eighteen

Posted on Posted in book reviews/events, projects

ok, so this is my official last entry documenting my surge in the knitting wars—we are instructed by The Knitting Ruler to post our photos and a list of finished gift items.

i started my gift knitting very late (dec 1) and with just a small list of about half a dozen items, NONE of which i was sure i could finish.

almost a week later (dec 7) i was pretty much no further along with christmas knitting (and wondering what the heck i was gonna do for gifts, cuz i don’t DO shopping). having completed only the ribbing for one mitt, so i revised my list, paring it down a bit, and subbing in a couple of WIPs i discovered to help beef up the FOs for the holiday.

that very weekend (dec 9) i got my butt in gear and buckled down to finish a few quick knits (was it only three weeks ago??) for the mail carrier

and soon followed with a couple more for my nephew (who loves them by the way)

then, i was contacted by the Powers That Be, telling me i had been selected as a challenger in the knitting wars (dec 11), which coincided nicely with the chanting from the crowd for “MORE MITTS, MORE MITTS (and hats)”

i accepted the challenge even as i crossed yet another gift item from my list—

a finished pair of socks for david.
and well. you can’t tell me i’m being challenged without expecting a response.

another completed pair of socks (dec 15) and the real challenge was begun—was i seriously going to try to knit a sweater for big ol’ david with 10 days to go??

yup. after all the yarn had arrived, there was no turning back on the project, so i set out to do it.

and in the meantime, i remembered that i needed a couple of cute snugglies for some lil’ tykes in albany that must go out in the mail. so i cranked out these

and added these for good measure

and they went their merry way (dec 19), beefing up my total which was starting to look substantial (at least to me).

10 items was WAY more than i’d planned to knit and way, way more than i thought i could do.

but could i get the big item done (dec 20)??
that was still to be determined. i plugged away at it for the next few days, not even blogging much, and made excellent progress. but almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and i had no backup gift for the love of my life.

in the meantime of course i could not stay away from the mitts (they should carry a warning label, i swear)

but after all, you’ve gotta have some time off. hehe.

was i going to finish the sweater or not?? let’s face it, i was dangerously close to being shamed.
of course, by now we all know the end of that story and a beautiful sweater (that fits!) was under the tree by christmas eve, and on the shoulders of the wearer christmas day.

phew.
i spent all of christmas day making a gift for myself . . i don’t know if this counts, but i really wanted to get one pair of mitts made for myself, and i did.

meanwhile, they’d pushed back the deadline to accommodate everyone’s holiday schedule and the fact that we all put off finishing knits gifts that we know we will not deliver til the week between.
(BTW, the sweater makes eleven . . .)

so i took advantage of the extra time this week to finish off gifts for friends

because you can never treat your friends TOO well—you will always need them at least as much as they need you.

and another for david

(i am SO not getting that back after yesterday; he was born to wear this wrap.)

which brought the total to 15.

and at the eleventh hour, i have a final two items

sorry for the terrible photo . . i almost forgot i had to post them tonight, so you get the after-dark pictures.

and i believe that makes seventeen. if you count the gift for i made ME, that makes eighteen. The Knitting Ruler wants a concise list, so to recap:

waffle mitts
waffle hat
plain james mitts
plain james hat
purple kiddie mitts
purple kiddie hat
blue and green kiddie mitts
blue and green kiddie hat
cardigan socks
marie antoinette socks
zig zag mitts green
zig zag hat green
red sweater
snow on cedar mitts
oh! canada wrap
pavé mitts large
pavé mitts medium
zig zag mitts brown (for myself, does it count??)
__________________________________________

that adds up to 18, or 17 if they are going to be harsh.

for myself, i feel a real sense of accomplishment . . . i finished of a bunch of WIPs that may have not gotten done, simply because i said, “oh why not?”—and made time for them.
i even knit myself something i very much wanted, which is a rarity.

and though i’m pleased, i am hoping that the recipients are even more pleased, and that the effort has the desired effect of helping to empty the coffers of the benefactors into the hands of knitters without borders.

my deepest apologies to those that backed me with money pledges in the race—i sincerely did not expect to finish more than half a dozen or so items. please know that your gifts are VERY greatly appreciated, and that i’ll try to knit slower next time (hehehe, i’m just sayin’ that).

thank you all for your encouragement and cheerful support of the knitting war . . . may we all live to see another.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

52 thoughts on “eighteen

  1. Anne,
    I’ve been reading your blog for a few months now and I’m very interested in re-creating that fabulous red sweater you made for David. I am familiar with the EPS system, but I would love to know what extra techniques you added to the sweater, like the collar, etc… any suggestions you can give me would be much appreciated.. Thanks a bundle!

    Kristin

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