Something Cute, Something Embarrassing, and Something Unintelligent

Something Cute:
I have never known how to do more than the basic chain stitch when it came to crochet.  I've tried on several different occasions, but have never been able to figure it out.  In fact, Jonathan might put me in the dog house for announcing this on the blog, but I'm pretty sure he knew more about crochet than I did.  Supposedly his grandma taught him when he was little ;)

Anyway, to make a short story long, like I usually do, when I was pregnant with Maggie I came across some instructions on how to crochet some adorable little western baby boots.  I filed them away for someday when I was capable of crocheting, fully aware that that someday might never come.  Well I decided I really wanted to make those little boots for Lane for Christmas.  Our library has crochet hooks available for checkout, so even though hooks are cheap, I figured I would check one out along with a few books on how to crochet.  If I failed again I wasn't out anything except for the cost of the yarn.  Here's the final result:

Either I am incapable of following directions or else the instructions were messed up because my first few attempts did not turn out.  With my limited crochet knowledge I ended up making up my own instructions and got them to turn out right.  Now I just hope his feet don't grow too much between now and Christmas :)  I'd really like a pair for myself, but I'm not smart enough to figure out how to make them that big.

Something Embarrassing:
Jonathan went out of town for a herd dispersal sale.  I contemplated not going to church because I didn't really feel like manhandling two kids by myself.  But I decided that if I went it would probably help the day pass more quickly (maybe the wrong reason for going, but oh well.)  I was carrying Lane in the car seat and had the diaper bag hanging off of my other shoulder.  I'm not sure what exactly I had packed in that thing because it felt like I was carrying a bag full of bricks.  Miraculously, Maggie was willing to walk through the parking lot (she's a bit nervous around cars and prefers to be carried through a parking lot--probably because I'm always harping on her about how dangerous parking lots are.)  She was doing fine until she came to some snow that she didn't want to walk over.  I was a little ahead of her and tried to coax her to keep walking, but it didn't work.  I really couldn't carry her even if I wanted to, which at this point I did.  The mom of the family walking in behind us offered to carry her over the snow.  I thanked her and continued toward the door.  Now I'm not sure exactly what happened, but Maggie reached me a lot faster than I expected her to once she was put down.  In fact she reached the door right as I swung it open.  It hit her square in the forehead with an incredibly loud bang and knocked her over.  She started crying of course.  It was embarrassing enough that I almost knocked my child out in front of this whole family, but what was worse is that I started crying too.  I'm not sure if it was because I was feeling overwhelmed, or embarrassed, or if my emotions are still skewed from having a baby, or if I just felt that bad for what had happened, but whatever the reason was, I was crying too.  At that moment I wished I would have stayed home.

Something Unintelligent:
I finally finished sewing the cantle binding on the saddle I'm making.  It was a slow and tedious process which involved forcing an awl through each mark where a stitch needed to be made; making sure the awl went through the stitch mark on the front of the cantle and into the correct mark on the back of the cantle.  This was four thicknesses of leather mind you and easier said than done.  I'd make about five awl holes and then continue stitching with two needles, weaving them back and forth.

Even though the awl hole was there, it wasn't always easy getting the needle to go through.  So I was wearing leather gloves to help get the needle started on its course.  Once it had emerged out the other side I pulled it the rest of the way with pliers.      

If you're squeemish at all, please don't read the rest.  Seriously. Consider yourself warned.

I was having a difficult time getting the needle through the very last stitch.  I was pushing (too hard) with the butt of my hand when it slipped and the threaded, dull end of the needle punctured through the leather glove and into the palm of my hand.  Did I say into?  Because that's what I meant.  The needle was stuck.  In my hand.  Surprisingly it didn't hurt all that bad, I just had the inconvenience of having a needle sticking straight out of my hand.

In case you want more of a visual, I'm talking about a large yarn size needle, not a wimpy needle.

We had to cut the glove off of my hand and away from the needle (duh!) before we could attempt to remove it.  Neither of us realized the thread could be causing the problem, so we kept pulling on the needle.  It wouldn't budge.  The skin was so tight around it that I even attempted to make a little incision perpendicular with it, but it still wouldn't come.  I was about ready to have Jonathan count to three and yank as hard as he could.  I sent him into the other room to retrieve the pliers so we could get a better grip on it.  Meanwhile I tried pulling on the thread, which loosened it considerably.  I was able to get the needle out before he got back.

After I cleaned the wound I felt much better.  Until the next morning when my hand was so stiff I could hardly bend it.  My middle finger was especially troublesome.  The I started worrying I had caused permanent damage since all of the tendons, ligaments, nerves, etc. branch together in the middle of the palm.  I looked up a picture of the anatomy of a hand to see what damage I likely caused.  I'm pretty sure the needle must have brushed the ligament that goes to my middle finger.  I say that because of the location of it, the fact I could barely bend my middle finger, and because I felt stiffness in my wrist when I'd bend my finger (the same ligament connects to the carpal tunnel ligament).

Anyway I told myself I'd get it checked out by a doctor if it didn't start improving.  It has improved though thank goodness.  I'm still a little sore, but I can bend my fingers today.  Which is good news I guess because I'm supposed to play my violin in my parents ward when we go to visit.  Bendable fingers are kind of crucial to playing the violin :)

Is there such thing as a thimble for your whole hand?  Apparently that's what I need.