Thank you for the gloves!

It is getting about that time where I will probably be posting more on Raunaud's Syndrome. In a nutshell, it is a circulatory disorder that constricts your vessels, instead of dilating them, when your body is cold. This keeps the blood from flowing to your extremities (nose, hands and feet) like it should and can cause color change and a lot of pain. Really the only thing that Doctors can do, because not much is known about it at this time, is to put patients on blood pressure medications. However, there are more studies on this now and new developments of gloves and other ways to adapt to living with Rays.

That being said, there are mulitple wonderful people who have made and sent gloves, this past month and I haven't been able to thank them enough. Noel and Szuziq made fingerless gloves for me. I was so happy when they arrived and I have gotten so many compliments on them from customers and co-workers. They fit my hands perfectly and keep my fingers from hurting.

Here are some pictures (sorry about the lighting, with fall in MI it is getting gloomy outside so not much natural light):

 I love the ribbed and cable design of these gloves. They fit nicely around my hands and keep me toast warm. The gray color is nice too because I can wear them with just about anything.

 I love these two gloves as well! I can't say enough about any of the gloves that I received. The ribbed makes the gloves able to stretch over my hands and feel snug and toasty warm. I also like the shell edging, a nice soft touch. The blue I am actually wearing right now and the brown (below) I wore with a new burgundy dress, and brown leggings that I got from work. ^_^

Also, I had been talking with my dad about Raynaud's and I don't exactly remember how the conversation went. I said something about trying to figure out how to make mittens because I read that wearing mittens, rather than gloves (fingered), is actually better because it keeps more of your body heat around your fingers. A week after our latest conversation, I find a couple of packages on my steps. He found some Thermasilk Glove Liners (which I highly recommend). You put them on under your gloves or mittiens and it makes it even more toasty. I'm not exactly sure how it works but I'm glad it does. He also found some nice ski/snowboarding mittens which means that I may be able to finally build that snowman, this year! Finally, he sent me a pair of fingerless gloves so that I could be nice and toasty around the house and at work.

I have been so blessed by everyone. I was never expecting any of this and I cannot thank you all enough for your wonderful gifts and kind hearts. It means a lot, that anyone would want to help and these gloves and mittens that you all sent do help. I have even eaten ice cream (gasp) with out my fingers hurting as bad from holding the bowl. I know that Rays may never be able to be treated with medicine,in my time. Thank you all for helping me to adapt to the cold. Little things like these (which seem very big to me) are what keeps the world turning.

Thank you, again.

Please remember that you are beautiful and well loved.

So...About those Elves...

I am so sorry that it has been a while since I last wrote. Things have gotten super busy the last couple weeks and our internet keeps cutting in and out, since the internet we shared with a neighbor was shut off. So, there will be a couple new posts.

I feel like I didn't acomplish much in the way of Christmas stuff but here is what I have:

Blankets:  1/2 are finished
Hats: 2/5 are finished
Earwarmers: 0/4 are finished
Shawls: 2/3 are finished
Scarves: 5/5 are finished (YAY!)
Potholders: 1/6 are finished
Washcloths: 0/6 are fnished

 

Here is the blanket that I finished. The lighting isn't that great, it has been super cloudy around here. The color is a frost green/light sage. I do love the pattern though. It was a quick work up, once I sat down and did it. I used a pattern from Crochet World Magazine April 2015 Issue

 

This is the other shawl that I finished. It is a dark purple, cascading shells pattern. I really like this one too. I was able to sit and visit with people and not have to worry about losing count or reading a pattern. 

 The last scarf I needed to make! I restarted this one I don't know how many times. I tried to come up with something new, but felt rushed so I tore it out. Then I was going to do the Turtle Shuffle but I couldn't decide how I wanted to stripe it. So, I went with this basic, double crochet striped scarf. I'm not sure if I'm going to add tassels on it or not. I'm not sure the recipient is a fan of tassels

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Finaly, a pot holder that I finished yesterday. It is supposed to be a diamond overlay but my diamonds look weird. I'm not exactly sure what went wrong but I still like it. Again, the lighting does not do the color justice. This one is a Frost Green color. I got this pattern from Crochet World Magazine August 2010 Issue.

Please remember that you are beautiful and well loved.

Smitten by Mittens!

 

It has been a while since I have talked about Raynaud's Syndrome. Honestly, the warmer months don't bother me much, which could go without much explanation. If you are not sure what Raynaud's is, it is a circulatory disorder that is not life-threatening, in mos cases. When people who do not have Raynauds get cold, their veins dilate to allow more blood to flow to their extrimities (your hands, feet...etc). This helps keep your entire body warm. When people who have Raynauds get cold, their veins constrict which allows less blood to flow through the body causing the extremities to feel pain that I can only associate with frostbite.  

In the warmer months, it doesn't affect me as much. My hands hurt in the frozen section of the store, if I stay there too long or open the doors. Getting ice cream out of the freezer and into a bowl is a painful task (which bites because I do love ice cream). Even holding a cold beverage can bring my hand pain if it isn't wrapped or in an insulated cup.

So, when the Christmas presents are finished I am going to be making some mug cozies, and some wraps for water bottles and what not. 

Now that September has finally come and gone, it is getting colder. From walking home or walking to work, in the morning, there have been a couple of times that I wished I had thought about gloves. I did some reading and it is actually recommended that people who have Raynauds wear mittens because the combined body heat from your fingers being together, rather than separated by gloves, can actually help to keep your hands warmer.  Unfortunately, even though I live in a state that has snow, unless you are a child mittens are difficult to find. Even, right now, gloves are a difficult thing to find.

I have tried my hand at fingerless gloves and so far, it hasn't worked out in my favor. There are a couple of people who are making some fingerless gloves for me and I am excited for them to arrive.I am told that I can wear them to work, which is amazing because it does get cold, sometimes. Yesterday, I decided to try my hand at mittens because I cant find any.

I found this free pattern which I do believe that I am in love with! The mittens were so easy to work up and it was only in two parts: the thumb and the rest of the mitten. I have seen some mitten patterns where the cuff is separate from the main section and I think that is where I get lost with the fingerless gloves that I have tried to make. It took me about a total of 4 hours to make the pair of mittens. Which, I'm sure was mainly due to the fact that I had never made mittens before. Again, they were so easy to make and they are warm, which is of course the best part.

I am so proud of my mittens. I think even more proud than the lady bug blanket that I made a few months back. It was a small project but something that I was never able to do. Also, this is only the second thing that I have made for myself. The first being the Ember Shawl.Woohoo!

What is your favorite mitten pattern? What are you working on?

Feel free to leave comments below and check out my other posts!
Remember that you are beautiful and well loved.