Last night was Jessica’s birthday. Everyone was supposed to meet at 7:30 for dinner, and this was me at 6:50 at a Starbucks…

Needless to say I was a few minutes late. Oh, the knitting frenzy. But I REALLY wanted to give it to her on her birthday. It is the Le Slouch, a pattern available from Wendy Bernard on her Knit and Tonic blog. Unfortunately there are not actually any photos of the finished hat. Let’s just say I was sewing in the ends at stoplights on the way there….

The yarn used was Malabrigo in the Purple Magic colorway. Jessica mentioned that she’d like a slouchy purple hat of the eggplant persuasion (vs. a more pinky purple), and I’m happy with the ever-so-slightly variegated tones. Just the joy of touching Malabrigo [the softest yarn in the ever-loving world] made every second of this project a pleasure. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE knitting presents. I think about the person I am knitting something for the entire time I’m working on it, so by the time I’m ready to give the knitted item to them I’m just overflowing with appreciation for them. Jessica is certainly no exception - she’s as sweet and giving as they come.

After eating we went over to FunTime Bowl. It’s impossible to have a bad time while wearing these:

Just try. And yes, the glowing laces on my right shoe were, in fact, lucky. Lori’s accuracy shot up after she began the ritual of touching my laces before each turn. Per their website’s claim, the evening was an “exciting high-energy bowling adventure that hits you with full-force action,” and the evening did include “Black Lights, Awesome Music, Glow Lanes, Dancing Lights, and Non-stop fun.” Please note the carpet.

On the way home I saw the following (lifesize) display in front of a house on Briarcliff:

My initial impression while driving by was that this was just too creepy to not stop and take it all in.

Upon further consideration, however, I’ve come to the disturbing realization that it wouldn’t be a stretch for me to construct something like this in my yard one day. I can see myself older, probably in possession of a few knitted gardens, visiting the concrete market to pick up a new addition every month or so. Note to self: must fight urge to end up a weird old lady.