Power and the Passion

So, my sister is a quitter . . . about fucking time! Honestly, Grace was the first knitting pattern I ever "officially" quit, but truth be told, there are lingering WIPs that are so far gone that I ought to quit them; when you pick up a project and can't remember where you are or why you were there, it might be time to call it quits whether the yarn was pricey silk-merino or cheap-ass acrylic.

Today's topic de rigeur is Obligation Knitting. You can call it Guilt Knitting or Knitting-for-Others or Knitting Because You Have To, but I'm going to call it what it is: knitting because you feel obligated. My Obligation Knitting takes the the form of EZ's beautiful February baby sweater. I knit this once before (out of obligation, by the way) for a colleague at work who was having a baby girl. The yarn was cheap and I wanted to try the pattern, so I wasn't too broken up over it.  Suffice it to say, the sweater turned out marginally okay, the colleague loved it, and slowly people began to expect a small baby sweater when the bumps began to grow. Turns out I started a trend and four baby sweaters later, I was fine with it. But this sweater is different. You see, up until this point, I liked all the colleagues that I was knitting for. This time around . . . I don't. Please - don't roll your eyes and say, "How horrible! How can she say that!" We just don't get along. Period. The truly bad part is we work on the same team, eat lunch together every day, and should work closely together. So, in a few short months she'll be welcoming her first child, and I was torn. To knit or not to knit . . . Shakespeare forgive me.

So, I began knitting it out of obligation. Sure I could have said no to that inner nag inside my head, but she just wouldn't go away. I rationalized it by saying that I was truly knitting for her baby girl who had done nothing to me other than make her mamma sick a little and thus inconvenience me during a project. So, Baby M will have a cute February baby sweater in the most luscious chili pepper red wool bamboo yarn Moda Dea could produce. I might be knitting out of obligation, but I don't have to knit it out of yarn that I don't like. Besides, that little nag in my head has a mind of her own and I have great plans for this pattern during the summer.

With Earth Day a mere 12 hours away, another topic I need to get off my chest is this whole push towards green marketing. Hello? Wal-Mart? Let's talk about how annoying those idiot pre-teens are that you have shilling your Coca-Cola t-shirts made with recycled plastic bottles. Here's a thought. Why not encourage people to drink less soda as a means of reducing plastic bottles in the first place instead of shoving crap t-shirts at us. Call it "feel good green" or "eco-consumerism" or whatever other good awful clap-trap your marketing firm thought up, you're still making a buck because you use cheap labor in a Third World country. And Campbell's Soup with a green label? Pittsburgh's favorite son is spinning in his grave as we speak. There are other blogs who put it better than I do, so please . . . go see what they have to say. For Earth Day, I plan on not handing out a single worksheet and have decided to reduce my printing by 25% for next year. If I can keep it up, I'll be back to slates for my students in no time at all.

So, I'll stop while I'm only a little bit bitter since I have the body of the sweater to finish as well as the seaming. Oh, and the baby shower. Did I mention that I'm co-planning the baby shower? No, well, I am. That takes obligation to a whole new level. Have a lovely time in Florida, Lola. Don't do anything I wouldn't do . . . that still leaves you plenty!

Ava

PS - If you live in Pennsylvania and you are registered . . . VOTE tomorrow! Even if your candidate has it all sewn up . . . VOTE!

Comments

[lola]

I'm going to order at least 2 DIRTY martinis. And for Earth Day, I'll have them use the same glass without washing it.

[Carrie]

I'm 100% with you on "green" Wal-Mart. When I was a poor grad school student in the semi-rural South, I shopped there and would come home with maybe 10 plastic bags per trip. It was as if a weak kitten was going to be loading my car, and they wanted to make sure that she could lift the bags with her puny little paws. I'm so glad I live in a place where I don't have to depend on (or go to) Wal-Mart! Don't get me started on the fuel required to transport all that crap that nobody needs, either. I should add that I'm not super-green myself, so this could be the pot-kettle-black syndrome.

[Betty]

You know the World Wildlife Foundation does the half recycled plastic/half organic cotton shirts too, right? I don't think it's a bad idea :(

[tobpa]

I AM in Pennsylvania, and am an election judge, so tomorrow (Tuesday) is a HUGE DAY! Be kind to your election board...they put in a long day! AND VOTE!!!!!!

[gonzomama]

The video on No Impact Man's site yesterday was priceless. (thanks for that link).
Co-planning the baby shower? Ouch.

[Mary Ellen]

That baby sweater pattern is one of my all-time favorites. Planning the buttonholes properly is a little fiddly, but worth it. I generally use some antique mother of pearl buttons from ye olde button jar. As far as the baby shower goes... my general feeling regarding any shower is: ewwwww! Can't I go to the dentist instead? It would be so much more fun! Good luck with the sweater and the shower.