A place to talk and share with you about my crafting adventures, including but not limited to crochet, knitting, sewing, paper crafting, card making, cooking, writing, and anything else that happens to strike my fancy at any given moment.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Chain Reaction
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*
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Move Over A.C. Moore
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!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Winter Rose Cloth
Fig. 1
Fig. 4
Closeup of Diagonal Box Stitch
Here's one where you can see the diagonal effect a little better.
Stage One Complete
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. :)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
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)
© 2010 All rights reserved
Friday, September 18, 2009
My little get-a-way
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!!! :)
Sunday, September 13, 2009
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.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Birthdays & Butterflies
(I didn't make the pretty cloth. I received it in a Round Robin swap :)
Friday, September 11, 2009
Pineapple Blossom
Finished size: 12 inches square
MATERIALS: Approx. 4 ounces worsted weight yarn (light blue used for example), US size "I" hook, Tapestry needle for weaving in ends.
Gauge: Rnds 1-2 = 3 inches
NOTE: v-st = (dc, ch 1, dc) in designated sp
Ch 4
Round 1: 15 dc in 4th ch from hook, join with sl st it top of beg ch 3. (16 dc)
Round 2: ch 3, dc in next st, ch 1, dc in each of next 2 sts, ch 2, * dc in each of next 2 sts, ch 1, dc in each of next 2 sts, ch 2, rep from * twice more, join with sl st in top of beg ch 3. (16 dc)
Round 3: sl st in next st, sl st into next ch 1 sp, ch 3, (dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in same sp, skip next 2 sts, 6 tr in next ch 2 sp, skip next 2 sts, * (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch 1 sp, skip next 2 sts, 6 tr in next ch 2 sp, skip next 2 dc, rep from * twice more, join with sl st in top of beg ch 3. (16 dc, 24 tr)
Round 4: sl st in next st, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch 2 sp, dc in next st, skip next st, (dc, ch 1) in each of next 5 sts, dc in next st, skip next st, * dc in next st, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch 2 sp, dc in next st, skip next st, (dc, ch 1) in each of next 5 sts, dc in next st, skip next st, rep from * twice more, join with sl st in beg ch 3. (48 dc)
Round 5: sl st in next st, ch 3, dc in same st, dc in next st, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch 2 sp, dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, ch 1, skip next 2 sts, sc in next ch 1 sp, (ch 3, sc in next ch 1 sp) 4 times, ch 1, skip next 2 sts * 2 dc in next st, dc in next st, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch 2 sp, dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, ch 1, skip next 2 sts, sc in next ch 1 sp, (ch 3, sc in next ch 1 sp) 4 times, ch 1, skip next 2 sts, rep from * twice more, join with sl st in top of beg ch 3. (16 ch 3 sp, 40 dc)
Round 6: sl st in next st, ch 3, dc in same st, dc in each of next 3 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch 2 sp, dc in each of next 3 sts, 2 dc in next st, ch 1, skip next st, skip next ch 1 sp, sc in next ch 3 sp, (ch 3, sc in next ch 3 sp) 3 times, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, skip next dc, * 2 dc in next st, dc in each of next 3 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch 2 sp, dc in each of next 3 sts, 2 dc in next st, ch 1, skip next st, skip next ch 1 sp, sc in next ch 3 sp, (ch 3, sc in next ch 3 sp) 3 times, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, skip next st, rep from * twice more, join with sl st in top of beg ch 3. (12 ch 3 sp, 56 dc)
Round 7: ch 3, dc in same st, dc in each of next 6 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch 2 sp, dc in each of next 6 sts, 2 dc in next st, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, sc in next ch 3 sp, (ch 3, sc in next ch 3 sp) twice, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, * 2 dc in next st, dc in each of next 6 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch 2 sp, dc in each of next 6 sts, 2 dc in next st, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, sc in next ch 3 sp, (ch 3, sc in next ch 3 sp) twice, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, rep from * twice more, join with sl st in top of beg ch 3. (8 ch 3 sp, 80 dc)
Round 8: ch 3, dc in same st, dc in each of next 9 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch 2 sp, dc in each of next 9 sts, 2 dc in next st, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, * 2 dc in next st, dc in each of next 9 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch 2 sp, dc in each of next 9 sts, 2 dc in next st, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, rep from * twice more, join with sl st in top of beg ch 3. (104 dc)
Round 9: ch 3, dc in same st, dc in each of next 12 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch 2 sp, dc in each of next 12 sts, 2 dc in next st, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, * 2 dc in next st, dc in each of next 12 sts, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch 2 sp, dc in each of next 12 sts, 2 dc in next st, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 1, skip next ch 1 sp, rep from * twice more, join with sl st in top of beg ch 3. (128 dc)
Round 10: ch 1, sc in same st, sc in each of next 15 sts, (sc, ch 2, sc) in next ch 2 sp, sc in each of next 16 sts, sc in next ch 1 sp, sc in next st, sc in next ch 1 sp, * sc in each of next 16 sts, (sc, ch 2, sc) in next ch 2 sp, sc in each of next 16 sts, sc in next ch 1 sp, sc in next st, sc in next ch 1 sp, rep from * twice more, join with sl st in beg sc. (132 sc)
Back to CAL Main Page
Pattern designed and written by April Moreland
Copyright © 2009 All rights reserved
Monday, September 7, 2009
A Bug
Amazingly I did actually get some crocheting done yesterday (Sunday). I actually worked on something for myself! I didn't want to infect anyone with my germs if I was contagious! So I started my Pineapple Regency afghan that I've had on my WIM list forever. I'm going to love it. I'm using I Love This Yarn in Light Sage. The first square is finished. Oh boy is that square big! I think it's about 23 or 24 inches and takes pretty much one entire skein of yarn. I only have to make six squares for a twin size bed. But it did work up kind of quick so it won't take any time at all to finish. Now I just need to buy a bed! LOL
And I just realized, I forgot to post the CAL on Dishcloth Diaries this past Wednesday! ARGGH! The pattern has been written for over a week. Oh well... I will start it this Wed...
Here's the RR I finished this week. This thing took me FOREVER! It's somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-55 inches. I couldn't find my tape measure when I had it laid out. Need to do that before I wash it.
I found out one thing... I don't really care for making round ripples. LOL BTW... I did finish it off and weave in the ends! I wanted to get a pic of it to decide if it needed more of the cherry chip. I guess I probably should have added a few more rows. The raspberry seems to be jumping off the edge. It's only 5 rounds, as is the cherry chip on the border, but as with RH, the raspberry worked up much wider.