Ah, Christmas.........what to get whom, color, size, shopping.......it gets to be too much. When you're a knitter, planning has to take place months in advance.
My late father-in-law was always someone that took a lot of musing over what sort of present would be appropriate. Many years, I got some very strange looks, when his presents were opened. Like the year we gave him a hose. Yes, I said a hose. He owned a used car lot, and never could keep hoses in working order. They'd get run over, chewed by his dog, whatever, they were always ratty, never had an end to attach a sprayer. So, being a very practical person, what else could I give him? He had that hose until the day he closed his lot, then took it home to use.
When he started getting ill and could no longer work, I had a bigger challenge. What to do? My mind raced...... he wasn't a reader, we'd gotten him all the John Wayne movies he could watch, of course the infamous hose........what was left?
That Christmas morning, I admit, I was a little nervous over what I had chosen. Presents were passed around, and I waited with baited breath for him to tear open the pretty paper. Everyone stopped.....waited.....watched.....He was looking down at the sky blue afghan nestled in the wrapping. I was watching his face for his reaction. The tears came. He pulled that simple afghan out of the remaining paper, and hugged it to his chest. "No one has knitted me something since my Grandmother".
I'll always remember how he looked, sitting in his recliner that morning, covered from chest to foot, with his new Christmas afghan. And the larger than life hug I got.
Merry Christmas, Big Guy, and thanks for the memories
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Done with Christmas Knitting
I'm pretty sure that I'm done with my power knitting for Christmas! Yeah! In the last 6 weeks, I've made 6 hats, 1 scarf, 1 pr of slippers, 2 men's hoods........ Actually, I've lost track.
My family has been receiving homemade items from me for many years.
I don't live close to my niece and nephews, so when I make them something to wear, or an afghan, or a doll, I hope they feel closer to me. About 2 years ago my oldest nephew and his future wife stayed with us for a couple of days. He asked if he could use the washer and dryer. As I was standing with him putting detergent in the washer, he held up a blue afghan I had made for him years earlier. "Do you remember this?" he asked. Boy, did I. It was a present for his first year in college. Serendipity, that year I had made an afghan for his intended, white, black and red. She was so surprised, as those were her colors. Really, I had no idea.
This year my niece asked me to make her a sock monkey. I was so thrilled that she asked. She'll never know how many people were involved in finding those socks! Of course, Auntie won't just send the monkey, Oh no, Auntie has plans for at least 2 outfits.
Writing this, I'm filled with remembrance. The doll I sewed for an elderly neighbor, she was buried with it. The 1st hat I made for Aunt Rosie, she wore it for years, white angora with a flower on the side. The doll with the turquoise dress I sewed for an auction at my nephews school, my mother bought it, it sits on her bed. My older sister "keeps for good" the Christening blanket I made for her son.
So, I hope, long after I'm gone, my niece and nephews will look at the items I've made for them over the years, smile, and remember the laughing lady that knits.
My family has been receiving homemade items from me for many years.
I don't live close to my niece and nephews, so when I make them something to wear, or an afghan, or a doll, I hope they feel closer to me. About 2 years ago my oldest nephew and his future wife stayed with us for a couple of days. He asked if he could use the washer and dryer. As I was standing with him putting detergent in the washer, he held up a blue afghan I had made for him years earlier. "Do you remember this?" he asked. Boy, did I. It was a present for his first year in college. Serendipity, that year I had made an afghan for his intended, white, black and red. She was so surprised, as those were her colors. Really, I had no idea.
This year my niece asked me to make her a sock monkey. I was so thrilled that she asked. She'll never know how many people were involved in finding those socks! Of course, Auntie won't just send the monkey, Oh no, Auntie has plans for at least 2 outfits.
Writing this, I'm filled with remembrance. The doll I sewed for an elderly neighbor, she was buried with it. The 1st hat I made for Aunt Rosie, she wore it for years, white angora with a flower on the side. The doll with the turquoise dress I sewed for an auction at my nephews school, my mother bought it, it sits on her bed. My older sister "keeps for good" the Christening blanket I made for her son.
So, I hope, long after I'm gone, my niece and nephews will look at the items I've made for them over the years, smile, and remember the laughing lady that knits.
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