His birthday, you may remember, was in February.
His sweater...well, let's just say it got away from me. I began it with plenty of time, fully expecting to finish at least a week before his birthday; I actually worried about how I would stop myself letting him wear it early, because I'm always impatient to give them the things I make, once I've finished them.
He loved watching it take shape and grow. "Mama, dat my birfday sweater?" he asked whenever he saw me working on it. He has recently decided that blue is his favorite color, so a birthday sweater in blue was just about the best thing he could imagine. (Much like Julia with purple, I noticed that Asher has a lot of green sweaters; the blue was my attempt to give him a little variety.)
And then I got to the sleeves. I couldn't find my tiny little circular needles in the size I needed (and in fact I still haven't managed to lay my hands on them), so I had to use DPNs to knit the sleeves. I knit up half a sleeve before finding an excuse to cast on something else...and then another something else...and another...and before I knew it, it was the day before Asher's birthday and there was no way I was going to finish in time so I gave myself permission to cast on yet another something else.
Isn't that terrible? I'm a little mortified with myself for letting his birthday sweater get so far away from me; it's the first time I've been late with a gift for one of my children (at least I think it is), and it's not a good feeling.
I left Buffalo two Fridays ago determined to finish this sweater on the trip. (Although not so determined that I didn't take another project along with me. I almost finished my Peaks Island hood while procrastinating on that second sleeve...) And finish it I did, with about an hour left in the drive.
After waiting patiently for the heavy wool to dry, he was finally able to wear his new sweater on Saturday. I don't think he possibly be any more pleased with it. (I have to confess: I'm pretty happy with it, too!)
