Why I Love Being a Crochet Tester

I've been crocheting over 20 years and I have to admit I was not always so enthusiastic about this hobby. I would mainly crochet afghans, hats and scarfs. After a while I would grow bored making the same type of item over and over. I was stuck in the past when lets face it, crocheting was not cool. One day I was perusing Facebook and I found crochet pages! That was the beginning of the end of boring crochet for me.

After a few months of seeing and trying these exciting new patterns I was seeing all over social media I decided to try to sell some of my finished items. It took me some time and thinking before I finally opened my little business, The Palmetto Hooker. Before that I decided to apply to be a tester.

I never felt confident about my ability to crochet, but so many people were telling me that my work was good. I saw a post by Blackstone Designs calling for testers. On a whim I applied and was ecstatic when she accepted me as one of her testers. My first test for her was the Cora Skirt.

Since that day I've been "hooked" on testing! I enjoy helping a designer recreate something that started out as a sketch on a piece of paper and I love proofing, for some odd reason, because I always hated English class. I also end up getting the pattern for free, sometimes free advertising for my business and I've learned a lot of new stitches and techniques.

I'm now a tester for a few other designers (AllieCats Hats And Crafts, Creative Threads by Leah, and Kaleidoscope Art & Gifts). All of these ladies have remarkable talent and put so much time and effort into their patterns. I'm so privileged to be able to test for them. I've tried to create patterns myself and have ended up with a headache. I can't see how these ladies do what they do for so little recognition. There are so many people out there looking for a free item and don't take the time to think about how much work goes in to just one pattern. No one works for free so why should we expect designers to give all their patterns away?

I love being a tester and I hope I can continue to help these lovely ladies with their designs!

My Daughter's Journey With A Brachial Plexus Injury

August 31, 2012 was the happiest day of my life! That was the day I finally got to meet my daughter, Frances Lynn.

She was born at 5:14 pm and weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. I wish I could say I had the "fairy book" delivery, but I did not. During delivery she suffered a shoulder dystocia, her left shoulder became lodged behind my pelvic bone after her head was delivered. Due to this she suffered an obstetric brachial plexus injury (OBPI). Her condition is also referred to as Erb's Palsy. The brachial plexus is the network of nerves that sends signals from your spine to your shoulder, arm and hand. A brachial plexus injury occurs when these nerves are stretched, compressed, or in the most serious cases, ripped apart or torn away from the spinal cord.

Our first few days home were very emotional! I was a first time mom and I had this baby that required extra care in holding, feeding and sleeping. Her left arm was completely limp. Whenever we picked her up we had to be extra careful and make sure we supported that arm. If we didn't it would just hang down and that could have caused more injuries. I breast fed and I had to carefully position her arm so that both her and I would be comfortable. She was just 4 days old when she saw her first specialist and was diagnosed with OBPI. At 1 month old she started occupational therapy once a week.

Here she is at 5 days old.

She was 4 months old when she finally regained some substantial movement in her arm. 

 Here she is at 6 months finally reaching out to me!

She has also had to wear different arm braces.

 Here she is wearing her current brace.

She is now almost 3 years old and most people on a quick glance cannot tell anything is wrong with her. Upon closer inspection you can tell there is something off about her left arm. When she walks/runs she holds that arm tightly to her stomach as if to protect it from any harm. She cannot straighten her elbow completely, she cannot reach above her head like her right arm and when she drinks her elbow is sticking out instead of being held down. She cannot put on or take off a shirt because her arm will get hung up in the sleeve. Pulling her pants up is difficult because that does require she reach behind her sometimes to adjust the waistband.

Her new specialist wants to perform a nerve transplant surgery on her shoulder in October. He believes this will help her regain certain functions in her arm that she does not have now.

We've had her in weekly gymnastic lessons since December 2014 because it is cheaper then her therapy was costing us. One therapy session was a $50 co-pay and we can get a months worth of lessons for that same cost. I've had a few therapist tell me that gymnastics will work her arm better then they ever could. We have seen a remarkable improvement in her strength and confidence since she started this venture. I fully intend on keeping her in gymnastics until she tells me she doesn't wish to do it anymore. 

 Here she is during one of her gymnastic lessons.

My daughter has overcome a lot in her short life. We are thankful she didn't suffer a worse injury like a bilateral BPI (affects both arms). Her injury isn't something to be taken lightly and it is a disability. I challenge everyone to try to function with just one arm for just one day. I've tried it and I know it is virtually impossible for me. I admire all those that have this injury and don't let it stop them from doing whatever they want!

Patriotic Headband

My daughter has an adorable outfit to wear for the 4th of July, but I wanted to make her something else. I'm not big on designing things myself so I went on the search for something quick and easy to make her. I ended up finding the Summer Band by Snappy Tots (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-band). It worked up very quick, I was able to complete it in one night.

I really like this headband because it's not too hot for our extremely warm temperatures this summer (+100 degrees this past week). It's also made to be adjustable so the same headband that fits my toddler will also fit me. The color options are also endless. I could see this being a big hit during football season before it gets too cool.

What are your thoughts? Would you wear it or would you like one for your daughter?

My very first blog!!!

Hello all and thank you for taking the time to visit my first attempt at blogging.

I wanted to start this blog in an attempt to get my crochet work seen by a larger audience and to help raise awareness to something else that means a lot to me, Brachial Plexus Injuries (BPI). I know that normally these two things don't go hand in hand but they do in my household.

My grandmother taught me to crochet and read patterns when I was 7. I remember watching her create beautiful afghans and I wanted so badly to be as good as her. Over 20 years later I believe I'm finally in the same league as her. I started selling my completed items and testing patterns roughly a year ago. I'm lucky that I'm able to do two of the things I love at the same time, crochet and spend time with my daughter. If it wasn't for one life-changing day I would still be in the accounting world working with my third love, numbers.

On August 31, 2012 I was blessed with a beautiful, sweet, funny little girl. During delivery she suffered a birth injury that affected her entire left arm. For over 3 months she could hardly move her arm, but with weekly occupational therapy and daily home therapy she was able to regain some function. She is almost 3 now and has made a lot of progress. She will never have full use of her arm, but she makes the best out of what she is given. I decided to become a stay at home mom because we had a lot of doctor appointments and daycare would've been hard to come by since this is a disability that few have knowledge about.

This is just a brief introduction for my first post. I hope to share with you everything new that's happening in my crochet and BPI world. My daughter is my world and I love sharing all the obstacles she overcomes each day.

Thank you for stopping in!