Chain Reaction

Hypochondriac: a person who worries or talks excessively about his or her health."

I'm beginning to feel more and more like this word describes me to a T. I've been feeling out of sorts again. When I first started feeling bad a few months ago I was having migraine-like headaches. Knowing I had a history with HBP I assumed that was the culprit. So I took measures to remedy that, including limiting my caffeine intake. Things seemed fine... Then the headaches started again along with severe backaches. I attributed the relapse to the lack of caffeine and my body needing to adjust through the withdrawal stages, as well as dehydration. So I started consuming more liquids, and over a relatively short period of time the symptoms once again dissipated.

Another side effect of caffeine withdrawal, of course, is fatigue. But this symptom should be improving as time goes on, not getting worse. I've been feeling overly tired recently. No matter how long I sleep, whether it's 7, 8, or even 12 hours I feel like it's all I can do to drag myself out of bed in the morning and by early evening I am in desperate need of a nap. And now, for the past several days the headaches feel like they are trying to come back, along with the blurry vision, white spots, and on occasion, nausea. I'm not usually the type to constantly complain about my health but this general "malaise," I guess is the best way to describe it, has got me feeling like I'm going crazy.

After some more research about caffeine and caffeine withdrawal I was led to some research results regarding aspartame. According to Cancer.org the ADI (acceptable daily intake) of aspartame for the average sized adult is approximately 3500mg. Sounds like alot... until I looked on my box of equal. ONE packet of equal contains 1000mg. That amounts to 3.5 packets per day ADI... I've been using AT LEAST 16, oftentimes more. That's more than 4 1/2 times what is considered safe!

Reliable information on the adverse side effects of aspartame is extremely hard, if not impossible, to find on the internet. I did find a reliable article about the MIT Study on which the FDA (at least partially) based its findings. They gave participants in the study 3 mg per 1 kg body weight. That's 3500mg (on average). A "safe" level according to the FDA, but MIT claims that's almost 20 times the average daily intake. I know I'm not an MIT "genius", but those numbers just don't add up for me. That's less than 1/4 of a packet. I think most people use at least one packet in thier morning coffee.

So it's still up in the air as to the effects of taking it in extreme excess, as I evidently have been. While looking for more information I found lots of outrageous claims about the substance. Everything from it causes M.S. and Lupus (a false claim according to Snopes) to the ludicrous claim that it was originally developed as an ant poison, again false according to Snopes. But the general consensus among various laypersons contributing to message boards, etc., is that it caused symptoms for them such as: migraines, hip and joint pain, heart palpitations, restless leg syndrome, frequent urgency to urinate, extreme fatigue, cognitive disfunction or "brain fog", panic attacks, and more.

So after putting all this information together things are beginning to make a little more sense... I think. It seems everytime I take measures to cure one set of symptoms, the cure then creates a whole new set of symptoms to deal with. So now I'm giving up the aspartame. I'm drinking water and orange juice for now. Yes, much healthier than diet tea, but kind of boring especially since I have to limit the fruit juice because of the sugar... *sigh*

Move Over A.C. Moore

Since moving to MO I have so missed shopping the mill end bin at A.C. Moore. So when I was perusing the Shopcaron.com website recently and discovered that they sell mill ends, well I was thrilled! At $3.49 per pound, that's a bargain in itself. But wait... If you purchase in bulk (24 pounds) they'll knock 50 cents off each pound! Awesome! Oh but there's even more. With my CGOA Member discount, that brought it down to a mere $2.47 per pound, what a steal!

You all know me, I LOVE to buy yarn! So of course I couldn't pass up the bulk deal. I really encourage everyone to take advantage of this bargain basement price. A little warning though, you don't get to choose colors. These are mill ends, end of the run, leftovers so to speak. But all thier yarn is so great I know you won't be disappointed!

This is from the description on their website:

Do you need lots of yarn at a great price for a knit or crochet group, scout troop or charity guild? Are you flexible about the color? One Pound Mill End Bags are the answer! Each bag contains one full pound (16 oz.) of premium 100% acrylic yarn. Plus, all yarn is machine washable and dryable.

There wasn't one bag of yarn in the box I didn't like. It was mostly solids with a good mix between Simply Soft and thier Pounder yarns. There were 4 pounds of the Blue Teal ombre (the only variegated in the bunch) which Cyndi snatched up for a couple of charity 'ghans she has planned. My favorites were the bright orange and purple! Woo, gotta love that day-glo orange! (See pic below) I swear they were saving those colors just for me! :D

One other thing, don't let the shipping charges take you off guard if you decide to purchase in bulk as Cyndi and I did. The box of course was heavy, so it cost us a little more than $17 to have it shipped UPS. But averaging it out, that still put us at $3.21 a pound. A fantastic deal any way you look at it!

HUGE box of yarn! :)

Lots of Simply Soft & Pounder yarn

Cyndi's Blue Teal Ombre
Yes, I LOVE bright colors! :D
More yarn!

Winter Rose Cloth

Winter Rose Cloth

Made with the Diagonal Box Stitch

Finished Size: 7 3/4 inch square

Materials: US size H hook, 1 1/2 ounces worsted weight cotton (I Love This Cotton, Christmas Print was used for example), Tapestry needle for weaving in ends.

ch 6

Row 1: dc in 4th chain from hook, dc in each of next 2 ch (box made).

Row 2: ch 6, dc in 4th ch from hook, dc in each of next 2 ch, turn box made in row 1 over so that the wrong side is facing up (see Fig. 1), sl st in top of beg ch 3 on row 1, ch 3, working along end of row 1, 3 dc in ch 3 sp (see Fig. 2), turn.

Row 3: ch 6, dc in 4th ch from hook, dc in each of next 2 ch, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3, ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, turn.

Row 4: ch 6, dc in 4th ch from hook, dc in each of next 2 ch, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) twice, ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, turn.

Row 5: ch 6, dc in 4th ch from hook, dc in each of next 2 ch, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) 3 times, ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, turn.

Row 6: ch 6, dc in 4th ch from hook, dc in each of next 2 ch, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) 4 times, ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, turn.

Row 7: ch 6, dc in 4th ch from hook, dc in each of next 2 ch, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) 5 times, ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, turn.

Row 8: ch 6, dc in 4th ch from hook, dc in each of next 2 ch, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) 6 times, ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, turn.

Row 9: ch 6, dc in 4th ch from hook, dc in each of next 2 ch, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) 7 times, ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, turn.

Row 10: ch 6, dc in 4th ch from hook, dc in each of next 2 ch, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) 8 times, ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, turn.

Row 11: sl st in each of next 2 sts, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row (see Fig. 3), (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) 9 times, turn.

Row 12: sl st in each of next 2 sts, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) 8 times, turn.

Row 13: sl st in each of next 2 sts, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) 7 times, turn.

Row 14: sl st in each of next 2 sts, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) 6 times, turn.

Row 15: sl st in each of next 2 sts, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) 5 times, turn.

Row 16: sl st in each of next 2 sts, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) 4 times, turn.

Row 17: sl st in each of next 2 sts, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) 3 times, turn.

Row 18: sl st in each of next 2 sts, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, (ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3) twice, turn.

Row 19: sl st in each of next 2 sts, sl st in top of ch 3 of last box made on previous row, ch 3, 3 dc in ch 3 sp, sl st in top of next ch 3, turn.

Border: ch 1, sc in first st of last box made, ch 2, dc in same sp, skip next 2 sts, [(sc, ch 2, dc) in top of next ch 3, skip ch 3 sp, (sc, ch 2, dc) in first sl st of next box, skip next 2 sts] 5 times, [(sc, ch 2, dc) in top side of 3rd dc of next box (see Fig. 3), (sc, ch 2, dc) in free loop of 1st ch of next box] 5 times, [(sc, ch 2, dc) in bottom side of 3rd dc of next box (see Fig. 4), (sc, ch 2, dc) in free loop of 1st ch of next box] 5 times, [(sc, ch 2, dc) in top of next ch 3, skip ch 3 sp, (sc, ch 2, dc) in first sl st of next box, skip next 2 sts] 4 times, (sc, ch 2, dc) in top of next ch 3, skip ch 3 sp, join with sl st in beg sc, fasten off, weave in ends.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Closeup of Diagonal Box Stitch

Here's one where you can see the diagonal effect a little better.

Stage One Complete

A New Look for Dishcloth Diaries! I was getting quite bored with the "blah" look (sorry blogger) of the blog so I went looking and found this stylish daisy theme. It's probably a little darker than I would have liked, but most of the more colorful themes were just too bright and hard on the eyes. And besides... Daisies are my favorite flower!

One unfortunate side effect of replacing the Blogger template with one from an outside source however, is that all my widgets were removed! YIKES! So that means the table of contents with all the pattern names and direct links is no longer there. I will be working on getting that back in place, but it is a time consuming process as each link must be added one at a time. (If anyone knows of a quicker way PLEASE let me know. I will be forever grateful!) So for now I've added the "Archive" widget so you can look through that for the post titles/pattern names you are looking for. I have managed to get everything else back in place with relative ease so hopefuly you will be able to find what you are looking for. :)

There will be some other changes coming in the next few days. I've decided to merge Dishcloth Diaries with my other blog The Madness Behind the Method. You will start to see posts about my ongoing projects, as well as pics of finished items, things I want to make, swaps I've sent and received, yarn purchases, and lots of other fun crochet, and otherwise crafty, stuff.

I hope you all won't mind hearing more about what's going on behind the scenes! But if you do, I've added labels to all my patterns. If you scroll down on the right hand column until you come to "Labels" you can click on the "free pattern" link and it will display the patterns without all the chatter.

Well, that's it for now... talk to you soon!

ETA: I had changed the date on this post so it would stay at the top for a while to give everyone a chance to read it and know what's going on, but decided instead to let it reside in its rightful place and just tack a link at the top for easy locating.

ETA: Also wanted to say the Table of Contents is now in place. It went surprisingly quick! So everything is where it belongs. :)

3-D Butterfly

Materials: (US) size 7 steel hook, size 10 cotton thread for main color, 6 inch piece of contrasting color size 10 cotton thread for body (or use main color), 2 stitch markers, fabric stiffener (optional)

Finished Size: 2.5 inches x 1.5 inches at widest points

Special Stitches:
Picot: ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook
Double Treble (dtr): yo 3 times, insert hook in designated st, yo, draw up loop, (yo, draw through 2 loops on hook) 4 times

ch 5, join with sl st in 5th ch from hook to form loop

Round 1: ch 3, 2 dc in loop, ch 2, [3 dc in loop (shell made), ch 2] 7 times, join with sl st in top of beg ch 3. (8 shells)

Round 2: sl st in each of next 2 sts, sl st into ch sp, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in same sp, [(3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in next ch sp], 7 times, join with sl st in top of beg ch 3. (16 shells)

Round 3: sl st in each of next 2 sts, sl st into ch sp, ch 4, (6 tr, picot, 7 tr) in same sp, sc in sp between next 2 shells from prev row, (7 tr, picot, 7 tr) in next ch sp, sc in sp between next 2 shells from prev row, * [(2 dc, 2 tr, 3 dtr, picot, 3 dtr, 2 tr, 2 dc) in next ch sp, sc in sp between next 2 shells from prev row], place marker in sc just made (see Fig. 1), repeat between [ and ] once, ** [(7 tr, picot, 7 tr) in next ch sp, sc in sp between next 2 shells from prev row] twice, repeat between * and ** once, join with sl st in top of beg ch 4. Fasten off, weave in ends.

Finishing:

1. Fold the piece in half making sure the fold is between the 2 sets of upper wings. (see Fig. 1)

2. Fold 6 inch piece of thread in half and tie a knot approximately 5/8 inch from the fold. (see Fig. 2)

3. Making sure not to twist the loop, place the folded piece around the center of the body and pull knot through the loop. (see Fig. 3)

4. Stiffen as desired. *Butterfly will stand as shown in Fig. 4 without stiffening.

Fig. 1


Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Finished 3-D Butterfly

Pattern designed and written by April Moreland
© 2010 All rights reserved

My little get-a-way

Our shopping options are somewhat limited here in town. We have to travel to Springfield to do any "real" shopping. Even the Walmart there has a WAY better selection of pretty much everything than the one we have here. Plus there's also a much better selection of restaurants.

We ended up eating at the local chinese buffet (can't remember the name). The food was mediocre. We have finally accepted the fact that people in the midwest simply can't make good chinese food. I wonder what someone from Missouri would think about the awesome food at China Buffet or Hunan LaRose in Maryland?

Not so awesome food aside, I love our shopping trips. Even though I can't spend much money, it's still nice to get away from the house for a day. I usually spend the ride to and from crocheting. I made 3 preemie hats today for a charity challenge in one of my groups. Crocheting in the car just makes the time go so much faster. It's an hour ride each way, but it felt more like 20 minutes with my fingers kept busy!

Most of what you see in the pic below is DD's things, but I did still manage to spend almost a hundred dollars! I can't talk much about what I bought as most of it is for various swaps and holiday gifts. But needless to say... I did buy a LOT of yarn! :D

Hobby Lobby took the most of my money. They had some awesome new colors of ILTY so I had to buy some of that, and I of course bought some ILTC (my favorite). I also got some Sinfonia to try out, and some bright colored size 10 Aunt Lydia's. The thread is going to be a project for me. I saw this Basket of Butterflies a while back over on Crochetville and knew I just had to have one for myself!! So I'm going to attempt it. :)

We also went to Game Stop (for my son) and Michaels. I found this cool book in there. We had wanted to go to Dollar Tree but we were just too worn out! So we grabbed a drink from Sonic and headed home...

Yes Marie, that's the bag you made for me!
I love it and use it a lot! :) And looking at the
pile of bags here, I really regret not bringing
my Shopoholic Shopper bag that Jo made for
me! Rest assured though, on the next trip we
plan to go to the mall, and that bag WILL be
on the check list of what to bring that day!!! :)

The hats I made in the car. The blue one still

needs the last row. I like to border the boys

with a different color to add a little flair since the

scalloped edge is probably not very "boyish".

Skein of Lo Mein

What do chopsticks and crochet have in common? Everything if you are Jimbo from Jimbo's Front Porch! He is a wiz at creating some of the most unique, and highly coveted, hand-carved crochet hooks.

Jimbo carved the chophook that was the incentive prize for the August charity challenge on Crochet Swaps Galore. I made and donated 21 scarves for the challenge. I was very proud of myself! I crocheted like a madwoman to get them finished in time! But I wasn't the only one crocheting. Several other members of the group made very generous contributions as well and should be equally proud!

The scarves were sent to Compassionate Creations, a very worthy cause. One that kind of hits home for me. I would have made just as many scarves even if there were no prize involved, but I'll admit, it is a pretty cool addition to my collection of wooden hooks.

I can't go without saying thank you to Sissie and Cyndi for hosting the challenge on CSG, and a very special thank you to Ann who heads up the charity. Ann, I too hope for the day that these scarves are not needed, but until then I thank you for your caring and generosity in providing comfort to those who find themselves in this unfortunate situation.

My Awesome New Chophook

My hook collection is growing!

Pictured below are Some of the scarves I made for

Compassionate Creations

The first 3 I made with Simply Soft. They are all 3 new patterns that you will see from me sometime in the near future. :) A special thanks to Carole for the yarn!

These were made with Italia yarn in just a simple double crochet pattern.

I actually made 14 of these! I came across some Bright & Lofty in the dollar store one day and bought all they had knowing I would use it all for the scarf challenge. It's just a simple single crochet pattern.

And this one is made from Bernat's Softee Chunky, also a simple single crochet pattern.

Not pictured: I forgot to take a picture of the last one I made. It was a plain double crochet scarf made from Red Heart Symphony in Persimmon. Very soft & pretty. :)