Nature's Bounty

So last week I was doing a little gardening and ran into some nettles.  From that point on I did everything wrong.  I had a nettle in my finger and removed it and cleaned the area and I thought that was it.  But, I was very, very wrong.

Later, I would find nettles in my arm that were surrounded by blisters so I could not remove them with tape.  I used hot water to clean off the area instead of cold and that made the stinging pain escalate.  Then I had an allergic reaction to the whole mess.

It is so much better now.  There are only little pricks of pain because the rash burned off the top of skin on my arm; like a sunburn.  But yeah, so happy the itching is gone.  I never scratched because I didn't want infection on top of everything so I was a little crazy for the last week.  I couldn't retain info for more than a moment in some situations.  But Praise the Goddess, all that is over with.

Here is actual info if you do run into nettles.  In most cases, they will not be as bad as mine.

• Wash the area with soap and water as soon as possible to relieve the sting and remove the nettle hairs. 
• If you suspect nettle hairs; use duct tape to remove them.
• Apply a paste of baking soda and water. 
• Avoid scratching or rubbing the itchy areas. 
• Use cool, light, bedding and clothing as this will help relieve itching. (everything will feel rough)
• Avoid extreme heat – have lukewarm baths and showers. (makes it sooo much worse!)
• Apply cold compresses. (ah...heaven)
• Apple cider vinegar or aloe can also be soothing.  (used both at different times)
• Try to stick to foods that are anti-inflammatory.  (turmeric anyone?)
• Antihistamines may relieve itching and swelling.   (may)
• A cream with hydrocortisone will reduce inflammation.  (1%)
• Make sure you wash everything that came in contact with the nettles.

The thing is while all this was going on with my skin, I was creating a new shawl design with a singular focus.  This was a project I started a while ago and it was nice to dust it off and work with it again.  I had made a sample and charted it.  When I went to pull up the chart it was unreadable since the software that had supported it was no longer working.

At that point with all the itching and crazy, I just wanted to give up.

But. I  didn't.  I worked on it a bit each day and fixed the problems I had with my sample.  I reverse-engineered the sample and was able to recreate the idea I originally hoped for.

I give you Nature's Bounty.  I really enjoyed creating this little shawlette.  It can be used to teach beginning lace since it starts small and grows.  It teaches how increases and decreases are paired so that you can control the growth of the shawl.  It also demonstrates how placing yarn overs in different places can shape the motif to form a curve.  It is one of the magical things I love about lace and I am happy that I got to work with some beautiful motifs in this shawl.

Bright Blessings!

Ruinwen

:)