scoodie season

I live in the land of paradox. I think that the silk flowers stuck haphazardly into the flowerbed spaces outside our house are because our landlords wanted to beautify the front without having to do any work. There seems to be many standards of beauty in the world. Ahem.

Living in a furnished rental as I do, I try to keep an open mind to aesthetics, otherwise I might have to lay down and cry. Throughout the fall, the sight of fakey flowers in full bloom along the walk was odd, with the fallen leaves and signs of withdrawal everywhere. But now, with our new shiny blanket of snow, I love the splotches of defiant colour, a reminder that this too shall pass.

It is amazing how flexible and adaptable our minds are, how creative we can be with our own interpretations. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the beholder's eye can change it's mind twenty times a day, seeing twenty different kinds of beauty.  I was going to take down the faux flowers and let the season be without any plastic interruptions, but now I think I might just leave them for a little bit longer.

It's ironic to me that I am rambling on about beauty when I originally sat down to talk about scoodies.  I made my first scoodie in response to cooling temperatures and now I know later on today I will be pulling one on as I take myself out to Do What Must Be Done.  Scoodie talk and emails are coming in more frequently now, as winter creeps down the northern hemisphere.  Scoodie season is once again upon us.

The scoodie, for me, is a practical response to a situation, meant for warmth but not beauty.  My scoodies are destined to play a sensible role, a workhorse that has no room for fancy play or whimsy.  Thankfully, there are others in the world who do not share my limited view of scoodies, and have done some serious work to liberate them from a purely utilitarian purpose.

The Handmade Experiment has done some lovely things with the scoodie by adding ears, horns and fantasy.  Check out her wolf and unicorn.

You can also see the fun things people have done at Craftster by clicking here, here, and here.  Actually, there are 11 pages of scoodie pics on Craftster, so if you have some time and the desire, have a looksie.

One more source for scoodie-ness is over at Threadbanger's forum, where pictures and videos of scoodies based on the scoodie episode are shared.

Thank you to everyone who has shared their scoodie projects with me and the world.  I know it seems like a small thing, but post a picture somewhere - a forum, a photo-sharing pool, or your own blog - is a form is tremendously inspiring for others.  It is a gift, thank you.

Now, before I pull the scoodie down low over my eyes and ignore the entire topic for the rest of the winter, I would like to share just one last thing.  I have made a little scoodie inspired button for Indietutes.  Feel free to grab it and share it on your blog if you feel so inclined.  I would appreciate it :)