Through the Back Loop

Adventures in knitting, fiber arts, and family.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Make up Knitting

I’m down to the wire with Christmas knitting. In order for my nieces to get their presents in time, I think that I should have posted them last week. It is amazing to me that a friend of mine can send mail to France and it arrives in 3 days while the mail I send to my brother’s family in northern Wisconsin takes more than a week to get there. Even in summer. Strange.

I also have to ship out my baby knitting. I have finished my knitting for the New Zealand baby that is due January 3rd. Along with the sweater, I made a quick baby cap and I used this book to make a pair of cute newborn sized booties. They are precious. I wish that I would have known about this pattern three years ago. My good friend at school suffered from my naïve knowledge of baby knitting. I gave her some cute baby fruit caps, but since then, I have used better materials, cuter color choices, eliminated the “fruitiness” of the cap for a more caplike look, and added other baby items to my gift to expectant mothers. My friend noticed that she was jipped. Now I owe her little guy, who is a three year old guy in need of cool “big boy” mittens and a cap. I owe him a make-up knit.

This got me to thinking. Who else has suffered because I learned later how to do something better? My children definitely have. As I was digging through the secondary yarn stash located on the floor of my closet, where each yarn can still be found in its purchase bag complete with receipt waiting to be incorporated into the highly organized yarn stash in another room, I came across a pair of socks that I had knit. One of the first pair of socks, to be exact. After I finally learned how to turn the heel and pick up gusset stitches without leaving a gaping hole in my knitting a few years ago, I was excited. Why wait for sock yarn when I had plenty of yarn in my stash. Heavier yarn would only mean heavier socks, right? This would keep my kids feet especially warm in our brutal winters. I enthusiastically cast on with this stuff (acrylic. I’m sorry) and gleefully worked to provide necessary warmth to the feet of my children as winter approached. Now, three years later, these socks sit on the floor of my closet, under bags of unused yarn, between my unused roller blades and acoustic guitar which are also collecting dust. These socks were worn once.

I was digging through my stash trying to think of what I can make until I get the yarn for DH’s capped gloves. Tomorrow night is my daughter’s school concert, and I will need something to work on while listening. Maybe I should finish a scarf my daughter started last year and could use right now? Maybe a real pair of socks for the girls.

Then there is Max. And Christmas is coming.

Oh, no. Another unrealistic deadline for a last minute gift?

Gotta go!

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