A Message for You, Swis!

My sister (often referred to as Swis, long story) is waiting patiently for her plarn messenger bag. I'm happy to report that the front panel is finis! She may just have to pry this particular gifty out of my fingers. I'm loving it to bits.

Of Plarn and RAK's

I finally got my camera out, so I could share a photo of the gorgeous RAK I received from Pam:
Will you just look at that home-spun yarn?!? I've never touched anything like it, and I'm in love. My favorite is the green/yellow hank in the middle, which is her Carmel Apple colorway. (Visit her etsy shop here: Thistleknit) I would take a ton of that without complaining! Hint, hint... ;) Twelve Oaks is also incredible, and the one my mom immediately picked as her favorite when I showed her the box of goodies.

Anyway, on Saturday, I made Jason's day by buying four plastic totes to store my plastic bags. Our dining room was being overrun, and I could tell his patience was close to wearing thin. What wonderfully patient spouses we crafters must have! I now have a well-organized stash of plastic, waiting to be "spun" into plarn.

I even went so far as to organize them by color and bag thickness, so I can find what I want for any project. Sometimes I really am my mother's daughter.

Baaaaaa!

I've been RAK'd!

For those unfamiliar with the acronym, RAK stands for Random Act of Kindness, something with which I've long been enamored. (See my senior quote, umpteen years ago.) Ravelry has a RAK group, which is handled quite nicely. Anyone who wants to may join, and members post monthly wish lists. Other members comb through the wish lists, and as they see things they can pass along, they do so. It's purely giving, without expecting anything in return. It is so much fun to read through the lists, and Jason can testify that doing so is always accompanied by little outbursts such as, "Oh, I have some of that I don't need!" and, "I know where I can get those!"

Well, today, I received my first RAK! A lovely woman, Pam, who works nearby, emailed me, and we arranged a time to meet. I picked up a box of lovely, yummy yarn, mostly hand-spun by Pam herself! I'm so excited, and I can't wait to figure out what to make with it. Right now, I'm thinking maybe a granny square purse for the fall. She also included some buttons, purse hardware, and a cute little notebook. (One can never have enough notebooks and notepads, I always say!) Not least importantly, I got a big hug from a new friend.

When I heard that Pam had a RAK for me, I looked up her wish list. She had very little on it, but one item I knew I could provide. She loves all thing sheep, so I quickly whipped up this little gal last night:


Isn't she adorable? I named her Fauxy McCrackle ("Faux"y because the irony of a sheep crocheted of acrylic yarn does not escape me, McCrackle because her stuffing is - what else? - plastic grocery bags). Fauxy now lives on a shelf in her new Mama's office along with several other miniature stuffed sheepies.

Water, Part Deux

Just to add to the amazing water journey this week, Nicky decided today to tackle the giant water slide. (Yes, we're talking the kind you see at water parks!) He hated it - he didn't like being dumped into the pool of water at the bottom without goggles. But he did it, with no prompting from me at all.

Speaking of Water...

Nicky had his second swimming lesson today. Miraculous, I tell you! First, though, a little background for those who have tripped across this blog and don't know the situation...

Nicky was born 12 weeks prematurely, and one of the results of this (the only one still around, really) is a combo of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and ADHD. (For a brief intro to both, read Kids in the Syndrome Mix. Your public library probably has it, and it has the best synopsis of both issues I've ever seen.) The SPD has been his major hurdle in life. SPD presents differently in every person who has it, and in his case, it manifests in oversensitivity to physical stimuli (including temperature, noise, and - to a lesser degree - texture), dyspraxia (weakened hand & upper body strength and the resulting fine motor issues), etc. Water on the face and head has always been a tantrum-inducing stimulus. Bath time = not fun. Shower time = let's not even go there. Pool? Hah!!

So, combine that oversensitivity to water with a lack of pool access, and the kid - now eight years old - has spent very little time in water. This has always bothered me, mostly for safety reasons (I believe every child must be a strong swimmer), but also because I have fond memories of hundreds of hours of pool time as a kid, and I knew that if he could overcome this hurdle, he would be opening the door to endless fun. Four years ago, we enrolled him in Infant Swimming Resource, which, despite the fear and - some would say harsh - "push through it" technique to which he doesn't usually respond well, did result in him being able to doggy paddle his way across the pool. However, as I mentioned above, we have not had regular access to a pool, and that skill was gone in a flash.

Fast forward to 2008. Our county opened up a brand-new, awesome aquatic complex just a few miles from our house. (Mom: "And this, boys, is why we pay sales tax." Kids: "Yay, tax!") An indoor lap pool, indoor instructional pool, and outdoor water playground (complete with floaty-currenty-river-thingy, water spraying everywhere, and kid- and adult-sized water slides) all add up to irresistible temptation, at least for me. And they offer swim lessons. Nicky had his first lesson yesterday, during which he put his face in the water a couple of times. Today, I lost track of the number of times his face got wet (on purpose)! Yesterday, after lunch, we went back and hit the outdoor play area, and wow! Both kids had a blast, and Nicky even went off on his own, bouncing his way around the river several times and basking in one of the calm pools. As we left, he declared, "Swimming is now my favorite activity in the whole world!"

More than multiple stops on the honor roll, more than his advanced blue belt in karate, more than anything else he's accomplished to date...I am more proud of his conquering this fear than any of it.

To the Pool!

Summer is now officially allowed to begin, because (ta-da!) I've finished my pool tote. And I'm thrilled with it. It's crocheted completely of Kroger grocery bags, which is why it took a month. (I'd crochet as much as I could until running out of bags and continue after the next shopping trip.) I finished it off with polka dot ribbon in exactly the same blue as the printing on the bags.

It's perfect timing, too, because Nicky's swim lessons began this morning. (I couldn't get both boys in this month, so Kalen will start with a session in late July.)

I also finished another nifty project this weekend, but that will have to remain a secret, as certain people who have access to this blog may find one under their Christmas tree this year! I started two more projects over the past couple of days with the same restriction.

However, my newest plarn project is for my sister, at her request. I'm making a messenger bag out of bags she sent me from Virginia. (Giant grocery stores have bags in a beautiful aqua shade I can't get here in Georgia!) There aren't enough blue bags for a complete project, so I'm creating a striped bag that will showcase the blue nicely. I'm excited for it and am improvising it, so I'll keep track of the pattern as I go. If it turns out well, I'll post it here for anyone who wants to make one.

Vintage buttons

Remember all the great buttons I got a couple of weeks ago? The sparkly ones from my mother-in-law are wonderful, mostly because of their significance. She brought me a photo yesterday of herself in the dress they adorned forty years ago. She laughed and cringed when I told her they could officially be classified as "vintage." Here she is in the dress, on New Year's Eve '67...
I love the hair and the dress! So very 60's chic!