Crafting

My mom is very crafty.  And by that, I don’t mean that she’s sneaky.  I mean she makes things.  She sews.  She crochets.

She makes lots and lots of quilts.

She also makes these scrubby things that are great for washing dishes.  They are abrasive enough to get off the food that’s stuck to the skillets, but not so abrasive as to scrub off the Teflon.  She crochets them out of netting she gets at the fabric store.

Mom used to make our clothes when we were little.  I remember a year when my sisters, Mom, and I all had matching Easter dresses.  She made my wedding dress, and my sisters’ wedding dresses.

I hardly see my mother sit down without some sort of needlework in her hands.

I’m not quite as crafty as Mom.

Last Christmas, I gave this booklet to my husband:

No, I didn’t expect him to knit himself something, but since I have been knitting for a number of years, he had been asking me to make him a sweater.  A sweater intimidated me, and I told him I was too scared to make one.  But finally, after growing tired of knitting scarves and hats, I decided I just needed to do it.  I would never learn to knit a sweater if I didn’t just do it.

I picked this one:

Instead of blue, I’m making it in green, because Chef really likes green.  He asked me if, when it’s finished, he’s supposed to fill the bird feeder.

Well of course!  If we ever get a bird feeder.

So when I gave Chef the book, I told him that I intended to have the sweater done by the following Christmas.  I figured a year would be plenty of time to knit a sweater, right.

Um…

Here’s the thing.  Right after Christmas, I was really nervous about the cable knit, because I’d never done one before.  So I bought some yarn just to practice the cable pattern.  Turns out it was much easier than I expected, but I knitted a lot of that cable knit pattern to make sure I had the hang of it.

Then spring came, and the weather got all pretty and I wanted to be outside.  Then summer came and we were busy and it was hot and I didn’t want heavy yarn in my sweaty hands.  When fall arrived, I realized I’d better get moving on this sweater.

So I’ve finished the back…

…and I’ve got a good start on the front.

I still have to make sleeves and knit the neckband and get it all sewn together.  I’m a little nervous, and I’m not sure I’ll make it by Christmas.

Honey?  Will you still love me if I don’t have it done by Christmas?

He said he will.  But I’m going to try to get it done on time, anyway.