WIP: Granny Squares On Hold!

We stopped by Spotlight on Saturday morning and in the discontinued yarn bin I found some beautiful crochet cotton. From $7.00 each they became $1.50, and I bought 8 balls. I'm kicking myself now because I should have scooped them all up. With the cotton, I've been making some granny squares, which in the end will combine to form a throw.

In the middle of last year my wrist and thumb began to hurt, the Dr ordered an X-ray and ruled out any problem with the bone, saying it was the tendon. A physio that my Mom works with said that it was de Quervain's Tenosynovitis. All I needed to do was rest it and if I wanted, I would have a cortisone injection to relieve the pain. Well, it is months later and it still hurts, I have limited movement in my thumb and whenever it is bumped, a sharp, ripping pain travels through my thumb and up my forearm, it's really terrible. I haven't been able to rest it because I have so much to do around the house and since DH works 6 full days a week, I have little help. It seems unfair that I have to sacrifice my hand just because he expects things to be perfectly in order and spick and span. It doesn't help that I have a little one (the physio said that the condition is common among mothers because of the lifting they do) and that I have to carry most of the shopping bags etc because DH has a back problem (self-inflicted because he started lifting weights at 13 - craziness). Last night, DH accidentally bent my thumb by knocking it (which I demonstated to him the day before, is impossible for me to do) and the pain was like no other, I honestly thought that I had torn the tendon. I'm back at square one, not having any movement at all. So I can't do anything, not even crochet. Argh, I guess I just have to take care, wear a support and hope that it gets better without the need for surgery. I have the healthiest lifestyle of any one I know and I have so many things wrong with me.

bright,
squishy
foam letters
&
chubby
soft hands

help get me through the day...

Revisiting Crochet

My Lola (Filipino for grandmother) taught me how to crochet back in elementary school. I used to sit beside her on her bed watching her nimble fingers handle the hook so smoothly and transform the yarn into cushion covers and blankets. One day, I asked her to teach me. I still remember the grey hook and bright yellow ball of yarn she gave me. She taught me how to weave the yarn through my fingers and how to hold the hook. So for a week or so I was occupied with making a giant chain. It was about 3 meters long and I was so proud of it and so was my Lola. I didn't pursue the hobby after I was unsuccessful at learning new stitches. I was impatient and couldn't be bothered doing the counting.

In the middle of my pregnancy to Alex, I had an urge to make something for the baby. Off I went to Spotlight and bought some white balls of baby yarn and a yellow one. With the help of my mom, I was able to complete a small baby blanket. Alex did use it for about a month, until it got caught onto something and stated to unravel. I was so proud of that blanket, it was so soft.

After what happened to the blanket, I couldn't be bothered with crochet again. Until I discovered (through the internet) the many things that you could crochet. Motivated to pick up the hook again, I searched for the easiest pattern. My grandmother never consulted patterns, she would just wing it. At the moment, I am completing the edging on this scarf. I was surprised at how quickly it took form.

It's not the prettiest yarn but I am determined to use up what I have before I go out and buy more stuff. Doing this simple project has given me the confidence to continue this craft. Even though my Lola is no longer here to teach me, I am able to learn more about crochet through this wonderful medium which is the internet. And more importantly, I will be able to teach my children a craft that their great-grandmother loved. My Lola would be proud of me.