Another Knitting Holiday Under My Knitted Belt

Another Mother's Day under the proverbial belt. Phew!

This Mother's Day did not go as I expected at ALL. I expected the usual pickiness and nuttiness from my Mother, with the regular martyr response from my Granny and the usual happy-to-get-anything attitude from my Stepmom.

I was completely off-base!

The Cabled Purse was a hit with everyone except the recipient -- my Stepmother. It turns out I misjudged her tastes. She thought the purse was more appropriate for a younger person. So, the Cabled Purse (sans Electra) will live with my Stepniece (can someone please tell me if there should be a hyphen, a space, or no space between "step" and "fill-in-blank"?). My Stepmother claims to be a creature of habit, not wanting to give up her current purse for anything new -- and especially for something she considers out of her age-range. I tried explaining this was more of a party purse, but...

Oh well.

No more gifted items for her unless she specifically requests something. Which she did. She requested a nice pair of socks, so it's back to the drawing board!

In any case, Rosie The Dog was not amused at all the camera action. This is the only clear shot I was able to get of her:

I have some videos I may share as well, as soon as I can figure out how to compress them.

Here are some more formal shots of my poor Cabled Purse (It's a little twisted in these photos, but it was fixed before gifting, so no worries):

All was not lost, however. Mom loved her socks and other assorted goodies and Granny was also pleased with her stash and my Mother's socks. So much so, she actually requested a pair for herself. This was HUGE. Granny NEVER asks for anything (see martyr comment above)! She is one of those self-less people who gets uncomfortable with anyone exerting any effort or expense over her -- often trying to persuade us to "take it back" because "its's too expensive." This normally drives me nuts because I love her and want to shower her with things she deserves...so, when she asked me for a pair of socks, I knew she must REALLY want them. So now, of course, I must make her several pairs for Winter!

And I am goofy-excited about it. There is no better feeling than when someone appreciates a hand-knitted gift to that degree. It makes you just want to knit them a boatload of stuff. :-)

Last night, after all the festivities, I was craving my long-neglected Boogie Vest and plowed through the back panel. I'm hoping to start and possibly finish the front panel today. It would be nice to be able to wear it at least once before the nice weather settles in. IF it EVER settles in!

Don't Mess With My Cabled Purse!

I've decided that from now on, I'm going to include as many action figures as I can in my progress shots, because let's face it, progress shots can be tedious. And, really, who doesn't like a good action *cough*doll*cough* figure?

What brought this on?

I've been Spring Cleaning this past week -- going through old boxes of stuff I packed away after The Breakup ^TM -- and I unearthed about three large piles of action figures from way back when I was very much into the whole "graphic novel" thing (most of them were gifts from my ex). I still read a few graphic novels within the course of a year, but nowhere as much as I used to and not with the same verve.

BUT, I do have all these great little figures and it makes me sad that they're all just sitting there, alone, in those boxes, with nothing to do...

Above, you see Elektra guarding my Cabled Purse (check out her maniacal crossed eyes -- who was in charge of painting THAT? hehe). I've made quite a bit of progress in one day and am about half-way through the chart -- only 25 more rows to go! I'm digging the little cables. They almost look like bobbles. And, it really is a fairly quick knit. The title of this book does not lie!

Here's a Detail With Fist:

And one without:

Tonight I plan to watch Garden State while working the purse and stuffing my face with salsa and chips -- and hopefully I can actually finish this by tomorrow

Mother's Day And My Subsequent Un-doing

Since the first knitted item I've gifted, the whole "gift knitting" thing has been the bain of my existence.

Above: Cabled Purse and Cabled Purse detail from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts -- A Mother's Day gift for my Step-mother.

Let me explain.

You see, as parents age, they actually become younger psychologically. It's a phenomenon not unlike Dog Years -- only in reverse. When they reach a certain milestone number -- for our purposes, let's say 55 -- their psychological age actually decreases by about seven years until death, when it's assumed they've come full-circle into their pure, child-like state.

But what does this have to do with knitting?

Well, as I'm sure you are all aware (and, if you aren't, SHAME ON YOU!), Mother's Day is upon us once again. And, just like any other annoying Hallmark holiday, the giving of meaningful gifts is involved. AND, being of the Knitting Persuasion, my first instinct is always to knit everyone a nice little gift.

Oh silly, silly Paula.

How can such nice sentiments turn so ugly? So, sooo ugly...

Here's how: I have about three women in my life to knit for on this fine day -- my Granny, my Mom and my Step-mom. All very wonderful women, but all over the fated milestone age of 55. Granny is typically fine. She crochets and has overdosed on hand-crafted items. So, for her, a simple facial care set or bouquet of flowers accompanied by a nice lunch will do. My step-mother is also fairly easy to please. She's just excited that I like her and will actually take the time to knit her something. It's all about the thought with her.

And then, there's my Mom.

My mother. How to explain? Somehow, she manages to get wind of it whenever I knit ANYONE ANYTHING. I don't know how she does it, but the woman can spot a knitted gift item from miles away and over fiber optic cables. I try hard -- oh so hard -- to keep everything on the down-lo, but so far, I've been unsuccessful each time. From the scarf I knit for my ex-boyfriend's mother, to the wrap I knit for my step-sister, to the socks which are merely a concept in my brain for Father's Day...

She KNOWS.

And she does not take it well.

Despite the fact that I've knit the woman two scarves (including the dreaded fur scarf that was all the rage this past winter), a very cool and tedious Rowan cap, and a bunch of other things -- she acts as if I've never knitted her anything every time she gets wind of a new project intended for someone else. And, it isn't even as if she uses any of the things I've knit for her. I don't think I've ever seen her wear the Rowan cap, and I've only seen her wear each scarf once. As a matter of fact, when I first started knitting, she was COMPLETELY uninterested and thought it was a waste of time -- that is, until she saw the scarf I made for my ex's mother and witnessed all the praise it received. Then, she accused me of treating the "strangers in my life" better than my OWN MOTHER. I didn't hear the end of that for about a year and she only stopped the guilt trips after I knit the damn Rowan cap. The one she has yet to wear.

So this past week has been painful. Not only am I trying to keep the socks I'm knitting for her a secret, but I have to EXPLAIN the cute cabled purse I'm knitting for my step-mom and how it has NOTHING to do with how much more I care about her than my own mother. Somehow she also knows I'm knitting Rosie The Dog (my step-sister's doggie) a sweater dress for her birthday (yes, it's true, DON'T MOCK ME) and is actaully jealous of the dog (I know I'm abusing the italics, but bear with me).

Thank god this is the last gift holiday involving gifts for the women of my life for at least another six months -- otherwise, I'd have to kill myself -- but not before knitting my burial dress. ;-)

Here are the finished Mother's Day socks/anklets:

(Please forgive the morning light. I haven't been to bed yet and I needed something to occupy my time).