Welcome welcome! This is the new blog for a small crafters group that meets at the Austin Community College southern campus in Austin. I say small, but in reality we’re a fairly large group. We meet every Thursday to knit, crochet, spin, and just have a really good time.

My name is Jess and I’m the technical overseer of this blog. We have quite a few authors who will be making posts as well. Our group is pretty diverse with large personalities and awesome skills. I’ve been knitting since April 2007 when a friend taught me how while we waited for the last Harry Potter book to be released. She’s stopped knitting since then, but it has really become a treat for me.

I wanted to say knitting, but it’s more than knitting – it’s crocheting – it’s spinning – it’s crafting~ The easiest way for me to de-stress is for me to work with my hands. There isn’t much out there that can help me refocus my energies like crafting does. It’s like I can remove my entire being from a hectic day and pour all of my energy into creating something new.

Like right now. About a week ago I went to Burnett for a nice trip around the river. However, I got bitten by chiggers in the worst way possible. My legs and ankles are littered with bites that don’t seem to be getting any better. Just to sleep I have to slather on calamine lotion and take a benadryl and to make matters worst a mosquito got into my house and so I have a few more bites on my arms and hands. I’m just miserable and fighting every urge to scratch. Last night was the worst, especially during my shower. I was just going to clean my legs so I could apply a clean layer of lotion when I scratched them something awful. I took my benadryl and applied Vicks vapor rub like my mom had instructed, but not even the benadryl could knock me out with all of the itching.

So I got up cleaned my legs again and applied the calamine. While I waited for the lotion to dry I started to knit. Mostly just to keep my hands busy but it wasn’t long before I didn’t feel any itching – not even the bites on my hands. I finally fell asleep, but it definitely wasn’t enough sleep for me.

I ended up bringing my knitting with me to work. It’ll help with the stress, but also keep me from scratching. Oh I can’t wait until these bites heal but maybe I’ll finish a few projects until then.

Happy Crafting

-Jess