Garter Stitch Guilt

At my recent hair trimming session, I gifted the blueberry baby boy hand knitted ensemble to my length-impaired hairdresser for her daughter and impending grandbaby boy.

And even though the gift is for the daughter, I wrapped it loosely in a gift bag so we could share a peak together. So sneaky are we! Allowed we are!

To review, out of Sugar N’ Cream cotton, the Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono and Baby Bib O’ Love from Mason-Dixon Knitting, Oh Natural Hat from LionBrand, and Ruth’s Perfect Baby Booties. Pretty much all garter stitch, except for the booties. All are pretty basic items to knit. Not rocket science.

My friend was impressed. Very impressed. Embarrassingly impressed. Got all carried away, saying it was so special, and will be saved as an heirloom. I stopped her there. I told her I made it to be worn and used. It was out of cotton and could be washed and dried. In fact, it was made out of the same type of yarn I made her last batch of dishcloths out of! (Just don’t use bleach, or instead of blueberries, he will be wearing blue sky and clouds.)

She seemed doubtful, but agreed.

I did a good job on the articles. The stitches are even, the tension consistent, the finishing neat. But it’s decidedly not fancy work. One might even say it is mindless knitting. And one would be mostly correct.

It’s very difficult for me to accept such praise gracefully. I wanted to say….”It’s mostly just garter stitch!”

Indeed, it is more than ‘just garter stitch’. She was touched by my effort, my time, my friendship, and in her estimation, my talent and skill. Her daughter, almost 20, is unmarried, living at home, and the baby’s daddy is not in the picture. In retrospect, I have come to believe my friend appreciated some non-judgmental celebration in the form of hand knitted goods made special for the little guy. My friend appreciated my hand knitted gift, which is more than hand made items sometimes receive. (Can I get a witness?)

In other news, in the eight weeks since my last trim, my hair has grown ½ inch. She is admitting that her estimation 3 months ago of four inches of grow out was a bit generous, that my hair is very slow growing, and folic acid supplements maybe don’t help.

Told her so.