First Felt

It’s Handmade Monday! As I am not at home I haven’t been very crafty this week so I thought I would cheat and show you something I made before I went in hospital and something small that I made today. Hopefully I will be going home tomorrow, I’m still hobbling around like a zombie but I’m only on paracetomol now and not that plus codeine. I can’t wait to get back to my beads and kiln as well as my none crafty loves. I will be opening my Etsy shop up within the next month too if things go to plan, I need something to keep myself busy while at home or else I shall go up the wall.


For my birthday I got a needle felting kit and this an ACEO sized picture I made. There is something very therapeutic about stabbing the needle into the felt over and over. I think it needs something “more” though I’m not sure what. Any suggestions welcome! I know I need to add a bit more wool here and there as it is a bit thin in places.

This is something I made this afternoon , I think I may turn it into a keyring when I get home.

Apologies for the awful photos, the light isn't great here and I was too lazy to get off my bed and move to the window. *blush*
I have really enjoyed trying needle felting, I will definitely be making more things in the next few weeks.

Have a great week,

LH
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Bee!

Before I came in hospital I planted up one of my hanging baskets and there on the Pansies was a very sleepy bee (though how it stayed asleep with all the swearing I did when I nearly put my hand on it I don't quite know) I took advantage of its sleepy state and took some close up photos. Here are two of my favourites.

It's these pics that has inspired this bee themed Etsy treasury. Click on the link to be taken to the shop :)

LH

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Done!

It’s done! I’m all pegged up (and slightly drugged up too!) The relief is amazing, I can’t quite believe that it has happened, that I have it done. No more ng feeding! Thank you for the kind words, they mean a lot.

After all my stressing in the last post, the actual procedure wasn’t too bad. I got taken down to the endoscopy place at about half ten in the morning and after a lot of waiting about, some form signing and “am I doing the right thing” thinking, I was wheeled into a very small room at about half 12. The doctor came in and explained what would happen, I was then given some sedation and the last thing I remember was having to bite down on a mouth guard type thingy.
I was taken into recovery about 20 mins later, doped and happy. My memory is still a bit hazy here, I remember seeing a picture of the inside of  my stomach and the white disk holding the tube in place, and telling anyone that I passed as I was being wheeled back to the ward that I had a big bit of cheese in my stomach, I have been told that I said to the porter taking me back that I would buy him a golden trolley if I won the lottery. I am wondering what else I may have said! *blush*

I’m in a fair bit of pain, and have had plenty of painkillers but it is still pretty sore when I try to sit up. Coughing is agony and I’m a bit worried how my chest is holding up since I have been unable to do any physio. I’m hoping this doesn’t last too long.

I have managed to go for a wander around the hospital today while the painkillers were working at their peak, still, it was less a walk and more a zombie shuffle. It was nice to sit outside in the sun for 20 mins or so, I had a very mini picnic of a packet of crisps (bliss!)

So now I’m sat here having my first feed, they have decided to start me off slow and I am just having 300 ml at a rate of  50 ml an hour. At home when I used to ng feed I would do 1500ml at 350- 400 ml/hour so I really have gone back to baby doses. But I can’t complain, 300ml is equal to 450 calories which I need since I haven’t had much of an appetite. Hopefully tomorrow I will have a bit more and a bit faster.

I can’t wait to get home, I miss my parents and my dog. I miss my bed and my garden. I’m looking forward to seeing how my veg is getting on and I need to finish planting my hanging baskets.

So lots of plans!

LH
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be careful what you search for.

When I started this blog it was with the intension of sharing what I had been up to, posting pictures of what I had made and having the occasional rant. Tonight my blog  has a different purpose; tonight it is keeping me company and is listening to my worries,(yep, I realise this sounds very weird) I have an overwhelming urge to let everything out.

So I am sat on my hospital bed, I have been here on the ward since Wednesday (about 2pm I think) and right now I have my laptop on my knee and my nebuliser in my mouth taking the 4th inhaled medicine of the day (one more to go)

Today has been ok, my parents visited and I went a walk with my mum to the shop in the hospital ( I bought a scratch card- as yet unscratched) and then had a wander outside (blissful natural, cloud diffused, light).
They went home at half 3 and I’m struck with loneliness, it’s a different sort than what I normally feel as this time I am in here voluntarily.

I put final score on freeview and watch as the results for  the Blackpool v Burnley match scroll across the screen and grin at the final result. There is a pang that I am not there, normally the game after my birthday is one I would attend and what a  game this would have been to go to. We are in the play offs!

(I’ve  just started my last neb of the day, hypertonic saline, in other words super salty water. It makes me cough like a bugger)

I try to keep busy, I finish the Hunger Games trilogy of books my best friend bought me for my birthday, if I’m honest I was too unsettled to read and take it all in, I read it, but I can’t recall much.

After tea (toast- it’s all I can stomach at the moment) I notice a daddy long legs flying around my room in that floaty way they have, I wait until its at the window and let it out. I feel weirdly happy that it is free.

I think about Monday and my op. I have been reassured that I wont be in pain during it, that I probably wont even remember having it done, past experiences of being told this same thing and the opposite happening make me wary. I wonder if there are any experiences online I can read about. This is where I make the mistake. I type some words into Google and click on a few links.. I read something obviously written for medical professionals about the procedure, the things that can go wrong. (I am panicking right now just thinking about it)  I know that there are risks for everything but seeing them written down and in medical jargon seems to make it worse. I keep thinking about how I will be awake, if something should go wrong I will be aware of it and be terrified. I long for a general instead of sedation and the unawareness it would bring.

So that’s how I feel now, scared and confused. Do I really want to go through with it, what would happen if I packed up my bags and went home tonight? I know it’s silly, I have committed myself to having this done, the pros far outweigh the cons and it isn’t exactly a huge procedure (I’ve had worse) but I have an almost overwhelming urge to run, actually run until my legs ache, something I haven’t been able to do since my lungs don’t let me.

I think my main problem is that this is something I have chosen to do, the other times I have had ops it is because there has been a need for it, I keep thinking just how much do I need to get that bit of weight on, is it really that important?

I worry that when I have it done I’m going to make a total muppet of myself by bursting into tears or something. If I am too soft to handle something like this, what would I be like for something serious?

I’ve made a list of the benefits and I keep repeating them to myself. That it isn’t that long a procedure, that this time the sedation may actually work and I wont remember a thing.

It’s taken me a good few hours to write this post, I think it has helped, I’m feeling a bit calmer anyway. In 48 hours it will be done. I can do this.


Thank you blogger, for letting me rant and if you have read this far well done!

LH
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The April listing club

Has been a  while since I picked a few of my favourites from the daily listing club on the  crafty folk team on Etsy, so here they are! I am only up to April 4th so I’ll be doing a few of these now I have some time to spare!Click on the photo to be taken to the shop.

30!

First I want to say a big thank you to  christmaspiecraftswho awarded me the versatile blogger award! It is always great to think that someone likes my ramblings! Thank you lots!There are a few things I need to do before I can claim it so I will work on that.
I’m 30! My birthday was Friday (yep, the 13th- says a lot that) and I had a great one, I had a meal with my family and went out with my friends. I got some lovely presents including a needle felting kit which I am having a lot of fun with. I will take some photos of what I have made up to now and show you in the next few days.
I’m in hospital again, not the best start to my thirtieth year, but something that needs to be done. I have decided to go for it and have a Peg fitted, I am not looking forward to having it but know in the long run it will do me good. A peg is a tube that goes into your stomach so you can have extra “food” and calories, this will be handy for when I’m not well and can’t eat much. It will also help me to get a bit of extra weight on. The peg will be changed to a smaller ‘button’ in three months, the button looks like the valve a blow up ball (I wanted to write doll there) has so it's a lot more discreet than the peg which is long.
I’am  absolutely pooping it when I think about having it put in on Monday, a general anaesthetic isn’t advised so I will be having it under sedation.. The thought of being awake is freaking me out a bit, I just hope I am completely wasted and don’t remember a thing.
But that isn’t until Monday.. For now I am trying not to get too bored, I have my laptop and my felt, books and music, my phone and blogs to read to keep me amused.
I am looking forward to this time next week!

Hope everyone is well!

LH
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P.M.C Moon - a tutorial of sorts.

Happy Easter!
I thought I would do something a little bit different for this Handmade Monday. I'm still a beginner when it comes to using silver clay but I thought it would be useful to write a sort of step by step tutorial type thingy showing you how I made a silver moon ( a present for my mum who, like me, loves all things shiny and colourful.)The chances are the way I have made the piece isn't altogether the best way, so follow my instructions at your own risk!   Ok.. my very first tutorial coming up...

1. For the first stage I used all the items in this pic. There is.. a bottle of olive oil (nicked.. I mean borrowed.. from my mums cupboard), Silver paste (low fire), a paint brush, embeddable bails (you can fire these in the kiln), embeddable gems, different sized circle cutters, low fire art clay, rolling guides (to get the clay to a uniform thickness), a roller and a plastic wallet to provide a work surface (not ideal if you are using a scalpel to cut out shapes as it will rip the wallet but it will do for this )

2. rub a tiiiiny amount of olive oil onto the plastic wallet and rub some onto your hands, this will prevent the clay from sticking. Try to use only a small amount as it can make the clay slide about. Using the guides, roll out the clay to a uniform thickness.

3. Cut out two circles, one as big as you want your moon to be and the other just big enough that it will take the bail (the clay will shrink when fired so make sure you account for this when choosing the small circle. If the circles of clay wont come out of the cutters, use the paint brush to gently poke them out. Wrap the left over clay up and put away in the airtight bag immediately (it dries up very quickly).

4. Push the bail into the small circle and put to one side.

5. Use a slightly small cutter than the one you used to make the larger circle and position it on the clay so that when you cut it out it makes a shape you are happy with. There are probably some moon shaped cutters out there but using two circles works.

6. you will end up with a shape like this. It looks a bit rough but it will be cleaned up when dried.

7. Push the gems into the clay.

8. Turn the piece over and using plenty of paste on the paintbrush, "glue" the bail onto the back.

9. Leave the moon to dry overnight or you can use other methods. Some people use a mug warmer, other people put it in a slightly warm oven. I just leave mine overnight or place it somewhere warm. Just make sure the item is really dry before you fire it or it can crack.Once it is dry it will be really brittle so handle carefully, you can mend broken pieces with paste.Smooth rough edges with the needle files and the sanding pads. Spend a good while on this, you want a nice smooth surface for polishing once it is fired.

10. I didn't spend enough time filing and sanding around the gems, told you I was a beginner! I should have filled in the holes with paste and let it dry again before re sanding... A lesson learnt for next time!

11. Once you are happy with how your piece looks, you can fire it! Metal clay can be fired in a kiln, with a small kitchen type blow torch or over the hob of a cooker. Follow the instructions in the packet for how long you need to keep the heat on for your chosen method. I'd recommend having a look at some youtube videos too, to get an idea of the different methods. Be safe! Things get really hot.

12. Once fired the piece will be white. You need to give it a good rub with a wire brush. Be careful, the wire bristles can hurt! Try not to scratch the gems. To get a mirror shine you need use the sanding pads, starting with the lowest number and working up. Rub with the sanding pads and don't move up to the higher grit until the sanding pad seems to "slide" over the metal. When you are satisfied that you have gone as far with the sanding pads as you can, give the moon a rub with some silver polish and a soft cloth. You can see in the pic of the finished moon where I haven't spent enough time working on the dry, pre fired piece, TAKE YOUR TIME!! It's so easy to want to rush and see what the piece looks like when fired.

13. You can thread the moon on to some chain and then you can enjoy wearing your handmade, unique, piece of jewellery.


Well, I hope that was ok and easy to follow. I may write a few more of these in the future. :)

LH
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