That time of the year again, huh?

Every year, I knit my younger sister a scarf for either Christmas (I don't celebrate it, but she does) or her birthday. It's an important tradition, as she is pretty much the only person other than myself that I regularly knit for. This is largely because she is one of the few people in my life who understands all the time and energy that go into making a scarf yourself (she crochets), and therefore fully appreciates anything I give her. She is also one of those people who is really cold all the time, loves scarves, and must properly accessorize...everything, really, so a new scarf is nearly always welcome.

I haven't written about her much (yet), but it probably bears mentioning that the two of us are polar opposites. It's a good thing that we look (sort of) alike, because if you only knew us for our personalities, you wouldn't think we were related. She came to town for Thanksgiving last weekend and was impeccably dressed, with matching jewelry, shoes, and makeup. Her hair was freshly highlighted (blonde and red) and styled (straight). I'm pretty sure that my clothes didn't match each other, much less my outerwear. I didn't have any jewelry on because I can never remember to wear it. I doubt I was wearing much (if any) makeup and my hair, well... It's in the No Man's Land between straight and curly, which means it either looks really awesome, like I just stepped off the set of a TV show, or like it hasn't seen a brush in a month of Sundays and small critters have taken up residence. I've mostly made my peace with it (though I do occasionally envy my sister's ability to straighten her hair without it frizzing up), wearing it down on a good day and up on a bad, and sadly, that day was a bad one, so I'd knotted it up into a messy bun.

Different, yes? That's just the tip of the iceberg.

Liking scarves and wearing them everywhere is one of the few things I have in common with her, so every Christmas and/or birthday, I find myself frantically (much as I love my sister, I am still the queen of all procrastinators) knitting her another scarf to add to her collection. They're usually blue because it's her favorite color, but I think this year's will be brown. If I recall correctly, she has a few off-white and neutral-brown coats that this one ball of yarn I've been saving matches. I've finally found a pattern, and it's go time.

I hope she likes it.