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Last week DH lost his mind, and yesterday I joined him. I thought we’d lost it before, but this time takes the cake. A few weeks ago we had an ice storm which took out one of our beloved cedar trees. He refused to cut up the tree and dispose of it. In fact, he insisted on keeping it, forever. And last week he enlisted the help of the kidlets to ‘plant’ the tree in the garden as an artsy, decorative, enormously tall bird house holder. There are several problems with his plan. #1. I’m not convinced that this tree should not be mulch. #2. This tree is entirely too tall to be a decorative garden ornament. #3. I’m almost positive DH will never get around to hanging bird feeders on it. #4. It’s entirely possible that a strong storm could send it flying through my kitchen window. #5. People have been killed by trying to heave-ho much smaller things than this tree. #6 . DH has a back issue. #6. He planted it in the center of the garden. At first I thought he’d never get it into the ground. After spending nearly an hour trying to wrestle it, he gave up, and I thought for sure we’d have a surplus of lovely mulch for the garden. But no, he was only more determined the next day. He refined his methods, drafted the kids to help, and soon we had a 25 foot pole standing proudly in our garden. DH was beaming. I shook my head and wondered what the neighbors would think. And then, it hit me. I’m a Knitter, yes a Knitter with a capital ‘K’. It’s not just a little handiwork to pass the time, it’s an obsession, and a way to beautify the planet. And I know you know what I mean. So when I remembered a photo in ‘Spin Off’ magazine this weekend with a street lined with trees covered with swatches of knitted pieces, my little brain started working. Ugly tree + pretty colorful swatches = pretty artsy garden ornament! So I ran for the needles and off I went. By day’s end I had my eight-year-old helping me, had already stitched one swatch onto the tree, and had dug out all my crap acrylic yarn from my stash and was nearly giddy at the idea of this creative use for it. I plan for this to be a ‘growing project’ by putting swatches on the tree as I complete them. But what if the first ones have rotted by the time the last ones are put on? What if this becomes my life work, my ‘fifteen minutes’. Have I found my calling? Lord help me. I am way too excited about this dumb project. I actually said to DH last night, “This is going to be so great! The kids can help knit many of the pieces, they’re always wanting to knit a new project! This is going to be a fun, family project!!” I think I’ve lost my mind and I place the blame fully on him. This is definitly not a project I would have dreamed up on my own. I was baited, and I fell for it. I know I’ll not rest till the lower 15 feet of that tree are covered with colorful swatches. Then what? Will it rot and fall off? Will the birds and squirrels peck it off for nesting material? Will I think the thing looks ridiculous and regret all my precious knitting time I invested in it? I have to find out. If this tree was in a public place (like outside a knitting shop) I’d invite all knitters everywhere to post a swatch on the tree. But it’s in my yard, so it seems a bit selfish. But I’m sure you all have tons of scratchy acrylic you want to be rid of, and if you’re interested I’ll not turn any swatches away and I’ll post photos weekly of my growing project. Now I need a name for it…. Knitters Gone Wild, Tree of Insanity, Stiches To The Sky? You choose. How many swatches do you think I’ll receive? Surprise me!
