A few weekends ago, Hubster took me to check out a trendy yarn store in town that my friend, Sangy, recommended. It was pretty awesome. It had a younger feel, and it was a much cleaner space than the other yarn shops that I had previously been to. Plus, the girl that helped me, Melanie, was really attentive without being smothering, and I felt confident about all of her recommendations. I'm not sure that I'm ready to go in and sit down for one of their "knit-alongs", but enjoying the shopping experience was a good first step to becoming more comfortable with the idea of introducing myself to the local knitting community (especially since many of them seemed to be closer to my own age. Not that there's anything wrong with Granny-knitters...it's just, I don't really foresee Granny-knitters wanting to get together to have a beer after work, or go for a hike. I'd like for this to be a social outlet, too.) Anyhow, at the check-out, something happened which I like to call "birthday magic". It's something that Hubster does every year around my birthday--for at least a month before the big day, he does little things to make me feel special--March-April mark a magical time for me. At the last minute, he bought me these three skeins.
I'm absolutely pumped, because I want to make two hats out of them--his will be brown and red, and mine will be brown and purple. I want to do them in rib-stitch. I'm just getting into making hats (I started my first one this past Tuesday--one of my co-workers taught me how to knit in the round, and I'm just doing a simple one out of worsted weight cotton.) He also was kind enough to buy me the needles that I needed. It was just incredibly sweet. He's been so supportive of this knitting addiction since it started. He sat down with me at the beach and read aloud the instructions for making a knit stitch out of my "Stitch n Bitch" book--even though at the time I was doing a lot more bitching than stitching...He always makes sure that my projects (stuffed in plastic freezer bags all around the house) are out of reach of puppers' curious jaws...and he graciously contributes when he can to my stash. Not only that, but he never asks me to do any projects for him--he's always encouraging me to make something for myself! I am also totally blown away by his sensitivity to my knitting needs. Before he talks to me when I'm knitting he always politely asks, "are you counting, or can I talk to you?" and when puppers totally demolished the beautiful green alpaca scarf I was making for my father, Hubster handed me a tissue when I burst into uncontrollable sobs, cleaned up the mess (while thoughtfully saving whatever yarn could be salvaged), and gently announced that I should put my coat on, because he was taking me out to dinner--all of this despite the fact that it was late and he had had a long day. Ya know, I've got a great husband, and I really don't tell him enough. He makes me tea in a thermos and packs my lunch every morning while I rush around like a mad woman because I wanted to sleep those extra ten minutes. He never complains about taking out the recycling, even though it is an onerous task, and I'm the environmental nazi. He's really great with puppers, and is largely the reason that she is so well-behaved. I mean, look at this:
Despite her obsession with my yarn and needles, due to Hubster's dedication, she listened to me long enough to allow me to take these pictures, even though she was quivering with anticipation to rip these skeins into unsalvageable shreds. And that is pretty darn impressive, even if I do say so myself.
So Hubster? Thanks for the birthday magic. Thank you for your love and support, and thank you, thank you for marrying me.
