Designing Woman

On Christmas morning, I woke up remembering that my friend Donna (who NEVER forgets my birthday) would be home for her birthday this year.

Having a birthday the day after Christmas must have been pretty hard when she was a kid. I can imagine all her presents wrapped up in shiny Santa paper and nestled in very wrinkly recycled tissue. That probably isn't what happened, but I've always felt that the two friends I have with birthdays the day after Christmas missed out on anticipating their next birthday. If all the presents come in a two-day span, that makes for a long year with nothing in between.

I'm basing all this from the point of view of someone who had a perfectly mid-summer birthday herself. No Santa wrapping for my presents. Well, not usually.

Anyway, Donna never forgets my birthday, and I sometimes forget hers. But not this year. This year she's getting something designed just for her: an asymmetrical neckwarmer.

I have had these two hanks of Noro Cashmel in the stash for a few years now. I made myself a February Lady Sweater from the rest of it, and I had knit this yarn into several small items that never seemed to be finished. Two hanks isn't much, and not everyone deserves cashmere. A few weeks ago, I raveled those small items, washed and straightened the fiber, and hung it to dry. This neckwarmer was designed to fit inside the collar of an open blouse or slipped over a t-shirt neckline to keep the drafts away. The cashmere is soft and not itchy and the fabric is densely knit.

It was just waiting to become Donna's birthday gift. I hope she loves it.