Friday, April 04, 2008

Metaphysical dilemmas in knitting

I've been trying to figure out why I am so uninspired regarding baby knitting for our Critter. I have some nice cotton yarn for summer, and I can always make 6-9 month sweaters for next winter. I think I'm past the point of worrying about "jinxing" the pregnancy by being overconfident. So why is it so easy to knit for other people's babies and not for mine?

The other day I went through a bag of baby clothes that Anita left at my house, sorting out the clearly "girl" clothes from the more neutral items (since we don't know the sex yet). I held up a little green sleeper and just stared at it for a long time - it seems like such a foreign and strange item. I struggle to imagine the creature that will inhabit this piece of clothing. A tiny human being with limbs and head and heart and a will of its own. A little person.

As real as the experience is of feeling little limbs and body moving on the inside, until I actually meet our baby I think it will continue to feel just a little unreal. I almost feel like I can't really knit for this baby until I get to meet him or her, and see what kind of little person this is.

3 comments:

Rachel said...

I had trouble making a quilt for LG even though I had made them for my niece and nephew. I think it had to do with the fact that I wanted it to be perfect.

As far as having trouble believing that the little one you are carrying is real. LG is 4 months old and sometimes I still wonder when I am going to wake up from this wonderful dream and find out it never happened. It is almost surreal.

I can't believe you only have 2 months to go!

E. Phantzi said...

Rachel, I think you're on to something - I've knit so many baby things that I kind of feel like I have a reputation to uphold, and that whatever I make for my own baby has to be totally *amazing.*

tara said...

well i could say that whatever you knit WILL be absolutely amazing... but that may not help.

i would say if there is something that you WANT to knit, knit now! because it is really difficult to knit once they arrive!

i have made 3.5 socks and a dishcloth in the past 4 months... and not for lack of interest