He was (and continues to be) particularly amused by my single baby bootie gift at a baby shower last weekend. I didn't have time to start knitting the booties until Friday night and we had a busy day Saturday, so my only opportunities to knit them were Friday night, Saturday night, and... Saturday night.
He could NOT believe that I actually started them Friday, knowing how little time I had to complete them. I knew they were a quick knit, so I optimistically went ahead. But I forgot how slow I knit when watching a really good movie (we watched Flight 93 Friday). I'm too tired to pull an all-nighter any more (those are reserved for comforting sick children and waiting in an emergency room).
I didn't get them done Saturday. So I actually brought them to our church lunch on Sunday and got the first one done there. The baby shower immediately followed the lunch, so I decided that, rather than sit in an inconspicuous corner and anti-socially knit furiously on bootie #2 and give her my gift last and probably not get it done despite it all, perhaps I should go easy on myself and give her the one bootie with an I.O.U. for the other. (This resulted in a bit of panic when the gift got passed around the room -- more than one woman yelled out "No one throw anything out! We're missing a bootie over here!" So I had to explain my knitting delinquency a few more times.)
Scott has been calling me the "one-bootie woman" ever since.
I finished knitting bootie #2 last night and will sew it up today. That may end the teasing for now.
Or not.
Then he likes to bring up the Christmas tree skirt my sister and I made for a gift to our mom last year. We started that in October and got it done in time. He says smoke was still rising from it when mom opened it, and that we were pretty much unaccessible the last two or three weeks before Christmas. I do not recall.
Or the bathrobe I sewed for him. For the same Christmas. I would have had it done, but I lost a good ten hours when I stitched one sleeve on backwards, with a double seam, in this really plush material that just swallowed up the stitches. It took me 2 hours to rip out 1 1/2 inches. I didn't actually finish the robe until a week after Christmas.
Or the socks for Elli. But I think I got them done in time for her birthday. I think. But that was to the detriment of the Knitting Olympics project that still isn't done.
He didn't delve into projects further back, like the scrapbooks I made for my grandmothers on the drive out to visit them. Or the quilt I started for our guest room that is now Elli's room -- the quilt isn't done yet and we've sold the bed it was supposed to cover.
But I still disagree with him. I'm not an extreme crafter. I'm just inexperienced. I'm bad at estimating the time required for a project and the time available to me. And my life is inherently unstable -- surprises occur all the time that subtract crafting time from my schedule. Plus the fact that I just have smatterings of time each day to a) work on a project, b) sleep, c) eat, d) shower, or e) relax. Sometimes I can accomplish e by doing one of the other four, but not always. So sometimes I choose not to craft with my free time because something else takes priority. If I were a real extreme crafter, NOTHING would take priority.
So why am I going on and on about extreme crafting?
Because I started a new project this weekend. This is the "All About Me" quilt from Atkinson Designs. (The one on the left is a random pattern; the one on the right is planned.) It was SOOOO much fun because I waited until my mom and sister could come shopping with me and help pick the fabrics out. I'm making this in a twin size for Sam's 4th birthday. I have until the end of September (14 1/2 weeks), which I think is plenty of time. Scott, however, is quite dubious. He says if I get it done the week of Sam's birthday, he'll be shocked.Oh yeah. I was going to tell you what the winning cliche was. It continues to be unanimous: "Burning the candle at both ends."
