So I am sick deathly sick from this flu/cold. Add an eye infection (pink eye), and my body is just about ready to keel over. Yeah, when I get sick, I give it my all. But, one thing has really cheered me up – some monster love for my car!
I wanted to do something to show my love of monsters on my car. Tony did not want me to get any custom items for my license plate or frame. And, I wanted something a little bit more obvious and unique. I searched for vinyl decals for the car that were monster-like; there was very little out there. I did find one seller on Etsy though – Stephen Edward Graphics – who had some great monster decals for decorating your walls or laptop computer.
I originally custom ordered a decal with a peace symbol, a heart and a monster. You know, “Peace, Love, Monsters”. I anxiously awaited for the item to arrive. I showed it to Tony and asked him to help me put it on the car. Man-brain hit cause he did not want me to “clutter” my car with girly items. He even suggested that he would not drive my car if I put a decal on it. Yeah, I know. Blame it on the man-brain.
Share the Monster Love
I decided to compromise and just put the monster decal on my car, without the more girly peace and heart symbols. I know that I could have put it all on the car window, just to show Tony that I don’t care what he thinks my car should have on it. But, reality is, that I do care about him, even if I disagree with his opinion. Life is too short not to compromise with the ones that you love and with those who love you.
I just love this monster on my car. He just brings my car a great personality. Don’t you want to order one for your car? The vinyl decals are removable, and won’t damage your car. It comes with easy to understand instructions and tools to place it perfectly on your car window for the world to see.
How to Order Your Own Monster Decal:
Contact Stephen Edward Graphics on Esty, let him know you want to place an order for a decal for your car window.
I think if you have chronic crap, the universe should exempt your body from colds, coughs, body aches, sore throats with a headache and fever. Yeah. I am officially sick now, and it sucks. I feel like death warmed over, slowly being killed one symptom at a time. Life is definitely not fair. But, this too shall pass. I just want you to know that it just sucks.
At least I have some crafting mojo back. My knitting needles are still on vacation, but hopefully they will start working as this medication leaves my body and gets me back to my normal, chronic self.
Monster Love
The past couple of days, I have been in a monster making mood. So, I decided to try my hand at sewing a sock monster. I ordered the Make Your Own Stupid Sock Creatures Kit just to get my hands on the awesome rainbow socks. And, there was a great sock monster pattern or two in the kit as well.
I started to follow the directions in the kit, but stopped halfway through. My brain cells blew up and died, and the words and instructions got all mixed up in my head. I blame this stupid cold/flu. I just started putting all the remaining pieces together a little differently to create my own version of a sock monster.
I used a plastic button for the lips, glued on some googly eyes and sewed pieces of cut felt for the cheeks. I did not sew on the head into the body properly, and the head ended up flopping all over the place from “no neck” syndrome. I destroyed an old umbrella and placed a plastic stick in the back of the head and body to stabilize the head, and them covered it with leftover sock remnants to make the appearance of a neck. She is still far from perfect, but my hand sewn stitches are getting better.
Right now this colorful monster is keeping me company as I continue to recover (or slowly die) from this cold/flu. She just makes me smile. I still have to name her, and hopefully I will keep her. Still waiting for my knitting mojo to return, and hoping to come back from the dead.
Keep sharing the monster love, and practice a random act today.
So, my rheumatologist and new heart doc are in agreement. I knit, therefore I am. So, I am stopping the new experimental drug for my fibromyalgia pain. “You have to knit. Stop the new medication now.”
I found that my joint pains were skyrocketing this past month, with pain in my hands too. Something I was not used to at all. And, to top things off, I lost all my creative mojo. My knitting mojo went on vacation this past month, and life just has turned into “Blah. Blah. Blah.” Even though the fibro pain was better this past month, it is not worth losing my knitting mojo.
I even conducted a mini experiment and did not take the new medication for a few days to see if I would feel better. The result? No knitting mojo, but I was able to do some hand sewing, and make some sock creatures! Yup, the new drug definitely was stealing my mojo, and making me a bit more anti-social, with a serious case of the blahs.
I see my pain doc next week, so hopefully he will get that this new drug was not for me and give me my pain medications back. It will still take some time for any pain medications to work though cause the low dose naltrexone in my system blocks opiates from working. Translation: More pain before I get some relief again, and we have to go back to the drawing board.
Sock Bunny Love
So, I have been learning to hand sew some sock creatures as I wait for my knitting mojo to return. I have already given one sock bunny to a foster care organization to give out to their kids at their summer picnic. Random acts can be with sewn monsters and critters too; you don’t have to knit or crochet to give.
This adorable sock bunny pattern can be found in a book titled “Socks Appeal” by Brenna Malony. I just love the pattern! And, you know that bunnies multiply so I will be making a bunch of these in the future for random acts too. I made a pom pom out of yarn for the tail instead of using leftover sock pieces. The author also has a second book titled “Sockology.” You can also get more information on her books on her blog here, including a couple of free patterns, linked below:
I have found some great books on stray sock sewing too, listed below. All of them requiring hand sewing, which is a lost art worth remembering. I am slowly getting better at my sewn stitches, and these are almost just as addictive as knitting monsters. Sock sewing is much faster though; most of these creatures take less than a day to make!
I am hoping my knitting mojo comes back from vacation soon. In the meantime, I am on the hunt for colorful crew-length and knee high socks. I know, another craft addiction. Like I did not have enough already. Sock it to me! I just can’t help myself.
So today my Kokoru monster is on its way to a 5-year-old boy named Noah. He has been battling mitochondrial disease since birth, and is now in hospice care. I wish I would have known about Noah earlier, but I only recently found out about him through a friend on Ravelry. I am sending this monster to Noah, to help him fight his last battles on this earth, and to help him and his family say their goodbyes. Monsters help us with the hardest parts of our lives, and I hope this monster will help Noah and his family in the days ahead.
Mitochondrial disease affects 1 in 4,ooo children in the United States. It is a result of a genetic or acquired mutations in our mitochondrial DNA in our body’s cells. Mitichondria are responsible for creating more than 90% of the energy needed by our body to sustain life and support growth. When they fail, cell injury and death can follow, often resulting in devastating damage to the brain, heart, liver, skeletal muscles, kidney, and the endocrine and respiratory systems.
Noah has 7 brothers and sisters, and members in my Random Acts of Monsters group on Ravelry are making monsters for the family members this month to send monster love and hugs, and let them know that they are not alone. After we finish this monster invasion for Noah’s family, we are planning to continue to send monsters to the other children who are a part of the Noah’s Hands of Hope organization. If you want to help make monsters for this on-going project, join and post in the thread here.
Monsters have helped me grieve as I have lost my abilities to sit, stand or walk without pain. They have helped me to say goodbye to my old life when I was able to work my corporate job, hang out with friends and family, travel to different places and not worry about how many spoons I have for the day. Monsters have helped me say goodbye to the past, and hold on and live for today. And monsters have continued to give me the hugs and love I have needed when I have felt alone in my struggles.
Noah’s monster Kokoru has a special mission. I pray Kokoru will strengthen Noah’s heart and fill it with love as he faces his final battles and say goodbye, and yet help them still live for today. And through the family’s tears, I hope this monster will give all the love and hugs they need to remember they are not alone.
Keep sharing the monster love. Practice a random act today.
I have not been knitting much. My knitting mojo has been on vacation for a couple of months now. It has really been difficult to deal with skyrocketing pain levels without my knitting mojo. Every time I have attempted to knit, I have made serious mistakes that meant unraveling the project and sending it to the frog pond. I have discovered I get more anti-social when my knitting mojo is on vacation and my body is screaming. It really has been no fun.
Tony has been wonderfully supported through my screaming body, getting off my old pain medications and starting the new one. He has been taking me to different places to distract me, and even sat patiently while I got my hair cut and colored last weekend. We have also been car shopping. I really need a car with heated seats, as well as my beloved Navigation system. It is amazing what a difference those two things can make to pain and sanity levels when the muscles in my body tense up and my brain goes into a fog and I can’t remember where to turn.
Kokoru Has a Sweet Tooth
The past few days I have tried everything to try and knit another monster. I decided to get one of my most favorite monster loving yarns out and knit one of my favorite monster patterns – Iris the Gourmet Monster by Rebecca Danger. I have knit several Iris monsters, all with Lorna’s Laces Shepherds worsted yarns. I just love Lorna’s Laces yarns, all the color ways are perfect for all your knit or crochet projects. But, the yarn is especially perfect for monster making. The colors seem to make monsters extra magical.
My latest Iris was made with Lorna’s Laces Red Rover color way. This color way is variegated with deep reds, autumn browns and burgundy; it reminded me of a human heart. So I named this monster Kokoru, which is Japanese word for “heart”. Every stitch of this monster was a struggle for me, but a labor of love too. I felt like I was fighting for my life to get my knitting mojo back.
I wanted Kokoru to be a little taller than the original pattern because I went down to a US Size 5 needle. I usually use a US Size 6 needle with worsted weight yarns, but I wanted to keep my stitches tighter. I also wanted to make the arms and legs longer on my monster, for extra long hugs and monster kicks to the battles I have been facing lately. Kokoru is a gourmet monster, so she immediately went for the mini cupcakes on the kitchen.
These are the modifications to the original Iris the Gourmet Monster pattern:
For the body, I worked 52 knit rounds instead of 42 before starting the decrease rounds.
For the extra long arms, I worked 64 rounds instead of 20 before starting the rounds for the hand.
For the legs, I worked 64 rounds instead of 40 before starting the rows for the foot.
I Need My Monster
I was reminded how much I rely on my knitting, sewing, and crafting to face my daily battles of pain, fatigue and illness. I really do live my life one stitch at a time. Creating something out of “nothing” is very therapeutic for our bodies and minds. When you are faced with something difficult in your life, try and find something creative to focus on. It doesn’t have to be with string and sticks (aka knitting). Write poetry, sing and play music, draw, paint, garden, cook, sew – find your thing to create your life with. It will save your life in ways you never expect them to.
Then remember to give a little bit of you create to others. Share it with someone you have never met. Practice your own random act. It won’t solve all your problems or take away all your pain. But, it can make life bearable again. And, remind you that your life is still worth living.
Share the monster love. Keep creating. Keep giving. It can save a life, even your own.
Kkhymn's Corner 