Some crafty-ness for you

I've mentioned before that I try to do things to keep my hands moving. If I don't, they get really stiff and hard to move at all. Of course, if I use them too much, the same thing tends to happen. Dealing with any chronic illness is basically like walking a tightrope. You have to be aware of your limits. You have to push yourself just enough so that you feel accomplished but not so much that you feel so utterly wiped out the next day. I have an ever expanding list of people to make things for as well as patterns/stitches that I want to try. I just have to keep reminding myself that it's one stitch at a time, one project at a time. That is until I find the magic wand that's around here somewhere.

This yellow blanket was made for my grandmother. One of her favorite colors, I decided to make something that would be long enough for the nurses to tuck under her feet but not so wide that it would interfere. She was wheelchair bound at the time. This fit perfectly and she used it a lot. It's a reversible pattern. It looks the same on either side of the blanket. Though it was a simple pattern, it took me a couple months to get it done. Some days my hands just didn't want to work the crochet hook at anything other than a snail's pace.

This little purple number was a loose fitting coat that I made for my aunt's dog. The poor thing was getting cold going out to do its business because it was short haired. My little buddy, Patches, is modeling it in the second picture. The two straps meet around the dog's tummy and connect with velcro. I made it easy to get on/off because my aunt also has health issues. This way she doesn't have to spend a lot of time fiddling with it. On it goes and out the dog goes.

I've done a bunch of projects over the years. Unfortunately, I didn't start taking pictures of them until about six years ago or so. There were a few that I definitely wished that I had photographed to share. Lesson learned and I'll be sure to post them when I can. With the colder temperatures outside, it's awesome for me to have something keeping me busy. I just don't want to end up like Viola from Mama's Family and make everything out of yarn/crochet. Boy, did she come up with some doozies! Kleenex covers, toaster covers and even shorts! Not my style.

Wishing you all a good Monday!
Until next time,
Kay