I just bought a Debbie Bliss knitting book and so far I am loving it. The pictures are super high quality and make it easy to see what your finished project should look like. The photos always help me to figure out also how the project is worked. I have to say that I really like her baby cashmerino product. I started a project today and found it to work quickly. I am still working on my first project out of the book, so I will give you an update on how it goes.

Well the Susan G. Komen’s walk for the cure went smashingly. It was three days of lots of cars driving by honking their support, women in pink chatting and walking at different paces, standing at street corners stretching while the light changes, and high -carb low flavor foods. I enjoyed the experience immensely. 

All my training paid off and I had no blisters at all; I did have sore feet though. Saying that is the biggest understatement I think I have ever written. “Sore feet” - Wow I don’t think I have ever really know the meaning. By the last day I felt as if all the blood in my body was in my feet. They were boiling hot and shooting pains from my bunions did not help. Amazingly the next day I could walk on them with no pain. I was sore and tired, but felt great. I do have some sensitivity missing on a few toes but that should come back I assume.

It is awe inspiring to finish walking 60 miles. It makes you realize you can do anything if you set your mind to it. So, yes I did walk the full 60 miles. I actually pushed myself at the end and finished with an hour to rest my feet before closing ceremonies.

Since the walk is done I have a bit more time on my hands, but I still desire to walk. I don’t think I will be walking 18 miles in one day anymore, but a three mile walk to the store and back sounds super easy. I think hiking this year may be where it is at. Only time will tell. 

 
Work is picking up for me and I have been busy interpreting. Scott and I still attend Karate and Aikido classes Tuesday, Thursday and some Saturdays and Sundays. So, we are keeping ourselves fit. 

Thanks everyone for all your support and happy walking!

Crystal

This is a fab new website for swapping kids stuff. Really cool instead of exchanging money you get points for every item you “sell” and you can “spend” these points to “buy” new items.

You should check it out. If you decide you want to join you should use my referral code and receive two free points. My Referral Code: TT3AXX

Right now I posted a dress I have and don’t need. This will be my first item for Kizoodling. Here is a link to the item on Kizoodle.com and the photo of the item.   my kiz item

We had a blast at our ‘Tinis for Ta-tas Night”.  Incase you did not get the invite or live out of town it was July 9th at the Tractor Tavern. We had a band, Ruby Shuz was great. They did two 45 minutes sets and donated a portion of their CD sales to our walk. Joseph Réohm preformed up close magic after which my teammate was” freakn’”. 65 people attended the event and we gave away hundreds of dollars worth in prizes. My sister won the most desired prize of a night in a fancy hotel downtown.  I actually made so much at the event to put me over my required minimum.

Now I am focusing on my training and packing. I am looking for a huge duffle bag to put all my camping stuff and walking gear in. Should be able to find it in a thrift store. I have walked 258 miles in training as of today. I have not gotten any blisters since the first two. I received those from my socks sliding down my heals and I did not notice until the blisters popped. Ouch! 

This weekend is Sarah Bush, Scott’s sister’s, wedding. We are ecstatic. There are people flying in from all over and it should be a beautiful weekend. 

I’ll post photos after the event. 

Crystal Bush

Here is an update for the 3-Day.

I have walked a total of 194 miles as of today in training. My fundraising is going well. I have raised $1800 and have only $400 to go. It is July so I am well on my way to making it.

I and a couple other girls are hosting an event called ‘Tinis for Tatas coming up in July at the Tractor Tavern. Here are the details:

‘Tinis for Ta-tas - 7-10pm, Wednesday July 9th. Spend July 9th fighting Breast Cancer by having a Martini for Ta-Tas! Join the party at Ballard’s Tractor Tavern at 7pm and rock out to Ruby Shuz at 8pm. A $15 cover gets you a delicious martini of your choice and supports the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk. Good times, good tunes, good raffle prizes, all for a good cause! What more could you want on a Wednesday?

After that event I am hoping to continue in the training and hopefully rest from the event business. It was a lot of work to put this together.

Thank you all for your continued support in this endeavor. 

Crystal

I have been sewing for a while now and I really enjoy it. Someone told me once people enjoy the things they do well. I am no expert, but things are going well so far. I can look the other way on little mistakes like gathering that ends up in the front of the shoulder instead of on top.

I am currently making burp cloths and receiving blankets for my friends who are due to have new members of their families soon. I will be sewing a baby dress for my friend in Africa who is having a second girl. When they moved to Africa she had to give away a lot of the baby things. Its amazing to thing my work will be on the other end of the world in a month or so.

I made a dress, a shirt, a dress jacket, and a summer jacket. I already made baby dresses for my niece and for a friend, with matching bonnets. It is so fun! I have also hemmed lots of clothes for friends and family. Yeah, I have been busy. So, now you know what I do with my spare time. And who to ask to sew on your buttons for you.

Here is a photo of a hat I made for my new niece Aniya.

Scott and I are working on a project to take his old shirts that have memories and make a quilt out of them. I will post a photo when we finish. Here is hoping our first quilt will come out alright, but I know where I can go for tips. (Mom, Grandma, neighbor, ect.)

Crystal Bush

My fundraising is going well. I have raised half of the amount of money I need before September. That puts me closer to my goal of being done by July. My team will be putting on a couple events trying to bring in some more donations.

One will be an adult event called “‘Tinis for Ta-tas” in which we are finding a venue to have a band and martinis. We are hoping to advertise this event.

The second event is a BBQ at Karalee’s sometime this summer. We want to have silly games with a breast cancer theme. We plan on putting up flyers around her neighborhood.

Should be fun. When we know when and where I will be sending out emails.

Scott has been good to help me with designing a team logo. We chose the name team “Wonder Women.” That way I can get shirts printed.

So far I have walked over 110 miles. I should be even further along, but I got a nasty cold and have had to shorten up a lot of my walks this last weekend

Happy walking everyone!

So far I have walked 17 miles in training and will be walking 12 more this week. (Wow doesn’t that sound impressive.)

I am enjoying the activity. I have had some issues with not stretching like I should and it is easy to believe the wonders of the stretch when you wake up feeling like someone beat you up. Funny I use to think that walking is a lower body activity, but it is not. I have noticed if I do not stretch out my arms I will have sore shoulders the next day. We need a hot tub.

Fundraising is a little slow, but I have a couple friends and we are working on some ideas. So check back for some fun fundraising events. We actually have a friend who donated even though Scott and I had not told a sole that I would be walking. I still need to ask him how he found my page…

No blisters yet, but the caluses are really coming in. We are told not to get pedicures until after the walk, because then it would be easy to get bad blisters during the event. Yuck! I will have ugly feet this summer; no fancy sandals for me. My friend has scheduled a massage and pedicure for the day after. Maybe I should plan on something similar.

If you haven’t donated yet and want to here: is a link. Happy walking.

Crystal

This year I (Crystal) will be walking in the 3Day Breast Cancer walk. I am very excited and wanted to let you all know so you can be rooting for me.I am also getting donations so, here is the info. I will be posting about my progress with training as well.

Dear friends and family,

I have taken on an incredible challenge. On September 12-14, 2008, I’ll be walking 60 miles over the course of three days, camping out at night with thousands of other women and men taking this journey with me.

It’s for an event called the Breast Cancer 3-Day, which benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. Every advancement in breast cancer research, treatment, education and prevention in the last 25 years has been touched by a Komen for the Cure grant. They are working hard to build a future without breast cancer, and I plan on raising $2,200 to help bring us closer to that goal.

Please consider making a donation. If you can’t give this amount all at once, you can spread it out over four months, using the payment plan option, if you donate online athttp://www.the3day.org/. Please also ask your employer if they will double your donation with a matching gift.

In my line of work I have had the opportunity to work with a few courageous Deaf women who have fought the fight. I am walking for them.

Without a cure, one in eight women in the U.S. will continue to be diagnosed with breast cancer. That’s why I’m walking in the 3-Day. Because everyone deserves a lifetime.

To make a donation, go to http://www.the3day.org/. Click on Donate Now and search for my personal fundraising page. OR click on this link: Crystal’s 3day page If you don’t want to donate online, please email me for the donation form and mail it to the address on the form. Or you can call 800.996.3DAY to donate over the phone. I would like to reach my fundraising goal by July, so don’t delay!

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and thank you for your support.

Sincerely,Crystal Bush

P.S. Don’t wait - donate today!

Wow! It has been a long time since we have posted anything. Scott is busy with his scottbush.net site. As many of you know I love to knit, paint, sew, and make lace (tatt). I have a new niece due in March and I wanted to make her something to keep her head warm. I was looking for a simple, but girly knitting pattern for a baby hat and I ran into this great website: http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com

It has a list of free patterns that subscribers submit. It is such a good resource! The list for knit baby hats was 20+ long.I ended up just picking something simple, but there were lots of adorable hats to knit. I found this one that was super cute and had to print it for later use. It is called Lilly’s hat, because the woman who designed it she made it for her friend’s kid Lilly.