They're just socks with suede soles sewn on, constructed more or less according to Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' instructions in Simple Socks: Plain and Fancy, but with a few more stitches on the leg than the foot, and 1-inch elastic sewn into the tops to keep them on securely. The yarn is KnitPicks Crayon, held double on size 7 needles.
When DD put them on and DH saw them, he said, "Aren't they big for her?" (They are.) DD, age 3 1/2 and already the consummate knitter's child, retorted, "That's because I need to grow into them!" Don't you wish all your gift recipients were so understanding?
The other project I finished was sewing up some Christmas stockings my mom had made, one in needlepoint and one in counted cross-stitch. My mom has been doing this kind of work for years, including Christmas stockings for all of her immediate family members, their spouses and descendants over 3 years old (this work takes a while!). She's quite good at it.
Have you ever known someone that you loved dearly, but that you would never give handknits to because they wouldn't appreciate them, or wouldn't take care of them properly? I've heard some knitters opine that one should never give a handknit sweater to a non-knitter unless one also does the recipient's laundry. Just picture a woolen sweater, very clean but several sizes too small and thoroughly felted, and you'll know what I'm talking about.
Well, my mom is not a knitter, but she's not one of those folks, either. Working with her (or giving her handknits) is a pleasure because each of us has, I think, a fairly deep understanding of the nature and the value of the other's work. I know about the hours of repetitive-yet-exacting work that go into a needlepoint or counted-cross-stitch piece because I've watched her do so much of it, and done a bit myself. It's an honor to be trusted to cut and stitch such a thing! She knows (or senses, and will know after she reads this) about the much-less-time-consuming, but still exacting work of turning a needlepoint piece into a Christmas stocking without ruining it nineteen ways before you're done. And each of us delights in the beauty of what the other has made. The value we place on each other's respective crafts makes this kind of collaboration uniquely satisfying, and each time I sew up a stocking (eight by now, I think) and don't ruin it nineteen ways, I breathe a sigh of relief and feel a little closer to my mom.
I'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts about collaborative crafts, whether in the same craft with your collaborators or different crafts. Are you a lone-wolf knitter secretly craving collaboration, or a party animal when it comes to your creations? Or do you revel in the solitude of your craft? Say more!
Wondering what happened to the FlyLady BabySteps? Well, between DH being out of town, DH and DD being sick, and getting ready for the holidays, it's continued to be a time of shoring up progress to date against the floods of circumstance. Okay, actually I took a step ahead of the BabySteps by creating a weekly routine (one or two cleaning chores to get done each weekday), but I'm not holding myself to it yet. I was just craving some strategic structure (e.g., I vacuum on days when DD goes to preschool, not on days when she's home and I might be doing my chores during her nap) and a good checklist for basic weekly cleaning.
It came in handy when our Christmas-Eve guests were coming: I could look at it and see what I hadn't yet done that week, and just do those things, cook dinner, and not worry about the rest. Nice feeling, that! Taking a step outside the BabyStep structure, while keeping within the spirit of baby-stepping my way to greater satisfaction with my housekeeping and self-care, is a little like tweaking a beautiful knitting pattern to make it even better for my purposes. N'est-ce pas?
2 comments:
Those slipper socls are so cute I love the colors..I think after I become a better knitter since I am still new to this I would love to find someone to knit something with Hope you have a Happy New Year
Hey, I hope you won't wait to try something collaborative. There are lots of charity knitting projects that help new knitters put their skills to use. If you ask at your local yarn shop, they may be able to refer you to a group putting together squares into afghans, or making simple baby blankets for preemies, or something like that. Each project has its own guidelines (many preemie knitting projects don't want wool, for example, but Afghans for Afghans won't take acrylics), so check them out before you start knitting.
My local yarn store (Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins in Boulder, CO) has a charity knitting night once per month where they provide quick-to-knit patters, yarn, and a gathering to get you going, asking only for a small donation to help cover the cost of materials. Maybe there's something like that near you!
Enjoy the journey.
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