Working for Weddings

The past few weeks have been super crazy, socially speaking. Not crazy as in "these people are nuts" but crazy as in "I've so much to do!" Think I exaggerate? One Saturday night I had to attend three separate events. That's a lot, right? Fortunately, they were all good fun. Then last week, I was up in Cape Cod for four days with my friends, Megan and David, who were attending a family wedding. I had volunteered to act as nighttime nanny for their kids, Margaret and Bruno (also my godson).

Fun, yet exhausting. David's family has a tradition of donning Nantucket Reds (seen here on David and Bruno) for celebratory occasions. I find them decidedly charming and festive, especially when seen on more than one person at a time.

It's kind of fun to attend a wedding when you're not really a guest. I know the bride's family quite well, so it was a comfortable time, but I didn't get caught up in any or the stress or anxiety that typically surrounds a wedding. I was just there to chase after toddlers and help out a bit. Easy peasy.

All of this travel and socializing has made it difficult for me to get much craft work in, but I did put my shoulder to the grindstone this week and managed to finish this on Thursday:

Pattern: Granny Square (traditional)
Hook: USH/5mm
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash
Started: June 6
Finished: June 26
For: Beth & Niclas

I made it as a wedding present for my friend Beth and her man, Niclas. I started planning the project as soon as she told me they were getting married (only about 2 1/2 months ago). I was so excited, because she's wonderful, and he's awesome, too. It's such a joy to celebrate love and hope with friends, and I knew their wedding would be super fun.

I thought long and hard about the colors that I wanted to use for this project. Because it is a gift for a couple, I wanted a color combination that was neither definitively masculine or feminine. I hate it when a gift is ostensibly for two people but so clearly reflects the tastes of only one half of the couple. I also had in my mind the fact that the groom is Swedish, and that once married, the couple will be maintaining households in both Sweden and the US. So, while these colors are not stereotypically Swedish, they evoke the light and sun and nature that come to my mind when I think of Scandinavia, yet they are modern. I also really like the contrast of the modern colors paired with the uber-traditional granny square pattern.

I really liked working the granny square pattern, and looking forward to making more of these. Next time, however, I think I will try to work the pattern as a rectangle, a la Erin Lindsey. It seems a bit more functional, don't you think?

Part I of the wedding was Friday, here in Brooklyn at a delicious restaurant called Frankie's 457, and was, as expected, really fun.

However, I decided to present the present at Part II of the wedding, which will take place in Karlstad, Sweden in July. I am beyond excited about this, my first trip to Sweden! I've already planned visits to several Stockholm yarn stores and have obsessively planning my project for the plane.