and try to ride it out and hope that things get better in 4 or 8 years, but when does that attitude help anything?  Action makes change.  This is my second small action (my first was voting, in the primaries and yesterday’s election), just expressing myself a little bit.  I want to take more actions and maybe I will, but that will not be documented here.

I want my readers, especially the ones overseas, to understand that I do not support what has happened.  I do not want to argue with anyone, it wouldn’t do any good on either end.  I just want to say how I feel because how I feel matters.  I matter.  No matter what other people say.  And I will fight to make sure that other people understand that my voice matters.

OK, that’s all I can handle, thanks for stopping by.  Back to our regularly scheduled happy crafting.

%d bloggers like this: