Christmas Mania

During the year I knit things here and there and think, "I could give that to someone for Christmas." It's not well thought out, it's just kind of vague. Then the Christmas season comes and I freak out. "I need to make 5 hats, three pairs of socks, four pairs of mittens, what's the best yarn for this children's project? What is this person's favorite color?" etc.  I have to get specific so I start stash diving for the perfect yarn for each project. Of course, none of the yarns I come up with are quite right, or I get distracted and see all my beautiful yarn and all it's potential and I cast on a bunch of non-christmas projects, and before I know it, I'm up to my ears in projects. That's when I have to give myself a talking to and get with the Christmas knitting program. So here's where I am now:

Two right mittens. (I could blame this on that I have a toddler, but let's face it, I probably would have made this mistake at any point in my knitting life).

Two baby mittens which I'm trying to knit at the same time so it gives me the illusion of going faster. 

A half knitted toy, also, I freaked out and cast on a pair of socks for no one in particular, as well as a lace weight shawl. I have three hats done but I 

still need to start one more. We'll see what happens. There's still time.

On an arts note, I watched the film "YARN" written by Krishan Arora and directed by Heather Millard, Una Lorenzen, and Þórdur Bragi Jónsson. It features quotes written and read by Barbara Kingsolver which were lovely and poetic. It focuses on four artistic perspectives. I found it interesting that crochet was the focus of three out of the four artists. Crochet is often overshadowed by knitting. But these women brought to light some ways in which crochet is strong and well suited for certain projects. It was a film worth watching. It was thought provoking for me. I loved watching the artistic thought behind the nets which were created for children to play on. There is a rebellious thread running through the film which I also appreciate, and the subject matter is well suited to the fluidity of film.

Well, I had better post this before days go by. Back to the Christmas knitting!