I love Ravelry. I got a very nice message this morning from a lady about my dad's vest and her admiration of it. I don't think I ever told the rest of the story here. But it does make me smile.
All my worries about the vest were for naught. The vest fit just perfectly. Dad really likes the too and loves how warm it is. He really appreciates it and loves that it was handmade for him. He would wear it too, but for one thing. One small thing that I did not think about.
The vest is hard to put on. I worried about buttons and large enough arm holes and everything else. I consulted with my sister in law, who with her nursing career in a small town is nothing if not a geriatric specialist, and her advice was buttons with shanks, which it has. It just never occurred to me that I should be watching for fibre content too.
Dad said it doesn't slip over his shirts very well. It pulls at his sleeves and he ends up all out of order. I never thought about that part but the yarn with its wool and silk content isn't slippery. The silk part is not slippery, but rather has that dry feel silk sometimes has. It is lovely though and I actually thought the silk content would be one of the reasons he would like it. It makes wool feel less wooly. Dad is after all, from the generations which wore farm prepped wool and where the idea of wool means itchy.
But though he likes it he finds it hard to wear. Because I am me at my age, I figure if someone has a hard time getting something on, they would just ask for help. Because my dad is much older and is very used to being vigorous and active and always doing everything for himself, to ask someone to help get it on breaches a very sensitive area. If you are 90 and have to ask, that may mean you are too old to do it yourself and that is a very sensitive thing. His doctor refers to him as 'presents as 70' but if you have to have help... I get that. It touches a bit of a nerve at this point. When he needs someone to help him more routinely, I have a feeling he will wear it.
It makes me smile though. This is my dad in a nutshell. He figures stuff out. He always did. If you needed something figured out he did it. He could build anything, put together most things, create from nothing and I have been inspired and have admired that in him. I see it carried on in my boys too.
The next vest for dad may will be in something slippery and smooth. Probably something alpaca, which is a lovely slippy yarn. I have some lovely stuff in my deep stash. I wonder if he will wear a lovely stone coloured heather?
Mom is a tougher nut. I want to make something for her, but she sees wool as only itchy. I think I may have to go full cashmere for a something for mom.
Or possibly that lovely great cone of DK silk I purchased from Colourmart. I think she might like silk, though the colour is wrong. Oh well there is time.
Mom is going in for hip surgery this coming weekend. I think the surgeon is working an extra day so taking advantage of the pre seasonal lull the hospitals usually have. She did not think her hip was the problem, putting her pain down to sciatica. The surgeon diagnosed her at one of the dad's post op visits to him. Good catch by him!
It is going to be a busy for mom and dad the next bit and I just want them to feel comfortable and to know they are loved. To me, warm is comfort and hand knit is love so...
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