I finished the knitting portion of the sweater September 18th, and it took me 10 days to knit instead of the usual two or three days. As it turns out I was sick at the time with a to be diagnosed kidney stone. It's taken from then until now for my hands to be steady enough and not swollen to stitch down the ribbon and sew on snaps. I am aghast that it has taken me so long to finish just one tiny sweater but I know it is well made, and I am hoping that makes it a bit easier for the person receiving it. I have written some care instructions in case they are used to different material clothes, and need the info.
I sent an e-mail with photos of the sweater modeled on Owen, and apologizing for the wait. I didn't give excuses, just apologized for the length of time. I know why it took so long, but I don't want the anxiety of worrying about someone believing me about WHY I couldn't do what I wanted to do for them sooner or faster. I did start on the sweater really quickly after I came back from BJD-Con but my erratic health has made knitting, sewing, crafting in general difficult.
~SIDE RANT~ I hate the anxiety I feel when people see me (I generally am assumed to be younger than I am) and tell me that I am either too young to be sick, or that if I did X (whatever X is) that it would cure my chronic nerve pain, migraines, genetic disorders, bi-polar etc. I know I don't look old enough to be sick. I'm pretty damned sure that cancer doesn't play favorites with age groups, and neither do genetic diseases. I thankfully do not have cancer but it would take several long posts to go into detail about every single health thing that I deal with regularly without the oddball things like kidney stones, or dislocating toes/fingers etc. Part of why I keep a beard is that it makes it slightly more believable that I am indeed my age. 33 is still pretty young to be chronically ill, and immune-compromised. I am well aware, and hearing it with a suspicious or surprised tone does nothing to ease my anxiety. Whether I'm "too young" or not, I have what I have, and no there is no cure. I just have to do the best I can. ~END RANT~
So basically I sent pictures and asked for her shipping address with an apology for the wait citing that it took longer to complete than anticipated. If she asks for details I will give them, but I think she would rather just have her doll sweater.
My health is the main reason I do not have an Etsy shop for what it's worth. I can't reliably depend on my health to stay stable enough to make things and ship them out promptly. The things I do make are of excellent quality in my opinion, but too often I am not well enough to make them. My hands are swollen and angry from sitting and carefully stitching the backing ribbon and sewing on the snaps. It's a simple careful thing, and the act of stitching ribbon into the sweater has my hands furious and pain shooting up my fingers into my wrists.
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Today is now official Friday so this is my checking in with the general internet saying that I am doing okay. I'm physically uncomfortable, but psychologically fairly stable. Not much better than last week, but no worse. I'm hoping to be able to get laundry done today, probably a load of dishes and if I have enough spoons maybe try to cast on another sweater for keeps.
I still need to sew ribbon into, and snaps into the sweater I made about the same time as the one for the client. It's not going anywhere though so it can wait until my hands are not screaming. Knitting a new sweater is somewhat gentler on my hands than stitching the ribbon and snaps into one. I'm not feeling it right now but I might be up for it after I've slept.
I hope that everyone has a really pleasant day. :)
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