December 2015

Hello Dynamos!  It's time for an end-of-year update!

I have had a very interesting year.  I went back to school.  Going back to college is awesome in this amazing digital age (the last time I was a full-time student was pre-smart phone and YouTube!).  Sadly, I discovered that I have absolutely no talent for being able to do simple chemistry experiments, so a mid-life career change to become Doctor Jaime is no longer in the cards for me.  But on the up-side, I've got a whole new appreciation for the microbial world and how it affects our daily lives (Thanks Microbiology class!!).

Merry Christmas from the Dynamite Family!

My grandma's dementia has gotten dramatically worse this year.  I don't think I was prepared for what that would mean for our family. She's 94, so I'm so grateful that she's still with us, but it's hard to not be disappointed that it's not HER anymore, if you know what I mean.  She lives most of her life inside her head now, and while it's a pretty pleasant dream-space (based on the delusions she tells us about - ie. the ice crown she misplaced or the phone calls she receives from long-deceased relatives) I wish she was able to live in the real world with us a little more.

Karate Mims!

Mims started 3rd grade this year.  She's the tallest girl in her class by several inches, which I take a strange pride in, even if it wasn't MY genetics that contributed to her superior height (my husband's family is very tall, so at family events I'm the shrimpy one at almost 5' 6").  Her height has had extra benefits this year, because it has made her really good at karate.  We put her in classes last March and she fell in love with the sport.  She's come out of her shy-shell and become like a whole different kid.  Plus, her karate teacher is really a great guy, and has encouraged my husband to start taking classes too.  So now Mims and her dad go to private lessons on Saturdays, as well as twice-a-week classes that Mims has been doing for the last nine months.  I am enjoying this so much more than being Coach Jaime for her volleyball team last year.  Being a karate mom is more about sitting at the side of the room and silently focusing all of your e.s.p. energy on making your kid perform their kata correctly... I have never once been asked to run across a field to chase after a rogue ball...

Hippopotamus Christmas cookies!

I'm embarrassed by how little crochet I have done this year.  I took family photos (with a tripod and a remote I hid behind the back of the couch! My nieces (in the elf and santa hats) were not impressed.).  I decorated cookies (like legit decorated, with bags and tips and a rainbow of royal icing).  I read 30 non-school-related books.  I went to 5 plays.  I fell in love with my (new to me)  2012 Nissan Leaf (electric car, FTW!!).  I also fell in love with the Hamilton soundtrack. The hubs and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. My sister had another baby, my sweet little CJ (who loves me the most, but barfed all over both of us the last time I saw her.) My daughter convinced us all to dress up for Halloween (she went as Mavis Dracula from the Hotel Transylvania movies, and she got her dad to go as Dracula.  I got to be a bat, since the mom in that movie is dead...) I decorated our Christmas tree on November 1st (blasphemy!) and got reprimanded in Target for declaring their abundance of PepsiMax a Christmas Miracle on November 20th ("Thanksgiving Miracle! It's not even Thanksgiving yet!" said the random guy in the soda aisle said.  "We're Canadian," my quick-thinking husband replied).  I drove my kid to karate lessons and swimming lessons, to the water park and to the beach.  I memorized most of the Periodic Table of Elements, and learned about Fungi.  I perfected the art of taking pictures on my phone through the eye-hole of a microscope.

Me and CJ!

15 years later!

The Draculas!  Note the crochet bat hat, see I've still got it!

But please, don't confuse my lack of crochet this year with a lack of DESIRE to crochet.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and I wish you all the best in 2016!!

Love always,
Jaime
Crochet Dynamite xoxo

Tunesian Crochet Washcloth

Wow!  Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!  I've been so busy, it feels like I haven't had a moment to myself lately.  As some of you (most of you?) know, I'm a full-time caregiver for my 93-year-old grandma.  Just before Thanksgiving, she had another mini-stroke that has left her very confused, and barely mobile.  It's been very challenging to create a new routine that works for both of us.  I was used to a (small) amount of freedom in my day, you know, to run errands, grocery shop, etc.  My new routine requires an additional person to come in and watch her while I'm gone.  Thankfully, my Dad has been able to come watch her for a few hours during the day for the last 6 weeks or so, and my Mom has watched her a few evenings so that we could go to a couple of movies as a family.  

The good part is that I've had a lot more time to crochet, now that all of the holiday hoopla is over.  I've become fascinated with tunesian crochet, and I've been simple-stitching away like a mad woman!  

I made some crazy simple washcloths using the simple stitch, which were so quick, and so fun, I really think you all should try it (unless, of course, you're already a tunesian crocheting goddess, in which case, carry on!).  I used THIS great tutorial on The Purl Bee to help me get started.


TUNESIAN CROCHET WASHCLOTH

Size H tunesian crochet hook
100% cotton yarn - worsted weight (I used Lily's Sugar N Cream in Pink Camo - one skein will make 2 washcloths!)

Ch 30
R1: Starting in 2nd chain work a preparation row into each st of the foundation chain (30 loops)
R2: Work a return row (1 loop on hook)
R3: Work a forward row (30 loops on hook)
R4-51: Repeat rows 2-3
R52: Work a return row (1 loop on hook)
Fasten off.  Weave in ends.

Attach yarn in corner, sc 30 st along each side, working a (sc, ch 1, sc) in each corner.
Fasten off. Weave in ends

Alternately, you could just start your final sc border without fastening off, and then re-attaching yarn. But honestly, the stitches look a lot like purl stitches in knitting, so weaving in the extra ends is not a big deal.

I've got some fun and exciting projects planned for the next couple of months, so I hope you'll come back soon!

xoxo!