Hand Quilting and Other Stuff

I know I said I wasn't going to hand quilt the Amish Bars quilt, but I was wrong. I was afraid I didn't quilt well enough, but actually it's coming along pretty nicely. Pat at work, who does fabulous hand quilting, said start with something small, so I did. She is a stab quilter and I find I am not, although going around some of the curved pieces I am stabbing, just because I can't get my stitches small enough if I don't. Since the back is black and I am using black thread, it doesn't show if it's uneven on the back. I figure another couple of weeks of afternoon quilting and it will be done. I'm really enjoying the process too; it's very relaxing.

There is also a picture of a soap saver I crocheted yesterday. I really like it, and since I buy soap on Etsy it's pretty expensive and I'd like to use every bit. It only took a little less than 1/2 a ball of Lily Sugar and Cream cotton. I'll probably make a few for my Etsy store too, they work up really quickly.

The last picture is of an Amish quilt I'd like to make. I saved the picture from some where; possibly E-bay and I've always wanted to make it. Strictly speaking, it may not be Amish because of the white used, although I know the modern Amish will use white in quilts that are for selling to the tourist community. Anyway, I'll probably replace the white with a light grey. I need to go through my solids and see what I have and what I might need to buy. It's a project for sometime later though, I'm not in a hurry.

Must Be Spring!

Well, we went fishing twice in about 14 hours; Saturday evening at the pond in Lombard by Chris', and then this morning at Cricket Creek. I caught 6 fish last night; all of them bass, all of them small but big enough to qualify as first bass of the year! John caught one, and Chris caught a couple of sunfish so no one got skunked. This morning Chris caught a crappie but John and I caught nothing. We stopped at Westmore Woods on the way to take him home and didn't catch anything there either but the season has just begun and I'm off to a really good start.
Siobhan is in New York for an undetermined length of time with Melissa; she applied for a part time job. Even if she decides to come home in a few weeks she will have at least made some money while she was there. I miss her, so I'll just have to bug John more instead.
And now, because it's spring and bluegrass is in the air, here's one of my favorite bands, Yonder Mountain String Band doing Sideshow Blues. The video isn't the best, but the sound is!

Night Out

Chris's band played at Gameworks last night, they opened for another band and it was lots of fun. They were off on a couple of things, but by and large they were pretty good. Plus it was just fun to get out, Sio came, and Garry and Jamie, and Richard and some of his friends and just a lot of people Chris knows. I took some pictues and some video, the video wasn't very good, but the pictures are. The 2nd band was good, too; they were called Misbehavin', they were pretty much a 70's rock cover band. The singer was a girl, and boy could she nail Janis Joplin; she really sounded a lot like her. We stayed til they ended and by the time we got home it was at least 2; that's a really late night for me! Anyway, Sio and I both think we should go out more often; her Chris doesn't like to go so she wants us to go with her.

I made this apron yesterday. I like it so much I might make another one for me. I got a set of curtains at Salvation Army for $4, this is made from one of the panels. It was long enough that I cut the top of the panel off in 3 1/2" strips and used them for the waistband and ties. It only took about and hour, and I still have the other panel and the valance left.

Amish Bars Quilt

I made this Amish Bars wall hanging or baby quilt the other day; it was inspired by an antique Amish quilt.There looks like there is a spot on the maroon stripe but there isn't; it's some sort of crazy reflection. I'm going to machine quilt it; I picked out a few quilting designs and I'm going to make cardboard quilting stencils this afternoon. I'd like to get better at hand quilting, but don't think I'm going to on this project. I do like it a lot though; I'll post pics after I've finished it.

I guess they've discovered 4 billion barrels of oil in North Dakota and Montana ( I think); it's part of the Bakken field which I heard of before. I'm still not clear on the details; I haven't seen much about it. 4 billion barrels only takes us through about 200 days at our current consumption rate anyway; however it seems to extend up into Canada and I haven't heard about any figures there. If it's easily recovorable and there's a lot of it across the border it could buy some time while we are figuring out new ways of doing things. However, I'm thinking it's kind of a non-story at this time because while 4 billion barrels sounds like a lot, it really isn't. We currently consume 20 million barrels of oil a day in the US, even with the higher prices of gas, so until I hear something else I'm not going to get excited about it.

Love This Video!

Here's a great video of Karen Matheson and Fiona Kennedy.

Please Watch This

Excellent French documentary; all about Monsanto and what they don't want us to know.

Projects!

I have been working on several projects. I crocheted some very cute headbands out of yarn left over from other projects; Holly is wearing one. I think they are cute and are really nice take along projects that don't take long. I made this one while I was waiting for mom at one of her physical thereapy appointments. I also crocheted a cute open work hat that Sio has on. It's kind of hard to see in the picture. Then I finished another shawl, this one is crocheted using 2 strands of yarn held together; one is Wool-Ease in Denim Twist, the other is a recycled light blue wool blend yarn. Sio saw it yesterday and said it was a bit plain, so I started adding a fringe last night while I was watching tv after work. My last yarn project is a little cardigan I started from a book called Knitting for the First Time by Vanessa Ann. I finished the back already; I had to increase the width by adding stitches on either side using a cable cast on which was a new skill for me. I started the front right side yesterday; I have a custom order that I'm working on for a trade I'm doing on Etsy, as soon as I finish it I'll get back to the sweater. It's a toddler size 2; I might give it to Sio to send to South America with her hats. It's knit from a cotton/acrylic/wool blend yarn I recycled from a thrift store sweater I got for 99 cents; it was all ribs and cables so there's a TON of yarn.
I have a baby blanket I started quilting, too. I was originally going to make a tablerunner, but I then I thought this would be really nice as a blanket for a baby girl.

Just One More

I know lately there has been no needlework on this blog, it's been music or current affairs.Ok,my next post will be needlework, but I had to post this video of one of my all time favorite bands. When it comes to a Celtic band inspiring traditional craft forms, Capercaillie always does it for me. And while this song is not exactly traditional, it's one of my favorites. Plus, whether she sings in Gaelic or English, Karen Mathieson has one of the greatest voices ever.

Comfort

"My life is open wide,
The more you live the less you will die"

Ok it's more Carbon Leaf, but like I said before, if you're looking for good, folky, solid and sometimes introspective song writing these guys are really good.

BBC Report

I heard about this report on the Thom Hartmann show yesterday.What I'd like to know is why the BBC reports on this but I haven't heard about it from our news outlets? Talk about shades of the Great Depression!



Then there's the question of: If this is what's happening in LA where it's relatively warm, where are people going in places where it isn't warm? Here in Chicago, we had an inch of snow yesterday. I know there are people who would say that it's those peoples fault because they let themselves get into loans they couldn't possibly pay for, but I think those who made the loans are more to blame. In their greed to make as much money as they possibly could they were willing to put a lot of peoples well being at risk. This is what happens when there is no one to regulate that greed.

Thom Hartmann is the smartest person I've heard on talk radio; he can be streamed live at Air America radio from 11:00 til 2:00: http://www.airamerica.com/ or here in the Chicago area his show is rerun on WCPT 820 fm at 5:00, although they go off the air before he is over. They also stream at: http://www.wcpt820.com/

I watched the End of Suburbia last night; I hadn't seen it in awhile and since I recently recommended it to someone I thought I'd watch it again myself. With the recent happeneings on the economic front and oil being over $100 a barrel, and (at least in my opinion) not likely to ever go below $100 again, I was kind of watching to see how much of the movie is begining to come true. I can't even begin to list everything. I also was reimpressed with a couple of things, the first being how much of the food we eat is dependent on oil. Our fertilizers and insecticides are oil based, the machines we use to plant and tend and harvest that food run on oil. The plants that process that food are in a good many cases run on electricity that is derived from some sort of fossil fuel, and we get that food to our grocery stores on trucks which run on oil derived diesel. Without a source of oil we are trully a starving planet. Actually there is an excellent photo essay called "What the World Eats" in two parts here:
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.html
and here:
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1645016,00.html

What's really striking in these pictures is how much of the food is processed. It's remarkable how our food is awash in petroleum products. We cannot sustain life in the numbers that currently populate this planet without fossil fuel. And yet we go right along squandering the most precious resource we have, driving to fucking Wal-Mart to buy stuff made in China in our SUV's. Sometimes I agree with Siobhan that we are the stupidest race on this planet and we deserve to become extinct. However there are some signs that the party is about to end. With it looking like we have already reached worldwide peak oil production and that it will never again be less than $100 a barrel , combined with rising food prices and the burst housing bubble, the outlook for the average American is not rosy. It's pretty apparent we are on the verge of a collapse that may escalate into Biblical proportions rather quickly. Even if we stave off the ramifications of oil depletion for awhile (although I don't know how we can do that) economically we're fucked. The middle class has shrunk to a shadow of what it once was, unemployment is higher (probably much higher) then the reported numbers, every thing is higher priced, and we are in a recession that I think is the beginning of the the Great Depression of the 21st century. In the meantime, the economists and bankers and government officials use fake numbers that don't account for the neccessities of life, like food and fuel, and the real number of the unemployed, to paint a nice picture; but they are increasingly unable to keep up the appearance. In the last month or so 2 financial institutions have failed, and although Bear Stearns was given a bail out, (I don't know all the details on the failed European bank), there's really no way to bail every one out once the domino effect kicks in. And with all the bad loans sliced and diced and repackaged and resold, who the hell even knows who has what. And the fed drops interest rates and prints 2 billion worthless dollars to flood the market place in some kind of crazy sleight of hand manuoever so that maybe we won't notice whats really happening. No it's not a pretty picture at all. And we play it all out against the backdrop of Peak Oil and Climate Change.
And like the hypocrite I am, I still go to my worthless job to sell cheap crap to the stupid soccer moms of suburbia.

Easter Blogging with Carbon Leaf

I saw Carbon Leaf at the Metro a few years ago, 2003 I think, when I saw Great Big Sea for the first time, and I have been a fan ever since. They unfortunatly don't get the airplay or acclaim they deserve, although they did win best of something at the American Music Awards about the same time I saw them (my brain is mush and I can't quite remember what). They are a solid, folky, songwriting and singing band if you like that sort of thing; which I do, and some of their lyrics are extrememly introspective and poetic. They also throw in an occasional bluegrass or Irish song, especially if you catch them around St Patty's Day. I've downloaded several live shows, and I look for them from time to time to see if they are coming back this way. So far I haven't been able to catch them again, and a peek at their web page shows they aren't headed this way anytime soon. So in the meantime, I found this wonderful video over at YouTube of them doing One Prarie Outpost at (of all places) a Borders in Olympia, Washington. All I can say is; how come bands of this calibre never play at my Borders?

More Knitting

I found this yarn that Sio left here and knitted a baby hat. I can purl continental now too! This is Hobby Lobby's Yarn Bee Mosaic Twist, and the colors are just perfect for a spring baby. Sio has a friend who's family goes to South America every year to volunteer medical services, and she always knits a bunch of hats for them to take with for the newborns. I'll give her this one too, and maybe I'll make another one for more practice.
I also finished this black shawl crocheted using Lion Suede. I bought the yarn over a year ago and started the shawl, now it's finally finished and I'll list it in my Etsy store. I started another one using a bulky acrylic/wool blend yarn that is recycled from a sweater. I sorted all my cotton yarn today, too; I have a ton of it. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I made a couple of headbands and I might make a few more.

Birthday Blogging

Melissa was here last week which was really nice. We celebrated our birthdays together; Chris had a party at his house and it was a lot of fun. He has a friend who has Rock Band; they set it up and the real highlight of the evening was Siobhan singing the Beastie Boys Sabotage. It was so funny! Melissa has video of it and I want her to send it to me and I'll see if I can post it somehow.Chris invited a few people that I knew, and Sio asked Holly from work. Joan was in Alaska so they didn't ask her.It really was a fun party and I haven't been to a party in a long time. We didn't leave til 2, and with the time change it really was 3, and then we had to get up kind of early yesterday to take Melissa to the airport

Carla and Jimmy had their play on Friday and Saturday night, this is their second weekend. Melissa, who had spent a couple days with a friend in St Louis, met us at the theater early and we went to dinner at a Thai restaurant about a block away. The play was fun, too; Carla and Jimmy and the rest of the actors/actresses who are involved with them are so enthusiastic. I helped with some of the costuming. They were alright as far as costumes go, but kind of uninteresting. But they were perfect for the production and I understand they have to go pretty cheap. There was an opening act called the Puppet Bike which was kind of crazy but still ok.

Melissa helped me figure out how to do the border on my shawl. I didn't do the miter right, it doesn't look too bad, but I'll do better on the next one. I used a plain green yarn that Siobhan left here. I wish I had made it a bit bigger, but I didn't have a long enough circular needle. I'm going to buy a longer one at Hobby Lobby and maybe make another one.

The kids got me a new free motion foot for my machine, a spool rack for my thread, and the Quilters Design Wizard, which is just really cool. There are 200 blocks and 3000 fabrics, plus free downloads for more on the website. I played with it all last night, but the files aren't .jpg's, so I just took pics of the computer screen to show the program. What I really like about it is that you can look for fabrics by color or by type. And the math is almost eliminated; I can figure out what size I want to make it, choose blocks, border and fabrics, and it will come up with yardages and a guide for both rotary cutting and templates. I am going to design and make a baby quilt in the next couple of days for my Etsy store. It works for scrap quilts too.

End of the World

Siobhan and I have been talking about the end of the world because of the Matchbox Twenty song Just See How Far We've Come.
I have to say I much prefer this:

Especially with it being Great Big Sea doing it!

Art Quilt and More Yarn

Well I finished the quilt show quilt and dropped it off the other day. It's ok, but not something I would do again. I really enjoyed the process of dying all the fabrics, but I always do. I layered netting over the top and quilted through all the layers, and then beaded it. The organza swirls show up better than I thought they would. Siobhan is holding it up for me.

The blue yarn is my latest reclaimed yarn project. There wasn't a label so I'm not sure what it's made of, but it's soft enough that I think it might be a cashmere blend. I think I will save it for a scarf. Melissa wants me to show her how I unravel sweaters while she's here next week, so that means a trip to the resale shop, hooray! I have been spending as much time as I can on the shawl, too. If I can find a border yarn I might finish it over the weekend.

Recycled Knitted Shawl

I am knitting this garter stitch shawl from a silk/cotton blend yarn that I recycled from a thrift store sweater. I don't knit much, but this is coming along pretty quickly. I got the pattern here:
http://mary4169.tripod.com/Stash_Shawl.pdf
I'm not sure what to do about the border yet, if I can find some yarn I like here I'll use it; if not I'll have to hit the thrift store again.

I am almost done with a patchy bag for Etsy; it's all green prints with a celtic knot appliqued on the front. It's my first scrap project of the week.

Dyeing Nylon

I finally got the shrug finished and am posting pics of the sweater before and after it was dyed. I used Procion Lemon Yellow, 1/4 tsp. and then just a tinch of Emerald Green, and I got this pretty apple green. I simmered the sweater for a good 45 mins and then used vinegar to set my dye. It was a nylon/cotton blend. The trim was an acrylic/rayon blend and it didn't take the dye at all. I trimmed it with trim that Sio got at the the thrift shop, so except for the thread, the entire thing is made with recycled materials.
The little nylon slip I dyed with Cushings Rose Pink. You can't see it in the picture but I have added 2 bands of rose print fabrics to the bottom. I need a vintage silk flower to pin to the cleavage. I was going to take off the lace because I knew it wouldn't take the dye, but it looks nice so I'm leaving it on. Later on today I'll take some better pics and then list the shrug on Etsy.
Sio taught me how to knit the continental way last night and I am making a skinny scarf from recycled yarn that was once a tank top. It's kind of a skinny ribbon yarn, red and black. As soon as I finish it I'll post a pic.

Victorian Charm

I don't know, maybe it's because Valentines Day just passed, or maybe it's just because I like the romantic Victorian look, but whatever it was, I was inspired to make both of these projects. The coasters are the latest scrap project and they are pretty; I can see using them at a tea party with pretty pink and white rose china tea cups and tea pot. The cuff was inspired by the little floral earring that I have sewn to the center. It was a clip earring and I broke the back off and sewed it to the cuff. I think it turned out very nice. I still have the other earring and I might use it on a choker. I also dyed one of my slips pink and am going to turn it into a dress today. I have some yellow cotton printed with pink rosebuds that might make a nice band for trim.
I think my next scrap project is going to be to use up all the 4 1/2" squares that were given to me by a friend who used to work at Hancock. I have a huge bag full, I'll bet there's enough for a twin sized bed, maybe even a double. Then I'm going to look for a flannel sheet at the thrift store for a back and sell it or use it as a summer quilt. I have one already, it's perfect when a sheet isn't enough but a regular quilt is too much.

Vintage Clutch

I made this little clutch for Etsy. It's the same pattern as the blue strips one, just the smaller size. I also got the bath mat finished but gave it away to Holly before I had a chance to take a picture. I have some crazy quilt sachets to make up for my third scrap project this week, I might make them tonight.
I went to Salvation Army last night and got 2 shirts to turn into the corset on Threadbanger. Then I got this real cute linen cotton blend skirt that I am going to shorten, add some trim to the bottom ,and an applique.I also got 3 slips for slip dresses, a cotton rose print skirt that I took apart to add to my quilting stash, and this nifty embroidered table runner which will become at least one bag, maybe two. Plus a sugar bowl and a towel so I can try another bath mat. All for $18! I call that pretty smart shopping.
I have started hand quilting the applique blocks at moms in the afternoon. I am sewing them into groups of 4 and then quilting them 4 at a time and the first 4 are almost finished.

This is Pretty Cool!

I stumbled across www.threadbanger.com, and found this really cool video. I can't wait to try it.


There's also a tutorial: http://www.threadbanger.com/post/5655/how-to-make-a-corset

Bits and Pieces

Since I've been spending so much time at mom's house, I went and bought a new machine that I can just leave there. It's such a pain dragging my machine back and forth every day, so I wasn't getting any stuff for Etsy done. This will make it so much easier, and once mom is well I'll have a back up machine for if my other machine is being tuned up, or to take places. This one is smaller and lighter so it's a lot more portable. Every once in awhile Carla needs a machine, so she can use it too.

I did some dyeing with a cotton/nylon blend, and it actually turned out very nice. I am making a shrug out of a thrift store sweater; once I have it finished I'll post pics of the dyeing process and the finished shrug. I finished quilting the wall hanging for the quilt show at work, too. I have to put on the binding, and then I want to do some beading. I am calling it Rain Over the Mountains, so I want some tiny sparkly beads that give the feel of raindrops. I'll post pics of that, too.

I was looking at a quilting book at work, and the authors showed how they keep their small scraps seperated by color in plastic shoe boxes. I think that's the greatest idea, so I bought 5 of them and sorted about half my scraps. That's all that would fit; I have soooooo many of them. Anyway, I set myself a challenge to try and use scraps for projects at least twice a week. I've posted pics of two of the projects. The little clutch is from a Quik Sew pattern which is available on line here: http://www.sewing.org/enthusiast/clutch_purse.pdf It comes in two sizes and makes up very easily. They close theirs with a snap; I'm doing an elastic loop and button. I haven't picked out a button yet. I have another one cut out from a vintage tablecloth and ready to go; I'll probably get it sewed together this morning. The second project is the appliqued flower blocks; I have 7 done. They are a nice take along project. As I finish 4 I am sewing the blocks together and then hand quilting them. There are a group of 4 almost finished at Moms. I also found this really cool bathmat which I can run up pretty quickly on the machine: http://montessoribyhand.blogspot.com/2007/11/recycled-bath-mat-tutorial.html
We actually need a bath mat here. It says in the tutorial to cut the squares using a template, but I think I'll use my rotary cutter and mat at least on the bigger scraps. I might have to use the template on smaller pieces. I like this idea a lot because it gets rid of scraps and puts old towels to good use.

We Are The People We've Been Waiting For

Well, Super Tuesday has come and gone and we still have quite a race for the Democratic candidate. I voted for Obama; so did John, Carla and Jimmy. Melissa had me convinced that Hillary's health care program in the long run is better than Obama's, but I voted for Obama first because of his stance on the war. He has criticized Bush's war strategy for a long time. The second reason is because I think at this point in history we need some one who can really inspire people to change because the changes we need to make are so huge and will affect us in ways we can only begin to imagine. I heard Obama use the words "it won't be easy" and "sacrifice", and I'm not sure that people really understand the magnitude of the sacrifices we will have to make, but to have a leader who isn't going to bullshit us and tell us the only things we have to do is hop in our cars and go shopping is a real start. I think when a lot of suburbia figures out what it really means to have to sacrifice they'll sour on the whole idea pretty quickly, but if we can begin to build the new infrastructure we need for a world without fossil fuels; if we can begin to create jobs that can sustain a new way of doing things; if we can really begin to look at the problems facing us in the 21st century then whoever is leading us has begun steering us in the right way. As energy sources dwindle then the people who are living their selfish little lives in suburbia will be forced to jump on the already moving band wagon of a new way of doing things. I think Obama can really inspire people to move in the right direction. I think he is already a force for change that Hillary isn't. And he showed how he can bring us together for change when he said "We are the people we've been waiting for" That line was magnificent, and was the high light of his speech last night. I know I wrote a bit not too long ago about their being no prophets among the young anymore. But instead, maybe there is a real leader.

Silversun Pickups

About a year ago I'd say, Chris told me about a song called Lazy Eye, by Silversun Pickups. I heard it, and liked it, but lately it's really grown on me, so I listened to as much Silversun Pickups as I could. They are my latest favorite band; they reminded me of Smashing Pumpkins but toned down a bit. After having read a lot about them on the internet, it seems I'm not the only one who thinks so; I think it was Rolling Stone who said they were what Smashing Pumpkins would be if they had traveled out west. The drummer, Christopher Guanlao, kind of reminds me of the drummer from Swervedriver. I can't put my finger on why, exactly, except the styles of drumming sound kind of the same to me. Brian Aubert who both sings and plays guitar, has a kind of croony voice like Billy Corgans, except less nasally and much less...well I hate to call Billy whiney, but there it is. He can get whiney sometimes, and Brian Aubert does not. The distorted guitar is also reminiscent of Billy, but in a quieter way. Quieter doesn't mean less confidant or with less feeling; Aubert along with the rest of SSPU's put as much feeling into their music as Pumpkins ever did. My favorite song is called Checkered Floor; unfortunatly I can't find any video of them doing it. Instead, here they are doing an acoustic version of Lazy Eye. Enjoy!
"http://www.youtube.com/v/QEgM3aJQBLc&rel=1">

More Reclaimed Yarn

Here is another scarf I made using another sweater. The yarn is a bulky aqua/green/grey acrylic mix which reminds me of the sea. I am really into the reclaimed yarn thing; I can't wait to go to the thrift store and look for some more! I got 5 balls from this last sweater; front, back, 2 arms and a big turtleneck. However, the stitches were pretty loose so there wasn't nearly as much yarn as there was in the pink sweater. I used 3 and 1/2 of the balls; the turtleneck, front, one of the arms and half the other one. The pattern is shells and v-stitch. I also am posting a picture of the cardigan I appliqued and listed in the store.

I took a long sleeve v-neck t-shirt and cut it apart just above the waist, pinned in a 5 inch strip of very dark burgundy stretch velvet and then pinned the bottom of the t-shirt back on. I am going to add a hood made from the stretch velvet, and then sell it as a dress. I might add some trim to the strip in the middle, maybe some black lace or something, and a burgundy flower pin at the v, and maybe a few gold beads to the lace. I have it pinned to Mildred right now while I think about it.

On another front, the economic news is all bad. I read JHK's Clusterfuck Nation almost every week and he's been predicting this for months. http://jameshowardkunstler.typepad.com/clusterfuck_nation/

I actually think it's going to get a lot worse, and when Peak Oil is added in there's a good chance that it will never get better. We are on our way down the slippery slope that will increasingly become life with less and less fossil fuels and more and more waste of what we do have left while we continue to pursue a way to keep a lifestyle that is just not sustainable in any form.

Finished Scarf

I finished the scarf the day before yesterday and it really turned out very well. I double crocheted in the back loop on every other row so there is a ridged pattern. If it wasn't pink I'd keep it. The yarn is such a nice blend of cotton and wool. I'm going to list it in my new Etsy store today. I'm going to add a link to the store eventually in the side bar. It's http://www.vintagereconstructed.etsy.com/

I also unraveled another sweater Sio had bought and started a shawl. I thought there would be enough yarn, but now it looks like there won't be. I'll probably take it apart and make something else, or if I can find another yarn to add in I'll just take it out partway and then do stripes with the 2 yarns.

Recycled Sweater

My mom is back in the hospital, it turns out she has a lot of ulcers which may have been caused by the stroke and all the aspirin based blood thinners and her high blood pressure medicine. Siobhan drove her to the hospital early Monday morning. I'm not sure when she'll be coming home but we are hoping some time today. I was over there most of Monday and then Sio and I were there yesterday afternoon. I called mom this morning and she isn't sure what is going to happen today. As soon as Sio wakes up today we'll go back to visit for awhile before work if she doesn't come home.

While I was there yesterday I started unravelling a sweater that Sio had bought at the resale shop and then began crocheting a scarf from the yarn. I got the front unraveled, and then this morning I started on the turtleneck. I unravel a section and then crochet for a bit and then unravel a bit more. I figure I'll get a scarf, a hat, and maybe some arm warmers or fingerless gloves. The yarn is pretty and perfect to put on Etsy for Valentines Day.

Chris

It seems like all the bad things come at once; first mom had a stroke and then Chris had to go to the emergency room and was in Intensive Care because he somehow lost 7 pints of blood. They still aren't sure how, he has an ulcer but they said it wasn't very big and didn't seem to be bleeding. They want to give him a colonoscopy, but he said they had to wait til his blood count got back up and stayed up, so that means he will be in the hospital til at least Tuesday. He was not a happy camper when we left the hospital today, but they had moved him out of ICU and he looked a lot better. He was getting his last pint of blood. He had been sick all week, but he thought it was the flu or something, and he never looked to see if he was bleeding. He was at work yesterday and was going to come home again because he felt so bad , but his bosses mom, who used to be a nurse, said he needed to go to the emergency room. Thank God she did because another day and he could have bleed to death. I talked to him 3 times on Thursday, and he has said he was going to go to the dr, but then he said he felt better. Anyway, I know he is feeling better now because he's worried about how much everything is going to cost him (even though he has insurance), he was watching the Green Bay/Seattle game, and he complains constantly about wanting a cheeseburger which he can't have til after the colonoscopy. And he looks good now; last night when we went into the ICU room where he was he was so pale and white. I'm so glad they were there to make sure he went to the hospital. I've never met Sean's mom, but I owe her so much; I don't even want to think of how it might have been if she hadn't been there and he went home instead of the hospital. I'm going to call Safety Lock on Monday morning and tell her thank you for saving my son.