The story behind the nightcap is that I find it impossible to shop for grandparents. They're at that age where they're actively trying to get rid of stuff, so buying them anything besides restaurant gift cards to Country Buffet or Black-Eyed Pea is useless since they'll just give it away. Until a little bird (aka Mom) told me a little known secret. Grandpa's hair has been thinning for years, always verging on the edge of complete baldness but never quite making it. Therefore, his head gets a bit cold at night. But he doesn't want to wear a regular beanie to sleep because they're too warm. So Grandma takes her old panty hose and knots the end, and Grandpa wears it as a breathable nightcap... Hahaha, it took all my self-control not to snort out the grains of rice I was eating!
Wow, I knew they were really thrifty, but we can do better than that. :) Most of the patterns on Ravelry looked just as warm as regular winter hats, but fortunately, there's this old-fashioned 1840 nightcap pattern that not only uses very thin yarn, but is also originally designed for gentlemen. <cracks knuckles> Alright alright, I got this...
WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG?! I'm bringing this project everywhere I go, but progress is slooow. This is why worsted yarn is my friend, and size 0, tiny thread patterns are the suck. I was just barely able to finish the nightcap in time, at the expense of not even starting Dexter's Christmas stocking. Whatever, he's too little to even open presents yet; Santa can wait till next year. Too bad I forgot to take any detailed pictures in my rush to wrap it up. At least I got this one shot after Grandpa opened it. I think he likes it! :)
Question:
What kind of gifts do you get for grandparents or parents who have everything?
I give the grand[arents Shutterfly photo books and one of my MILs (I have two) put in an order for Christmas baking for next year.
ReplyDeleteI skipped a year with the photo books (computer problems had my photos locked away) and the grandparents complained a lot. Lesson learned!
That stocking cap is cute! What yarn did you use? I always have a pair of socks on the go (size 2.25mm needles) but it usually takes me a year or two to complete a pair.
I knit two cowls for Christmas gifts this year--super chunky yarn and size 13mm and 6.5mm needles made the projects go super fast!
I got a similar idea from a friend as well: personalized photo calendars! Going to definitely have to do that next year.
ReplyDeleteThis year we made baby hand and foot impressions out of DIY salty dough, which was a big hit with the grandparents, but they ended up cracking. :( Will have to get some better materials and redo.
P.S. The nightcap yarn was Aunt Lydia's Classic Crochet Thread (size 3). It was the smallest stuff I could find at the time, so I guess I was asking for the pain. :P