Weekend Update! Slowly I turn, step by step

I bet you've all been wondering exactly how far I got on last week's shawls over the weekend... Me too!  

It was a bit of a rough one as I am nearing the end of my medication window for polyarticular psoriatic arthritis (PsA).  PsA is an inflammatory arthritis like the more well known rheumatoid arthritis (RA).  I am on Remicade infusions every 8 weeks and a weekly dose of methotrexate. 

If you've never heard of PsA, here's an image of the joints affected during a flare. I can attest to it's truth!  Some are just sore, some feel like they are literally broken.

I am still learning how to manage day to day activities during a flare, like trying to rest my hands between bouts of crochet.

Wow it's tough to do!  But I did make some progress this week so let's check it out:

Clue Two of Shannon Sanchez' Tiberian Shawl MCAL!  Still really loving the texture of the stitches.  I know you can't see them yet but trust me... you won't recognize it after blocking. 

I am already plotting one with different colors for each stitch pattern.

Next is Surfing the Clouds by Tanja Osswald.  To be fair, I've made a number of mistakes on this one this week... I'm tired and have moments where I just can't focus.  A couple rows later I have moments where I'm not willing to frog back to my mistake in order to fix it. :oP

I hope they won't be too painfully obvious after blocking but if they are you know what?  It's a badge of honor that I even tried.

Really really wonderful, this shawl may be the prettiest I've made to date, and that is seriously saying something because I've made a lot of shawls.

Your eyes do not deceive you either, that coral pink center shifts to magenta purple and then to a silvery purple as I move through the four skeins. 

The last skein is a silvery charcoal and ought to be perfect for those last few super long rows. Hopefully by next week I'll be able to show this one off in all it's glory!

I did manage to finish a couple of hats for grandkids though.  Remember last week's pokeballs and Ash Ketchem gloves?  I just couldn't help but think that the pokeballs would make fun hats... and they did!  The boys *loved* them.

So, if you are struggling as I am this week - with physical illness, emotional distress, keeping it together under pressure - know that it's worth fighting the good fight for another day, and I hope you find something to look forward to every day, like I find in my family and friends, yarn... and you!

Til next time... don't forget to be awesome!