Sunday, December 7, 2008

Away too Long

If the Thanksgiving holiday slowed down my crafting momentum, a three-year-old with a stomach virus stopped it in its tracks. Add in an under-the-weather six-year-old and a nine-year-old with music theory exams and her first piano concert, a toddler who walks everywhere and eats anything and a 13-year-old with a busier social calendar than my own, and you can probably guess how much *I* got done this week.

The gifts are still in progress . . . aprons cut out and ready to sew, a PSP cozy "on the hook," but I decided just today to switch gears just a little bit. I learned last week that my dear friend Karen is battling cancer. We've been friends since college (and I won't tell you how many years ago that's been!) and, while another friend and I are planning a trip back East for a mini-reunion with Karen this spring, I wanted to do something right away to lend my love and support. So, I set Christmas aside for a day or two and went to work on the first in a series of chemo caps. The one I'm working on now, I think of as the "anarchemo" cap . . . a crocheted cap emblazoned with the "anarchy" symbol (and inspired by the Anarchy Irony pattern in "The Happy Hooker"). It's black and will sport a hot pink symbol and trim. If Karen likes it, and I really hope she will, I plan to give her a hat subscription . . . one a month (some knitted and some crocheted) until the hair grows back in. I have other ideas, too, including a "chemohawk" cap with a fringe running down the middle. Anarchemo should be ready tomorrow (maybe tonight, if I really get rolling) and will "ship out" on Tuesday.

It's always nice to be able to use your crafting "powers" for good.