I've discovered pride!!!

The most wonderful thing happened last night...I discovered pride in my knitting. Must be because I'm knitting for someone else, but I just have this feeling that the desire to knit properly won't go away once I'm back on my own projects.

So I started the main color on Alexa's poncho last night at KB. Took me the better part of KB to roll the new puck into a ball, but given that my experience with this unspun yarn is a whole week old, I'm going with what's comfortable for me. So I start knitting...switching to stockinette for the body of the poncho. I'm sort of following the Lion Brand Color Waves poncho pattern in my head, but of course the problem with that is the stuff that gets easily missed. Since I left my pattern notebook in the car when we went to B & N, I forgot the concept of a border. It dawns on me when I'm most of the way through my purl row, that stockinette left to its own devices curls like a bitch. Oh well, I think, I'll start the border right now, it won't look wonky if I've only missed 2 rows. Thing is, I started the border at the end of a row, so now that row technically has a lopsided look.

I'm driving home and I realize that that just won't do. Alexa has asked me to knit this for her, for her and Maria, bought all the yarn, let me keep the needles that were too small, and added a $20 Panera card to the mix when I said I didn't want a commission. As thick as this yarn is, she'll get some real wear out of it up there if I do it right. There will be no shortcuts. In spite of my fierce desire to wind down with meditation when I get home, because I cut my Wellbutrin in half this week and have been feeling REALLY bitchy, instead I pull out the poncho and carefully unknit the entire purl row. I'll leave the knit row in; I like starting a new color with at least one row of garter stitch. But from here, it deserves a proper border. And surprising me yet again, the unknitting unwinds me as well or better than meditation could have. The house is quiet, except for my TV on low, husby's already snoring, and the meticulousness of this task settles and centers me.

Already thinking about Yule gifts, because I'll have to get started on them the minute this poncho is done. Michael's had Homespun on sale for $3.77 a skein, so I grabbed 3 for a prayer shawl for Mom. I'd like to make a simple watchcap for Dad too, but I need to search more carefully for his yarn; no wool, maybe a cotton/acrylic blend. I'm not going to make myself crazy with the concept of pulling off a whole sweater for Les by Yule, but I would love to knit him SOMETHING. Problem is, we live in Florida, he probably wouldn't wear a scarf, he has a hat and gloves...he's pretty much a polo shirt and khakis guy, doubt I could get him into a sweater vest. Then again, he'd probably find a way to wear anything I made for him, whether it fit or not :)