IT'S A WRAP OF YOP 14

 

This is it!  The last post for my 14th Year of Projects.  This year saw me missing several weeks of blogging.  Something I had not really happened in prior years.  But as we all know, life does happen and sometimes a person just needs to regroup and recharge.  However, I did continue to craft in many areas even when I was not blogging about it.  So, to wrap up this last year of projects I need to start out by posting a photo of my last finished object of this year.

My RCR (rose city roller) socks were completed this past week.  I cast these on in March but lost interest in them for a while and then had issues with my wrist.  But, finally they are completed and in my drawer.  They were made with Cascade Cotton Sox yarn.  It is a bit thicker than standard sock fingering yarn so I had to go down 8 stitches to make them 'snug' on my foot.  They will be perfect this summer to help keep my feet dry while in sneakers.

So, how did I do this year?  Here is my Wish List.

WIP CARRY OVERS

Madonna and Child XS 8/7/20 -

Rolling on the River 3/20/24 -FROGGED

MKAL Gnome 4/20/24 -

Madonna and Child XS 6/18/24 -

Felt Christmas Ornaments 10/18/22 - 

GOALS

Find ways to use up a plethora of fingering weight yarn!!!!

Mainly focus on the WIP's that are begging to be completed.

Enjoy the process of what ever craft I decide to focus on at the moment.

COMPLETED ITEMS

Habitation 5/20/24 - 7/17/24

To The Point Shawl 8/8/24 - 8/15/24

To The Point Shawl 8/19/24 - 9/6/24

Wee Sherlock 9/27/24 - 10/19-24

Basic Baby Beanie 10/19/24 - 10/22/24

RCR 4/23/34 - 11/16/24

Toe Socks 11/8/24 - 11/15/24

Toe Socks 11/20/24 - 11/22/24

Baby Sea turtle throw 10/28/24 - 11/27/24

Toe Socks 11/23/24 - 12/6/24

Toe Socks 12/7/24 - 12/21/24

Azel 11/28/24 - 12/21/24

Simnia Cardigan 1/8/25 - 1/25/25

Quick and Easy Baby Hat 1/24/25 - 1/31/25

Half Granny Square Shawl 1/27/25 - 1/30/25

Quick and Easy Baby Hat 2/2/25 - 2/4/25

Simnia Cardigan 2/5/25 - 2/20/25

Mehujaa 9/14/24 - 3/3/25

To The Point Shawl 3/4/25 - 3/8/25

RCR 1/2/25 - 3/12/25 (one sock)

Quick and Easy Baby Hat 3/13/25 - 3/17/25

Lapghan 3/12/25 - 3/22/25

Quick & Easy Baby Hat 3/23/25 - 3/31/25

To The Point 4/2/25 - 5/1/25 This is the 44th one of this pattern!!!!!

RCR 3/13/25 - 6/25/25

 Lapghan 5/8/25 - FROGGED

Dishcloths X3 6/9/25 - 6/15/25

NEW WIP

Shawl We Wear 6/2/25 - 

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I did acquire quite a few skeins of yarn this year.  Two of them were cotton sock yarn of which I already have used up one of them for my latest RCR socks. I bought copious amounts of Caron Simply Soft yarn for prayer shawls and lapghans. This was all purchased from JoAnn's going out of business sale.  There were 2 skeins of Sugar Wheel Cotton purchased for dishcloths as well as several skeins of Sweet Delight DK weight for baby items. (Those were from Hobby Lobby and on sale too)

If asked which was my favorite make.......................The Mejuhaa is still my favorite to make.  It is time consuming but is such a gorgeous shawl and so easy to wear.

 After that, it would be baby items.

I made several baby items but this cardi was my favorite.

My plans for next years YOP are already in progress.  Again, they will be vague as to what will be made.  I will also be including ALL of my different crafts I am involved in this year.  So stay tuned for that to appear in next week's post.

This past week saw so many things happening.  We have a guest staying with us until Monday evening.

See that furry thing?  That is our daughter's dog, Celeste.  Mom and dad are in Minnesota for a family reunion and we offered to take her for them.  They have 3 dogs but this one is the only one our dog gets along with.  She is extremely quiet and sleeps most of the day.  Yet, when it is feeding time, she is alert and prances around like a puppy.

This also happened.

Josh and Stacie's plumbing when haywire.  The plumber has been out twice and it still is not fixed.  They have hot water but no cold water.  Only 1 out of three toilets works and their washer won't fill for laundry.  Josie and Joe are looking to see if there is anything they can do to help.  Nope!  But at least they tried.  The next step is for walls to be opened up to see where the plumbing comes into the house to find out where the plug is.  Not something they needed.  They are wanting to sell their house and move into something all one floor that Stacie can manage on her own once Josie moves out and as Josh's terminal cancer progresses.  A few prayers are needed for them.

Then there is this little monster.

This is Meatloaf.  Although, I do not think any of us have used his given name yet.  He is so cute but so much a kitten and into everything.  He is very friendly unlike her other cat that stays in his 'room' 90% of the time.  He is about 3 months old now and will soon be going in for his little 'surgery'.

Here is your chuckle for the week.

Interested in joining in on the fun with the rest of us crafters?  Here is the link where you can join.  It is free and open to all no matter what craft you enjoy.

Until Next Time.............................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't Faint! Week 51

 

Don't faint.  I know it has been a month since I last posted.  Life has been very busy for this family.  I will update family life at the end of this. 

Let's talk about what my hands have done over the past month.

I did complete my Eagle and Flag Diamond Art.

It has been sealed and ready for me to find a frame for it.  I want to hang this in hubby's office area.

I started another Diamond art after this one.

And finished this one too.  Of course I started another one.

It is still a work in progress.  This one will go in my craftroom.

For a little palette cleanser I did a few coasters my daughter got me for my birthday.  Yes!  I am another year older.  This is my 72nd rotation around the sun.

Poor lighting on this shot.  This coasters are so nice and quick.  I still have 3 more to do plus she got me a perpetual calendar to add sparkle to.

I finally have picked up my crochet hook again.

A prayer shawl in progress.  It is a little over half done.  I was tired of my standard "To The Point" shawl so found this and decided to try it.  I had to adjust the pattern as it is originally 30 inches wide by 77 inches long.  Way to wide for someone sitting in a chair receiving chemo.  I will keep the length though so it can wrap around a body.

I also made these.

Dishcloths!  I gave the last of mine away when Jaxon moved to her apartment.  I like to keep a few back ups for gifts.

I even picked up the RCR socks and added a few rows on one of them.  They may get completed sometime.  I am in no hurry for them.  It is in the 110F (43C) here so socks are not really a thing right now.

I pulled out my 2 cross stitch pieces this week and looked at them.  Yup, still not done.  For some reason I do not have little elves coming in at night and working on them.  I may pull one of them out soon and add a bit to it.  I could actually use them as a take along project on the days I am with Josh.

Which leads me into my personal life...................................Well............................

As of May 30th, Josh (our son) was placed on Hospice.  It is not that he is at deaths door.  It is to give Stacie (his wife) the help she needs with him.  He has a nurse that comes in once to twice a week to check on his vitals and see what areas of his life have deteriorated (if any) since her last visit.  He also gets an Aide come in twice a week to give him a shower and help with shaving and anything else he needs as far as personal care.

Stacie is still working.  She does 2 days at home and 3 days in the office.  On the days she goes to the office one of us (mom, dad, sister, brother and sister in law) will go and stay with Josh.  We make sure he has good food in him as well as any medications he needs while we are there.

A couple of weeks ago, Stacie and Josie (their daughter) took a little trip to Seattle.  They both needed the get away.  During that time we all took turns taking care of Josh 24/7.  Our daught spent all the nights there with him and the rest of us took the day shifts.  It all worked out quite well.

On the days I was not with Josh I was busy doing laundry, grocery shopping, cooking for 'the crew,', transporting family to appts, planning a Father's Day bash and entertaining my hubby's brother who came to visit Josh.  The brother is a Doctor which was fantastic.  He gave us several opinions and ideas to help out when Josh has one of his bad days.  We had a family dinner last night so everyone got to spend some time with 'Uncle Mike'. 

I am taking today off!  Hubby and I went to Mass and then out to breakfast.  He is tutoring Jaxon in Geometry and I am kicking back and looking forward to working on my different crafts after I finish this blog post.

Next week, I will do a wrap up on what I accomplish in my 14th year of being in YOP.  I have just found out one of our original  YOP members will be joining us for year 15.  Hi Kim!  Also, another member who has been absent for a few years is coming back for year 15.  Hello Ruth!  This past year, Becky came back and I was happy to read all about her beautiful doilies, cross stitch and gardening. I am so exited to see that this group continues to grow and we have people come and go and come back again.  We are located all over the globe which makes it even more exciting to me since my globe trotting days are behind me.  If you are interested in joining us you can find us here.

Here is your chuckle for the week.

 Until Next Time.........................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 47!!!!!

 

I am alive!  Yes it has been a month since I last opened up my blog to post on it.  I have been reading all y'alls blogs though.  I may not always comment since, many times I am just grabbing a few moments to catch up with one or two of you while in waiting rooms or hospital rooms.

Anyone else have something like this in their home?  In the back are the Rose City Roller Socks.  Still waiting for me to work on them.  In the front is a ripple (chevron) lapghan I started the middle of this month.  My right wrist is still not able to do much yarn work.  Therefore, these sit next to me and get maybe one or two rows a week put on them.

However.......................I did finish the To The Point Shawl.

I did not get a photo of it before I whisked it off to the church for the Cancer ministry. 

To keep myself busy when I am at home I have been diving into my diamond art and legos.

Hei Hei from Moana was my Mother's day gift from hubby.  He was so much fun to put together.

We did finish the Milky Way Lego set.

It still needs the light kit put on it and then find a place to be displayed.

Hubby bought me Notre Dame for my birthday. My kids got me the light kit to go with it.  I have not started on that yet since my birthday isn't until next Sunday LOL.

I have finished another Diamond Art.

This one took a bit of time.  Lots of color changes not to mention I was a little busy with life this past month.

This is my current project.

I am hoping to complete it this weekend.  The flag is completed and his eye is done.  Now I am working on all the feathers and beak.

On the personal front..................Life has been very busy.  Josh has been in and out of the hospital again.  His short term memory is gone as well as his ability to make decisions and his thought process is getting bad.  He is now in need of 24/7 watching.  The family is taking turns caring for him while Stacie works away from home 3 days a week.  The Dr has suggested Hospice for him.  Not that his passing is eminent, but mainly to help Stacie out with his activities of daily living. (bathing, dressing, grooming etc)  So, that will probably be happening in the next few days. He will stay home and have Hospice come to him each week. That has been taking 90% of my free time.

Tiffany had ankle surgery and so I am also taking her to appointments as she has a hard time driving with this................

The cast finally came off this past week but she is limited to the amount of walking she can do.  I am still taking her to a few Dr appointments when her hubby is scheduled to work.  (We are all 1 car families)

One of Hubby's brothers had a stroke a couple of weeks ago also!  So, hubby has been in ready mode to head off to Las Vegas if needed.  So far, the rest of the family has pitched in and has helped out with his recovery.

So, as you can see, I have been a bit busy with life.  I am on my last week of PT.  I could probably extend it if I truly wanted to but..................I have all the equipment at home to continue on with what they have started.  With everything going on here, I do not think I will continue.  My attention is needed elsewhere.  

Today, I will catch up on laundry, mending, cleaning the fruits and veggies we bought on Friday, making Enrique's dog food and maybe even take a little time for myself!  

In honor of all those who lost their lives fighting for our American freedom.  We honor and thank you! RIP!

Until Next Time...............................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 43

 

Two weeks have flown by again.  Life sure does have a way of getting in the way of blogging.  Last week was Easter and this is the first year we have not had a family gathering for the day.  After everything that had happened with Josh, we all agreed we just needed a nice quiet weekend to regroup.  But, I am back and ready to show you what I have been up to in the last 2 weeks.

I have been able to crochet again.  Not for any length of time but enough that I am almost finished with the To The Point prayer shawl.

There are only two more rows to do and it will be complete.  Hopefully, that will happen today.

I did do a few rows on my RCR sock, but  it did not warrant a photo.  My main focus has been diamond art and Legos.

I completed all my flower kits.  There were 3 in total.  I put them all together in a lovely vase and have them sitting on my dining room table.  So bright and a nice pop of color.

Here is what I have completed in diamond art:

My little gnome magnets are attached to our beverage fridge.  They were a joy to make.  I completed all of them in just 2 days.

The humming bird was fun to do too.  When the light hits these items, they really sparkle thanks to the diamond cut beads on them.

I completed this butterfly last night.  I have no idea what I am going to do with all of these.  I did purchase a couple of notebooks to store them in.  Maybe I will just keep them in there and then I can just flip the pages like a photo album and look at them.

That is all for my crafting in 2 weeks.  Josh and I are back in physical therapy.  I probably only have another month or two left before I will be discharged.  That is fine with me.  I have purchased all the equipment I need to continue my journey at home.

Nothing else to report.  Things are status quo for the moment and hopefully they stay that way for a while.

Here are 2 chuckles for you this week.  Since I missed last week, I figured I would give you a little extra smile.

Until Next Time....................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 42

 

I'm back and boy, do I have lots of 'stuff' to show and tell about.  I am going to get right into it!

I have a couple of yarn projects on the go................

Still working on my RCR socks.  I had to decrease them by 8 stitches as they were very loose.  This is the only one I worked on in the past 2 weeks.  The other one is just past the heel and saw no love at all.

Another To The Point shawl has been started.  This is really a very bright lemon yellow.  The photo was taken at 5 this morning and not much natural light was available.

Both of these projects are in a little time out.  My right wrist is still not happy with me.  My rheumatologist will be getting a call on Monday to see if there is anything I can do to relieve the flare.  Tylenol is not really helping this one.

Since crocheting and knitting are out of the picture for a while, I have picked up other crafts that can be done one handed (kind of sort of)

Diamond Art!!!!!!  I love this stuff.  Here is what I have done in the past two week.

Grogu and Pram was completed and gifted to my DIL, Tiffany.  She is a huge Grogu fan.

Highland Cow magnets were completed and gifted to my DIL, Stacie.  She is such a big cow fan.  Cows are all over her house.

The original picture that got me started on all of this was finally completed. Not sure what I will do with it.  But, it's completed.

 This is my current project. Pardon the shiny glare.  There is a protective plastic sheet that keeps the project from attracting dirt and other things on the sticky areas.

Legos!  This has also been one of my new crafting projects.  I made these flowers on Friday.  I have more flower kits to make and add to the vase.  I told my husband he no longer needs to buy fresh flowers every week.  These will last forever and do not need water!

This is my current Lego project.  Grogu and his pram.  I finished Grogu last night and will start on the pram today.  We also have the Milky Way with lights to work on once all the 'little' kits are completed.  

That concludes my crafting news...................in other news....................JOSH!

That man!  After I blogged 2 weeks ago, I got a panicked call from Stacie that something was terribly wrong with Josh.  Hubby and went to their house and were shocked.  He could not stand, walk and barely talk.  We did not know what had happened but it was quick and very scary.  He had only been out of the hospital for 2 days!  We had people spend the night there for safety sake and on Monday morning, Stacie called his Oncologist office to tell them the symptoms.  They had her call an ambulance to get him to the Emergency Dept ASAP.  Once there, it was determined he had swelling in his brain (excess fluid) that was pushing on areas that controlled his legs and speech.  Thankfully, it was NOT a stroke.

He was then transferred to the hospital, where his Drs are, and admitted.  They started him on mega doses of steroids to try and get the swelling under control until his scheduled surgery that Friday.  That did help and he did have his shunt surgery on Friday the 4th of April.  He was then scheduled to go to acute rehab on Tuesday to get his strength back.

In the meantime, after surgery and until he went to rehab, he started to have symptoms of delirium.  He was thinking people that worked in the hospital were he co-workers and many other types of strange things.  When he moved to rehab, paranoia kicked in.  I think this was scarier than the delusional thing. He thought, everyone was out to get him and give him drugs to knock him out!  Come to find out, his steroids were to blame.  Once they decreased his dosage, his mind became much more normal!  Now we are going through steroid withdrawal and emotions are super strong.  Seems it will take about two weeks for his system to totally get back to normal.  He was discharged from rehab 2 days after getting there!  He was walking and talking again. 

This was his last day at the hospital and the last trip around the ward with his physical therapist.  He got back on his feet very quickly.

He is now home and the shunt is doing well.  He is scheduled to go back to PT this week (as am I) and hopefully this will get him back to being  'Josh' again.  Thanks to all of you who have offered prayers and positive thoughts.  The last two weeks have not been easy.  The hospital where he stayed is not close to home so there were many traveled miles in lots of city traffic.  Many sleepless nights.  Many missed meals.  Many tears.  But lots of great family support and love.

Hubby and I are now trying to get our lives back on schedule.  I even made a meal plan for the week!  There was a well prepared grocery list done as well as grocery shopping completed.  As I said above, I am going back to PT this week also.  I do not think walking copious amounts of hospital corridors is enough exercise to keep my mobility where it was.  Not to mention eating hospital cafeteria food is not always the most nutritious.  

I do have a good chuckle for you today

Until Next Time.................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 39

 

Hello and welcome.  It has been a very trying and busy week so let's get right to the fun stuff.

Not a lot of knitting was done as my right wrist is still in flare mode.  Here is what I did manage to work on.

Only a few rows on the socks got completed.  I did try them on and they were a little on the loose side so I decreased each sock by 8 stitches.  With less stitches that means they should knit a bit faster, right?

I did cast on another preemie baby hat for my niece's NICU.  It got the most attention.  I need another half inch and then start the decreasing.  Hopefully I can get it done this week if my wrist will cooperate.

Since my wrist was malfunctioning, I decided to work on some diamond art.

This was an impulse purchase last week and I did finish it in 2 days.  It is meant to be hung and I have all the supplies to hang it with.  Trying to find a spot where the beading will shine the best is going to be the challenge.  I will figure it out eventually.

Hubby and I decided it would be fun to work with Legos again.  He bought a large item for us to work on together and it came with a bonus kit.  Since it has been well over 40 years since I have really worked with Legos, I decided to try my hand at the bonus kit to see if I remembered how the instructions worked and if I had the dexterity to accomplish it.

The answer is yes and yes.  This only took a couple of hours to accomplish and I did enjoy doing it.  I am ready to move on to a bigger project now.

Spring has sprung here.  We had a week of VERY warm (90's) temps.  Our newly landscaped front yard is loving it.  I will take some photos to show next week.  I was a bit busy this past week to do it.  The next paragraph will explain that.

As I said in my opening statement, this was a trying week.  Josh ended up being admitted to the hospital last Sunday, with extremely painful headache.  They could not get it under control with his medicines he had at home.  The hospital kept trying to send him home after they relieved the headache with morphine.  Stacie told them he could not return home until he had pain relief with meds that would be sent home with him.  After 2 days, they did an MRI and found out he was retaining cerebral spinal fluid and it was causing great pressure which in turn was causing the extreme pain in his head.   The Drs are going to be placing a shunt in his head to drain the fluid.  Unfortunately, they could not get him into surgery for another week.  Therefore, they had to figure out what combination of drugs would work at home to keep him pain free.  Everything finally got worked out by Friday morning and he got to come home.  Since getting home, he has shown signs of degradation.  Walking is becoming an issue for him and he is now using a walker.  His balance is way off and his short term memory is shot.  His wife, Stacie, is now working from home so she can care for him and the family is stepping up to help out as much as needed.  Watching my first born going downhill is gut wrenching.  It breaks my momma's heart.  We are hoping after the shunt is placed, some things will improve.  We do know it will stop the horrible headaches.  The Oncologist said it will not help with the memory issues though.  As for the other issues............those only started after he got home so she does not know he is having them, yet. 

Today, I am catching up on our laundry,  Dinner is in the crockpot. I will head over to Josh's a little later to spend time with him and Stacie.  (She gets quite lonely since he is sleeping most of the time)  But.................I do have a chuckle for you this week.

 

Until Next Time........................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!