Strength and Beauty

It’s rare. But it does happen.

Here is my most recent completed project:
LEGWARMERS for Miss Audrey Anne.

This is a fun new yarn called “mini mochi” and my friend Mel and I had to make a mad run to Prairie Arts and Fibers to get our hands on it and snag some before it was gone. I did end up cutting (a bit taboo) the yarn to make a perfect rainbow. The dye order was not exactly what I was thinking it was going to be. BTW, Audrey can only wear the legwarmers if she has nothing on except a pair of underwear. Some psychological thing, I guess.

These are a very overdue birthday gift for my dear niece, Ruth Anne and I think they are turning into “a half birthday” present. Very fun yarn called Imagination Sock Yarn by Knit Picks. The socks were super fun to make; the hat, not so much.

These are some worsted cotton dishcloths I made for my sister right after I had Scarlet. Don’t ask me how I had time to knit, but I think I busted one of these out in a day. Dishcloths used to be a form of psychotherapy for me; now I think legwarmers might be. Place your orders, peeps.

Lastly, I have enjoyed making these lovely flannel receiving blankets for friends who have been having babies in the mad Spring rush to birth a baby. These cozy blankets are 36in x 36in which I find to be a perfect size for 0-6 month old who need a tight swaddle. Compare to those cheap receiving blankets you can get at Target, these are top notch and worth all the pinning and ironing.

In case you are wondering where I am…

…I am probably upstairs in my roost knitting.

I spent the afternoon, when my girls were sleeping, sitting on the comfy couch in our “dining room” knitting. I put on my favorite Christmas CD (The Judd’s Christmas) and made myself a cup of tea and plopped my butt down determined to finish my current knitting project.

I have embarked on the knitting challenge of making my first sock!! I was intimidated by the double pointed needles and thought it would feel like Edward Scissorhands trying to manipulate those little toothpick like needles. I received splendid coaching under the tutelage of my dear friend, Katie. It wasn’t as hard as I suspected and the pattern she provided was super easy. I bought some cheap self striping yarn at Michael’s and walah! A sock was born!

I must say the most exciting part was closing up the toe. I used a cool stitch called the Kitchener stitch that just amazes me. It closes the hole with a literal seamless flow of knitting. You can’t even tell there was a hole there. And right at the point, I felt my plumes floating upwards and I started to strut.

Knitting genius, is what I am. Yeap. Call me the lil’ knitting peacock.

More and more I have come to appreciate the healing properties of aromatherapy. I have found them useful in child birth, in sickness, with headaches, when needing to calm my internal world. I also believe that aroma can aid one in creating a welcoming environment to a stranger or someone seeking peace and rest. Some of my favorites are peppermint, eucalyptus, rosemary and lavender.

At my job as an oncology nurse, a patient long ago, brought us some warming packs—the kind you microwave in the oven and use to soothe aches and such. Well, they have come in handy in locating veins. You see, the warmer your extremities are the juicier your veins are (that’s the vampire in me talking). Think about when you are working out in the yard in heat of summer and you look down at your hands and forearms and you see your veins bulging out. Your body is attempting to cool your body by having your blood be as close to the surface as possible. But in winter time, in times of chilly air, your veins go hiding deep within so as to keep your blood warm underneath all your flesh. You get the idea.

So as oncology nurses, inserting intravenous catheters into cancer patients veins can sometimes be tricky. Chemotherapy can be really harsh and scarring on the veins, thus making it extra difficult to get a good IV in. So as a way to get around this cold vein problem, we have been using these warming packs to heat up people’s arms. Over time, these little packs have disappeared or got blood on them or soiled in some way. So we have been running low.

Many years ago I started making those relaxation pillows that go over your eyes and are filled with soothing contents like flax seed and such. Well, I have converted them from prayer pillows into aromatherapy pillows for my patients while their arms are being warmed up for us vampire nurses to come and stick, hopefully just once, right?

I made two more tonight. Flax seed is my filler of choice because it reminds me of water as it runs through the bag and has a very soothing property. It also doesn’t smell when you microwave it (like rice or corn). The sea green pillow has peppermint oil coating the flax seed, super calming and cooling. Did you know that the aroma of peppermint has properties that uplifts moods, helps relieve mental fatigue, improves mental clarity, alertness and memory. It has a reviving and refreshing quality that brings energy. The second pillow that is a creamy peach with lovely floral design has a combination of dried oranges, cloves, and cardamom. Not sure what the healing properties of this are but I find it to be comforting and at the same time refreshing.