April birthdays...

April is a big birthday month for me, in terms of people I know who were born this month. Two of them are my niece and her son. Remember the sweater I knit for Wyatt that kind of freaked me out because it pretty much fit Mikey? Well, it was too small for Wyatt, so Soma has sent it back for me to to tink (if you're not sure that tink means, just spell the word knit backwards, and you'll get the idea).

Because I wasn't sure when the first sweater would arrive back here for deconstruction and knitting anew, I went ahead and knit another sweater, a bigger one.

This is made with Red Heart Grande, in the colorway Wow. I really like the feel of this bulky yarn - soft to the touch and kinda spongy. And the colors are jewel-tone bright. I'm now thinking what to make from it for myself.

Here's a closer shot of the sweater before I picked up the stitches to make the neckline ribbing.

Another birthday is Jessica's. You met Jessica before, at the Carousel Network's holiday party, where she met Eggs. She is a real sweetie, one of those great kids. Okay, so she hasn't hit adolescence yet, but one can hope that upbringing will tell. And I think it certainly will in this case.

Anyway, Jessica wears a lot of pink and purples - she even had a cast to match when she broke her arm a couple of years ago! So when I saw this yarn, I thought of her. I also thought of Jordan Almonds, which reminds me of Easter-time for some reason, but that's just an artifact of my synaptic irregularities.

Anyway, here's the scarf I made for her, modeled, of course, by Mike.

I also got this cute gift bag to put it in. Now, I recognize that the scarf and gift bag are both pretty girly-girly, and girly-girl does have its place. But I have to say I took exception to the birthday card made for girls her age. The ones I saw all stressed appearance rather than personality or character. Oh, sure, some threw character in there, but only after appearance was mentioned.

Don't girls in this country have enough of a problem with being smart and well-rounded (not to speak of well-grounded) without having how they look be the first think anyone judges them on - or they think they are being judged first on?

So I got a Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat card. Fortunately, Theodore Geiss frequently painted in colors more familiar to viewers of Miami Vice than one associates with children's books of the 1950s and 1960s--turquoise and hot pink, among others. So the card went well with the scarf and gift bag.

So, you're saying you don't try to match the colorways of the card, wrapping and gift???

Hmmmph! Well, moving on...

Speaking of birthdays, how old are you? I'm not talking about chronologically, but personally. I am 27, which is twenty-four years less than my actual age:

You Are 27 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?