BLACK
Having completed Brian's scarf, the Law of Fairness set in, and Katie started thinking it might be nice to have something knitted for her, too. The tricky bit about this is that over the summer Kate has morphed into The Preteen. This is completely ridiculous in my view, since she's turning 9 years old in a matter of days, but Preteen-ness has definitely set in, regardless of my opinion. Not only did her taste in clothing, music, colours and activities change, but I apparently got slightly stupid and useless as well. Those of you who have survived this will recognize the symptoms:
Music (any music not encouraged by the parental unit) blaring.
The dreaded Eye Roll.
The complete and utter self-centered absentmindedness.
The sloppy clothing.
Refusal to put on appropriate outerwear.
Blowing allowance on “essential items” (AKA, junk, usually electronic).
Correcting me when I say something (I think this bothers me more than anything, which is, I'm sure, why it happens).
These phenomena are why I can justify not knitting the planned Christmas gift. This is nice for me, since it's always a joy to cross something off the list without actually investing hours of my time into it. Let me clarify, though. We have not sunk to the Teenaged Levels as of yet. Katie is still generally respectful, helpful with her siblings, and does her chores without the need for a major family discussion. We are still at the place, and I hope (Mothers of teenagers, please feel free to laugh out loud, but don't tell me about it) that we will stay here, where we can discuss whatever is going on in her world. And I am reminded, when I watch the behaviour of her school mates, of how fortunate we really are. And in one sense, I truly enjoy watching her spread out her wings, and learn who she is. Take a step towards independence, and all that. I am trying very hard to allow her to try anything I don't think will be harmful to her, and pray like crazy through it all. But, seriously! It can get a little frustrating.
All of this to say, I was a bit apprehensive when Katie wanted me to knit her something. I explained, as rationally as I could, that while I do love to knit, and while I do love Katie, I was not prepared to invest my time and money on something that would sit in a basket and never be worn. She could pick the pattern and the yarn, but had better make darn sure this thing lasts, at the very least this season. She took a look through my knitting magazines, and chose a beret and mitten set in the new Interweave Knits Holiday Issue. Okay, fine. I was surprised, but if she likes it, it's all good. Then we took a little trip to the LYS yesterday after school, and found a very nice superwash merino wool. What colour does she choose? BLACK! Yikes. You would be proud of me, though, I kept the smile pasted to my face. At least she has good yarn taste. The wool is sitting here, and I started the hat last night. The pattern starts with a couple of inches of I-cord, and then you increase from there. I finished the basic increases, and am on to the pattern. I just hope she wears the darn thing!
