Stay of Execution

My mom's afghan has been one of those languishing UFO's in my pile. She requested it several months ago and told me what colors she wanted and how it should feel, etc. So I set about looking for the yarn and thought I'd found something perfect. I showed her the yarn and she approved it. It was going to be two different yarns held together. The yarn is very expensive, about $350 retail. After I'd gotten a few inches into it, I wasn't liking how it was turning out at all. The yarns just simply didn't look right. It looked very busy to me. But, nonetheless, I had showed it around to several people, and everyone insisted that it was pretty. I didn't agree, though, so I hadn't worked on it in weeks. I'm like that. If I am not happy with a project, it's nearly impossible for me to finish it, or even make any real progress on it. So, it languished. Fast-forward to Christmas Day. My mom liked her footies, but apparently she expected her afghan as well, even though I'd told her it wouldn't be finished. So, that spurred me on to deal with it yesterday. I went to the Grove to order the rest of the yarn, and it occurred to me that there was a way out of this situation. I could simply just...not make it. The yarn I'd already opened could be used for a scarf or a wrap or something. The rest could be returned, and most of it hadn't been ordered yet anyway. But, first, I figured my mom should look it and tell me if she liked it. So, I dragged it over to her house yesterday, and it turns out I was right. She didn't like it. So, it's a damn good thing I didn't finish it. To tell you the truth, I'm not offended at all. I didn't like it anyway, and I was dreading making it. It feels like I got a stay of execution, or maybe even an outright pardon. She's decided that a knitted afghan is too big of a project and she's decided to buy one instead. Yay!

That leaves quite a large credit for me at the Grove as it turns out. In fact, I had a credit sitting there at the store that I was planning to use for the remainder of the yarn I needed. So, I'm finally going to make the Ombre Alpaca Blanket from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. For myself. That's right folks, I'm a selfish b&$%h and I'm OK with that. The yarn for that project is so expensive, about $300 retail, but with my credit, it suddenly becomes within my reach. I've already bought the first five skeins to get me started.



I've also started my Under the Hoodie. It's a really good carry-along project because it's basically all stockinette. My friend from the Knit Salon, Allison, is also working on hers, so our little knit-along is in progress. I'm doing mine in Cotton-Ease. I'm using Blueberry for the main sections, Ice Blue for the larger stripe and Sugar Plum for the thinner stripe. It's a very fast moving project and I think it's coming out really well. My only concern is that it might be a little too big, but it's a sweatshirt, so it seems like that should be OK.


Just because it was Christmas and all of the stores were closed doesn't mean that I couldn't get into trouble anyway. I bought 8 skeins of this on ebay to make Clapotis. It's Noro Silk Garden in Colorway #8. They retail for around $12 around here, but I got these for $8 each. It's still an expensive wrap, but I think I'll love it so much that it will be worth it. I was going to use the Lion and Lamb that it calls for, but Lorna's Laces yarn only has short bursts of color while Noro has long pieces, so for this fairly wide shawl, there are noticeable stripes. I thought the pattern would work nicely with the stripes from the variegation going one way and the dropped stitches going the other. Can't wait until it gets here, but then again, I'm completely OCD about any yarn I've ordered online. I want the postman to ring my doorbell as soon as my Paypal transaction has gone through. It's coming from the UK, so it will be a long wait.

I put photos of my finished Christmas knitting along with some other FO's in a gallery in the sidebar. All of the gifts went over really well, including the bear. Here is the recipient, clutching it and wearing her Christmas sweater and Marine Corps cap that my husband gave her. That's my mom in the background, by the way.

My brother's socks, although a little loose, basically fit. My dad even seemed to like his scarf and said he'd use it for upcoming trips to the East Coast. Pam, my sister-in-law, liked the purse I made her. Joe has barely taken off his hat since I gave it to him. So, overall, I'd say it was a success.