It’s December 23rd and I have officially bound off my last knitted Christmas gift of 2014. As I reflect over my projects I have gathered some life lessons.
First start early.
I started making Christmas presents last summer. I was filled with creativity and time stretched before me like an infinite road. Who cares if it’s ninety degrees. Starting early also gave me time to screw up without stressing. I bought some new skeins of pretty thick and thin yarn that knitted up just weird. Not bad, just weird. I kinda of like this pair of cowls but ultimately decided the projects were a little too odd for gifting.
Second keep track of your shit.
As summer rolled into autumn I bounced from project to project careening wildly attracted by new patterns and pretty pieces of strings. Seriously have you seen Ombré by Friea? There nothing wrong with being a magpie as long as you keep stuff organized. I kept slowing down because I would lose patterns or balls would escape to the nether regions of the sofa.
Third go big.
If you didn’t do the second step and really what magpie would, don’t be afraid to pick up the thickest nicest yarn you can.
But when you use bulky yarn make sure the pattern suits the yarn. Quick and ugly doesn’t fit anyone wheelhouse. Last week, I bought two lovely skeins of Isaac Mizhak variegated wool and jumped into my tried and true fave quick pattern. Disaster. I ended frogging three times until I found the pattern that really suited the cushy jewel tones of the yarn. If I had stopped to think, to consider carefully, I could have saved myself a lot of time. And that was the fourth and final lesson: always consider what you’re working with. This is always the hardest, I’ve learned and forgotten it hundreds of times and I suspect I’ll be learning it again next Christmas.
circularstaircase 