Taking the Plunge (and what makes me happy about Handmade)

For my birthday, I spent an afternoon and evening in Saskatoon by myself. I decided to do all things that I enjoyed, rather than rushing around trying to "get things done". Ironically, this was in huge contrast to my last trip to Saskatoon .

I managed to avoid the mall all together -- a good thing to do when you're 8 months pregnant and barely fit into your maternity clothes -- and mostly wander down Broadway st., the area where a lot of the cool little shops can be found. I picked up a fun new hat, and some arm warmers, and then drove a little further down the street to get this:
One skein of chunky Alpaca wool, and one pair of size 10 bamboo needles. It was funny because when I asked the lady to show me the wall where they had chunky wool, she walked me over to the wall that had a lot of acrylic blends and fuzzy things, and basically told me that it was good to pick something pretty smooth and not too fuzzy for my first try. So I went and wandered down the wall and found that on the other side were all the Saskatchewan alpaca wool. It was so soft and cozy, I decided I had to try it. I brought it to the counter and asked the lady, "Will this be easy to knit with?". She responded, "This will knit up like a dream. This will be addictive."

While in Saskatoon I also indulged in two decaf pumkin lattes, and had an excellent wrap with grilled veggies, this fantastic salsa and melted feta cheese. Yum. It was a great day.

On a more recent note, this is what our couch has looked like for the last couple of days:

My feverish son snuggled under the very first quilt I made. The quilting is starting to unravel on this quilt; it has been dragged around so much in the last 4 years. But it reminded me of why I love making handmade things for my family and friends. I love being able to wrap my children up in things I have made for them. I love sending out soft, snuggle-y reminders of love to those who are too far away for me to see regularly. It becomes a tangible symbol of something I often find hard to express in words.