Peace of Mind Organizing

Holiday knitting frenzy

4 December 2006

I knit every day, usually while watching TV. It’s how I relax. The bulk of the year my knitting needles have been occupied by Barbara Walker’s Learn-To-Knit Afghan, which has been a wonderful boost to my knitting knowledge, skills and confidence. Even better, it’s a cheap project, when you divide the amount spent on yarn (I’m using Knitpicks’ very reasonably priced Wool of the Andes) by the hours of knitting enjoyment I’ve received. The afghan is made up of 63 8-inch by 8-inch squares, each one a different stitch pattern. I’ve just finished Square 46, and I’ve been working on this since February. One of these days I’ll post photos of the squares in case others who are working on the afghan would find it helpful or interesting.

But then two things happened to impede my afghan progress. Winter finally hit St. Louis (the ice is still here from Thursday’s storm). And the holidays are approaching. So all of a sudden I find myself occupied with thoughts of scarves and hats. I hate hate hate cold weather. So I’m always acquiring warm clothes and accessories. In the last month I’ve knitted myself two scarves. Over the weekend I actually purchased a knitted hat. So now I’m gathering the yarn and trying to decide on patterns for a scarf to go with the store-bought hat and a hat to go with one of the scarves I made. And then there are the friends and family members I’d like to give handknitted gifts for Christmas. I’m starting way too late to even consider anything more ambitious than an accessory. A hat seems sort of personal and hard to surprise someone with (what with having to measure the recipient’s head and all). So scarves it is.

So I’ve just placed yet another Knitpicks order (I think it’s my third in as many weeks). I’m in love with their cashmere/baby alpaca/silk/extrafine merino blend called Panache. I wish it came in more colors! For at least one of the scarves—and probably more—I’m using a stitch pattern I learned from my afghan project. I just looked at the calendar and realized that I’m leaving to visit my parents in just two and a half weeks. I have a lot of wooly comfort to create by then.

I think the holiday knitting frenzy is a common ailment among knitters. It turns a leisurely pursuit into a bit of a pressure cooker. But it’s wonderful to be able to give a hand-made item to an appreciative recipient. And I look forward to doing so!

Tagged with: deadlines, gifts, holidays, knitpicks, learn to knit afghan, yarn

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