insert unscheduled project here...

Yesterday I experienced the most extreme parental bliss known to moms everywhere.
A small bit of free time. Should I -
Rush home and clean the house? nope.
Frog 3 rows of the traveling rib scarf I goobered up? nope.
Take a nap? Tempting - but nope. I'm sure to oversleep, be forever labeled as the bad mom by all the other moms, and scar my daughter for life.

Nope. An occasion this special calls for a bit of retail therapy. For me, this usually involves either yarn or clothes. Since I didn't have the budget for either - I hit the thrift store. (I love thrift stores - a topic which deserves a long and poetic homily another time. In part I love the challenge. Anyone can walk into a Nordstrom and walk out with a great pair of black heels, but it takes a special kind of optimism to walk into a thrift store and walk out with something great. Maybe the universe wants you to have those black heels, but maybe instead it wants you to have a pair of Robert Cavalli jeans that happen to be EXACTLY your size and only 4$.(*true story*)You need to be open to any possibility. )

Yesterday, I wanted sweaters that I could felt into a Zig-zag blanket from Alterknits. Evidentially, the universe wanted this too, because $20 and six 100% wool sweaters later, I had the kind of project zen that only exists before you've actually started the project.

Like a mutant virus, this small bit of free time gobbled up every other scheduled task. The rest of Saturday was spent cleaning felted wool balls out of my washing machine, fighting with my sewing machine, (tension really is important in sewing. If your machine isn't tense enough it WILL make you tense) and trying to keep all of this crazy creative energy from harming nearby pets and family members. However, the felted sweaters actually pieced together easily. Unlike normal fabric quilts, precision wasn't necessary, because wool is stretchy and very forgiving. The best part is this project was that it was QUICK - was- past tense - as in done. In one weekend!!!!!!
Ok yes there are disclaimers - the blanket is not perfect. My seams are way-way-wonky. I need to trim a lot of threads and steam the heck out the whole piece.

But it looks good in my son's room. It will keep him warm. Best of all - he likes it. He really likes it and if he's feeling warm and fuzzy than I am too.

A family that knits together...

...has a really good excuse to buy more yarn.

Lucky lucky me!

This week I recieved proof that owning too many shoes, having secret chocolate stashes and saying nasty words to some of the other less-than-courteous drivers on the road does not affect one's karma...

Otherwise - how could I possibly have been blessed with this?

My Funky Scarf Swap scarf ala Bev arrived Friday... I like it. I really really like it.
The scarf is:
1. A perfect match to my vintage-new ski-bunny coat
2. A study in contrasts- fire & icy!
3. Made with yummy soft yarns - mmmmmcashmerinommmmm & alchemy
4. The perfect length
5. Done with a lovely needlework pattern down the center
- something I can't and probably won't ever do myself!
6.Like a fiesty fiesta around my neck with the hand-dyed orangey-red alchemy yarn !
7.Slightly subversive. When warn with blk Ann Taylor blazor to work says-
"I am a much more
interesting person than this job would lead you to
believe."
8.Liked by my daughter. (But she can't have it)
9.The reason I got to exchange notes with Bev - and discovered an lovely creative, inspired spirit
10. The source of spontaneous goofy giddy poses of
gratitude....

But wait- there's more! She also sent me a notepad she got in Rome, which makes me feel a little more worldly just carrying it in my purse...

But that's not all, not only did Bev manage to make a truly funky scarf, but she also set up a swap that rocked. Look at all the happy smiley people!! Here's hoping a lot of good karma floats her way...

DAM its good...

One of the many untold advantages of being a knitter is that I no longer mind waiting in lines for long periods of time. Yesterday at 7:00 in the morning, I was eagerly one of the first people in line for free tickets to the grand opening of the new wing of the Denver Art Museum. As we waited for the doors to open I looked at the sun gleaming off the titanium prow jutting into the bright October sky and got a little teary. When we make things and see things that others have made its makes us better people. As a society we need support, cheer, dance and sing all creative efforts. The building made me giddy, but also the crowds of people that came out to celebrate it.

Go see the museum... see what Liebeskind made, see what the artists inside made, and keep on making things yourself...creativity is crucial.