Bookmarks

My daughter is 12 and she's bipolar. She has been unable to attend public school because she has such a hard time controlling her emotions. Currently she is going to a day treatment center where she recieves therapy twice a week, attends school and has groups every day. She has come a long way. Next month she turns 13 and she will no longer be able to go to Poyama. She was accepted into another day center for adolescents and will be graduating next month.

She's been at Poyama for a year and I wanted a way to thank the staff for all the help and work they have put into helping her get her emotions under control. Chantel isn't like a lot of the kids that go to her school. Most of the kids have behavioral problems. She does but not the way the other kids do. She doesnt act out physically, she doesn't throw things or yell at the teachers and other staff. She's never needed to be restrained. Her emotions are just so out of whack that they are very difficult for her to control. She tends to be more on the depressed side and she disassociates very quickly. Meds and lots therapy have helped a ton, but she still refuses to acknowledge her feelings. She's come a long way, she's no longer suicidal, but she still has a ways to go.

When I was thinking of things I could do for the staff I knew I wanted it to be something they could keep forever, or at least for a while. I also knew that I wanted it to be something that when they looked at it they would be reminded of her.

So I decided on bookmarks. I'm doing them in the color of her favorite big red coat. She never takes her coat off at school, it's her security blanket. She has a lighter weight one that is maroon that she has to wear under the red one. So I decided to do the bookmarks in those colors with a cream color to kind of add and highlight it.

I finished the first one last night. It only took me a couple of hours, actually less than that. I'm really pleased with the results. We are also adding beads with the each staffs initials on it at one end. That's Chantel's idea. I'm doing the knitting of the bookmarks, she gets to do the beading.

The bookmark I finished last night is done in a moss stitch. It starts with one stitch and then I keep adding until I get 9 stitches total. I knit on it until it was the length that I wanted then started decreasing on each end until I ended up wth 1 stitch. I cut the yarn and pulled it through. To make sure it doesn't come undone, I tied a knot at the top. I'm braiding the tails and then adding the beads. Did I mention that I used three different yarns at the same time? I've worked with two before, but stil thought this would be difficult. It wasn't too bad. Probably because I used crochet thread.

I'm thinking after I finish the 16 of these that i need to do that I might make a stockpile of them for next Christmas. Maybe even sell them. I'll be able to figure out how many per ball of thread I can make and then figure out the pricing from there.

Isn't it great how doing something nice for others acan lead to ideas for yourself?