blowin' in the wind

Do you use Pandora? I didn't know what it was for the longest time (one of my husband's favorite ways to tease me is to say "you're so analog") but I finally tried it out. At first I hated it because it never played what I wanted. But then one day I typed in "Peter, Paul and Mary."

I'll also ask you this: is there something that just takes you instantly back to your childhood? A food, a smell, a sight or sound? Well, for me it's 60s-70s folk music that my friends' parents listened to. (Not so much my parents - they were/are pretty straight-laced and were never hippies.) The PP&M Pandora station is so awesomely perfect I can't even describe it. John Denver, James Taylor, CSN (sometimes with Y), Jim Croce, PP&M of course, Cat Stevens...ooh, how I love Cat Stevens. If I'd been a teen in 1976 instead of an infant, I'd have plastered my room with Cat Stevens posters and played his music nonstop on the record player.

It's just such great music...sweet melodies, poetic lyrics, safe for little ears to listen to...and it takes me right back to lying on my stomach on my friend's living room floor in front of their console hi-fi. They had green plush carpet and I thought that was awesome rich-people stuff (we had gold and avocado shag, awwww yeah).

Anyway, I now have a sweet wood-paneled family room with a sectional that needs some sprucing up (we are ripping out that awful paneling as soon as we can afford to, but that will be awhile). So to go along with my awesome hippie music I'm making a little something...a "period piece" if you will.

I love, love, love hippie stuff but I won't go so far as to rock a granny square poncho (or skirt)...though I do have several patterns for them. This will be a blanket for my drab 1966-style family room.

I've made 16 blocks so far, and since I don't have a truly vintage stash of 1960s olefin yarn I'm using the next best thing: Red Heart super saver acrylic. Oh yes. Kinda plastic-y, kinda unpleasant, but the colors are so great. I couldn't help myself and started joining the blocks today (using the join-as-you-go method, which can be easily found by googling).

In order to keep this from sinking into total 70s polyester-ville, I'm joining the blocks with a deep teal color. Back in the day they were always joined with black, right? Gosh, didn't everyone have a granny-square afghan in their house sashed with black? I think they were practically required 4o years ago. I can't wait to see this brightening up my brown, brown family room.

"Country road...take me home..."