In the past couple of weeks I have turned into my some kind of super crafty person. I mean, I am not going to go all Pinterest mama on you, but I’ve surprised even myself with all my crafting!

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It all started last year when I had a lot of time on my hands while also sitting on my butt recovering from my knee and hip replacement surgeries. Before I was post-operatively house-bound, my dear friend took me to the craft store and got me stocked up and started on some cross-stitching. I wasn't sure about it at first, but I found a few patterns, figured out the basics, and then I was hooked. There is an indescribable satisfaction to creating a picture from mere string and needle. And also something beautiful about the repetitiveness of the process of stitching, you lose track of time and it becomes a kind of meditation.

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Earlier this month during the US Midterm Elections, a writer I follow on Instagram posted a picture of herself in a gorgeous cashmere sweater embroidered with the words “I miss Barack” on it and I immediately HAD TO HAVE ONE! I located the company website and found the sweater I wanted. I then saw the price tag and my heart sank. At $400 USD, it just wasn’t meant to be, and I let go of my desire for a fancy WOKE AF embroidered sweater. A week later, it hit me. I kind of know how to do some basic stitching, and I had an old cashmere sweater that I put in the “clothing swap” pile because I hadn’t worn it in over a year, AND you can literally find a tutorial for pretty much anything on Youtube these days. A week later, a couple of mistakes, and a few trips to Michael’s for more supplies, I had embroidered my first sweater. For about $40. And you can bet that I am going to be making a few more of these for myself (and perhaps a few lucky people too).

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The truly crafty one in the family is Ten, and after seeing an easy and quite beautiful “Minimalist Christmas” inspired craft, she decided she wanted try to recreate these items and sell some of her handiwork at our community Holiday Kick-Off event this coming weekend. She recruited a couple of friends, and on the weekend they made a whole rack of these great little Christmas wreaths. I helped a bit, but the design and bulk of the assembly was done by them. I’ve got to say that I am quite proud of my girl and her crafty and entrepreneurial spirit. I think it may be were I get it from. ;)

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Today I finished knitting my first toque. I’ve known how to knit since I was a kid, and have taken it up a few times over the years. I made each of my kids a baby blanket when they were teeny bébés, and I made my husband a neck warmer for Christmas last year. Michael’s was having a “buy two get one free” yarn sale, and on a whim I decided to stock up and make all the cousins neck warmers this year. Seeing what I was doing, Ten asked if I would also make her a toque. So, off to Youtube I went. It’s a VERY basic knit and purl pattern toque, but I made it for her and that feels good and I really hope she likes it. And of course, I’ve started another one for (almost) Twelve too.

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I’m not sure I have a point to this post other than show you and tell you that with a little help from Youtube, those pesky sale emails from Michael’s, and some basic supplies, you can make beautiful things with a little string and some needles.

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I’m taking part in National Blog Posting Month, which means I’m posting on this blog {almost} every day throughout November. You can follow along and see who else is posting this month by checking out these hashtags on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter: #NetPositiveBlog and #NaBloPoMo