It's THAT Time of Year

This year participation in Knit Unto Others seems to have fallen off.  As a selfish knitter I understand the lack of desire to share our hard won knitting time with someone we don't know.  So many bloggers knit all year round for the charity of their choice.  It seems you are, or you are not, a charity knitter.  This time of year is so frenzied, full of obligation, and desire sans funds or time. It gets harder to do it all and keep ones sanity.  In our household we have cut back extremely in our gifting, decorating and celebrating, and yet, we still feel the pressures of the season.  It takes daily striving for sanity, even minute by minute, to get through December unscathed.

Women often do a good job of putting pressure on ourselves, unnecessary pressure by trying to remember everyone with a gift.  So often there is no expectation on the other person's part, but still we think the nieces best friends mother (or some such person) needs a hand knit gift.  Why not knit a pair of mittens for charity and give a card to the person you wish to acknowledge, which simply states that you have given, to a good cause, a pair of handknit mittens in their name.  Many a school teacher, mother, friend or loved one would think this was a very cool gesture.

Carole has asked the knitters who participated KUO to please leave a comment on this post. She'll pick a few random winners for some lovely prizes. Thank you to everyone who gave their time and efforts to others.

While I knit another pair of charity mittens I can't help but turn, every so often, to the beautiful blue sky mittens I've started in Kate's Bird in the Hand pattern. Knitting with heavy wool at this gauge is hard on my hands and the charity mitten is a nice trade off.  However, it has always been hard for me to keep a good tension when knitting stranded patterns with finger weight yarn. Worsted weight has been  much easier and would have been easier still if I had used the alpaca yarn Kate did. Alpaca yarn creates a softer fabric, but the selection of available blues didn't live up to my vision.  Maybe I'll go back and buy another color of alpaca after this mitten is finished.  I love the pattern and can't wait to knit the bird on the thumb. 

Comments

[Manise]

I have a pair of charity mittens on the needles now. I usually start much earlier in the season and feel badly I haven't done more. Mine will go to Soaring Eagles. I too have Kate's new Bird in the hand pattern and am off to the LYS to supplement my yarn choices. I'll probably use Berrocco Ultra Alpaca- who knows maybe I'll change my mind.

[Carole]

I think we've had responses from 15 people for this year's KUO so far. But I know there are more out there. Love your new mitten!

[Lisa]

Your new mittens are beautiful - such a gorgeous shade of blue!

[bellamoden]

That blue is stunning! I've been terribly tempted by the mittens.... ack.

I don't, as a rule, knit for charity. I do, however, donate. Still, I respect and applaud those who, like you, knit for others.

[Norma]

Ohhhhh, those mittens in BLUE. Gorgeous and seems so fitting for the bird in the sky. :)

[deb]

"Latvians" were on my must do list this season. Kate's pattern looks to beautiful to resist!

[Chris]

Love the sky blue... I think it's the time of year - so many people seem to be so stressed! So time constrained. I'm hoping to do a little KUOs after the holidays.

[Marcia Cooke]

I envy anyone who knits fast enough to have time to knit for charity. I can barely keep up with my growing grandchildren.

I've been eyeing those Bird in the Hand mittens on Ravelry, but accept my colorwork limitations and will just have to admire them from afar. Yours are looking quite wonderful.

[Wool Winder]

You summed up my thoughts on the pressures of the season perfectly. I really like both pairs of mittens.

[Cheryl]

I love that shade of blue for mittens! So vibrant! I'm itching to start that pattern too, but I still have a few little gifts to finish up before I can.

[Heather]

I did a pair of Child's Mittens for Knit Unto Others. They were so easy and fast to knit! Thanks for doing this!

[Kim]

I can't wait to start my Bird in Hand mittens. I have a few things first to finish and then they will go on the needles :-). Yours are looking lovely!

[CindyCindy]

I do knit for others, but often it's the getting it to the post that makes it near impossible for me. Therefore, I usually just give it locally. I know that doesn't help Carole. I'm just sorry I can't knit more and faster. I know your words are not lost on other readers as well.

[Ina]

Nicely put. It's so hard to avoid guilty feelings and inadvertently placing guilt on others this time of year.

Your Bird in Hand got me inspired - now I want (at least one) a pair.

[Cheryl S.]

I just blogged about my KUTO mittens and commented on Carole's post. Thanks to both of you for organizing it.

[claudia]

Holiday minimalism rulz.

[marie in florida]

birdie details! how wonderful. that's why we knit our own,for the details. thanks for showing us that.

[Carol]

I love these mittens! All my creativity got away from me this year, but I promise to include SEP on my list for next year. This way, I know it's coming. My time allowance doesn't allow much for last minute stuff-so I'll make you the promise now. And I NEVER go back on my promises.

[Susan Pandorf]

You give so much Margene...
To ALL of us.

Short on time between now & Xmas. Can I knit something unto others in January?

Blessings!

[Lucia]

When exactly was KUO? I knit for charity without paying attention to the date, and if I was doing it at the right time I'll put myself in.

[Beth S.]

Your BitH is so cheerful in blue! That yarn was a good call, even if the gauge is giving your hands a hard time.

[Cindy/Snid]

I am not able to KUO or even to myself these days, but I send my love and support to all who do!

Beautiful blue mittens!!!

[maureen]

I'm the principal of an elementary school and I'm starting an after school/lunch recess knitting class (again) at my school for our students. Our goal: to knit hats for babies in our local neo-natal intensive care units and hopefully we'll "graduate" to knitting mittens for charity. I usually beg, borrow and steal the yarn and needles(many of our students are living at the poverty level or below and can't afford the cost of materials), and feel very strongly that we can't teach our children soon enough the joy of making/giving for others. The "knitters" feel so good about doing something wonderful for children less fortunate than themselves. Hopefully, this will be a well learned lesson that will carry throughout their lives!

[Jennifer]

It has been a busy season, but I'm glad I took a little time to knit a hat for a cause that another blogger talked about. Christmas can get so crazy. It's important to be mindful of one's blessings and share with others too.

[Tonia]

I am sure someone will be so happy with the mittens that you have knit.

Love the colors that you picked for the Bird in the hand mittens. They are going to be so fun!!

[Laura]

Margene! Hugs and kisses and love to you - your Scoop is so wonderful I have to make one for myself. Your BitH in blue are very YOU - bright and cheery. Love the Scoop pictures and snow too. I've been thinking of KUO - does that count? ha I have several charity knitting projects that are half finished. I need to get them out for finishing soon. Maybe I'll have a lot of charity FOs for 2008!? Take care and I'm so happy to see your smiling face. :) XOXOXOX

[Lynn]

Perhaps we are not Knitting Unto Others this year because now there are a lot of other knitting-unto-other causes we can get involved in.

On the other hand, my excuse is that there are/were 6 babies born this year in my vicinity, and apparently I cannot resist a good baby-knit opportunity.

[Lynne]

I have certainly noticed diminished interest in the mitten charity that I have organized. Last year was incredible, this year, negligible. However, one amazing thing happened, which is what I choose to focus on. Our church took on the "Hearts to Hands" mitten collection and added "Coats for Kids" and an what do you know? The blessing has multiplied exponentially. So for what it's worth, our willingness to provide last year prompted an outpouring which reached beyond our knitting and blogging community, and this winter in Western New York, there will be many more toasty warm children than I ever could have imagined. We have a storeroom full of winter items that are ready to be passed along to thousands. Thank you, Margene, for helping to raise awareness of our ability to bless others.

[blog free val]

I heard a Christmas carol at a party today that I'd like to share. "It's not the little things you do for Christmas, it's the Christmasy things you do the whole year through." The 'pressure' comes from buying into marketer's schemes; peace and joy come from remembering what Christmas is truly about.