Colours of Summer...... Sherbert!

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well =D.

Once again this has been a wonderful week for my handmade items.  My Sherbert Dib-Dab Pyramid Bag  recently featured and  made it into an Etsy Treasury: "Colours of Summer" the theme was Sherbert (bottom, 2nd from left). 



To say I'm excited is an understatement, people are seriously going crazy for these bags,  so I'm going to add more fuel to the fire and announce some new stock. Yes!  I've been squirrling away for the past couple of days making loads of new bags-11 to be precise, which will promptly be added to my  Folksy, and  Etsy by the 25th of August (Thursday) this week.

Getting back to Nature

Even though where I live we are surrounded by countryside, sometimes it's just nice to get away to pastures new.  See new scenery, a different layout and just generally drink in whats around you.  I'd never been to Crieff before, well not that I can remember of  and even though I moaned on the way up in the car, the end result was both breathtaking plus relaxing.

Lady Mary's Walk- Crieff

The River Earn

Wild Flowers

breathtaking scenery

dog walking

Soaking my feet in the River Earn

bliss

We walked and walked and each turn on the path brought more nature, some people, kids playing in the water, people jogging, dogs walking with their owners,  babies being wheeled around in their buggies, everyone with the same thing on their mind, don't rush just take it easy.

Just Doodling

On Fabric:

Poppies

I was taught how to sew from a very young age by a rather cantankerous elderly woman. She was married to the local doctor -old military type and very to the point, no nonsense kind of man- she was a brilliant teacher, with  an awful temper.  Heaven help you if you forgot your sewing bag or "gasp" your needle happened to slip and  your stitch didn't look right,  all hell broke loose.  Then in High School a rather nasty Home Economics teacher took it upon herself to tell me I was useless at sewing and it would be better if I just gave up.
So I'm not sure what they would make of my little embroidery doodle,  sewn on to some denim. ooops! What the heck!  It was fun.


Healthwise

I've had a months rest from my  PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) therapy treatment,  EMDR, which has thrown up a few glitches but hopefully it is just old memories being processed into the files in my brain. The one thing I wasn't counting on was the severe depression or the abnormal lack of energy that has come with the break, or my therapists excuse "the reason  why you're feeling like this, is because you have stopped taking your Fluoxetine",  I've been off my tabs since April and seemingly it's only now my body is retaliating with depression, mmm! I don't think so.  To me the antidepressants weren't working,  they were masking my feelings and I wasn't  facing up to reality.  I was walking around feeling numb and zombiefied and I'm afraid that is a state I didn't very much care to be in.  Yes the therapist frowned at me,  when I tried to explain that I wanted to feel the pain of reliving the memories I had whilst going through the EMDR treatment and that is why I weaned myself off the medication. To me it's the only way I'm going to recover, period.  So after a power struggle with me refusing to go back onto the medication (I'm very stubborn) we decided the next best thing would be to try a more natural approach in the form of fish oils.  Omega 3 with a high EPA count, this is to combat the severity of  depression and  the sluggishness, I'm suffering from.  I'm also taking B vitamins for adult acne (due to stress)
Anyway, I've been taking the fish oils and vitamins since Thursday of last week.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday I felt on top of the world, loads of energy, talking non-stop, knitting like a woman possessed, tidying, taking the dog for a walk, eating less sugary foods, listening to music and living again but then Monday appeared and I  hit a wall so big that I couldn't even step over it let alone climb over  it.  I was majorly tired but not depressed, which is good, I think.  By Tuesday (right  through to Thursday) I was bulldozing the wall and marching ahead full of beans, then Friday had to happen.  I just sat and cried on and off for most of the day.  Sounds depressing but this is me getting better.  Before treatment I was down and crying for 6 days out of 7.  Now it's maybe 2 and at a push 3 days out of the week, eventually it will be none.   So were does this take me? Well,  I will  be moving forward and starting CBT after the therapist comes back from his holidays.  The CBT is the final push on my therapy and is the ground work for  making me a living, working, person again.
It can only get better, right?

Can I have a drum roll-please!!!!!

Exciting News 

Watermelon Pin Case as featured in Sew Hip Issue 32

The right hand column has a new item added.  Yes,  my Watermelon Needle Case features in the September Issue of Sew Hip Magazine.  So far I have sold 6 of these little guys since they appeared on my website and Folksy shop.
Another best seller is the Abstract Russian Doll Bag.  I've lost count (only in my head)  as to how many of these lovely bags I've sold.  Knitters seem to be going crazy for the design =D

The No 1 Best Seller

My handmade items are doing really well and cater for all craft people.  So if you have a birthday or just need a gift for that special craft person in your life,  head over to my shop for a browse.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

Headbanging time

About two posts ago I spoke about having to make the big decision to frog my Sunshine Cardi,  as it just wasn't me,  then I found a new project called Shimmer by Kim Hargreaves, which I was most excited about.  Well, a week later I'm not liking it at all, I love the look of the pattern, so I think it maybe the yarn colour I'm hating.  I think it may have a hex on it  Lol!  This is now the second time I've used it and  it looks like this  project will have to be frogged too (squirrel walks away, shoulders heavy,  scraping her paws along the woodwork, in defeat) =( I can hear the frog behind me saying "Rip it, Rip it, Rip it, Rip it. Think I'm going to have to place the yarn in the naughty corner for a week or so,  well, until I can least face looking at it again.  Stupid beep-beep frog!!!!

New Knitting

The Beekeeper's Quilt, image courtesy tinyowlknits

Yes your eyes just bulged out of their sockets, didn't they.  Cause I know mine did.  Isn't this amazing looking.  The little honeycomb puffs are individually made in 4ply yarn then put together to make this awesome multicolored quilt.  I've been rummaging frantically in my stash for mini skeins, oddments and anything else I can get my squirrely paws on.  I want my quilt to be just as fab as this, so I've  joined a Kal  (so I can be nosey and see what everyone else is doing).  If you want to make one too it is designed by  Tiny Owl Knits and the pattern is The beekeeper's quilt.