Gift-Giving and Hyphens

My usual weekend plan of being with Sophia changed Friday night. Due to a stress-induced cold (body aches, icky dreams, restless nights), I was unable to accompany Thomas down to Fresno. A cold may not seem like a huge deal, but Tom's mother gets sick easily. And when she does, it usually results in pneumonia.

So I stayed in San Jose.

I expected to be too down in the dumps to knit. It's an odd thing how my emotions affect my knitting. When I'm upset or sad, my arms feel very heavy. Too heavy to pick up even the smallest of projects.

However, quite the opposite happened.

The glimmer of hope came late Friday night. Thomas had already left for Fresno, and yet my arms did not feel like cinder blocks were tied to them. So I awoke Saturday morning with the intention of growing this little spark into a flame. Shortly after waking up, I remembered out loud:

Oh yes, I ordered a skein of yarn from Minnehaha Fiber Works. I wonder if it's on its way.

I checked the status of said yarn, and to my delight, the package had already arrived. As if a new skein of wool wasn't enough to brighten my day, the owners of Minnehaha (Pamala and Heidi) included a personalized note with wonderful words of encouragement.

This yarn was hand-dyed by Pamala and Heidi using black walnuts, and it came with a pattern for boot cuffs worked with double-pointed needles. The ladies said this was a speedy knit, and they weren't kidding. The cuffs worked up so quickly that my hands wanted more double-pointed needle fun.

So I got to work casting on for a pair of Manly Mitts. (The recipient of these wrist-warmers is married to the soon-owner of the boot cuffs. I will not say who these wonderful people are, as they may be reading this.)

After completing the ribbing of wrist-warmer number one, and taking detailed notes--as I often think I'll remember for number two and never do--I continued with my double-pointed needle kick by working on the sleeves of a top for my mum.

In the midst of this double-pointed needle frenzy, I spent snippets of time on a gift for Sophia. It seemed obvious to work on a Sophia Present during a weekend that I was originally going to spend with her.

This patchwork of knitted fabric will be a blanket. She specifically asked for one for Christmas. It looks a mess, and I love it. Like other knitters, I have been hanging on to many yarn remnants. They're too big to throw away, but too small to be anything significant. So they can all be something significant together. If this Franken-Blanket turns out remotely the way it looks in my head, I am certain Sophia will love it as well.

I realized this weekend that I focused very little on The SweaterVest as a shop and more on Kate as a knitter. The result was something more significant than a sale of a garment. The connections I've made with fellow artists, knitters, and fiber-enthusiasts is so much bigger than what The SweaterVest will ever become.