Casting on

There's something special about a newly cast on project, that first row on the needles all soft and nubbly, perfect stitches in crisp new yarn, before it's been scrumpled up into a knitting bag, ripped back and reknit a few times, or some over enthusiastic patting from tiny hands has impregnated it with apple pudding and glitter.

It's like the first page in a new crisp notebook, when you're still fussy about making sure you use the blue ink pen, and underline the date, and write in your neatest, prettiest handwriting.  By the end of the book it's a scrawl in whatever comes to hand, but that moment of cracking open the cover inspires the very best intentions.  This is the project that won't have any mistakes in it, that won't need to be undone to fix the after effects of knitting on too late into the night, and that will be perfect in every way for its intended wearer and garner a gazillion complements.

The yarn is wound, and I have 13 days until Christmas and four and a half projects to finish.  It's time to done the blinkers and knuckle down with some cheesy Christmas films, trying not to think too much about whether it's sensible to start a jumper in 4ply a fortnight before it needs to be finished.  Fortunately, (a) it's for Kitty who despite serious efforts in the growing department is still relatively tiny and (b) the yarn, Sparkle Duck Galaxy is delicious. It's all systems go.