Unfinished Business

Unfinished Business...

Do you have any unfinished projects in your life? Have you knit a sweater that needs just one more sleeve? Do you have a bag of quilt blocks all cut out that has been in your hope chest for several decades? HOPE Chest. Hope it will finish itself? How about that tub full of 99 granny squares crying out to be bound together and thrown in a colourful heap over your couch? Or those socks that have a nice long leg, but just have not made it around the corner—you haven’t turned the heel.

Just one more sleeve...

There’s probably a name for the person who starts projects but doesn’t finish them. Procrastinator? And there’s probably another name for the person who accepts other people’s unfinished projects. Sucker? Barb???

Other People's Projects

Several years ago, my sister Kathy set out to make a pair of socks for one of our favourite relatives on the occasion of his 50^th birthday. She got off to a good start, but our John turned 65 last October and he still doesn’t have the socks. 

Still no Socks

We joked about it for a few years, then Kathy got serious.

“Barb, why don’t you finish those socks for John? You knit all the time, anyway. They’re almost done. I just can’t turn the heel." 

Right. Turning the heel. Not my favourite thing in the world to do, but how could I say no? I owe her for electricity, the beachfront and teasing her mercilessly in childhood.“Sure, I’ll finish the socks. No problem.”

Turning the Heel

As soon as I took possession of the aging socks, their completion became urgent in Kathy’s eyes. Every time she phoned, she would ask, “Barb, have you finished John’s socks, yet?”

Knitting 911

“No, I haven’t.”

“Why not?! What’s taking so long?!”

“Well, you had them for 13 years and you didn’t finish them. Don’t rush me!”

Emotional Knitting

Finally, I finished one sock. It looked like it would fit a troll. Misshapen, too long in the leg, too wide in the foot. 

Fit for a Troll

John, a trim man, looks nothing like a troll. He’s a hard worker with a tractor, 6 grandchildren and slender feet. He deserves socks that fit.

Slender-Foot

Next phone call from my taskmaster:
“Barb, did you finish John’s socks?”
“I finished one. It looks terrible.”
“It doesn’t matter what it looks like, Barb. Just finish the other one.  Get it done!” Click.

Troll Sock and a Half

The outcome of sock number one is discouraging. I have no incentive to go on and no ambition to rip it out and start again. Instead of re-fashioning the Troll Socks, I’ve spent the winter sitting on the couch watching reruns of The Closer. These two activities are not unrelated. Deputy-Chief Brenda Leigh Johnston is famous for her talent in CLOSING cases. She tidies up loose ends and unfinished business for the LAPD. She would have John’s socks finished in an hour! I wonder if she knits. 

Deputy-Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson

Alas, the socks rest in a sad, ripped bag in my living room, ugly and unfinished. John, a non-troll man with cold feet, continues to age. He’s coming up on 66. Is there anyone out there who will take on this Unfinished Business? Susan????

Unfinished Business

...Until Next Time...