Pattern Review Sewing Bee Contest!

The 2015 sewing bee contest starts in a few days. I can't wait!

Surprise additions to fabric stash!

I just dug through a drawer that I haven't been in for a while, and I found 8 pieces of fabric that I completely forgot that I had! Wow! Mind you, 3 of the pieces are really ugly.  What was I thinking when I bought these.

September Update

I can't believe that it has been seven months since I have posted on my blog! Anyhoo, my hair is recovering slowly but surely.  I have stopped taking the offending medication and I have been using minoxidil (Rogaine) to stimulate new growth.

I still have some thin spots, but nothing quite as bad as it was. I have cut a total of 4 inches off my hair this year, and I am considering chopping it right down to shoulder length or shorter.  I will decide by the end of the year.

Living with hair loss

Hello Blog friends.  It has been a long while since I've checked in.  I have been going through a really tough time with my hair. A few months ago I realized that my hair was thinning out very badly, as a side effect of one of my medications. The hair loss was such a gradual, slow process that I didn't realize how bad it had become. It wasn't until my sisterlocks consultant commented on my bald patches, that I realised the extent of the damage. This is what I was facing in December. Sorry I can't get the picture to rotate in the right direction.

I was truly horrified when I realized the extent of my hair loss. I got my doctor to switch my medication, started taking Biotin supplements on the recommendation of my dermatologist, and started using a hair ointment with DHT (dihydrotestosterone) as the active ingredient. This is supposed to reduce the hair loss.  After about 5 weeks  on this regimen, this is the result

It is much, much better now. But I think I still have some way to go for my hair to be fully restored.  To be honest, I am not sure that it ever will be fully restored. Here are some pictures that I took this evening.

I accept what has happened to me.  Losing my hair is better than losing my mobility.  I just wish that I had known about this side effect of a drug that I absolutely needed.  I actually contemplated taking down my locks and giving my scalp a break from the retightenings.  I changed my mind however, after I picked out about 4 locks.  This process is way too tedious for me.  I decided that when the time comes for me to change my hairstyle, I will cut off my locks and go back to a teeny weeny afro. In the meantime, when I get my hair retightened, my consultant has stopped tightening my hair right down to the scalp.  This puts less pressure on my roots.

On a happier note, my second daughter, who is just 12 years old,  just got her sisterlocks installed.  She has A LOT of hair, and it took over two weeks to install her locks.  She went after school, and did two to three hours each session.  The weekend sessions were much longer.  To her credit, and to the credit of our consultant, they both displayed great patience and dedication to the process.  I am filled with admiration for both of them.  So now hair washing is not such a chore anymore.  Yayy!!!!

Summer Fun

Hello Fellow Bloggers!! It has been a while since I have posted anything here.  I guess nothing really interesting has been going on with my hair.  It has been growing longer. I continue to have a love-hate relationship with my grey hairs, which are mostly at the front around my hairline.  Colouring them is an uphill battle, and the process really dries out my hair.

I think you can see in this picture of my freshly washed hair, that my hair has different colours.  My natural hair colour is a medium brown, but the ends of my locks look light brown.  I'm not sure why this is.  It is certainly not due to my colouring it, as I have always used dark brown dye in an attempt to cover my greys.

By the way, my daughter got her sisterlocks installed in April.  She is loving them, and she is loving the ease with which she can now care for her hair herself.  I don't have a good picture of her hair, but she never lets it out, and completely enjoys her little pony puff hairstyle.
Until next time.  Walk good.

2nd Generation of Locks

I can't believe that we are at the end of February already. This first quarter is blowing by very fast it seems to me. There's nothing new or exciting with my hair. It continues to grow and do its thing. I have two concerns at the moment. One is lint. This lint thing drives me crazy and I spend a fair amount of time every week trying to pick the lint out of my hair. Whether I cover my hair or not, lint gets trapped in my hair. The second concern is the ends of my locks have changed to a light brown colour, and I think it looks a bit odd. I don't really want to colour my hair again, as the treatment is much too harsh for my hair.

My older daughter (she is almost 14) told me the other day that she is ready to get her Sisterlocks installed. I was rather pleased about this, because several of her friends have recently had their hair relaxed. And they do look very nice. I was hoping and praying that my kid would not want to get a relaxer too. Well it seems that all the time spent expounding the benefits of working with our natural hair has paid off.  She got her test locks put in last week. In another week or so she will get her locks installed. I hope she will love her locks as much as I love mine.

Now my younger daughter who is just 11, is also begging to get locks installed. I think I prefer (and so does my pocket) that she waits until she is a little bit older.

Happy 4th Sisterlock Anniversary to me!

Today marks the 4th anniversary of being locked.  Here's a look back over the last 4 years.

Test locks put in a couple of weeks before installation November 2008

Day 1 - November 28, 2008

Locks at 6 Months

Locks at 1 year

Locks at 1.5 years

Locks at 2 years

Locks at 2.5 years

Locks at 3 years

Locks at 3.5 years

Locks at 4 years