A week to catch up on...........

Sometimes I feel like a broken record with my work has been crazy, I am tired, it has been a tough week routine, again and again.  You all must be getting so tired of me, but the one thing I am is truthful and real, so here it goes again.  Work has been crazy, I am tired and that about sums up my week.  I have had a particularity difficult work week with a new very, very complex patient, and a patient I have had  for over two years being pulled from her wonderful adoptive home to be because her older brother is a harm to himself and his younger sisters.  The family did not want the older child in their home so they are pulling all the kids.  I don't agree and tried to make my thoughts known, but they fell on deaf ears.  This is all to keep the siblings together even though they have never been together until two weeks ago.  One child's psychological needs should not come before another child's stability, but what do I know.  This has been weighing on my mind all week and making me feel very sick to my stomach.  As of tomorrow this little girl will be placed in yet another foster home and I might not get to see her anymore. So there you go, tired and crazy.

There has been a finish here, not one I am in love with but a finish all the same.  

This is the V-Stitch Poncho by Helena LB.  I tried this with my silk yarn if you recall and it was a disaster.  Maybe I should have let it go but I became a bit obsessed with making it.  You know me I have to make the pattern work out even if I will never wear the finished item.  

I used a size J hook and chained 104 stitches to make the neckline rather than the 88 as per the pattern.  I have no idea how Helena, the designer, had a wide enough neckline with 88 stitches, I had to tweak the stitch count all along, and for some reason I had a tough time making my stitch markers divide the project into four equal portions.  That was entirely my fault, not the patterns, apparently I have lost the ability to count evenly. 

The original pattern was made with 100% acrylic yarn.  I am not a fan of acrylic yarn and I apologize to all of you who are.  Since it did not work well with the silk I decided to make a trip to Michael's for some acrylic yarn with a long color repeat.  This Red Heart Unforgettable fit the bill so I purchased 3 skeins with a coupon.  I think the colors of the yarn work well but I am not happy with the feel of the yarn.  It feels a bit softer after a quick steam blocking, yup I even use steam with acrylic, but I would not advise any one to do the same, your hard work might just melt.   I think this might be a nice item to throw on during winter when the mornings are chilly, but now it is 90 degrees out so I will just let Caroline my dress form wear it for a while.  She doesn't care if it is hot or cold out.

I love preschool.  The teachers are so creative.  How about this Mother's Day present from Little Buddy.  It makes me smile.  It came with a dried up little dead plant in it, I had to laugh at that one.  Here you go Mom, a dead plant for Mother's Day!  The paper flowers make me smile and look at that face!  I could eat him up!

Speaking of flowers, I had surprise mums blossoming from a plant I thought I had pulled out.  It is not mum season, they usually grow in the Fall so it was fun to see this bit of white catching my eye when I went out with Max this morning.

My little irises are blooming, too.  They are tiny but so pretty when you get up close to them.  Flowers are so amazing in their beauty, when you look close there are all sorts of colors and designs you can't see from far away, each one is just a little bit different.  

I am wishing you all a good weekend, hope you are getting time to relax and regroup before another busy week.