Life in Hollybroke

PCOS - A journey - 1

2011-07-08T08:31:00.002-04:00

Let me preface this post by saying that this is about my "journey" with PCOS. It has only just begun. I will not discuss crafting or my home improvement or my kitties. You have been warned....

I was told, a few months ago, that I for sure, had PCOS. In my head, I saw the dream of having babies, disappear. Of course, I realize, that having PCOS does not mean that I'm incapable of having children of my own, but, how many drugs, surgical interventions, and pain can someone endure to only find out, that, it may not be "meant" for us? I struggle with whether I should stay positive and hope for the best, when, I know that it could not happen. I also grapple with feeling as though, I'm a failure, as a woman. One of the most important functions that I have the responsibility to perform, and my body has betrayed me.

Now as this is a genetically linked "disease", there's not much I could have done to prevent or cure it. It's pure and simple, my ovaries are dysfunctional and it's unclear as to the exact mechanism that causes the increased androgens and estrogen in my system. When I'm not actively trying to get pregnant, it's strongly advised that I remain on hormone treatments forever (i.e. Birth Control pills).

My symptoms are weird and not that much fun.
I have acne again, on face and shoulders/chest/upper back. I have gained weight and find it impossible to lose any. I have dandruff and greasy hair. I sweat through deodorant and grow more body hair. I no longer ovulate (if I ever did at all) and so therefore will not get my period without drug intervention. My periods are like torture; like nothing I've ever had to deal with before and nothing helps the pain.

My fertility treatment is what is commonly referred to as, TTC.
I take a progesterone substitute (Provera 10mg) for 10 days. Once my period begins, on day 4, I take Clomid (50mg) for 5 days. Supposedly, I should ovulate any time from Day 9, on. So far, my Ovulation testing has come up negative, but I think this is due to how often I test. For this third round, I will test twice daily, starting on Day 9. I also keep careful track of my basal body temperature. I wake up, each day, at 5am and take my temperature. I keep track of it (and many other things) at Fertility Friend.

My plan is to see a specialist within the next two weeks. We will see what she has to say about my current treatment and plans for the future.

Any advice and comments are welcome.

KAL - Summer Mystery Shawlette Completed

2011-06-28T10:41:00.000-04:00

I finished this on schedule for the KAL. I've just been lazy about posting.

Lots of summer activities happening lately.

We've been enjoying our local farm share produce every week.
Honey Brook Organic Farm

All of our planting is complete.
I'm growing: cucumbers, spinach, watermelon, garlic, rosemary, mint varietals, dill, echinacea, lavender, and savory. We'll see how well it turns out. I'm also nursing a Eucalyptus plant.....I hear they can be difficult to grow, so she will be living indoors.

On to the KAL. My Ravelry project can be found here.
I should have used larger needles....I seem to knit quite tightly and I have about a half skein of the Madelintosh Tosh Merino Light leftover. It should have just been enough to make the whole shawl. Despite this, I'm happy with it and it's not really so small that I cannot use it.

KAL - Summer Mystery Shawlette Cont'd

2011-05-31T08:03:00.000-04:00

I'm moving along with this project. It's fun and I seem to enjoy not knowing the next step.
The number has now bumped up past 800 participants. It will be cool to see all the finished projects.

My knitting seems rather tight, so I'm hoping, blocking will open up the lace.

I have more than this complete, but was too lazy to take a new picture. This one gives you the idea.

My garden is in....so far, the only thing I have from all that, is a rather nasty sunburn (all my own fault). I've never had it be sooo itchy. Driving me nuts!

I visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art this weekend. Awesome. I love going to a museum, any museum.

Museum yarn-eee love.

KAL - Summer Mystery Shawlette

2011-05-23T14:47:00.000-04:00

I decided that I'd like to Knit along with a group on Ravelry (of about 500 people) on the Summer Mystery Shawlette.

I have followed along with the Wendy Knits blog for a few years or so. Her knitting is fabulous and her cat is adorable; what more can I ask for in a blog? She also has a great sense of humor!

So, I highly recommend the blog and the KAL.

My KAL Shawlette project.

Essential Links: Discussion Group (rav)
Ravelry Pattern Page

This also gives me an excuse to use some of my Madelinetosh ( I like it in one word) Tosh Merino Light.
Not sure if I will keep this for myself or give it away...that remains to be seen....

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival 2011

2011-05-18T07:42:00.000-04:00

I went to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival this year, again. It's becoming a bit of a tradition with my SIL and myself.

The weather was PERFECT. Last year, it was so hot and dusty. This year, it had rained, so all the dust and pollen were settled down, it was sunny, and it was perfectly temperate.

There were animals...EVERYWHERE. It was wonderful, and although an odor of feces permeated the air, it was of the non-meat eating kind and just reminded me of a farm (good thing).

I also got some yarn-ee goodness, of course. I didn't get as much this year. My stash is seriously out of control. You can see of my overwhelming stash, here.

Here are my purchases:

Love them all!
I also got a few little pieces of jewelry. One is a needle gauge that looks like a very small artists palette. It's a small metal "pendant" (for lack of a better term). The other item I purchased was a pair of earrings. They are two small "recycled" crochet hook tops. If I can find the Etsy seller, I will post that here later.

In conclusion...if you've never been and are vacillating about going....GO! You will seriously enjoy it. Also, no one looks at you funny because you're buying yarn, crafting, or spinning...

Life

2011-05-16T11:33:00.000-04:00

There are many things going on.

House
Summer is on its way and therefore, I am getting my garden ready.
I will follow up with some adorable seedling photos at some point.

Life
My husband and I are trying to get pregnant. No luck so far.
What is ironic (and possibly self-fulfilling fate) is that I always figured something might be "wrong" with me in the area of reproduction, but deep down I always thought "not me". Unfortunately, I have PCOS and I am anovulatory (no ovulation at all). I'm in my first "cycle" of Provera/Clomid, not very much fun, really. It seems on my first dose, that I did not ovulate, so we try again.
I'd like to say that this blog should be about happy things only, but as this is such a major part of my life, I cannot ignore it.

Craft
As per my usual, I have many projects ongoing. But there is one that I recently finished.
The pattern is Crochargosy (ravelry)

Although the pattern is great, may I recommend using acrylic yarn. As this pattern is prone to extreme curling at the edges. Above you can see this. This is blocked already, severly. Unfortunately, it still curls. My advice is to use a yarn that you can "kill" with heat/steam.
This pattern is great, it seems a little wonky at first, but power through, because it was FAST to make.

My next post I will talk about the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival (want to get my pictures on my computer).
Then, maybe a brief picture foray into our Anniversary trip to Napa, CA.
I also have another free pattern to share....

Fingerless Gloves for Men - free pattern

2011-05-16T11:11:00.001-04:00

I wanted to make a Christmas present for a friend of mine. A male friend. He always says that his hands are cold when he's on the computer and gloves are impossible to wear while needing to type.

I decided a pair of fingerless gloves would be perfect. I searched around and couldn't find any, for men, that are long and come to the middle knuckle. I thought about making a pair for women and just making them longer, but I realized that man hands are quite different than woman hands and I proceeded to force my husband to submit to much hand measuring and trying-on of these gloves.

Here is the final version.
Ravel It!

One size
Materials:
I Hook
Cotton Classic Tahki Stacy Charles or any worsted weight (Please note: this is a little thinner than some other worsted weights); 2 skeins, 100g/216 yds
Mid forearm at ~9” circumference.
Notes: These are to fit a man’s forearm and hand. I’ve noticed that this is distinctly different than the way mitts need to fit women. These are interchangeable in terms of left hand versus right hand.
Ch. 35, join with a sl st to form a ring.
Rnd 1: ch.2 (counts as first hdc now and throughout), hdc in each chain around, sl st to top of chain 2
Rnd 2: Ch. 2 hdc in each st around, sl st into top of chain 2
Rnd 3: Repeat round 2
Rnd 4: Ch. 1, sc in same st and in each st around, join with sl st to first sc
Rnd 5-6 : Repeat round 2
Rnd 7 -10: Repeat round 4
Rnd 11: Ch. 1, sc in same st, (sc in next 10 sc, sc2tog) 2 times, sc around, sl st to first sc
Rnd 12: repeat round 4
Continue to repeat round 4 until desired length (to wrist).
The pair I made had approximately 2.5” of the sc part.
Next 5 rnds: repeat round 2
Next rnd: ch 2, (hdc in next 10 sts, 2 hdc in next stitch) 2 times, hdc around, sl st to top of chain 2
Next 4 rnds: repeat round 2
Thumb
Chain 5, skip next 11 sts and sl st to next st, leave rest of sts unworked and turn to work on thumb.
Rnd 1: Ch 2, hdc in each st around, join with sl st to top of chain 2
Rnd 2-3: repeat rnd 1, finish off.
Attach yarn to juncture where chaining for thumb, ch 1,sc in same spaced, sc along bottom edge of chains, when reaching the hdc edge, hdc around and sl st to first sc.
Next 2 rounds: repeat rnd 1 of thumb.
Next round: Ch. 2 (hdc in next 10 sts, hdc2tog in next st) 2 times.
Next 2 rounds: repeat rnd 1 of thumb. Finish off.

Garden Pics

2011-05-13T21:06:00.001-04:00

As promised.

Wee strawberries.

My grown Salvia from last year:

Baby Salvia Sprouts (6 weeks old):

Winter Savory:

Eucalyptus (not sure what species):

I have lots of other plants, but the light was fading, so we'll have to do with these for now.
I plan to grow: Lavender, Spinach, Cucumbers, Rosemary, Tarragon, Watermelon, Salvia, Lilac, Strawberry, Mint Varietals, & Yarrow

Technorati Tags: house, garden

What's up?

2011-02-21T15:19:00.000-05:00

I will go on as if I was never gone.

Well, looking back at my previous post, I can see that my life is pretty low key. Not too many crazy changes.

My hubby had shoulder surgery (he's almost fully recovered now).
Our floors are done, a few spots we need to "fix".
Our backyard renovations are complete (despite our issues with the landscapers).
Thanksgiving and Christmas came and went (I seemed to not get into the spirit this year...).
Officially, I changed my last name (weird).

Otherwise, we're both chugging along.

I have been knitting and crocheting, fervently. You can check out all my projects on Ravelry.

I did write up a pattern for fingerless gloves for men. I need to finish the edit before it'll be ready for public consumption. Even then, there aren't any guarantees....

One more thing, this is pretty awesome and addicting. I've joined Pinterest. I just joined; I had anxiously awaited my invitation...
I've only just begun pinning things, but you're welcome to check it all out. This is my "page"

The Low-Down

2010-09-01T07:50:00.000-04:00

To start:
We are currently laying wood floors in our bedroom, upstairs hallway, and stairs. Ourselves....! We ripped up all carpeting, padding, and staples (what a job that was). Blisters galore.
We are ALMOST done with our bedroom. Now it's time for long cuts....my fingers (yep all 10) are crossed.
Here is our bedroom so far....so close to being done.....

So, although I'm knitting and crocheting...this taking up my time for now.
Adieu...

FO and WIP

2010-07-13T10:34:00.000-04:00

Finally finished the Chloe Cardigan. You can see my modifications here.
This project was great. Doris Chan is really an amazing designer.
I also love working with Naturally Caron Spa yarn.

Ignore the ridiculous outfit I'm wearing. I was too lazy to go and change.

I have a few WIPs right now. One of them is a Bathmat for the MIL and another is a Poncho for SIL. No pictures of those at the moment, but I do have a picture of some lace that I'm knitting.
I agonized to find a project for this yarn.
First, let me introduce the yarn.

Maple Creek Farm - Hickory
2-ply Laceweight
Pale, icy blue with subtle shading.

Now the lace:
Details can be found here

That's all for today folks.

Smore-gus-board

2010-07-12T12:42:00.000-04:00

I know that's not how it's spelled. Moving on.

Completed Projects:

Granny Shrug : super easy, by the way, details here

MIL Shawl - loved this, only took a few hours; details here

Small Summer Bag; details here

In Progress - Many of these, but I'll just talk about the latest and greatest.

Chloe Cardigan - so far so good, just being lazy about sleeves and finishing; details here

Perfect Summer Skirt - I'm still working on this one because, the weight of the yarn, cramps up my hands, while I'm knitting. I have to take frequent breaks from knitting.
Details here

There are a few other projects I'm working on, but no photos yet.

I've been living within 20 minutes of Philadelphia for over 2 years now and only two weeks ago did my hubby and I visit Historical Philly. I've never seen the Liberty Bell or been down to Old City. We decided that I must have this experience and off we went.

I have many other photos, but this is the gist of what we got to see. If you've never been, I highly recommend it. Greatest thing, most of the attractions are free. You just need to get there early enough for tickets to tour the old government building.
We also stopped for lunch at a place called National Mechanics.
Very cool.
Here is the exterior of the building:

Here are a few shots of the inside, as well as our drinks....I really had a mimosa.....

Dramatic Gauntlets - Free Pattern

2010-05-17T19:03:00.002-04:00

I have another free pattern to put up. I have not closely edited it, so if there are any errors found, please let me know. I will gladly edit the pattern and repost, if necessary. Enjoy!

Ravelry - pattern link
Ravelry - my project page

Pattern - PDF

Ok

2010-05-17T16:48:00.000-04:00

I've been fairly busy of late.
We have been running around, straightening up our home and helping others straighten up theirs.

Once Saturday we were doing this:

Then this past weekend we accomplished this, in our backyard:

Now although this doesn't look that good, it's a vast improvement over last year. now that most of the wood is gone we can start getting rid of the budding rainforest and hauling some dirt back there. Soon we may even have grass!! And a small garden! I'm very excited.

I've discovered that my regular camera takes marginally ok macro pics:

This is a bunch of nails that are bunched together for roofing. But they look so interesting.
Here is another, this time of fully opened tulips:

Although I have yarny things to show, I will post them next time. For now you can keep track of them on Ravelry.

Maryland Sheel & Wool Festival 2010

2010-04-27T10:21:00.000-04:00

I've been rather busy.

Rob and I are recently back from our honeymoon in Costa Rica. I'll post a few pictures. Very beautiful and very hot.

Now, onto the title of my post. I am going with my sister-in-law and a friend of hers to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, and I am very excited. This is my very first time going and I'm so glad that my SIL is crafty. We bond over yarn.

I'll do a project update soon, as well as an update from the festival.

I'm a machine.....

2010-04-06T10:10:00.000-04:00

I finished a skirt that was based on the Den-m-nit Pineapple Skirt from elann.com. The actual pattern has too many errors and occasionally didn't make sense. It's a beautiful pattern though, but I just didn't have the patience for it.

So here is my "version of it". I really only copied the top part for the waist shaping. I have yet to make a cord for the waist. Once I do, I will post pictures of me wearing it, so very hot! The specs are on my Ravelry Project Page. Once I test the modifications I've made, I will post them here, but that will not be for a long while.

I've begun the Shrunken Jacket with Attached Scarf Pattern from Double Stitch : Designs for the Crochet Fashionista. So far I've found a few issues with the pattern. It seems that the writer didn't want to write each individual row out and therefore just "hinted" at what she thinks should be done. I will say that this is not for the beginner crocheter, unless there is someone who can tell them how to work the "in between" direction rows. I really like the shaping and the versatility of the garment though. Here is my Ravelry Project Page.

Here is a picture of the back of the garment.

Oh Aphrodite...

2010-04-04T15:11:00.000-04:00

Aphrodite Shawl...? FINISHED!

I'm so happy that this is finally done, although I didn't work on it long.
My Ravelry specs are here.

Convention

2010-04-03T00:28:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm not even sure where to start because of how ridiculous it is.

Ready?

My husband and I went to Temple earlier tonight for Shabbat. During the Torah reading, there was a series of overwhelmingly ridiculous events.
1. An older man was called up to read the Aliya. Hw had a large belly that was criss-crossed with suspenders and skinny legs. His shirt was a bright peach, very nice. His fly was down. Yep. That's what I said. Fly. Down. I thought I may pee a little.
2. Once the congregation realized his fly was down, the ripple of giggles and whispers started, this, of course, only makes you laugh harder.
3. The very wrinkly little lady next to me says, "He always does that. I always tel him not to." I can't even follow that up with commentary. I think it speaks for itself.
4. Then we started getting feedback. Now, I'm sure you're thinking, "feedback, from a microphone?" Oh no my friends. The lady next to me and her hubby, it was their hearing aids interfering with each other. The people behind us are outright laughing at this point.
5. Each time the rabbi read the page number, people would repeat to one another, incessantly. Everyone must hear the page number at least 4 or 5 times. The lady next turns and leans over to see my book and then proceeds to ask what page we are on. The people behind me are no help, as they start laughing. I answer her and get a few "huh's" before she figures it all out.
6. There were two people there with oxygen tanks. Whenever it was fairly quiet, you could hear them release the pressure, in a way that made them sound like some strange percussion

This is our Temple. Awesome.

Crochet Paisley Motif - Free Pattern

2010-04-01T13:41:00.002-04:00

Paisley Motif

WW yarn – 2 colors (optional)

I hook

H hook (optional)

With larger hook:

Ch. 4

Rnd 1: In 4^th ch from hook, make 10 dc and join with sl st to top of ch 3

Rnd 2: ch 2, hdc in same st as join, 2 hdc in each dc around, join with sl st to top of ch 2

Rnd 3: ch 1, sc in same st as join, 1 sc in ea next 5 hdc, hdc in next hdc, 1 dc in ea next 5 hdc, ch 4, sc in next hdc and in each hdc around, join with sl st to first sc

Row 4: Row 4: sl st in next 5 sts
Sc in next st
Hdc, ch 1, hdc over next 2 sts
1 dc each in next 2 sts
Yo twice, insert hook into next st, draw up a loop, yo draw through 2 loops, twice (2 loops now)
Next: Yo twice, insert hook into top of ch 4, draw up a loop, yo draw through 2 loops on hook, 2 times, yo and draw through last 3 loops.
Turn.

Row 5: ch 4, trc in next 2 sts, dc in next 2 sts, ch 1, turn

Row 6: hdc in first st, dc in next st, dc2tog in last dc, ch 2, turn

Row 7: skip first st, dc in last st, end off (unless adding optional border)

Optional:

Attach new color (finish off first color)

Now working along the edge of the motif and with the smaller hook

Turn

Ch 3, sl st in 3^rd ch from hook (picot made)

Border: sl st evenly around, alternating with picots, sl st to first picot, finish off

Note: keep sl st loose and go into the chains for turning rather than around them

Blocks, blocking, and Motifs

2010-04-01T13:05:00.000-04:00

What I've done.....Ready?

I've been blocking:

Some of them are old projects that I finished when I didn't yet believe in blocking things. The wonder of it is amazing. Just need to have some patience.

I have a free pattern that I will be posting soon for my paisley motif. If you look on my blocking board, you can see it there.

I started the Crochet-A-Long-A-Month Square Group on Ravelry. I made the first three months and the April square was announced today. Check out my project page for that.

Crazy crafting

2010-03-29T08:35:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been going crazy making headway on projects and then losing interest.

Now, I must again FOCUS. I want to make a skirt that is modeled after the Dem-n-nit Pineapple Skirt (rav link). It's for my trip to Costa Rica = My honeymoon + Cousin's wedding.The skirt is very pretty. I have two issues with it.
1. It's too long for my trip to Costa Rica....it's made in WW yarn and will suffocate me with any kind of significant length --> this, though is easy to fix.
2. The chaining in the pattern has too many stitches (again, for my aesthetic). I want my pineapples more defined, so I will be ripping and re-crocheting until I get the shape and tension I want. I know I can block it to the dimensions I want, but it's hard to shrink things.

I've started it: G Hook and Caron Simply Soft in Country Blue.

I have two free patterns that I will be posting soon. I'm debating whether to free post them or put them into a PDF....we shall see.

Great Yarn Sale.....

2010-03-19T15:49:00.000-04:00

Great yarn sale here:
Royal Yarns Discount Yarns

Use Coupon Code: SAVEMORE
You get an extra 15% off of the discount yarns!

My gown and some knitting

2010-03-14T13:52:00.000-04:00

Hey all...
Here is a picture of my finished gown. Front and Back. I loved making it, unfortunately, with all the commotion of wedding planning and my new anti-dep meds I lost 15 lbs. So fun figuring out how to take in a crochet dress......ahem....so anyways, here she is:

I've started knitting Multnomah (rav link). Love it! I got to learn a new technique...the "long tail cast-on". Once I learned how to do it, it went fairly well. Not sure I prefer it to a regular cast-on.
I'm using Bernat Sox in Wooded Dennim. Soft and works up well in this pattern.
I've discovered how much I love knitting. It's precision, just like I love crocheting.
Here is the link for my project (rav link). Here is a photo of the start of this...don't look at my lame-o stitch markers.....er....:

All Married and Stuff....

2010-03-08T15:19:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited. Out wedding is over and now we're married. Not sure yet if it really changes anything, but only time will tell. I'm recovering today and resting up for work tomorrow. Have no fear I will be going to Costa Rica for my cousin's wedding and our honeymoon. Short and sweet today, photos of my dress and shawl to follow.

Knitting Craze

2010-02-25T23:18:00.000-05:00

I'm not really sure what happened, or how....I think it may have something to do with all the crocheting that I'm doing and have done for the wedding. I have two bridesmaids' bags complete, two more to go, my "pineapple gauntlets" are done and the pattern written. I will post it soon on ravelry and here on my blog. I just have to fix up the pictures.
I think I've burned out on crochet. I haven't finished my shawl yet, and time is running out. After it's finished, then I have to block it....UGH!
Okay, so I'm attempting my first "feather and fan" pattern. I thought it would be too hard, but I already have it memorized....makes me happy.
I'm using Patons Kroy Socks Jacquards in Lavender Jacquard. Love it. So much going on, but the pattern is still visible. Once it's blocked, it will look great (I hope).