Never Too Late Bag

My life has been a bit of a whirlwind since I was last on here. It seems like it's been ages but I know it's been less than a week. What's happened in the World of Jill?

One.
I present a suicide alertness/prevention class. I know the material. It's a subject I care deeply about. Suicide is a top five cause of death every year - and it's one that's completely preventable. Despite every bit of that, I am always about three heartbeats away from looking at that classroom of people, going "nope" in a quiet voice, and walking right back out the door. I don't because my driving force is stronger than my fear, but my fear is still pretty freaking strong. It shakes me up, drains me, and I'm completely useless for the rest of the day. That was my Friday, plus the drive to and from was atrocious. I understand that other areas get "winter weather" much worse than Oklahoma, but those people know how to DRIVE in such weather. After all that, I still went in to work for half a shift. I was entirely drained.

Two.
My godkids came home from school. They're out all week. The boys came over and stayed for two full days and nights. The youngest boy is absolutely "my" kid, but we haven't seen in each other in quite awhile. I suppose to compensate for the extended absence, he was all in my space this weekend. Question after question. Long winded explanations. General cries for attention. And if he wasn't doing that, his brother was asking for things. Candy. Trips to the store. Random bits found around the house. I love them dearly and desperately, but they really didn't help themselves by awaking literally hours before I feel human. The result was me feeling almost like I didn't get a weekend.

Three.
I am one of those Doctor Who geeks. I love the show and its complexity. The 50th Anniversary show was Saturday and it was absolutely brilliant. I'm sure there are people who have critiques of it. I have one or two sticking points, but most of them pretty much minor. For instance, why was David Tennant's hair so flat? If you haven't seen it, I won't say much. I loved Billie Piper's reappearance. I thought she absolutely killed in her role. It was so unexpected and yet so perfect for her. Seeing her act beyond Rose Tyler was refreshing. I loved that the War Doctor (that's what my captioning called him, anyway) still had Doctor qualities: sense of humor, great wit, emotional range. The incorporating of other Doctors was done very well and with a relatively light hand.

Most of all, I loved that this one episode, this one special, completely changed the view of the entire series in the modern line. It offers a whole new perspective and with it a whole new challenge. I know some people will bemoan the lack of companions or the missed opportunities that could have been explored. I am happy with what we received and the direction it can now go.

I will say, though, that I watched the Doctors Revisited about the Eleventh Doctor. I thought it was really strange that they covered the Ponds and Clara, but didn't say a thing about River despite her being heavily featured in the episodes chosen after the show.

Four.
Football! Oh, my lands! The football scene this weekend was amazing! OSU over Baylor was quite a game. My Cowboys won. My Chiefs lost. Then that insanely nerve-wracking night game. I am a Patriots fan (don't know why, I just am) and was so disappointed with them going into halftime. The ending was definitely worth the wait. I am one of those football chicks who will yell, curse, and gesture at the television. It's quite a racket.


In the midst of all that, I made a bag. I did not, however, write up or type out any hat patterns. Because I'm like that. So here is an unexpected pattern that I really quite love even after only a weekend of living with it.


Naming this in honor of my suicide prevention class, since that's the material it was made to hold. "Never Too Late" is a great song by Three Days Grace. I really do love this bag! :)

This is inside out. Because of course it is.

 

Never Too Late Bag

- used Bates "H" hook

- used Red Heart Macaw, Blue, and Navy

- used size 18 tapestry needle for ends

- you can do as many rounds as you like, but any change will throw off the count on the handles

 

It's a basic closed granny square. Make two. Mine was 10 rounds.

Step One - Adding Dimension: Starting at a corner, connect contrasting color with slip stitch. Dc in same stitch and in each stitch around for three sides. In corners, do as many stitches as you have chains. (Some people chain 1 in corners, some chain 2-3. However many chains you do, fill in the corner with that many dc.) Turn. dc in each dc back to beginning. Repeat on other square.
**I started and ended in STITCHES not chain spaces.

Step Two - Connect the Squares: You can use whatever method you like. I started out thinking I would do a mattress stitch because I like the invisibility of the seam. Turns out, I'm much too impatient. I pulled that out and did a simple slip stitch instead. Mine is slip stitched together. You can use whatever method you prefer.

Step Three - The Finnickiest Part - The Base of the Handle: Go to where you began Step One. You should have your chain space and then another set of corner stitches. In that first stitch after the chain space, connect with a slip stitch. sc in same stitch. 2sc in chain space. Evenly place sc across until you reach the opposite side's matching stitch (first stitch after the chain space). I had 14 sc. It took me a good half hour to reach that conclusion. Carefully monitor what you did so you can do the exact same on the opposite side. turn and sc back to beginning.

Step Four - The Rest of the Handle: Goes like this, in rows: dc, sc until desired length. connect ends with mattress stitch. sc around handles and top of bag to create a finished edge and to reduce the handle's stretchiness.

Color Scheme (key: Variegated, Blue, Navy)
V, V, B, V, B, V, N, V, N, V
Handle:
16 N, 2 V, 2 N, 6 V, 2 B, 2 V, 16 B, 2 V, 2 N, 2 V on each side. Connected.

Notes:
I do have rather gapey holes where the handle connects on either side. I plan to fill those in with either flowers or else run a ribbon through it.
My bag hangs down to right about my knee. I find I like this because I can shop, carry, and communicate without having to constantly readjust my bag. Reaching into it is easy as it is right by my hand. Dropping things into it is a breeze.
Mine is big enough to hold a binder plus some bits. I made it specifically for that purpose.

Modifications:
Endless, really. It's a simple idea. I would, however, recommend doing the handles as hdc, sc simply because it is a bit stretchy. I just couldn't stomach doing another hundred rows of straight sc.

It's not a revolutionary idea and I know that I didn't quite give you a pattern. I like it, though, and have already used this bag far more than any other I've made.


Thanks for dropping by! Enjoy your holiday this week!

Will Hoge!

I know most people have never heard of Will Hoge. That rather bums me out as I think he's brilliant.

A brief history...
One day when I was feeling uncharacteristically brave, I bought myself a meet and greet for Shinedown. I immediately regretted it because I just knew it would make me a nervous mess until that day, but those things don't have refunds. I went through with it and am happy to report they are genuinely the nicest people. That's not the point. The point is that we meet and greeters were ushered into the showplace (it was at a casino, but it was a really nice room). I suppose they didn't have another room to hold a meet and greet? Anyway, while we were waiting for the band to show, we got to catch the opening act do soundcheck. This was my first introduction to the music of Will Hoge.

I watched him and his band do their thing and was so intrigued by them. They were touring with a rock group. Their sound was very different. It was more bluesy, more country. I mean, you can't get away from that if you have a steel guitar in your band. I think that was part of the appeal, though. He wasn't a carbon copy of the band he was touring with, nor did he try to impose that sound on his music. He was different. He was cool with that.

I'd like to tell you I caught up with him, told him how much I was looking forward to seeing his real show if the soundcheck was that awesome, and got an autograph and picture. I did nothing of the sort. I did, however, go home and order four or five of his albums off his website. When they arrived, I lived with those songs pretty much nonstop for a week. His music is now my go to when I can't decide what to listen to. After three years, I'm pretty sure it's not the novelty of being my new favorite. He has legitimately become one of my favorite artists.

Now I see him every chance I get. You might know some of his work. He cowrote "Even If It Breaks Your Heart." He's also the voice behind the Chevy Silverado commercials. I've seen him four times this year and would've gone to more if my work schedule hadn't been funky.

This is Will Hoge.

This is not from this weekend. You can tell because this place is well lit and because the picture is really clear.

So, that's where I was Friday. I was in Tulsa, which is always lovely. I was also going to a new venue. It's this little place called the Vanguard. It's a couple of blocks from Cain's Ballroom. The place was nice enough - clean, orderly, well maintained. It's a smoke free venue, which is always nice if you're a nonsmoker like me. It was just so small! I mean, you want to talk about an intimate venue. I'm always torn between feeling bad that my favorite people are stuck with such small venues and being stupidly happy that I get them all to myself.

This was during my favorite song.

It was one of the only times I left my seat at the bar.

You can see how much of a "struggle" it was to get close to the stage.

There's a whole two people in front of me.

Even my camera phone turned on me.

But you can see how small this place was.

In any event, the show was wonderful. I'd show you more pictures, but I think my camera is dying. It's also gone MIA at the moment... Every single picture I took came out blurry. Not completely blurry, but just blurry enough that I found myself squinting to try to compensate for it. I got tired of it and quickly decided I'd rather enjoy the show than do camera triage.

I gotta say, for as small as the crowd was and as small as the venue was, the crowd that WAS there was really into it. We were mighty enough to instigate an encore. And I know, those things are staged most of the time. I'm thinking this one was for real because he'd already played over 11:00pm, which is supposed to be the cut off in Oklahoma. All in all, it was a great night that reset my music meter. Yeah, the Keith Urban shows are great and he's a great performer and artist. Still, I have a special love for music that keeps you within the artist's eyeline at all times. The kind of show you walk away from knowing you're in very exclusive company. I love both types of shows, don't get me wrong.

There's something about a small show, though. You know everyone else around you is there for the same reason - because you love the guy on stage. Nothing else would have you in that one place at that time. There were three other venues in downtown Tulsa that night hosting musicians. I have no idea what the casinos were doing or what sports might have been going on. That's not where this crowd wanted to be. They wanted to be in this hole in the wall venue with this outstanding band. You don't get the people who are going so they can brag to their friends. My friends might be jealous that I got to touch Keith Urban, but they won't give a damn that Will Hoge played my favorite song. You don't get the people who strut around with passes, bracelets, and lanyards. When the venues are this small, who gives a damn? If I want to talk to him, all I really have to do is yell. And not even that loudly. Small venues have a completely different vibe. I need both in my life.

This is where I confess. That afghan I was working on? It was meant to be gifted to Will. I finished it. I tossed it in the dryer to soften a bit. I even took the blasted thing with me to Tulsa. Annnnnd then I brought it back with me from Tulsa. I just couldn't do it. I have no real reason other than I putzed out. Want to know the worst part? The day before the show was his birthday. HIS BIRTHDAY! I could've given him a handmade, well crafted (if I do say so myself) birthday gift and I didn't. I didn't discover his birthday until AFTER the show, but that's not the point. Ugh! I could kick myself!!!

Set List, most using my own shorthand:
On stage at 9:30
Different Man, Favorite Waste of Time, Long Gone, California, Tell Me? (new song), Baby Girl, Keep On Dreaming, This Time Around, Too Old, Fool is Gonna Fly, Hey Tonight, Another Song Nobody Will Hear, Still Got You on My Mind? (new), Times (They Are Not Changing), Don't Go, Strong, Never Give In, HIGHWAY WINGS, Bad Ol Days, Better Off, Damn Spotlight. Home Heart Breaks, All Night Long, Highway's Home.
Off stage at 11:24

I also came up with a couple of hats while chilling in the passenger seat. I'm still playing with post stitches, which seems to be a crochet trend at the moment. I'll getcha some patterns soon. Here's a quick glimpse of things to come.

This thing wound up being "armchair afghan" sized.

I should pay someone to kick me.

I SHOULD'VE GIFTED IT!!

This is a super simple basic beanie with a "post stitch, dc" for the last few rounds.

Nothing revolutionary, but I'll get a pattern up for it soon.

Playing with thicker post stitches.

I then did the bottom couple of rows but you can't really tell.

I should've offset them from the main posts instead of inline with them.

Just another basic beanie with a simple brim.

I'd have to look at it in person, but I think this was a "sc, hdc post stich" around.

 

Started another afghan. It's just a bunch of blues contrasted with a charcoal.

I went back to the "work from a central line" method.

I simply like it better.

A little basket full of little scrubbies.

Little Miss M's mama is making a job change, so I wanted to make something pretty for her.

She hates pink, which boggles my mind, so I settled for greens and browns.

As you can see, I've kept busy. I just haven't kept up with the reporting about it. I will get you a whole set of hat patterns soon. And maybe in time for NEXT fall, those stupid "Free Fallin'" shirts. And that fireman's helmet. And that prototype tutu.

Thanks for the company! I hope you have a lovely day.

The Difference Between "Can" and "Should"

Hello. My name is Jill and I might maybe have a slight occasional problem with attention. Okay, so here's what happened. I got myself all settled in and ready to crochet. I have this thought that I'm going to make a smallish afghan for someone, though I highly doubt I'd be brave enough to give it to them. It's weird and I'll expand next week when all is said and done. Anyway, I knew that was going to be What I Accomplished today, so I didn't have to do my usual wishy-washy thinking.

I grabbed my Kindle, propped it on a Kleenex box (so it was closer to eye level and not neck-wrenching level, see), and worked a bit on a basic granny square. Four rounds in, I pulled it all out. No, I want a rectangle. I know how to do that, no biggie. Except, naturally, you know where this is going, I screwed it up. Yeah, at the very beginning, I added an extra dc. Pulled that out, too. Then I remembered seeing a different kind of start to a granny rectangle and looked it up. ((Do visit her site. Her work is lovely and her tutorials are very well explained.)) Because my work computer system has all sorts of blocks, I couldn't access the site because it's "Personal and/or Blogging." Ha! I can do an image search, though! So, I did and miracle of miracles, there was a graph! Mwahahaha, I win.

Sort of. See, I first did it with my usual "work in the back ridge" method and it came out looking gapey and weird. I was about ready to toss it all aside and just read, but I tried one more time with the traditional method and it worked much better. Once I got the hang of the pattern, it was mostly smooth sailing. Only once did I have to pull an entire row (2dc only - what was I thinking!!) but it was early on and fairly painless. I read and read and crocheted and crocheted. Some people will tell you that humans can only do one thing fully at a time. That might be well and true, but I find this human will zone out and literally go cross eyed if she does 3dc sets unendingly. I have to read. I have to do something that keeps my eyes busy.

These colors are much closer to true-to-life. Just zipping along.

Same room. Same camera. Same lighting. Different colors. How does that even happen?

 

 

I wasn't really thinking about it. I was just crocheting, you know? Life was good. Things were fairly mellow. Then... I stopped crocheting. Let's put it this way. Have you ever eaten salsa that had really good flavor but was a touch too spicy for you? It's really good and yummy and you love it, but the only way to really be able to eat it is to keep eating it? Yeah. Once you stop, that's when the pain hits. I sat my hook down to eat a late dinner and my fingers shook when I picked up my chicken. Oh my ow. I immediately remembered another reason why I like small projects - they don't last long enough for my hands to get angry. Yeesh. Just because I can crochet a promising beginning to an afghan by working nearly six hours straight doesn't mean that I should. Oh, the achiness...

 

Then, as I was leaving, I carelessly tossed my bag to the ground. That would've been fine if my Arizona tea hadn't been in the bag. I heard that telltale PSSSSSHHHHH when the can met the tile. Lovely! I was lucky in that none of the colors I'm actively using got drenched. Of course, the yarn at the bottom of the bag was soaked and of course it's white. Plus, now I don't have tea.

 

As for the pattern itself, I'm not sure I'm sold on it. It's lovely and easy to accomplish, but I will definitely do the very beginning in a contrasting color next time. As it is, it comes across to me as being uneven. While I don't like the thin, taut line with traditional rectangles, I also don't like having ten lines going one way and eight going the other. It's just the way it has to be for the middle to be a full row rather than a chained line, but it squeezes my "things need to be equal" brain. Again, that's my own personal hangup and nothing at all incorrect or wrong about the pattern itself. Clearly, I liked it well enough to continue on with it. In fact, the only reason I quit for the night was because I ran out of the variegated.

 

I'm so very wordy tonight. I haven't really been as active on the crochet front only because I've been distracted by Black Friday. I'm a coupon and sales gal as well, so I've been trying to get my ducks in a row on that fiasco, too. Did you see that Red Heart yarn is part of Walmart's sale? I can stock up on black and white and ZEBRA HATS FOR ALL THE CHILDREN as soon as I find and/or create a pattern. I'm going to go rest my fingers now.

 

Thanks for the visit! I hope your day has an enjoyable surprise.

Let's Call It A Technique Rather Than a Pattern (Little Handbag)

For a creative person, I flat suck at naming things. I can't for the life of me think of a name for this little handbag, so I guess I'll stick with "Little Handbag" pattern.

Now, I've tried this thing a few times with a few different methods and found that it comes out differently no matter what I do. Therefore, I can't exactly give you a set pattern that calls for a specific set of numbers done in a specific way that will work each time in the exact same manner. Instead, I'm going to tell you my technique and hope it works well enough.

As you probably know, my favorite way to work something is in the round. Whether for a hat/basket/purse or in a connected round, I simply prefer to work this way. While I've done several things that calls for you to make a base chain and then work stitches into that, I find that I can never quite do that correctly. I somehow always, always, always get my stitch count wrong in those first few rounds, which of course throws the entire project askew one direction or the other for the entire item. It irks me and I tend to toss those things aside.

Then I had the idea to work in a connected round and go from there. It works, but it's wonky. Well, not exactly wonky but it does take a bit of fiddling. So, here we go.

Little Handbag Technique

-used Red Heart

-used "H" Bates hook

-begin with tail long enough to sew bottom together

*this will vary depending upon how big/wide you make your bag

 

Step One: Chain any odd number

 

Step Two: Beginning in second chain from hook, hdc in each chain

*as usual, I used the back ridge of the chain so I would have a finished look on the bottom

*after this step is when I would recommend sewing the bottom together.

You want to do this before you get too far - otherwise you won't know how/where your seam is traveling.

 

Step Three: Work in connected rounds (as opposed to spirals) until bag is desired height

 

Here's where it gets fiddly

Your seam will travel. It just does, no matter what.

Option 1: You can either until work your seam naturally falls in the middle OR the side.

Option 2: You can hdc to that spot, work your flower bit, and continue on.

 

Step Four: Lay bag flat, seam side down. You want to be looking at the "presentable" side. Count your stitches and find the middle. You can of course change how far up/down you want the button to be, but it needs to be in the middle as far as left/right is concerned. Your flower bit needs to start in the stitch exactly opposite of that one. I told you it was a bit fiddly.

 

Flower Bit: Go along as you were until you reach your stitch. Once there, chain a length that's appropriate for your bag. Loosen your last chain and work 10sc in loop. Slip stitch to first sc. (sc, chain 5, sc) around. Should give you 5 petals. Chain same count back to handbag row. hdc in next stitch and finish row.

* * * Oh, my gosh. PLEASE make sure your flower middle is appropriate for your button. I accidentally didn't once and had a devil of a time trying to get my too-small middle over my too-big button. You also don't want to go the other way and have a middle that's so big it won't catch on the button.

 

Step Five: Work one more row of hdc, going over the flower bit as you would any stitch. Make sure you push the flower bit toward the center of the bag so that it secures INSIDE the bag. Otherwise, it'll hang off/out the back and look funny.

 

Step Six (Handle Step) : Count again, this time looking for the two spots exactly in between the flower bit and the button on each side. Those are your handle spots. You might want to mark your stitches at this point, either with fancy little stitch markers or leftover bits of yarn. Count two or three stitches on either side of your middle point. sc in each of those stitches, turn, sc in each stitch, turn, repeat until strap is HALF your desired length. Repeat process on opposite side. Sew handles/strap together.

**Alternatively, you could do all of the strap at once and secure it to the bag in the appropriate stitches. I prefer the half and half method because it feels more secure to me.

 

Step Seven: Sew on button.

Just a generic picture of the inside to show... I don't know what. But I had it, so here it is.

The Finished Item, looking like it wasn't incredibly fiddly.

I think that's either the seam or a display of how the strap connects.

I used two buttons. Just make sure your flower bit fits snugly but easily around the largest button.

Isn't it cute, though? And it is really quite quick since it's just hdc rows all the way around.

There's the seam, on the inside. I tried both the "chain 1, hdc in same stitch" method and the "chain 1, skip one stitch, end row in skipped stitch" method and the seam still moved on me.

The Flower Bit. I did a row over it so the top had a finished look.

This one wasn't centered very well. This is the one that had the too-small flower, too.

This one was done using "chain 1, hdc in same stitch" all the way. It's a visible seam, but it's not outrageously hideous.

The seam from the inside as well as a view of the flower.

On this one, I sc around the strap to give it a more finished look.

Notes:
* This bag does NOT close at the top. If you (or your child) flips it upside down, the contents will spill. If you lay it flat, round things (like Skittles) will roll out.
* This would be a great electronics holder. I'm thinking of making one for my Kindle.
* It would also make a nice binder/book holder. I present a class and use a binder for my notes. It'd be a good way to keep track of it and to carry it. I always seem to run out of hands when I do class.
* Lining this would be relatively easy since you don't have to account for width.


Modifications:
* You could use any open-middle flower pattern you like.
* You do any handle pattern you like.
* If you want two handles/straps, I would recommend finding the middle stitch and working in the four or five stitches on either side. If you like your handles the other way, well, you're on your own. If I could figure that bit out, I'd use it on my shirts.
* There are a few methods out there for changing colors seamlessly. For one, this was a quick-make toy for my kids so I wasn't that concerned with it. For two, I'm not all that bothered by it. If I ever do get particular about it and find a manageable way to accomplish it, I'll come back and modify it.
* If presenting/making for a child who you know will turn it upside down or spill frequently, you might consider a few buttons on the next to top row on the inside on the back, so they'd secure in front and the buttons would show through in the front of the bag. It wouldn't prevent all spills, but it would be *more* secure than nothing.
* The strap can be done with hdc or even dc if you want. I tend to use sc because it keeps its shape better. It's ALL up to you, though.


So, there it is. My Little Handbag Technique. The instructions aren't as clean as I'd like them to be, but if I streamlined it any I'm afraid I'd leave out some of the fiddly bits that make it possible. If you give it a try and find a better way to describe it, I'm entirely open to suggestions. I gave the bottom one to my youngest godkid on her latest birthday and she carried it absolutely everywhere all day.

This was us in the truck. She refused to set it in the floorboard.

 

Thank you again and as always for swinging by!

Other People's Kids

A few of my friends have been kind enough to send me pictures of their kids enjoying my madness. I thought I'd share a few with you just so you can see that my items are, indeed, wearable. I know it can sometimes seem unlikely. :) These are all of Little Miss M, which is fair since she's the one who gets most of my creations.

Isn't she sweet?

And you don't know how pleased I am to know that monstrosity of a blanket is truly used.

I love, too, that it looks like it'll stay with her for awhile since it swallows her.

Some days, you laugh in the face of logic. Or perhaps you make up your own. I mean, why use a blanket for warmth when you already have a jacket? Know what she didn't have? A pillow. Problem solved.

And the hard hat. Mama says it's a little big, but not overwhelmingly huge.

For pattern reference, that's a 12mo kid and an H hook, so I guess change your hook for up or down sizes within that general range.

I've been up to my eyes in character hats. I'm very, very close to swearing off of them for the next bit of forever. The pieces. The sewing. The ends. The inevitable lopsidedness. For some people, it may "add to the charm." For me, it's WRONG and I just hate it. But I was very good at trying not to let it get to me. If not for the fact my friend bought the yarn, I would've quit after the first two. She was so excited about them, though, I made myself finish.

I want to whine just looking at this and it's already done.

Oh! Ugh! Pieces. Buttons. Ends. Oddly reorienting cameras. Ugh!

I gotta say, I love this little dude. He needs a bit of tweaking (that green ear seems a bit wonky) but I like him!

I'll post a pattern once I get confirmation that it fits a real head.

He's supposed to have a mouth, but I don't know if I want to add it.

I was in the middle of owl making when she sent me a pic of a monkey hat and asked if I could make it. Naturally, it didn't have a link or anything with it, so I had to wing it.

The right one does not have a pointy head - that's my straw.

Please note how different their eye spans are. PIECEWORK!

And then this guy has his eyes thisclosetogether, because that makes sense.

The end is in sight, but not quite in reach.

Whew! Done!

What do you think on the braids? I think I'm partial to the separated ones (like on the arms of the chair) rather than the mixed ones (like the pink owl on the seat).  I also left the girls' "ears" a bit long so that it's almost pigtail-like. The boy's I spiked out.

I'm tired all over again simply looking at these. I can't help but think of how many other things I could have done with the yarn "wasted" on the braids and ears.

Pattern notes? I changed it a bit. The original calls for starting with 9dc, but that left me with a bit of a pointy head, so I changed it to 12. I also played around with the earflaps a bit in two ways. One, I didn't like having different lengths of "face space" in front and back, so I made them even (quite like I do with my bags). Two, I didn't like the way they came to a point at the ends and wanted something rounded, so I fiddled a bit. I don't think any two hats were made with the same technique. What else? Oh, when sc around, I dc in the back. These kinds of hats always seem to sloop over the eyes of a kid or else leave the back of their neck exposed. I'm hoping this alleviates at least a bit of that.

When I get pics with these on heads, I will share them if her mama approves. Sorry about not having a pattern to share, but I've been busy trying to not lose my cool and turn all of this mess into a giant granny square. :)

Thanks for checking on me! Here's to hoping you don't run into anyone you know when you head out for cold medicine!

A Whimsical Bucket List Checkmark

(Music. No crochet. No patterns. Fair warning.)

I have this list of scenarios in my head that I hope to one day accomplish. They're all slightly silly and mostly completely attainable. One that's been with me for awhile now has been the spontaneous road trip. It's so simple. I wanted to find Something To Do that was a reasonable distance away and make the decision to go. I've had plenty of opportunities but something's always gotten in the way. Lack of funds. Lack of accomplice. Lack of vehicle. Too much going on. Obligations the next day. You know, life. That's why spontaneity is so fun and so novel and so wonderfully whimsical - it laughs in the face of everyday normal life.

So, Mom and I had gone to Tulsa. We've already covered that. While at that show, he mentioned his birthday wasn't really until the next day, but thank you and all that. We talked a bit about how nice it'd be to go to that show. Haha. Yeah, okay. It was discussed but never with any gravity.

I'm awoken the next morning at 9am. "How stupid are we?"
That's a great question. I mean, we'd already gone to two shows. In a week. For the same person. Same tour. Same opening acts, even. Then all the "buts" rolled in. But it's his birthday. But it's a new state. But it's a new city. But it's a new venue. But it's something I've always wanted to do. But we have a really comfortable van we didn't expect to have. But I can actually afford to go AND still eat next week. But it's a Saturday night, so I won't even have to call in to work. (For the record, I didn't call in Friday night - I asked off nearly two months ago.)

I did it. I stopped myself from talking myself out of it, got up, took a shower, threw on my cleanest dirty jeans and a clean shirt and dragged my barely conscious self out of the house.

The drive was not typical for me. I'm accustomed to hitting an interstate and going and going. This was all Texas Farm Roads and random highways. It was a pretty drive, though.

Well, what you could see through the rain. It rained pretty much the whole way. Which equaled insane fog on the way back. Yay! No.

My side of the world. Got my All Stars and my Red Heart. Life was good! Crochet time, jamming to some Jim Croce, heading to a Keith Urban show, riding in the passenger seat on a Saturday night while I anticipated a brand new setting to explore.

One of those beautiful "which way do we go?" moments.

If I was a better photographer, you would see "City Of Shreveport" instead of leaves.

Our view of the skyline. We had to take a fairly immediate curve, so I didn't get a great shot.

Let me take a minute and tell you of a striking difference between my mother and I. I am an experience person for the most part. I like to try new things, explore new places. I will wander off in a heartbeat if I don't have someone watching me. My mother is a destination person. She sets a goal and that's what she wants. How does that relate to this story?

By the time we reached the venue, I was already happy. I know that "sold out" is very unlikely, so I'm good. I'm in a new state, new town, at a new venue. I'm somewhere new! My mother is still very focused on her ticket. Once we climb the mountain of stairs, the little ticket lady slashes her dreams. No close row tickets. They did, however, have tickets for the last row on the floor. We know from past experience that the last row is a great place to be for a few songs. Awesome. We take them.

We headed back into town, grabbed some food, and came back to the venue. Since we very rarely do, we decided to spend some time hanging out in the area in front of the building. You know the scene - local band, line of concertgoers waiting for the doors to open, radio stations, people watchers. We found a ledge and drank our tea while the people went about their business. Mom heads to the radio station truck and signs up for a drawing. "I guess this means I should sign up, too?" I asked. "Might as well. It gives me another chance," she answered. I figured I can't win if I don't enter, so I wrote down my name and my phone number and went back to the ledge.

See that red truck? That's where we signed up.

Come time for the drawing, Mom goes on over. You can see our shadows on the pavement. I didn't go anywhere. I told her to wave me over if I won. She laughed and told me to make sure to grab our stuff when we won. Okay, Mom. Sure.

Next thing I know, my mom is trying to get my attention. I thought she was joking until I got Mom Faced with that Get Over Here Right Now finger pointing at the ground. I left my phone. I left my tea. I left Mom's pop. I left my camera. My big ol' self sprinted over that exact span of pavement pictured, ready to be super annoyed with my mom over this little prank.
"You won," she hissed at me.
"Shut up."
"No, you won. And you left our stuff."
Radio guy smiles at me and asks me to spell my last name. Now, I have a very unique last name. I got my nine-lettered last name out in under two seconds.
"Congratulations, sweetheart. If you'll just stand over here while we finish drawing the other winners."
I'm still not convinced my mom hasn't chatted this guy up and gotten him in on an elaborate joke as payback for being cheeky about signing up in the first place. Uh, nope. No, I'd won the radio drawing to go to a meet and greet with Dustin Lynch. Even better, each winner received two passes, so Mom and I could go together.
"I knew when he pulled that paper that I knew that handwriting," she said. You know you spend a lot of time with someone when they can identify your handwriting from three feet away when it's entirely improbable that it would be yours.

I was so excited. I've never won one of those drawings before. Now I get to go behind the scenes for a meet and greet. I get a cool silver bracelet. Ahhh! I was so excited and happy. Experiences!

The venue was actually much smaller than anticipated. Our very back row seats turned out to not be too bad.

We entered the building and found our seats. Oddly, no one else in our row ever showed up. I don't know if they all found a way to weasel closer or if none of the rest of the row sold. Either way, it was nice to worry about errant elbows.

We watched most of Dustin Lynch's set before venturing out to find our meet and greet place. I was pleasantly surprised with the experience. It was a bit of a "smile, pose, sign" kind of line, but he started each and every encounter by holding out his hand and looking them in the eye. He didn't automatically look for the item to be signed. He didn't just throw an arm around your shoulders. He stuck out his hand, looked me in the eye, said "Hi, I'm Dustin" and waited for me to introduce myself. I don't know if it was how he was raised or how he was trained, but I was impressed.

 

 

Little Big Town hasn't gotten much coverage in these things, which is really unfair. They are amazing. They also have amazing sound techs. With four people who are all equally important during most parts of most songs (harmonies and all), they sound really good. No one comes across more prominently than another. The balance is really solid. As for the band itself, they're just fun. At least one of them is always communicating with the audience through facial expressions, winks, little waves, head nods, smiles. They always look to be enjoying themselves. Sometimes artists can look bored, especially when it's not their spotlight moment. They don't do that. Very fun group to watch.

 

Mom had the camera. She doesn't believe in wasting memory space on Not Keith Urban.

 

I don't think there's much I can add to what I've already said, but I will repeat that Keith Urban puts on an amazing show. I don't go to show after show hoping that maybe this one will be the one that finally breaks through. I go to show after show because he always rocks it. I just thought of it, but he's one of the few artists who will do country covers. Yeah, he does "Keep On Loving You" at the end of his show, but he also throws in some Blake Shelton and a few bits of whatever strikes him.

 

Since Mom had the camera most of the time, I was able to just enjoy the show. I also stayed closer to my assigned seat while she sat on the very inside so she had a less angled view of the stage. Of course, her main motivation was to be close to the second stage when he made that journey.

 



I love when he breaks out the banjo. I don't know what that's about.

Such a sucker for pretty colors.

Lights and silhouettes and no mic stand in the way.

If you squint, you can see the hint of a grin. Plus, acoustic guitar.

I'm running out of captions.

 

Oh, this one! Love this one, especially this picture.

I had one of these last time, but I am always impressed by how he lets his guests take the attention.

Nothing at all says he has to do that.

 

 A shot with him WITH the band.

 

This was great. That huge box wobbled and scooted around the stage while he was singing. He lost a few words and missed a few notes trying to watch what the box was doing. Turned out, it was Dustin Lynch fancying up his usual guest spot, but it was fun.

When he finally made the journey to the back stage, Mom and I got separated. She went one way expecting me to follow her. I went the other way where there was less competition. I wound up having only one person in front of me. Since she was busy taking pictures, I didn't have to worry about her hands in my way or anything. It was nice. Side note: someone handed their sign up to the lady in front of me. She held it for about ten seconds and tried to hand it back to me. I was like, nope. I think she wound up just dropping it.

While back here, he did play a bit of "Louisiana Saturday Night" which was perfect for the occasion. It's also just a fun, classic song, so that was cool.

Mom's point of view, with a camera.

 

My point of view, with my junky phone camera.

My camera isn't great anyway, but it's especially troublesome with objects that move.

I like 'em though. I know the pics don't come close to capturing the awesomeness.

 

 

Alright. After this bit, Mom went to her assigned seat and looked like she was done. Well, that just wouldn't do. See, we know that he likes to go into the crowd. We even know the general section he likes to go in and we definitely know which side he chooses.

 

Disclaimer: I very, very rarely move from my seat. If this is my seat, this is where I belong. However, in Tulsa, I had an entire row in front of me that wasn't taken. I eventually texted Mom and told her to move up with me and she did. Since that was literally the day before this show, this memory was fresh on my mind. Surely, I thought, there had to be empty seats up there somewhere. Also, security here wasn't necessarily lax, but they also didn't act like each inch of the arena was personally theirs and you were offending them in the worst way if you tread upon it.

 

That said, I told Mom she should move up the aisle (we were sitting on the outside since that's where our ticketed seats were) so she could potentially move in on the hand-grabbing portion of his walk. She agreed - and then told me to go with her. There's only two ways things can go from that point. 1, you hesitate and attract attention by your awkwardness. 2, you go with it and play it off like you're looking for your aisle as you stream toward the stage. Figuring I'd never see any of these audience members again, I went with her.

 

I still love these shots. Disco ball and pretty lights and pretty scenery. :)

 

We took it slow. Hopping a few rows at a time. I did my best to stay out of the way, but I also didn't want to lose my mom in this madness. We eventually settled in a row that was entirely empty and rather hovered in the aisle rather than sitting.

The camera started being a punk. But do you see how few heads are in the way now?

We'd stopped right in front of one of the aisles that led up. If you don't concert, not every aisle leads to the floor. I guess it helps with crowd control.

So, this one did. I even saw where they were setting the makeshift stage and we were exactly where we needed to be. He would definitely be walking right in front of us. I'm finding this next part difficult to write because I hate braggy people. I'm not trying to be, but I'm also really excited about it and want to share. Especially since this blog is about documenting things important to me.

Thus. We happened to be right by one of those old timey, big, flat topped trash cans. It was trash can, little bit of floor space, me. He stopped right in front of me to sign someone's ticket. I was close enough to see the highlights in his hair. Oh, my gosh. For nearly five seconds he was RIGHT THERE. Of course, my phone was in my back pocket and Mom had the camera. Technically, I have no proof so you're free to not believe me. But it was another beyond amazing concert moment. Ah! We didn't move an inch, of course, so we could see him on the way back to the stage, too.

The shirt says "Bayou Beast" in honor of being in LSU territory.

Plus, aren't the colors in this one just awesome?

Yes, the camera zooms, but he wasn't very far away at all.

I touched that shirt...

:)

The final bow.

And the drummer even appears to be smiling!

Signing stuff...

 

It was such an incredible night. The whole day, really, was pure fun. Impromptu road trip. Great seats. Radio drawing winners! My first real foray into seat hopping (I don't like it much, I have to say. Great results, for sure, but not my cup of tea.). A lucky pause. And confetti. Love confetti.

 

That was my Louisiana Saturday night. Tonight won't be nearly as exciting, but I guess few would be. That's what makes them so special and memorable, right? Thanks for reading and do come back for some crochet bits soon! Enjoy your weekend.