A LARGE Christmas Present

My mom taught herself to knit while in college in the Sixties (no, not THOSE Sixties, but the Iowa Teachers' College's vesion of them). She took a nearly 40-year hiatus from it, but is now back to the needles. She started up again after her husband died a year ago. My father, who died in 1983, did not want her to knit and he was quite vehement about it. My theory is that he was poked by a knitting needle as a small child on the homestead in North Dakota and never quite got over it. He was also greatly annoyed when one of the teachers at the high school where he taught for 25 years would knit during faculty meetings. Just more fodder there for my annoyed-by-knitting theory.

So, as my mom has fired back up on knitting, she's made some really adorable things. Beanies and mittens for my kids, a newborn hat for a San Francisco friend's little sweetpea, four preemie caps for a local set of quadruplets, a couple of vests and great sweaters for the littleFromWyomings. There goes the Fouryearold now wearing one of Grandma's creations...


Mom asked for suggestions for what to give SonInLawFromWyoming for Christmas. I suggested she knit him a cardigan since the one he bought during our belated honeymoon to Ireland ten years ago is quite pill-y and sad. A color was decided on and measurements were taken by me, a Home Economics degree-holder. I think that may have been a crucial mistake.

She began knitting in October. While she worked dilligently, she mentioned a couple of times how heavy the sweater was beginning to feel. We had some running around when we arrived in California for our holiday visit, looking for the right needles to finish the sleeves and cuffs, at the few local knitting supply establishments. It wasn't done by Christmas, but it was finished by the time we returned from our visit to Monterey for a couple of days in the New Year.

The big moment arrived to try it on.


My... that's LARGE. It was washed and dried but it STILL could be wrapped around his midsection like a bathrobe...Can certainly hide a small child in there...Maybe even a housecat or two.Hmmmmm.....

We laughed a lot about it all and a few pictures were taken. I shuffled around the house in it for a few evenings and it was very, very cozy. If we'd brought it on to Wyoming with us, it would have needed its own suitcase. Mom's pulled it all out and is about to begin again. It may be ready for someone's birthday, just shy of St. Patrick's Day.


Maybe, someday, I'll have the focus to learn to knit. I'll probably start small, though. I wouldn't want the cats to disappear in a sweater.