The other evening, my kids wanted to go an visit our neighbor, Kathryn.
Specifically, my kids wanted to swing on her tire swing and pet Kathryn's dog. We had a very nice time chatting with Kathryn and other neighbors, petting Kathryn's slightly nervous pooch, swinging on the tire, etc... when Kathryn mentioned that she'd been looking for a traditional, wooden swing to add to the other side of the tree.
I had one in the garage. Still in it's box.
I was overcome by the need to own it while at IKEA a few months ago, wishing I had a tree large enough to hang it in, and figuring I'd make a frame or hang it from the porch, or SOMETHING... and for $15... I had to have it. So there it sat, languishing in the garage-- a sad, terrible existence for a swing.
Seriously. That's about the saddest thing I can think of right now... poor swing!
After some time messing with too short ropes and the subsequent finding of longer ones (that I had ALSO purchased with the intention of somehow hanging a swing... GEEZ! What is WRONG with me?!?), there are now TWO swings in Kathryn's yard.
Except that... except that... well... after we decided to move the tire swing on the other side of the tree (in order to give the wooden swing more clearance), when we re-hung it, the whitewalls on the tire weren't showing on the street side, and Kathryn much preferred it that way.
So, I jokingly mentioned that she really shouldn't worry about it, because I'd more than likely come over one night and paint a mural on it or something... But our other neighbor very nicely, and only half smirkingly re-hung the swing with the whitewalls in their proper location.
But still. I had a plan.
TIRE SWING YARN BOMB
I had wanted to do this under cover of darkness for a surprise in the morning kind of a thing... but I went over to take measurements for the tire in the dark that same night, and it was pretty clear to me that there was NO WAY I was going to be able to attach this thing to the tire without light.
So, I hung it in the day time, thinking she wasn't home.
She was.
She came outside to see us (my kids were swinging again), and was utterly delighted... She was even happier that she was there to SEE it being done. So... YAY!
I made it by making a line of granny squares a little bit shorter than the circumference of the tire. I wanted to have to stretch it tight, so that it wouldn't be loose and kids could still swing. The sides are made of simple, striped rows, decreasing stitches in each row so that the whole thing formed a donut when the ends were stitched together on site.
I was a HUGE relief when the thing actually FIT.
It was NOT a huge relief to see the black widow in the interior of the tire halfway through the sewing.
She was really pretty and ultra creepy and spidery looking- with the scarlet-red hourglass shape of the Black Widow on her abdomen. Creepy, man. Oh, did I already say that?
She is now at the bottom of Kathryn's vacuum cleaner. One just can't have a tire swing full of Black Widows.
The kids mostly took turns swinging, and there was only one episode where one screamed loudly at the other to the point that momma had to threaten them with going home.
But that's how it goes.
And now, whenever I turn the corner into my neighborhood, there is this charming tire catching my eye....
And Kathryn, who has been a PEACH for the past 11 years has a fun, new swing. Well, TWO, really...
