Birthday
You guys, today is my birthday.
I think most people can agree, birthdays are weird. Many people get depressed contemplating their mortality or get worked up about the special attention they received as a wee one that is so hard to replicate as an adult.
Not to sound like a debbie downer, but such is growing older, eh?
Despite the innate existential crisis of aging, I love many things about my birthday, including the get-out-of-jail-free card you get to indulge in all sorts of personal desires. I'm an advocate of the 'treat yourself' mentality on one's birthday. (I plan to pick up something cool for dinner when I go into the city to teach tonight.) Plus, it becomes an excuse for all sorts of good things to happen! This year, my dad, who lives in California, came to visit for the weekend.
Sometimes I get gifts and sometimes I don't. This year was a bit of a gifty year and I'm extremely grateful to have such a lovely family. J got me (us?) a wood stove humidifier kettle in the shape of a cabin! When it heats up, steam comes out of the chimney. My fabulous in-lawns sent a beautiful wool blanket, perfect for cozying up under in this extreme winter weather. My dad, a musician, gave me a new speaker setup so I could listen to music in my studio. (For some odd reason my marathon sewing album is Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth, which may have to be the inaugural soundtrack.)
I love giving gifts and this time of year I feel especially compelled to give back. Especially food gifts; I love cooking for others on holidays and bringing treats to my students. When my dad came to visit this weekend, we spent a lot of time cooking meals together. I also decided to knit him a hat from some pretty Donegal tweed I'd been saving for something special. I used my Foursquare pattern but started with a wider brim in a soft, squishy wool. The tweed is quite rough and though still soft is a bit much on the ears.
Since I like giving gifts on on my birthday and I also believe strongly in treating yourself to something special, I'm giving an 18% discount on all patterns today and tomorrow (ends at midnight on 2/19) for those of you who'd like to treat yourself to some sewing!
Use the code bday18 at checkout to redeem your discount! I've been seeing some great Cabins pop up on instagram, feel free to tag your Cabins with #blueprintsmakes and they'll show up on the project gallery page.