Theoretically, I'd have a lovely pair of mittens to show you by now.
But we all know how theories work don't we.
Let's see, last Sunday, I took my lovely lacy mitten cuff over to the Beading Banshee's house for a sort of holiday knitathon. While there, I discovered an egregious error and frogged the whole bloody thing back to the cast on, and started over.
According to my plan, even with restarting Sunday night, I should have finished that mitten by Tuesday... and indeed should be rounding up the second mitten this evening.
.
Such are the best laid plans. Perhaps I should have gotten Lene to set up a more realistic schedule for me. She has even graciously agreed to do for me what she's done for the Yarn Harlot (who seems to be doing brilliantly with HER schedule). But to have a Lene prepared schedule, I have to be able to tell her how long it takes to knit these things, and I've no freaking clue!.
.
Clearly, these mittens take longer than I think they will.
Here is mitten one:
It may be taking a tad longer because the other side looks like this:
Now, I LIKE the reversed colors. I think it's very cool. But I do have to double check now and then.
.
Okay, I have to be honest. It's not because I'm doing reversed colors.
It's because I've been doing other holiday related things.
Like shipping lovely mittens to Canada, where I hope they arrive in time for THEIR official gift giving day.
and..
Writing the Annual Letter in which I try to sum up a full year of news for four (well, five) different people in one page -- a page that has to have 1.5" margins instead of 1" margins so that the pretty holly border on the edge doesn't obscure the words (or vice versa). Whose plan was this? How did I get involved in this nonsense? And why does my mother have to like is so much that I keep writing them every year? It's not like it ever has any news that she doesn't know! I tell myself that the girls will like having them when they're adults. I also tell myself that the recipients appreciate them. So I write them.
But I spend far too much time tweaking the damned things into something that works, only to find some grammar nightmare AFTER I've printed all the copies. ARGH.
Of course, when you send annual letters ... you put them in Holiday Cards. At least I do.
And that's another thing that has consumed far too much time this week. The holiday cards. This is another one of those things I wonder how I got into... and that seem to consume entirely too much knitting time. How bad can this be? What's a few cards here and there? I mean, when I first married, I had a small list of folks to whom I sent holiday cards. Maybe two dozen, a dozen and a half of whom were my family. It didn't take long, and I happily wrote personal notes into each one.
And DH never sent cards to anyone. Now he gets credit for sending lots of them - and I do the work.
"Our" list had blown up to insane proportions. Insane I tell you. Well over 100... seriously. This year, I've whittled it down viciously, (I mean seriously... I cut off at least two dozen people this year, and have cut it almost in half from the year we moved here). Even so, This morning I put over 70 cards into the post box. SEVENTY!!!! Holy Crap!
To whom did these cards go? Over 30 went to DH's friends and colleagues. Some of these folks he's known forever, some he met this year. None of them would get any cards, but since I'm sending cards anyway, he'd like me to send them to these folks. His family accounts for another 10 or so. These folks wouldn't get cards either, but since I'm sending cards anyway....
About half a dozen go to family friends on my side -- folks who have been close friends of my parents for much of my life, and who I see whenever I visit. They're practically family. And there are a couple of people (yep, two) to whom we send cards who really are mutual friends... But still, how is it I am choosing (that's another challenge right there -- finding lovely cards with decent art that do NOT have the word Christmas on them -- so I can happily send the same card to all, including my Jewish, Pagan and other non-Christian friends), buying, addressing (admittedly w/ labels so the postal employees can read them), stamping, and sticking return address labels onto cards for FORTY plus people to whom DH wouldn't naturally send cards himself? Every year I wonder this. As I'm buying an extra two boxes of cards to cover his list..... as I'm verifying addresses for people I've never met... as I'm paying for an extra two books of stamps ... as I'm pushing him to sign the damned things (I draw the line at signing cards for people I've never met. I'm selfish that way).
I have a list. And now, I'm keeping track of who sends US cards. Two years without a card from you, and you're OFF our list. OFF I tell you. I'm serious. An uncle has already been cut out of the list for years of silence.... Just so you know.
At least I'm ahead on one thing.
We do stockings. (shit, I have to finish needlepointing J's stocking! shit shit shit). That means that there have to be cute little gifties in the stockings. Each year I wait 'til about December 23, and then freak out about not having any stocking presents. THIS year, however, I've already started on them! So there.
I'm ahead of the game somewhere.
Just not with the holiday knitting.
This year I'm not sending 1 card, I have better things to do, for those who write me a letter, I'm replying in January when we've got less going on & I can enjoy writing.
Posted by: elan | December 06, 2007 at 08:36 PM
Wow, these are gorgeous! I can't wait to see them finished and blocked.
Posted by: Donna Druchunas | December 08, 2007 at 12:03 PM