Molly, jobs, and up and coming projects - a tale of caution for dog owners everywhere.

Ack! I have been neglecting my crochet for the past month or so.

This is largely because I am on the hunt for a new laboratory. Which is good because I no longer have to deal with a completely incompetent boss who blames all of his problems on me.
But its bad because it sets back my thesis time.

I've been working on a photography blog as well. You can see that here: http://thephotodoctor.blogspot.com

My next projects include two baby blankets (for little boys, suggestions would be great!) and an amigurumi version of my dog Molly.

Molly is a dachshund, which means she's got a susceptibility to having back problems. (That whole long and low thing, I guess.)  She ruptured as disc in her back the week before Christmas and I about died, because this dog is the closest thing I have to a child.

TO ALL DOG OWNERS. LET THIS BE A TALE OF CAUTION.
Molly jumped up on Jamie (my fiance) Monday afternoon and yelped, like something bit her. We wrote it off as nothing. The next day she didn't want to jump up on the couch or bed and was a little sluggish and seemed to be in a bit of pain. We assumed she sprained something and moved on. Wednesday morning she couldn't walk.

I rushed her to the vet, who sent me to the emergency surgery vet, whom I didn't know (or trust).  Dr. Dismukes turned out to be a very down to earth but personable sort of guy. He gave it to me straight - because Molly had no feeling in her back legs, she only had about a 50% chance of regaining the ability to walk. In a matter of 5 hours or less, my baby went from being in slight discomfort to being possibly permanently paralyzed.

That afternoon she had surgery, which went well. We were told the rupture had actually spread across 3 vertebrae, (T10-T12 if you're medically minded).

The next morning, Dr. Dismukes called me bright and early with amazing news - she could feel!! He was excited and hopeful, but still guarded.

As of today, we are 6 weeks out of surgery and Molly is walking a little wobbly, but completely on her own. We have to fight her to keep her from trying to jump and climb stairs. She's back to her old self and I couldn't be happier.

We saw Dr. Dismukes today and he called her a little miracle dog! He couldn't believe how well she had been doing, and I can't even explain to you how blessed I feel.

My goal is to make Dr. Dismukes an amigurumi version of Molly, as my little thank you to him. We see him again in 6 weeks, so that gives me time to try and work up a decent pattern. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Family and friends, thank you so much for your support over the holidays while we were dealing with a poor, sick puppy. I have felt so much love from you guys.

And so has Molly. :)

Molly, pre-traumatic experience from April 2010. Gotta love those big blue eyes. (And yes, she is a pure blooded doxie! From the humane society no less!)

Amigurumi - My Sailor Moon adventure

What the hell is that word and what in God's name does it mean?

Amigurumi (pronounce am-e-goo-roo-me) is using crochet (or knitting also I believe) to make stuffed dolls/figures.

I discovered this around the end of September/beginning of October when I became interested in making toys for my dogs. It looked fun, albeit complicated.

When I started, I was terrible at it. And I had no idea what I was doing. But I kept at it.

In late October, I was finally matched with my little sister, Zoe, through Big Brother/Big Sisters.  Turns out, she is big into anime. While I like anime, it isn't my favorite, but Jamie loves it so I am familiar with the culture. Anyway, her favorite anime is Sailor Moon. I'm pretty familiar with it, however I had never actually watched any of it at the time.  For those of you who don't know - this is Sailor Moon:

Being me, I wanted to do something to "impress" her. I'm really not so great with kids, and I wanted to make her something that might help me win her over so to speak.

So, I played around with google and found this:
Sailor Moon Pattern - Ravelry

I loved this pattern. And it taught me a few things about my craft abilities and limits.
1) I can work in the round as long as I have stitch markers.
2) You always need more fiberfill than you think.
3) Safety eyes are IMPOSSIBLE to find
4) Felt is the devil.

I hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE felt. I hate how it cuts. I hate how it stitches. I hate how it feels. It was the bane of my existence with this pattern. I have since learned that if a pattern calls for felt, I will either crochet whatever it was asking for using yarn or use embroidery thread instead. Felt blows.

Anyway, here is my one, absolutely awful picture of this pattern.

I am currently working on ways to modify this and will post better pictures of the product when I finally do finish. I will also post my modifications.

After posting this picture to facebook, I received a string of comments on how much people liked it. I even received a few comments asking for additional sailor scout dolls. :) Zoe also loved it and asked if I could do Sailor Chibi Moon (the pink one).

For a first attempt at amigurumi, I felt pretty good about it.
However, I hate the felt work (ribbons, tiara, hair covers). I hate the skin tone. And I hate the eyes. The skin color took me the longest to find, and I still don't like my current solution for the eyes.

But more on this in later posts.

Why Crochet?

I started teaching myself how to crochet in July 2011, because I was painfully bored after having my gallbladder removed. The surgery forced me to be out of work for about a week and it was during this time I got sick of sitting in front of my TV doing nothing. The year before I had lost my last grandmother and my last grandfather was in poor health. I was thinking of things we had starting cleaning out of my grandmothers house and the things that were the most disputed amongst family members were the old quilts, afghans, etc that had been made by someone at some point in time in the family.

This nostalgia, the pain killers, and sheer boredom drove me to a decision that has changed my life for the better - I wanted a hobby that would generate something my future children and my children's children could have and remember me by. Anybody can take pictures. Pictures can be erased. Anybody can beat video games and watch TV - but that doesn't generate anything lasting that can be used.

So, I drove myself to Wal-Mart and bought some yarn and a teach yourself to crochet book and got started. (I chose crochet because I didn't trust myself to be coordinated enough to knit. The two needles were intimidating. lol!)

At the time, a dear old friend of mine was due to have a baby within the next month. So I started working on a baby blanket for her. As I worked on this at home, work, or even waiting in the doctors office, I got compliments and comments of "I wish I could learn how to do that." These compliments and comments made me more determined to finish the blanket and continue to crochet even after I completed my first project. I took many "in progress" pictures, because I loved the way it was turning out and I desperately wanted feedback.

Molly, my precious dachshund loved it. She would lay in my lap just so she could get under it. I blame the soft yarn.

Finally, I finished the baby blanket.

My friend, Kat, seemed to love it, which made me extremely happy.

With my first project complete, I knew this was a hobby I would always want to keep. It's fun, it helps my carpel tunnel, and above all, I get a sense of fulfillment from this craft. And that's the best feeling in the world.