When it comes to gift knitting, I have learned some things along the way.

1. It is always more likely to be a success when you knit with colors the recipient likes, ignoring any preferences you yourself may have.

2. It is hard to follow rule #1.

3. It is best to start said gift(s) well in advance of the intended giving date

4. It is hard to follow rule #3.

5. It is best to stick with a known pattern with clear well-thoughtout directions by an experienced designer/pattern writer and use the called for yarn.  Changing things as you go along is a recipe for delays, frogging, and hairpulling.

6. It is hard to follow rule #5.

How well did I do?

1. It is supposed to be RED, white, and black trim as these are the colors of a certain NASCAR driver.

2. I like the pink better since this is for a girl.

3. I thought about casting on two and a half weeks ago.

4. I actually casted on one and a half weeks ago and then put it down for six days. It is required by tomorrow morning.

5. I started with a basic raglan pattern for a 3-6 month old using a yarn and gauge of 18 stitches / 22 rows

6. I switched the yarn to 22 stitches / 30 rows, am knitting to 19 stitches / 28 rows, added seed stitch to the hem, and am knitting everything in the round instead of flat. Also, a small #8 will be duplicate stitched onto one sleeve.

Atleast, I got half the rules right.