Wool in my soup

I am a 67 year-old grandmother living on Vancouver Island. I have crocheted, cross-stitched and rug hooked, but I always had yarn on needles. Recently knitting has become my primary hobby!

Name:
Location: Canada

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Christmas Knitting or Is The Knitter Sick!

I know it is early to start this Christmas knitting, but I needed some quick projects to get back in the groove and my needles are flying. I love these short knits at times, but then again I have two shrugs to knit and I will cast on for one of them soon. There is a time for larger projects, but it is great to get quick satisfaction from finishing smaller projects.

A few years ago, we cut back on our Christmas gifts. We give more to charity, but less to extended family and friends. It was becoming out of hand and Christmas is stressful enough without adding to it by having a gift list as long as my forearm! Also cut back on the card list - many get an email letter now. Am I getting older, lazier or wiser? Whatever the answer is, I am feeling so much better about the holiday season. Often I will make a quick bread or give some jam or pickles to a good friend or a person in need of a neighbourly "hug", but who created this need to have a woman, usually, work herself into a frenzy about this holiday! Holiday for whom - not for Moms or those of us who have grandiose ideas of what we should do and by darn we are going to make it happen. Often she can be seen wrapping gifts ten minutes before the family descends on the living room to a creature that looks like the cat dragged her in during the night and then gave up and went to look for some kibbles. The poor creature is mumbling and grumbling, but she has made everyone, including her hateful great aunt Hattie, something with her own little hands and her yarn bill is through the roof!!

No, the knitter is not sick, but maybe she is becoming a grinch!

I finished the leg warmers and started on a pair of "Fetching" fingerless gloves. I have a great hat pattern from Kathy at Grumperina called Odessa and that would be great to go with the gloves and leg warmers for the granddaughters - all quick projects.

Here is a photo of "Fetching" knitted with Grignasco Merinogold! I have used this yarn before and have always been pleased with the result and the process. My new find in merino wool is SMART, but then I have already told you about that. Good things cannot be told about often enough!



Sorry for the colour, the gloves are actually a beautiful deep purple! I have not mastered both the taking of the photo and uploading it and then cutting it down to a manageable size. After 46 years of marriage, I have learned to do the things that I do well and leave the other things I do not do so well to the man I decided was to be my help mate for life. He does a terrific job, but he cannot do anything about the colours in the photos!

6 Comments:

Blogger Sidsel said...

Love your gloves,to bad it's not possible to see the exact color..but I can imagine the color..yes.. :o)

http://blogg.hobbyboden.com/sidsel/

11:22 AM  
Blogger CelticCastOn said...

That is going to be an awesome present for your granddaughters. Odessa, leg warmers AND fetchings could it get any better!!!

3:18 AM  
Blogger Rain said...

I think going Grinch is a great idea. The christmas season has got completely out of hand. A lot of people are thinking ahead and I think it's good to be organised (I however am in denial and will think about it later!)

The yarn for Fetching is such a pretty colour.

5:12 AM  
Blogger Charity said...

I don't think it's grinch-ey to actually think about what we're doing, and why we're doing it! I knew an eccentric lovely lady, who refused to give Christmas gifts. She had a list of those she wanted to give to, and then would surprise them throughout the year with their "Christmas" gift. She claimed people appreciated their gifts much more that way, and she didn't have the stress.

10:50 AM  
Blogger Lisa said...

I think it is very smart to get started on your Christmas Knitting. All the better for you once the holiday gets closer.

Love the leg warmers. They are so very cute.

I am planning on knitting up a pair of the fingerless gloves as well!

1:03 PM  
Blogger Jo at Celtic Memory Yarns said...

Peg you are absolutely right about Christmas and the whole preparation/gift-giving thing. I too used to work myself into a frenzy until one day I quite suddenly saw the whole thing for the commercial scam it was. They play on our guilt, we the women, because we let them!

Me, I now celebrate Midwinter which is what it originally was, and pack the house with green stuff.

And by all means embrace emailing as the new greeting card. It's what it was invented for! Life's too short to search for the writing paper, and there are so many nice things to knit instead.

Love the mitty fingers. And must really start on some legwarmers too. Continue to trumpet forth any good yarns you find. I might have missed the first halloo!
Jo
celticmemoryyarns.blogspot.com

2:22 PM  

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