UFo-Oh

Last week I dug out a UFO knitting project I had not worked on in over two years.  It was snowy, cold and working with yarn while covered up on the couch drinking coffee seemed like a great idea.  I find that there can be something quite calming about knitting. This week while my kids were yelling, screaming and tearing my house apart in shear boredom, I really needed clam.

 Two years ago I was part of a Harry Potter knitting swap on Ravelry.com.  My swap partner sent me a generous package that included a Harry Potter Book of Knitting Patterns called Charmed Knits.  I poured over the book for days, earmarking the projects I wanted to knit and gathering my materials.  I knit a hat for my son right away in (Gryffindor House Colors of course)  and then set out to make Hermione Hat and Mitten set. (I believe it was at this time that I also came up with the brilliant idea that I would knit hats and mittens for all of my nieces and nephews for Christmas. Always the generous knitter,  I have had the same brilliant idea for the last 3 years.  Sadly, my generosity seriously outweighs my time to knit.)

 Using yarn I had been given in a stash exchange; I knit up the hat and then the Left Mitten.  Only then did I realize that I did not have enough yarn to finish the right mitten.  An all points bulletin was issued to all readers of my blog as I searched for enough yarn to finish the project. Eventually yarn was found, much to my relief. Just as I was about to cast on, we decided to move.

During the packing I set this project aside for knitting on our cross country drive.  I tucked the project along with 2 or 3 others (one never can underestimate how many projects you may need for a 4 day car trip).  Once I completed the sweater project I was working on I pulled out the mitten to cast on.  Only one thing stopped me, I had not packed the book with the instructions. Let me just say, DUH.  So once again that project was tucked away.

After we moved, twice and I finally had all of my things together under one roof, I began searching for my Charmed Knits book.  I couldn't find it anywhere.  I checked with  everyone I knew, surely I had loaned it out to someone.  It couldn't have just vanished. Could it?

After searching and searching I began to think up crazy little scenarios where someone has stolen my Charmed Knits book.  Didn't I see one of the packers look longingly at my stash?  Could one of them have been a kleptomaniac and Harry Potter Fan who happens to steal knitting books from unsuspecting clients?  OK, now I was really reaching, but it could be possible.  I tried to think of other things that could be missing.  I found nothing else. Now I was really stumped. What in the world happened to that book?

Months later I was going through the attic when I stumbled upon an unpacked box.  Weird, I thought we had unpacked everything.  I checked the side of the box for a label.  Sleeping Bags was written in big black letters across the side.  Odd, all of our sleeping bags had been accounted for and used.  Hmm.  I opened the box only to find two baskets full of miscellaneous knitting and sewing material.  Among them I found the Charmed Knits book.  Yea!

This week after being separated from the knitting and the book for 2 years I cast on for my Right Mitten.  I knit away, happy to finally be finishing a project that I thought was doomed to sit amongst the other UFO's indefinitely.  Well, either that or I was going to have to find a cold individual with one hand.  I knit on feeling ever so pleased,  maybe this year I could actually complete the hats and mittens dream.  I imagined all of my niece's and nephew's smiling happy faces as they donned my knitwear and braved the cold Northern winters.  Am I a wonderful aunt or what?

The mitten, knit up quickly.  I had just finished up the thumb and I was admiring my handwork when Emma spoke up.   "Mom, that mitten is HUGE!"  I laid it down on my lap and spread it out lovingly.  It didn't look huge.  It may have to be for one of the adult nieces but I wouldn't say it's HUGE.  It certainly fit me and I told her just that.  She looked at me the way kids do.  You know the look.   The look that says, "Seriously? She is raising me?"  Yeah, that look.  I gave her my own look that said, "I'll show you."  I marched off indignantly to dig up the mate.  I found the mate and promptly marched right back into the room and held it up to it's mate.  IT WAS HUGE!  Okay perhaps an adult XL, but definitely not the same size as it's mate.  Emma gave a little, "I was right" grunt and left wisely without saying a word.

I frogged back the Giant Mitten, gathered up the yarn the needles and THE BOOK.  I marched straight into my studio and plopped the entire project back into the UFO pile. At that point I took up a lovely wool yarn, destine to be an object that does not have a mate.  Now all I have to do is find a cold one handed person.