I made a few mistakes this year. First, I decided to crochet sweaters for all my children as presents (channeling my inner Molly Weasley). And Second, I bought yarn from a garage sale thinking I’d be able to match the color if I didn’t have enough.

My kids are their own little beings. Each has their own style and silliness so I’ve been working real hard to craft something they’d love.

My youngest daughter, and 2nd child, is the easiest to please so I picked a simple pattern and set to it. The end result gave me confidence and I was happy to have made it through my first attempt, unscathed.

(Did I mention that this daughter is small for her age and doesn’t need a lot of yarn to make her tiny clothes?)

Then, being a confident fool, I attempted to make my eldest–my super picky pre-teen–a turtleneck. The pattern was supposed to be easy, but the stitches didn’t fit, the arms were way too short, and the neck… don’t get me started on the neck.

(Don’t try this pattern at home, folks)

Add in the fact that I used some purple yarn I bought at a garage sale, and the plot is thicker than molasses. I finished half of one side of the body before I realized I didn’t have enough to finish the other, and definitely not enough for the arms or neck. So I had to undo my work. I thought, maybe I can just do the arms in different shades… nope, I didn’t even have enough for the arms, and I was struggling to make the pattern work. So again, I ripped out those stitches.

Thankfully I had used a fun multi color for the trim so I could easily tell where everything started and stopped.

At this point I realized the gamble in buying garage sale yarn. Every time I’d seen some for sale at someone’s home, there was only a ball or 2. Usually from some old lady who died decades ago. Not only are the colors at garage sales often outdated, the yarn itself is probably haunted.

So I grabbed some other purple from the craft store (that my eldest recently picked out for a hat and gloves) and finished the body pieces.

Then I ran out.

I went all over town, store-to-store trying to find the exact same shade of purple… nope. Nadda. Apparently it was too popular (or was stuck on a cargo ship in the Pacific).

Instead of giving up, I decided to match some pink for the arms. And really make this sweater hideous. I mean the trim is already multicolor. So why not?

It was so frustrating that I put the project aside and made this cute sweater for my eldest boy. He loves red and black and holiday fun. The pattern worked perfectly and the result has me gushing still.

It was a nice break to heal my bruised ego and build me back up for the final showdown with the monstrosity that awaited.

When I finally got up the nerve to return to my eldest’s present, I focused on finishing. Like with writing, sometimes you just have to finish the damn thing and then THROW IT AWAY!

Finally the battle ended and I had something so…. “different” that I won’t post a pic haha

My eldest likes the colors, but I already warned her that if she doesn’t like what I made her she can burn it, or give it to a fruity bum, or lay it our for a stray dog… it’s up to her. There is no obligation for her to wear the damn thing.

And just to complicate this already unnerving holiday season, I decided to crochet a tree skirt for our Yule tree before starting my youngest’s sweater. A TREE SKIRT…

THAT was the hardest, most trying work I’ve ever done with yarn. Hell on earth.

But finally, I got to sit down and make the baby his sweater. He’s a giant and really more of a toddler now. This 1 year old will be grown out of my 2T work in a month, if not sooner, but it’s his and I made it and I’m just a happy mommy right now. Simple and sweet. I used the same pattern from his brother’s to give me better odds for keeping my sanity.

I’ve always wanted to be THAT mom, the one who goes the extra mile. I’ve worked hard at upholding my ideals and leading-by-example since before my babies were born, and hopefully they’ll appreciate these treasures.

But if not, I can always make something nice for myself.