I have been meaning to get back into blogging about what I’ve been up to, but this anemia I’m going through (as a result of the horror movie that fibroids is putting me through) has stopped me. I’ve had to start iron injections after 3.5 months of taking strong iron tablets had me well under the acceptable levels. Along with iron deficiencies, my levels for folate, and vitamins D and B12 were also under acceptable levels. I’ll be getting iron and B12 injections for at least 8 weeks, and I’m now on Seasonique, so that should keep my uterus under control so that my iron levels don’t drop further. I realise many may feel this is TMI and that I shouldn’t go into so much detail, but this is a serious condition with severe effects and it’s had a massive impact on my life. Coupling this with my arthritis and depression makes it all even harder, and this is all on top of being a single mother to a child with strong anxiety issues. It’s a lot to deal with.

I’ve been beyond exhausted and have been running on fumes, so getting through the day for regular household activities has been hard. That also meant I’ve found it difficult to crochet anywhere near as much as I used to, so all my plans have been pushed back. I’ve gone up to a week without picking up a hook on several occasions due to exhaustion and lack of mental agility. Trying to figure out stitch counts and design details isn’t working well for me at those times.

I was able to finally finish my Final Frontier Shawl, which I’m hoping will appeal to fans of Star Trek. The pattern is currently in the hands of my testers, so I’m hoping to have it ready for release by the end of October or early November. I have a second #TFFS in progress, this time using the merino/silk yarn I dyed earlier this year. I do still plan on writing a post about that dyeing experience, as well as experimenting with more dyeing.

I have been able to slowly add to my stitch marker sets, and I have a good variety on hand. I have started a second Harry Potter set, and one that’s still unnamed, but is focused on mental health support. These sets are still being out together but will be listed soon. My printer has decided to go on strike, so I need to get that fixed so I can print more labels, and then I’ll be able to finalise the sets. I am now offering free shipping (minimum spend required) with the coupon codes FREESHIP40 for Australian sales and FREESHIP50 for international. The minimum spend requirements are $AU40 for Australian orders and $AU50 for international. These codes can be used for all items in my Etsy store, so if you were thinking about ordering a custom made Rose Beanie and/or Rose Cowl set, or wanted to pick up some Charmed Gauntlets, you can save yourself the postage!

As I said earlier, I plan on diving back into dyeing yarn again once my anemia is under control. I have the yarn and dye ready to go, so I’ll be trying to replicate some of what I did before, as well as some new ideas. I’m expecting the results to be different than last time, as I used a 50/50 extra fine merino/silk mix, and this time I’ll be using 100% wool, worsted. It’ll be interesting to see how the results differ, that’s for sure!