I blame Tommy...

I read Tommy's blog every day to see what fun and extradordinary things she's up to. Whether she's making hors d'oeuvres for 300 to stock her freezer, knocking out pillows for her 100 best friends, documenting the puppyhood of her charming Bella, or showing pictures of what look like the most fun golf outings I can imagine, Tommy's posts always make me want to leap up from the computer and GET MORE DONE. In a good way, that is. Tommy's blog reminds me that life should be fun, and it's all about the attitude.

I don't even know the woman, but she's affected me and is part of my daily life. Just another cool wonder of the blogosphere.

Anyway, recently Tommy posted about finding a flyer for Project Linus and its annual "Make a Blanket Day on Feb. 17, which got me thinking. I make a number of quilts each year which, through my guild's community outreach program, get donated to the Valley of the Moon children's shelter, a wonderful, caring facility that provides a safe place for kids in transition from whatever catastrophic event has befallen them. The VOM shelter lets each child choose a quilt from "the quilt cupboard" when they enter, and they get to take the quilt with them when they leave. In many cases, it's the only personal item they have to bring forward into their new life after the shelter. So, while I knew about Project Linus, I've been happy directing my kid quilts to the Valley of the Moon Children's Shelter.

Meanwhile, on the odd evening when I sit at night to watch tv, I hate sitting there without having something to do with my hands. I've knitted all the scarves I want to knit, and at present I don't want to knit anything fancier. I've tried hand-sewing, but I'm always thinking how much faster (and better) the result would be to do the work by machine.

And then I read Tommy's post, and remembered how I used to like to crochet. It doesn't have the current aren't-I-trendy-ness of knitting (in fact, to me it still conjures up the image of little whitehaired ladies making ugly stuff), but heck, it's fun. And I realized I could sit and crochet baby blankies for Project Linus and solve the "I don't just want to sit like a lump and watch tv" problem. So, off I went to the local craft store to stock up on soft, washable yarn in baby colors. Very satisfying for a pink-lover like me who has no soft pink corners in the house.

Last night, I happily crocheted while watching Wordplay. You know Will Shortz, the "puzzle master" from NPR's sunday morning show and the editor of the NY Times crossword puzzle? This is a recent documentary about the annual crossword puzzle championship and the people who are obsessed with crosswords. It was quite entertaining. (I just ordered a copy for my crossword obsessed sister in law's birthday...shhhh, don't tell. )

So now I can watch tv guilt-free. Oh, and for each blanket I submit to Project Linus, I'll have a ticket submitted to win a Janome sewing machine! Cool, huh?