It's all happening Friday

FINALLY! I get to see ZBB live! Two years... hundreds of messages... one singer... one beanie... Rolling Stone... and now the concert.

I can't tell you how excited I am. Really, even my thesaurus is failing me. This whole journey has been to remember my daughter Bryn and when Zac Brown wore my hat on stage it was like a little nod from her; an insiders wink that only a handful of people would even notice. 

And now I'm so grateful to experience the energy, the music, and the emotion in person. 

To celebrate with me, use the code ZBBHOOKY in my Ravelry shop through Thursday, 9/4 and get 40% off any pattern. (I need the gas money to get there; and maybe a tour t-shirt)

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/liz-mcqueen

Look for lots of pictures on Instagram Friday night to follow along. #brynsconcert

Read more...

• The original campaign
• One year later and the hats I sent
• He wore it!
• Playin' Hooky in Rolling Stone Magazine
• Playin' Hooky with ZBB in the Rolling Stone (the video)
• The news on the official ZBB website

A huge thank you to my bestie Poppy, who's going with me. You made the way for us to go. Without you I couldn't have done it. (heart)

play hard ... play hooky

And then this happened

Zac Brown... you've heard the name, maybe you've even read my story...

To recap, it's been a little over two years since I lost my 5 year old daughter, Bryn. Nothing about the last two years has been easy, but some things have helped me to smile and carry on her memory.

On top of yarn bombs in her honor (Bryn's Flowers and Bryn's Candy), a fan nudged me to start a campaign to get Zac Brown to wear a beanie I made. After a year and a half, that dream came true.

Well it seems like someone above is watching out and knew that I've been having some hard days. And then this happened.

As it's been through this whole campaign, it started with a fan. I got a message telling me that I should check out the Country Issue of Rolling Stone magazine. Not something I would naturally do, but this was an exception.

Living in a tiny town meant that I had to order it... and wait.

Flipping through the pages...

Oh cool, there's Brad Paisley with a pink guitar... I don't know why Ashley Monroe's talking about pot... there's a section about modern country stars and the hats they wear...

We all know Zac Brown wears a less than traditional country hat, but wait.. what? He's wearing MY beanie. In ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE. And they're talking about the hat he's wearing. Ignore the 'stylist' who doesn't like it. She obviously doesn't know what's up.

Words are failing me as I bring the whole campaign to a close. But who knows? Is it really over? 

There are a only a select few people (if you're reading this, you're one of them) who know the full story and meaning behind this seemingly small thing. It's all for my Bryn. 

I love you more than candy.

Find out more...

• The original campaign
• One year later and the hats I sent
• Playin' Hooky with ZBB in the Rolling Stone (the video)
• The news on the official ZBB website

play hard... play hooky

HE WORE IT!!!

An idea... thousands of messages... a year and a half... one country singer... the dream came true!

Zac Brown honoring my daughter Bryn by wearing the hat I made him.

I'm in tears and a bit of shock as I write this. Forgive me if my words are inadequate.

It started a year and a half ago on a particularly hard day. I had just released my Shockwave Beanie pattern and the picture I posted of my husband reminded one fan of Zac Brown. She had the crazy idea of sending him a hat in hope that he would wear it in memory of my daughter Bryn. The idea grew and became a campaign. My family, friends, and of course my fans got involved and flooded the band's Facebook page, Twitter, and website asking for a response. 

We waited, but never heard back. And I was ok with that. Maybe a little disappointed, but the point of the whole thing was to remember Bryn and help lift my spirits during an impossibly difficult time. You did that tenfold, so for me it was already in part a success.

Back to my amazing fans. A few very dedicated and loving people continued on the hunt to find someone, anyone, who could get the hat in Zac Brown's hands. A full year later, one found success. I got in touch with a friend of Zac's who volunteered to do whatever he could to help. I immediately made two new hats to send, the original Shockwave and an Avalanche, to give him a choice. I also couldn't resist making a matching one for his baby boy on the way. 

More waiting. I thought about the campaign off and on, I'd get the occasional message that someone saw him wearing my beanie only to find out that it wasn't. But again, I was honored to have come so far with the dream. 

Yesterday it came true. I got a message of another sighting and I thought, "here it comes, another false alarm." I watched the video and as the camera panned in I thought, this might be it but it was still too far away. And then I saw it. Instantly I had tears running down my cheeks through my smile. I felt overwhelming joy knowing that he was giving Bryn this little shoutout. For a brief moment, she touched his life too. It was like an inside secret and the feeling is indescribable. I feel like I'm on the cover of the Rolling Stone!!!

Thank you's seem trivial, but they truly come from my heart to the woman with the idea, the fans who jumped in, the woman who wouldn't give up, the man who volunteered, and of course Zac Brown himself.

It still amazes and overwhelms me that so many people did all they could to make this one idea happen. It's a testament to the caring and support of our little community. And it was for my girl. Even though Bryn's not here, her spirit will continue to bring smiles, love, and sparkles forever. She and God are definitely watching me smile today. Mommy loves you more than candy.

Find out more...

• The original campaign
• One year later and the hats I sent
• Playin' Hooky with ZBB in the Rolling Stone (the video)
• The news on the official ZBB website

play hard ~ play hooky

ZBB and Playin' Hooky, a year in the making

UPDATE: The hats have been delivered! They arrived in Tennessee on 11/30 to Zac's friend. I don't know when he'll see him next, but at least I know the packaged made it!

If you've been with me for a while, you know that I lost my oldest daughter, Bryn, a month after her 5th birthday. You may also know that on a particularly hard day, I started a campaign to get Zac Brown to wear one of my hats. All because of a comment on this picture of my husband Colin wearing my (then) newest design, the Shockwave Beanie.

We worked hard and SO many of you posted, tweeted, and emailed the band letting them know that you wanted him to help remember my Bryn. But, we couldn't break through. No doubt he gets thousands of messages a day, so we can't be mad!

Recently I've been in touch with a fan who had some great news. She had dinner with her parents and their friend, a man who is friends with ZBB, and even stays in one of Zac's houses when he's in town. I was stunned. A year later and I thought I would never really get in contact with anyone this close. But it's real! So I got to work.

I remade the Shockwave from the picture along with an Avalanche Beanie that I thought was his style but also a little different than what he normally wears. I also couldn't resist making a matching one for his baby boy when he arrives!

  

Making the hats was the easy part. Writing the letter was a much harder thing to do. It's still very hard to talk about losing Bryn. But this morning, I was feeling strong enough to put into words what I was feeling.

I wrote the letter on the back of a collage I made with Bryn's pictures...

and sent everything on its way to Tennessee.

Thank you so much for all your love, support, posts, and tweets! It means more to me than I can say.

If I hear anything, I'll keep you posted. And if you see anything about it, let me know (I tend to be be out of the loop and the last one to know about things, haha)!

play hard ~ play hooky

Playin' Hooky with Zac Brown?

Hey there! You probably already know all the things my family has been through this summer. If not you can read my other posts about our baby girl, Bryn. This morning I was having an especially hard time. I miss her smile, her voice, and her sparkle more than I could ever possibly explain. All the emotions were getting very overwhelming and I felt like I was going in slow motion. But then someone on my Facebook page suggested that I send my beanie to the Zac Brown Band. They thought it'd be perfect and that maybe, just maybe he'd wear it on stage! And for some reason thinking about it gave me a purpose and a reason to smile.

So here I am, starting a full on campaign to see if I can get a response from the band. And here's what you can do to get in on it!

For the Tweeters (...Tweeps?... Twits?...): Check out my original Tweet. Reply to me and @ZacBrownBand telling them that you want to see Zac play some hooky!
https://twitter.com/PlayinHookyHats/status/258244224934375424

For the Facebookers: Post on the band's wall OR comment on my post to let them know what you think!
https://www.facebook.com/zacbrownband/posts/360728807348639

To anyone from the band who sees this: Your fans love you and if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have even thought about sending a hat. So thanks for being awesome and no matter what happens, I'm now a fan for life!!

To all my fans who join the campaign. Thank you for all of your amazing support. You are one reason that I'm able to smile every day.

The beanie that started it all

And for your listening & viewing pleasure... Here's some Chicken Fried!

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY