Happy Almost-May!

Name: Kaitlyn

Date: April 30

Current Location: Bethesda, MD

So this month started off with a 15-hour visit to the ER. I was *THIS CLOSE* to making it out of March with no more disasters, and the universe decided to get one more in. It turns out, I’m severely anaemic, and needed to get 3 units of blood through a transfusion before the doctors would even consider letting me out of the hospital. It was quite the experience, but 2 tornados, 3 units of blood, and 15 hours later, I was released to return home.

No idea what caused the anaemia, however, so I’m on iron supplements and I continue to donate large quantities of blood to various health professionals to peer at curiously through microscopes (I presume. I genuinely have no idea what they do with the many vials of blood they take, but they send me a report with lots of numbers, so it seems legit, lol).

Unfortunately, due to my recent health issues and the fact that I managed to royally fork up my taxes two years in a row, my finances won’t support much of the “travel” portion of this blog for a while. Instead, we shall be focusing on the “yarn” portion for the foreseeable future.

Current Projects:

Weaving
I’ve started WEAVING!! My class started this month, and I’m having so much fun! I also get to go to Alexandria, VA for this, which is south of the city and an area that I don’t get down to very much. I’d forgotten what a beautiful area King St is.

My weaving instructor is a lovely Georgian woman named Tea Okropiridze, and my classmates are a friendly group who are all just as enthusiastic as I am to be learning this skill.

Right now, we’re still working on samplers and experimenting with shapes and patterns as we get a feel for the basics of working with a loom. You can see in the photo of my work that there’s a very tight weave going on here – we’ve started with tapestry weaving, which creates a very dense fabric. We will be working on a looser, open weave fabric later in the course.

Snowflakes
Yarn: Aunt Lydia’s Classic 10 White Crochet Thread
Needle: 1.5 mm hook

I made several of these a few years ago to decorate our tiny tree during the Lockdown Christmas, and several friends and family members asked about buying them. I’ve been approached by a number of people asking if I’ll be selling any more, so I’m starting my stockpile now to make sure I have some ready to mail out in the fall.

I love doing these little snowflakes, because I can rip off a couple in just a few hours, and I feel like I’ve accomplished something…unlike my larger projects that crawl along at a snail’s pace. I enjoy doing them as I watch tv or a movie – keeping my hands busy helps me concentrate on the show better, believe it or not. These are a variety of free patterns from around the internet, easily found on Google or Ravelry by searching “crochet snowflakes”.

Flowers
Yarn: Aunt Lydia’s Classic 10 Crochet Thread in Orchid Pink and Maize
Needle: 1.5 mm hook

My summertime answer to my winter snowflakes, lol. I don’t enjoy these as much, simply because they aren’t as lacy or intricate as the snowflakes, but a friend requested some of these flower appliqués to spruce up a pair of her jeans, so I made a few yellow and pink ones for her. I can’t wait to see her jeans – I’ll ask her to send along a photo so you guys can all see the finished product! These are two free patterns I found by googling “crochet flowers”.

Wedding Shawl in Burnish from Purl Soho
Yarn: Cloudborn Superwash Merino in Ocean
Needles: Circular Knit, Size 5, 16”

Still chugging along, lol. I swear it’ll be done eventually.

Eventually…

Ryelight Socks from Tincan Knits
Yarn: Cascade Superwash in Heritage Paints
Needles: Circular Knit, Sizes 1 and 2

I successfully “picked up” all the stitches that were “on hold” (check me out, using all that sock-knitting lingo like I know what I’m doing!). I’ve made it past the heel and am well on my way to the toe!

Up Next:

Mostly working my butt off to pay my medical bills and taxes, but I will continue to plug away on my projects. Never give up!

Stay tuned for next month, where I will hopefully have remembered to take photos of Alexandria, and possibly myself in Alexandria, and also the weaving workshop at the art school, which is a wonderland of looms and yarn.

Stay happy! Stay healthy!