Friendship Bracelet Swap

One of this summer's many pleasures has been watching the excitement surrounding the two Taylor Swift Memorial Day weekend concerts at the Meadowlands. Somehow I'd never made friendship bracelets when I was a jeune fille, and I was particularly agog at the Swifties and their multitudinous bracelets and culture of gifting and swapping. So of course I signed up for the LSG Friendship Bracelet Swap.

Swifties seem to favor bracelets made of beads with in-group messages strung on elastic cord, but I went with old school knotting and embroidery floss, and later switched to tapestry cotton. It took watching several Masha Knots tutorials and a couple false starts, but I finally knotted a basic chevron bracelet out of DMC Soft Cotton aka Cotton Retors No. 4 and sent it on its way to my downstream secret pal. The Slytherin-ish colors and 100% cotton are per specs. Be it ever so humble, it's another FO.



My upstream secret pal, revealed to be Andy aka CheerfulOtter's spouse, sent this distillation of summer. I love it – the bright colors, the fancy knotting, the summery vibe – everything.



I'm going to wear it everywhere during the last, luscious weeks of summer.

Hawai'i Wildfires

I had intended to blog cheerily about my newest FO, but instead have been riveted by the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui and the island of Hawaii. After some research I've added the donate button to the right in support of a local fund addressing immediate needs on both islands through a network of churches, the Hawai'i 2023 Wildfires Relief Fund. Or you may prefer the Maui Strong Fund, also local, which funds other nonprofits and focuses on the island of Maui.

And here's the FO, a water bottle cozy. I'm quite pleased with this one. I use 'em to protect the finish on my water bottle when it's in my tote bag.



Although the irony of finishing a water bottle cozy while watching a conflagration just guts me.