Crochet Therapy

I have been home from the hospital after surgery to have another port placed (a plastic disc in my chest with tubing that runs into my heart) so I can get IV fluids and meds and blood work done without having to deal with yucky veins. After 3 1/2 years of intensive damage to my veins, they are just plain shot, and no one can access them anymore. So I agreed to try to port again, and pray for no clots or nerve damage like the last time.

My Etsy shops have been closed (except for ready to ship easy stuff), and I have been in bed recovering. I'm not good at being in bed doing nothing. So I've been hookin! It really is like therapy, so here are a few pics of things I've made, I hope you enjoy.

First up is a free form cotton sunhat for my daughter. I made a flat spiral on top, some shells on the side, a space for some elastic and then ruffles. She loved this yarn and picked it out of my stash.

 

Of course a big pink bow was in order!

I've also been working on my hexagon design, I have no clue what I'm going to make with them! I spent a gift card on bright cotton yarn, and really like the way they are turning out. Any idea what to make them into? I love that they are 3D and have a raised puffy enter and flower petals!

And lastly, I have been finishing this romper pattern, as the lacy flapper style baby rompers are very popular, and quite frankly adorable! I got stuck after the second round of ruffles, I can't decide how many more to add. Or just to add a ruffle butt. Who doesn't love a cute ruffle butt?

And now I just need an extra cute baby to model!
Have a great day!!!
--Claire

Gimpy Hooker with a Twist of Lyme

Cute "Lyme" pic from Neen Crochet

Just a quick update - we may have found what's causing (or at least exacerbating) my gimpy-ness. I'm putting this out there to both hopefully inform anyone who also struggles with a mystery disease, and account for any big lapses in posting.

A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with both Lyme Disease and Bartonella (another tick born disease). This is after having my first POTS episode 11 years ago, and a slew of chronic syndrome diagnosis and no answers. I wrote about my current health situation and the diagnosis journey in detail on my other blog HERE for anyone that wants more detail.

It's going to be an interesting ride from here on out - and to cope, I'll only be selling things that are ready to ship, no more "made to order" crochet, jewelry, or stitch markers. Everything in my shops is ready to go and already made. I'll be focusing on patterns and creating things for fun while I start this long treatment process. I hope to post lots of pretty pictures of new crochet creations, and fun free (and paid) patterns.

Next pattern in the Que!

I urge anyone that has mystery illness stuff going on to get tested! I have been misdiagnosed and left to get progressively worse for over a decade, and I was bitten by my first tick (that we know of) at the age of 12 - so who really knows how long this has been going on?

Cheers and healthy well wishes!
---Claire