The Space Between...

In our lives, like in great designs of any kind, the empty "white space" is what brings the important elements to life. That quiet, boring, rainy Tuesday spent trying to get a piece of crochet thread to turn into what you want makes for a happy success on Thursday when a new design comes to life, creating something where nothing existed before. Long boring days of eating the same thing over and over result in wearing a new size you've never worn before.  And most importantly for me, 12 months of surgeries and physical rehab resulted in a whole new LIFE. Right now, I feel like I'm living in the important elements now instead of the "white space" of waiting. It's pretty cool! I'm doing so many things I haven't done in years!

What pain looked like. At least Ladybug
Schnauzer was laying on top of my head to keep
me company!

On March 11, it will be one year since I had my first hip replacement. This is a day I could never have imagined when I was living with two hips that had no cartilage left, bone grating on bone, and pain unending of a quality I have never experienced, unrelieved for years on end with no hope in sight. I think March 11 will always be a special anniversary for me, because it celebrates the beginning of a new chance at living! In October of 2011, just when I was beginning to fully enjoy my new right hip, I slammed myself back to ground zero with another replacement, this time my left hip. I went from zipping around with a cane to inching through the house on a walker. I remember coming home from that surgery vividly, thinking "What have I DONE!" But as things always do, days turn into weeks and months and finally, a whole year... now.

Just a week after surgery in October 2011. Poor Ladybug
had gotten really sick a couple days before I went into
the surgery. Thankfully my daughter Cari took good
care of her while I was gone. Once I was home, we got
better together.

Kinda happy looking, now – February, 2012

Although it made for a year full of many miseries, the recovery also gave me a whole lot of downtime to focus on what I COULD do – crocheting. Out of the past year came many new designs, from the "Different Rose" doily to the "Sparkly Cupcake Ornament" to "Sally's Dancing Angels"and the "Warm Mobius Scarf, along with many others.  And there's the new design soon to be released that I can't tell you about just yet! I'm grateful for the inspiration for these projects, I love and treasure them all. I can't describe what an honor it is to have someone say they enjoy making something I designed.


I'm very happy that my friend Heidi has done something very special for me! My double vision and focusing problems along with the stroke in my retina in 2009 have made it very difficult to transcribe things. I spent many years as a secretary and publications designer, and the idea that I can't transcribe my own notes is pretty frustrating. Heidi has graciously offered to transcribe all my notebooks filled with my handwritten crochet patterns! And that means something very special is going to happen in 2012! I will be publishing a book of all my crochet designs! We're working hard at it now, and I can't wait to get it done! It's one of those lifetime dream projects. So watch for the news - it's coming! Here are just a few designs that will be in the book.

One of the many Mobius scarves I made as Christmas gifts. Here it's
keeping miss Ladybug warm!

A pattern I'll probably never write up! I made fingerless
gloves for myself, made to exactly fit each hand. Tricky. But I
love 'em!

The Different Rose Mini Doily under construction

Sparkly Cupcake Beaded/Sequined Ornament

Sally's Dancing Angels Doily, before beading, about 16"

SueSu models her pretty sweater back in 2008.

A 3D Poinsettia flower done in a filet-like design.

Another kind of 3D Poinsettia

A whole suite of Poinsettia designs

It's been an amazing week!

Wow!!! Fasten your seat belt and hold on... enjoy the ride... that's what this past week has felt like for me! 


First off, I was privileged to have an article published in an online magazine called "SoCrafty!"  You can see my article here.  "SoCrafty" has asked me to make regular contributions, what an honor! Now I will definitely be busy coming up with new ideas for the articles!



I'm busy working on my newest design, but I can't reveal what it is yet! That's because I'm running a contest at my online crochet group to guess the design and win the pattern! 


The other huge thing that happened this week is that my dream of writing a crochet book with all my designs may be realized sooner than I thought! I lost my visual ability to switch back and forth quickly from one thing to another. I have 15 years of crochet patterns all written down in notebooks, and I'm not able to type them up without a lot of difficulty because of the eyesight thing. Well, my girlfriend Heidi has come to the rescue and offered to type them all up for me and turn them into wonderful text docs that I can manipulate as I wish. This is a dream come true for me!! I really do want to save my designs for posterity, and I will be working hard at making this book happen!



Now for the really fun stuff... I got to take a little trip to Kansas City this past weekend to see my sister, Celia, and Sally, my BFF.  Sally had a very critical illness last fall and I was recovering from the hip surgery so I couldn't make the trip down until now. I hadn't seen Celia since last summer. We got a really neat hotel room and took our little baby Ladybug with us... she is an excellent bye-bye dog! It was her first hotel, first elevator ride, lots of other firsts... and she handled it all in stride!  Here she is, making herself at home on the hotel bed. 

Here she is, making herself at home on the hotel bed. 

Later on, my sister brought over my little precious "niece," Lucy Liu, a tiny Yorkie. She is Ladybug's BFF and they had a ball playing together! 

Left, my sis Celia holding Ladybug, Lucy Liu peeking through, and me.

Later on, Celia and her husband Randy took us to a fabulous buffet dinner at the Argosy Casino. And yes, we did manage to lose just a few coins there! We all had a blast.  

The amazing entrance to the Argosy Casino.
The night sky is all painted but it fooled me!

Ron, left and my brother-in-law Randy chat while Celia
and I are yapping and playing with the furkids.

Ladybug got to cuddle with her aunt Sally and she was a perfect little lady while visiting there all day Sunday.  Sally and I had an awesome time visiting, and her husband Ron made us all a fabulous dinner.  Then Ron (my Ron, LOL) and I stopped for some of our favorite HiBoy burgers and headed back north.  It was a perfect weekend and it did me SO much good to see my two girls!! 

Ladybug loved snuggling with her aunt Sally! The pretty girl
in the background is my fairy-grand-goddaughter, Lacey.

Well, I guess that's enough excitement for one week - and this week has barely started! Love it!!


– Sheila

Not Christmas, But Sure Feels Like It!

Ever had a day where you wake up and feel like it's Christmas morning and you're running to the tree to collect your gifts? This is one of those days for me! I just knew there would be good news in my email (there was) and some great opportunity looms on the horizon.  LOVE days like this! I am very excited to start work on a brand new crochet design today. It's a SECRET!!  It's something I've had a couple of requests to do, and something I've meant to make for years. Something everybody in the whole world needs, too! So, wish me luck, I hope it turns out as well as I'm imagining!

Kind of disappeared a little for awhile, Koby's passing really threw me. (If you haven't read my prior posts, Koby was one of my rescue schnauzers who battled diabetes and finally lost. You can read about him here).  Anyway, here is a photo of Koby in much happier times. He adored his "swimmie pool," I always kept it for him every summer. I miss the little guy terribly. 

We had quite the adventure when we took five dogs in for vaccinations at the local low-cost vax clinic for area rescues. I'd never been to one before, and our budget demanded we give it a try! It was a snowy, windy day, about 18º outside, ice everywhere to walk on... my worst nightmare with two new hips!) But I didn't fall, we managed not to freeze to death, and all the furkids have their shots. Whew. Ron really was a huge help moving the dogs around.  Here they are playing in the snow during the huge snowstorm earlier this month. 

Got out my jewelry stuff to play in and had a great time with my friend Heidi the other night. I had orders for two of the Rainbow Bridge Memorial Gemstone Bracelets. I selected the stones and then turned Heidi loose on laying them out in her preferred design. I think they turned out really pretty, don't you agree?

I really need to start playing jewelry again. I tend to put it aside for long periods of time and then go back to it. 

I spent a lot of time this month sorting out my own costume jewelry and getting rid of the stuff I don't wear or like anymore. 

I'm not sure what it is about rainbows, they just make me happy! The person gets to pick their focal (standout) stone to memorialize an occasion of a particular month. People really seem to appreciate them.  The first one is an October focal that I designed using blue Peruvian opal, white opals, a pink Peruvian opal, and Opalite. 

Here's something new I've been doing the last month or so. There is this site called Listia.com. It works a lot like eBay with auctions, but you GIVE away your items! People bid points which you collect and then use to buy stuff from other people's auctions. It's beautifully simple, really. A very common auction on there is a "stuffed purse." Here is my first stuffed purse auction. It's a blue Coach bag stuffed with various goodies. I'm hoping to get lots of points from this one! Anyway, if you have a lot of stuff you don't want anymore, this is a great place to get rid of it! 

Well, I need to get busy crocheting on that secret project now! Hugs to the world - Sheila

Good Stuff, Sad Stuff... Crochet Stuff... Life.

Very good stuff... I just published the last round to the pattern for the Sally's Dancing Angels Doily Crochet-Along.  Thank you to everyone who is doing the pattern! I added a feedback spot on the pattern and would love to hear from you there if you're doing the doily! Thanks! Now I have to do some pretty extensive beading on it with hand sewing (I prefer that method because it gives more precise placement). Then I finally get to give it to her!! 

A close-up of the doily before it's beaded.

More good stuff... my hip continues to heal nicely. I'm about 3-1/2 months post-op, getting around with and without cane. (I do short hops without). I'm so looking forward to doing some gardening, just walking around in the yard being me. We're having unseasonably warm weather here in Omaha, so I may be out there sooner than I think. I picked up starter soil yesterday so I can get some seeds going indoors. Peppers to start, then whatever.... probably more baby mimosa trees, knowing me! 



I've been working hard at getting organized to start selling a lot of my unused yarn on Listia, ebay, Etsy, etc. I need to destash and sell a whole lot of handmade jewelry!


VERY proud that my son John is starting college for a Welding degree the first of March. And I think I've said already my daughter Carianne is doing her graduate work in Counseling at UNO.  Go kids!

Here is my beautiful grandgirl Winnie, just hangin' out.

The furkids... very sad news, Koby went to Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday, January 25. He suddenly developed a high fever, went unconscious and then had seizures. We rushed him to the vet but every time he regained consciousness he went into seizures. It was time to let the blessed baby go, and he left in my arms. Koby was one of my "heart dogs." He only wanted to be loved. If you want to read more about his struggle with diabetes and blindness, you can read it here. 

Koby with his beautiful soulful eyes, the
way I want to remember him always. I am sure
he is like this again now at Rainbow Bridge.

I am taking Bailey to the vet this week to have him evaluated. He is suffering from arthritis and some stomach upset, and is 13 years old. I refuse to allow him to suffer. So we're going to determine what his status is. 

Bailey

Monty and Scrappy are doing fine, and I am posting a cute video of Monty to YouTube today. It features Monty in his nightly ritual of hiding Big Bone and putting him to bed. He is pretty hilarious doing this!  I don't have the link yet but just look for it under Sheila Schnauzies.

Scrappy and Monty snoozing back in '05. Wow have they changed!

SueSue and Ladybug are having fun running the place along with their cohort Winnie, my granddog. I think everybody has cabin fever. I know I do!! 


I guess the next thing I crochet will be some type of Valentine's project. The inspiration has not arrived yet, but I'm sure it will.

Won a little crochet contest with this design in 2003.

That's about all the news update from here. Hope everyone is busy doing something to combat the cabin fever! 

Can't Give Up The Extra Sparkles Yet!

In years past, I've always taken the Christmas tree and packed everything up the day after Christmas.  For one thing, the day after Christmas is my daughter Carianne's birthday, and I always tried to make the two holidays very separate for her sake.  For another, I was always just ready to move on and get the house back to some semblance of normalcy! 


This year is different.  Carianne was not here for Christmas or her birthday, so that part didn't matter... and I'm just enjoying seeing the sparkly crystals and lights everywhere. The last two Christmases I didn't decorate very much due to "life."  This year I dragged out quite a bit of "HoHo" and I really enjoyed it a lot! So... we will sparkle on until New Year's, when I will have absolutely no excuse left for leaving it all up! 


A week ago, I found out the little spot I've had on my face forever is a basal cell carcinoma. I was scurried off to the plastic surgeon who did a 45-minute surgery to remove it. I have never had a black eye before, but I had quite a shiner! I went yesterday and had the stitches removed. Here I am just before they removed the stitches. To all you young girls out there who spend hours frying your skin in a tanning booth, and spending days outdoors without suncreen, this is what you may be looking at 20 or 30 years later!  So be warned. 

One little brag... the nurse who took out my
stitches wanted to know if my eyelashes were
real and complimented them... I said yup they
are, thank you Latisse! She was glad because
she had just started on it herself!

I've been crocheting a lot this week. It seems I never finish all my Christmas gifts on time. (It's a resolution for next year!) A lot of times I don't hit on the just-right idea until the last minute, and then I have to make three or four of whatever-it-is.  This year was the mobius scarf. It was Laurie's fault... my dear god-daughter stopped by last weekend with a scarf she had just purchased in very thin knit material, and she was sure I could come up with something better to match her coat! So I did... but then she went out of town and I had to do one of course for John's girlfriend Janette in orange, her favorite color. 

Janette's orange scarf in Homespun's Spice

Sally's Scarf in 3 yarns... Cameo Bulky,
 Enchantress Sequin, and Premier's Serenity Chunky. It is heaven to touch. 

Heidi dropped by and saw the beginnings of Laurie's, and wanted the identical one. My best friend Sally is in KC and I thought a bright red one would be just the thing to brighten her trips out to doctor appointments (she spent 75 days in the hospital the last couple of months).  So far Sally's and Janette's are completed, I sneaked in a white fluffy one for myself, and I have Heidi's and Laurie's yet to do. Luckily I can get each one done in a day. I have one more planned but she may actually read this blog, so it's a secret for now! 

My White "Snowy Scarf"

I also wanted to design a doily for Sally, something special to sit on her little coffee table by where she sits. So the "Sally's Doily" is now in progress and up on my squidoo site as a crochet-along. As I complete it, I'm putting up the new rounds for everyone.  (They may get a clue of the doily's theme on the last couple of rounds I just put up today!) 

Sally's Doily In Progress

Well, I'd better keep this short as obviously I have a lot of work to do! Hugs to all... and have a very happy New Year!

December Wrap-Up

Merry Christmas! 

December has turned out to be a crazy month for me crochet-wise! I started out planning to do my usual annual snowflake. That turned out to be the Rose in Snow Beaded Snowflake. Ended up giving the prototype as a Christmas gift!

Then another crocheter asked for a cupcake pattern and I remembered having done one years ago, but never patterned it. So of course I had to design a new one! It's called the "Sparkly Cupcake Ornament." I've only made one of that so far but I want to make a whole bunch in different colors! I think they would look so cute either decorating a tiny tree, or hanging in the kitchen year-round.

Then there are the crocheted gifts. I did up a bunch of scrunchies in different patterns, one I particularly liked I did pattern up and post on my site. It's called the "Princess Crowns" ponytail cover. I discovered a new type of ponytail elastic recently. It's Scunci brand and the bands are clear silicone. Perfect to crochet over, no color show-through! Keep your eyes out for them, very cool.

I'm crocheting three different scarves, two of which will not be done in time for Christmas and none of which will be patterned - no time. Thank goodness my friends are understanding and will take an IOU!! One is an orangey flavor of Homespun, (their request!) one is Red Heart Kiss and the third is Red Heart Kiss held together with Paton's Brilliant. That third one especially is going to be pretty. I'm doing moebius scarves this year.

Crocheting up some cut-apart kitchen Christmas towels as usual - I'll get done as many as I can. Doing a hand-painted, decorated apron with crochet accents. I hope it turns out cute!

Having a small minor surgery tomorrow (just an office thing) which will cut out some precious hours I need to get things done! My cards are out, my shopping is almost done, and I just have to say this one thing. This has been the best Christmas season I have had in many, many years. Just because of feeling BETTER. And I am walking so much better too. Getting stronger by the day and hoping to go back to water therapy soon.

Had a small dinner party last night for some very close friends and family, the fact that I was able to that is testament to my feeling better! Something like that before the hip replacements would have been unthinkable.

I may take a very tiny "vacation" from crocheting for about a week to give my hands a rest. When you fight with arthritis, you have to do some rest time to settle things down. And my hands have been busy!  I love every minute of it, though.

Monty, Winnie and Ladybug test-nap the
new bed they got for Christmas.  This is what
 you call "Schnauzer Tested – Schnauzer Approved!" 

The furkids are all well and happy, thank goodness.  My grown daughter is out of town for the holidays, my grown son and his girlfriend will be around so that's good. We had our "Christmas Dinner" last night and exchanged gifts, so the rest of the week is really take-it-easy time for us. And that's a good thing!

In case I don't get back here in time, I want to wish all of you the merriest Christmas ever and the best new year you have ever had! I plan to have one of those myself!

Future Plans & Dreams....

Usually my "productivity" ends around 5 pm when the husband arrives home. I generally land in my comfy chair and work on stuff at my desk – either on the computer, crocheting, making some jewelry, or just watching TV.

Lately I've noticed that I'm not hitting that 5 pm "fatigue wall" every day. Some days - like today - I just keep going like the Energizer Bunny! I was insanely proud of myself today for making three web pages and then spending two hours deep cleaning my main bathroom! I know - it sounds pathetic - but you have to understand that before both of my hips were replaced, something like that would have been impossible. I could chip away at one or two things, perhaps, but then have to stop.  To be able to write, do that cleaning, hang some ornaments on the tree, visit with company for awhile, then go in and put together two batches of cookie dough? NO way. This is just too cool!

I'm really tired right now but mentally I'm still "on" so I think I'll finish designing my little crochet cupcake ornament and get it patterned up.  I had done a cupcake several years ago and now I can't even find the darned thing! I did find a photo of it, but no pattern. It's probably jotted down in one of my innumerable notebooks. Here's the old cupcake.

I'm finding a lot of gratification in giving away free patterns. It's just fun, especially at the holidays. To have a few hundred people visit your pattern site in one day is, admittedly, a big thrill!

Someday, however, I'm going to get my little project done and then I'm hoping to actually sell some patterns.  I have all those notebooks I just mentioned, from years of designs going back to around 1998 or so. I wrote down almost everything I made.  What I'm doing now is slowly transcribing all those notes into page layouts which I can later sort out and combine into... a book! Yes, it's a goal.

Funny how inspiration will strike you and then you're off on a new rabbit trail! The other day I read a post from another crocheter looking for a cupcake, and of course I had to go look for MY cupcake, and then discovering I didn't have it anymore, of course I had to design a NEW cupcake! That's how things usually work. Something sparks a project and off we go.  Usually there are two or three such projects in the works at once. Usually one or two thread things, one yarn thing, and maybe an illusion jewelry thing... it's nice to never be bored!

I've often thought over the years that "being in my element" perfectly would involve having a little shop on some little town square, where I'd hang out with a couple of my dogs and people would stop by for yarn or hooks or patterns... chat, have some coffee, whatever, while I designed and crocheted away.  It sounds like heaven to me. For now though, I'll content myself with hanging out with the coffee and all the dogs, and enjoying my crochet friends online.  It sure would be fun in person, though!