Half-Sweaters

As I've mentioned, I'm attempting to make gifts for my family -- crocheted sweaters for my middle and youngest sons, two granddaughters, and my middle sons girlfriend, and sewn "comfy pants" for my oldest son. Just the idea of his wearing a cardigan is comical, almost enough so to convince me to make one for him. But that's a lot of work for comedic value alone, and I want to give him something he will want and use. While I learned a lot in my introductory sewing class, and am starting the intermediate class this Tuesday, I'm not exactly a master (mistress) seamstress; I just don't know how to make much and am not yet expert at reading sewing patterns. So comfy pants are the best I can do -- and I know he'll get a lot of wear out of them.

I think the last time I wrote about my gift-making, I had one sweater fully finished (except for the buttons). That's still the case, but I do have one that's about two-thirds finished, one that's almost half-finished, and two that are maybe one-sixth finished each. I'm not sure that adds up to being half-finished everything, and I haven't even bought material for the comfy pants. I have just over two months left until Christmas and I'm starting to panic. I can't give one kid a handmade gift and buy something for the other two. Probably my best bet is to finish my older granddaughter's sweater -- the youngest's is the one I've nearly completed -- and at least I'll have those. I like to know ahead of time what gifts I'm giving, and this sweater business seemed like a great idea in August. I suddenly got busy with other things, and it's interfering with my crafting!

My kids wouldn't care if I didn't finish their sweaters in time, but I would. My only option is to work on them in my free time (which seems to decrease every day) and hope for the best. Maybe the idea of not finishing and having to do last-minute shopping (high on my nightmare list) will be enough to spur me on. Here's hoping.