This is, of course, why it’s illegal to try to bribe or coerse public officials and the sort in most countries. And while I generally believe myself to be an upstanding citizen who would obviously turn down a bribe in any professional setting…. well, I am totally suseptible in my crafting, particularly when targeted by family or close friends.
Case in point, the cowl I am working on. It’s from a 2ply I handspun from a 70% merino/30% silk blend. The colorway is “coal” from a Touch of Fiber, which I knew had to come home with me as soon as I saw it. The silk really shines through in the spun yarn. The pattern is “The Deeping Wall”, from Claire Ellen’s Tolkein themed pattern book.
I started planning this for my brother, following unsubtle attempts on his part to secure additional knitted goods. He is constantly working on some sort of project, so the colorway and pattern names seemed appropriate. The color is also masculine, while the silk adds a touch of flair I think my brother will appreciate.
To be fair, I started it by giving him a pair of socks in January 2017. But he was hooked faster than I could have hoped expected. The first pair:
I delivered the socks to him about a month before we found ourselves in Colorado Springs following the passing of my paternal grandmother. He, my sister, and I spent part of that Saturday taking my grandmother’s Samoyed out and about. We took a mini hike in the Garden of the Gods in which the 10yr old dog outdid all of us lowlanders (if you are unfamiliar, Colorado Springs is 6000ft above sealevel). Admire her fluffiness:
We then needed something else to do. I jokingly suggested finding a yarn store, assuming this would be followed by groans, or at a minimum unethusiastic silence. Nope. Enthusiastic support from my brother. So we tracked down a nearby yarn store, Ewe and me (by tracked down I mean I had a short list ready on my phone just in case). The store was fantastic and even very kindly allowed us to bring in the dog as long as one of us stayed with her (much to the chagrin of the much smaller dogs already in residence). I suggested we each pick out a skein of fingering yarn and I’d make us all socks.
My brother came back with ten. A clever move, as getting him down to two and the promise of colorwork socks now seemed like a perfectly reasonable compromise. We each picked different yarns and colorways from a local dyer, Spruce Dragon, plus Lorna’s Lace’s Honor for my brother’s grey contrast color. His are the middle pair, and apparently they have walked along the Great Wall of China since he received them last Christmas.
Fast forward to last summer… My brother and sister take a trip to Australia, where they find an all apaca store. My sister is in charge of delivering gifts when she sees me later that summer. AwesomeE and I both receive stuffed alpacas. You may recognize the alpaca; his name is Ghost and he has been to four continents already. I also get two skeins of yarn.
My sister says, with the air of one sibling tattling on another, “he said he needed to get you yarn so you will make him more things”. Why my dear sister, that is exactly how it works. If you thought exposing his machinations would undo his plots, you are wrong. (And don’t worry, your own subtle hints about how perfect your socks were did not go unnoticed).
Dear brother, your cowl is underway. I hope you will like it.