An injured finger makes it hard to crochet...

The day after Christmas, I found myself in my kitchen looking at a pan of Cherry Mash.  I had attempted to make my own cherry mash and had failed miserably.  It was really really REALLY hard.  Tasted good, but it was like a rock!

I needed to clean out the pan and thought I could just use a plain old kitchen knife to cut it up and take it out.  What I really needed was a jackhammer.  I couldn't cut the cherry mash, so I then decided to chisel the cherry mash.  With wet fingers.  Needless to say, there was a lot of screaming, crying and hyperventilating at my house that day.  Luckily my patient husband was at home with me and he sat on the bathroom floor calming me down and cleaning my would.

At first, I thought my pinkie was broken.  I couldn't move it at all.  But everyone reassured me that I must have jammed it when I cut it and it would take some time before it would heal.

The cut healed quickly and nicely, but it's been nearly 2 months and I cannot move my finger past a certain point.  This is what it looks like when I make a fist:

That darn little finger won't budge past that point.  I have to tuck it under the other fingers to try and make it stay and it still pops up!  You should see me hold a crochet hook!  LOL!

So now I think I must have cut or nicked a tendon or something.

It's hard to do...well...everything...

Especially typing (my apostrophes start out as semi-colons) and crocheting.

I can't tell you how awful it is to not be able to crochet as quickly and easily as usual.  Just this weekend, I tried to make a simple little washcloth and it took forever!  And my hand hurt so badly afterward.

But I won't give up!!!!

Has anyone seen the hoopla about Dollar Tree yarn online?  I'm in several crochet groups on facebook and my newsfeed has been flooded with photos and information about Dollar Tree yarn for weeks!  At first I thought maybe they were just little tiny skeins and no one wanted to fess up to it.  Then I thought maybe it was flawed yarn.

So I started stalking my own Dollar Tree.  Finally, late last week, they got in their shipment!!!

They had 4 types offered and they were all novelty yarns.  Had I been smart and less excited in the store, I would have taken a photo to show all of them to you.

Here is the Bernat Pipsqueak yarn:

I had enough in one skein to make an small adult size hat and some leftover to make a small child's hat.  It's like crocheting a marshmallow.  So soft and cozy, but kind of a pain to work with.  It fuzzed out a little bit off my hook, but not enough to notice.

This is one skein of Bernat Fleurettes.  

I bought two but now I'm not sure I'll use the second.  It was really hard to work with.  Lots and lots of loops that would get onto my hook accidentally and mess with my actual stitches.

I used a little black cotton yarn to make a band at the bottom.  This one is more of a large child size.  

A pain to work up...but it turned out kinda cute :)

I have another skein to use that is very different, so I'll save that one for next week.

Last year, I found a pattern on Pinterest that I really enjoyed making.  So I made several!

Here is one I finished recently with I Love This Yarn:

I love that you can wear it closed on top as a regular hat or you can put a ponytail thru the opening at the top and cinch it closed with the drawstring.

AND you can open it up all the way and wear it around your neck as a cowl.

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PATTERN!  And it's free!

I always add a few beads to the ends of the drawstring.  It dresses it up a little and makes it more fun.

Let me know what you're working on...I'd love to hear about your projects!

And please consider donating a handmade hat to A Hat From Howard, A Chapter of Crochet for Cancer.

Your donation will be delivered to a person undergoing chemotherapy.

Warm hearts...warm heads, right?!?

Thanks,

Heather

haslerheather@gmail.com

PO Box 133

Lawrence, KS  66044

www.facebook.com/ahatfromhoward

www.crochetforcancer.org