When You Miss The Christmas Deadline, Turn Them Into Valentines

Honestly, where does the time go? I personally think there is a leak into the Parallel Universe that sucks up what little time we have here in Realityville. Like a black hole or something. It seems like just last week I was frantically knitting my way towards Christmas, cranking out little bits of scarf goodness for the near-and-dears. And, suddenly, it is FEBRUARY and I have finally finished the final 2.

Some of you are probably saying, "Why didn't you just send along the rest of their Christmas gifts ON TIME, and save the scarves for another time?" However, that doesn't take into account that I get these little obsessions that get Gorilla-glued into my brain and once the idea is there, it must be obeyed. You see, these scarves are going to my dear brother, B and his wife, G. I hardly ever get to see them because they live far, far away in the land of North Carolina, which means I would have to drive millions of miles to see them, or else I would have to resort to flying. Considering that I'd rather have an un-aenestethetized root canal than fly, and that they hardly ever leave their beautiful, mountainous state to consort with us prairiefolk, we leave our visiting to the wonders of electronics.

Let me digress for a moment and explain my aversion to flying. You may be surprised to learn that it has nothing to do with fear or anxiety of flying, terrorists, or the like. I don't mind being miles and miles above land, and I have a fatalistic view of terrorism: if it's your time, it's your time. No, the simple truth is that I detest discomfort and airplanes are not comfortable, for all the obvious reasons. I also hate having to hurt my brain by packing in such a way as to fit everything into such limited luggage space, not to mention all of the restrictions one must remember in order to win the airport security seal of approval. And the fact is that much of the stuff I NEED to bring along so that I am comfortable (see #1 above) will cause the alarms to go off and result in me being removed to that secret place in the airport where a large and unsympathetic security guard named Brunhilda will strip search me and confiscate my favorite mascara and hair products and make me miss my flight. I also figured that, by the time I leave 3 hours early to drive 70 minutes to the airport, check in 2 hours ahead of departure, wait for the inevitably delayed flight, fly to Atlanta to catch the delayed connecting flight to Charlotte, then wait for the 50 or so pieces of luggage I will need for a 5 day visit, it would take me ALL DAY to take what boils down to 3 hours actually in flight. So I try to offset my weirdness with hand-knitted goodies.

The other reason for my determination is this:



This was my present from them - beautifully handmade by the talented G. (This year, G. was chosen to participate in a prestigious juried art festival in Asheville - she's come a long way with her pottery in a very short time!) They have sent me similarly luscious pieces every year, appreciated all the more because they are handmade. I was determined to reciprocate in kind this year (technically, last year). So without further ado, here they are:

Urban Camo

Stormfront

The Urban Camo has been a UFO since the fall. It was knit with Cascade 128 in color 1183 (a rich, very dark olive green) and Classic Elite Beatrice in 'Hedgerow'. C saw the scarf and wants one. Little does he know that Urban Camo Jr. is on the needles with his name on it! At the rate I've been knitting, he may get it in time for Father's Day!

Although the concept is very simple, I am quite pleased with my design for Stormfront. It is knit with 2 different Paton's yarns: Rumor 'Halcyon Heather' (an alpaca/acrylic blend) and Shetland Chunky Tweed 'Charcoal Tweed' an acrylic/wool blend). The Rumor is a delight to knit with - I liked it so much, I started another scarf in it. The Shetland Tweed isn't as soft, but the colors coordinated perfectly with the Rumor and once knitted, it makes a nice fabric. I will be happy to share the pattern particulars of both scarves with anyone who requests the details.

And I can't forget my niece, J. Last year, I gifted J (a teenager) with a fun, fluffy scarf - the last item I crocheted before becoming converted to the Church of Knitting. Not wanting to be redundant, instead of a handknit, I thought it would be nice to make her a convert as well, so I am sending her a beginner's knitting kit containing 2 skeins of a soft self-striping yarn, needles, accessories and the book "Teen Knitting Club". She loves sewing and other crafts. Think she'll like it?

The scarves, along with some other goodies, will be packed up and sent off tomorrow. Okay, so it won't exactly arrive there on Valentine's Day. Maybe I should label the gifts "Happy President's Day"?