Thursday, September 28, 2006

The Big Guy


I don’t know how the husbands in your corner of the world are, but here, in this house, the husband is one big guy. My husband is a towering 6 foot 5 inches tall, taller, if he needs a haircut that day. If you saw him in person you would agree, this makes him one big guy. Navigating light fixtures and doorways you and and I probably never think twice about, is a normal part of his everyday life. Small old ladies ask him to reach for stuff off the high shevles in the grocery store all the time. When he eats cereal for breakfast he prefers to eat it from a mixing bowl than a regular bowl. The regular bowl needs too many refills for him. Airplane seats and many "average" car seats can be nightmares. Someone on the New York Subway once saw Vinny in his New York Jets jacket and told him he’s been playing well. Obviously, the person was a little disoriented.

Yes, the husband is a big guy, he’s a big guy with a big heart. And I love it. First of all he gives the best hugs in the world ever. Everyone always agrees. He has big arms and when he hugs you he really pulls you in and hugs you and instantly your day has improved. Second, he makes me feel safe. Vinny is friendly and funny, but a lot of times guys who first meet him sometimes look him up and down and may laugh a little nervously. Seriously, who is going to mess with this guys wife? But really most of the time, everyone who meets Vinny ends up loving him. See what happened at a friends wedding we recently attended? That's the groom getting mushy all over my husband.




And I also love that he’s a big guy because I am a big girl. And in a society that makes women my size feel pretty lousy a lot of the time, next to Vinny I can feel somewhat small and more feminine than that dumb old society would have me believe. Although don’t worry, most of the time I am woman hear me roar!

So what am I going to do about making this special guy some special Christmas gifts? The knitting gets interesting here. It’s a relief that he doesn’t like sweaters. Sweaters don’t always look great on big guys anyway, they can look kind of lumpy and soft. It might sound cruel but the truth is I've really only knit for my husband once so far. I made him a pair of socks last winter. Just one pair. And they were boring, k2p2 ribbing white acrylic. Why haven't I made any since? Well honestly, the things I knit for him can take longer than others...


The magazine is provided for scale. Vinny wears a size 15 shoe. That sock I'm knitting? 80 stitches around. At 80 stitches around the leg takes a very, very, very long time. There are times I knit for hours and look down to discover that I've added on a whopping quarter of an inch.

So since we're not doing sweaters, and he refuses to wear scarves (he thinks they're too girly) the other thing I'm trying to make is a hat. How big is the hat? Well, I measured his head around. It's 24 inches. I have a pattern book I like to use for hats. It only goes up to 23 inches around. Only slightly smaller than those large stone ones they've unearthed from ancient times on Easter Island. This means the hat that I am knitting for him is a lovely 120 stitches around.

I know it's all curly and flouncy now. The white yarn is the provisional cast on I'm using. I knit the hat and the pick up then live stitches and basically knit the hat again, and put one inside the other for a double knit hat. I know it sounds weird, it's a pattern I've used before, I'm told it's based on an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern. Don't worry, I'll show you how I do it, I'm sure there will be other progress photos since this may take a while. Let's just hope I can make it before the holidays. I have other people to knit for too you know!

* One more thing- did you happen to catch the little kitty butt in the doorway of the first picture? Yeah, he loves Vinny too, they're pretty much a pair. He follows him everywhere. The cat at a very un-graceful 18 pounds is a big guy too. I should try harvesting the cat hair to knit with shouldn't I? I'd probably get skeins and skeins and skeins!

6 comments:

Sachi said...

Oh my. Yes. He's a big boy. I'm fortunate enough to have a man who wears only a size 8 1/2 shoe and is only 5' 9" or so.

However, your logic tells me I might have felt more girly and cute if I'd have found a big guy. Hm... I wonder if he's stopped growing yet.... ;-D

Anonymous said...

Hi Jana,

Long time! I'm knitting socks for my husband right now on 0's and it is so uninspiring which is why I joined Socktoberfest. He wears a size 13. He'll never get a sweater out of me, with his 6 ft 4" self. Scarves - I made one, and it's sitting in the glove compartment. So that's that. He really better hope I finish this sock!

Necia

Tracy said...

I absolutley love that picture of Vinny getting a big wet one! The one of him and Alester in the doorway is also great, gives you perspective.

As for the sock, you are a brave, brave woman. The hat I can't wait to see either.

My Dad is also a big guy and finding a hat for him isn't so easy. The Dr. once estimated that his head probably weighs about 20lbs!!! (yeah, I don't know why it ever came up. Maybe neck pain?)
But it's always funny to see him try and wear one of those freebie hats and have to leave the adjustment part in the back unhooked and even then the hat just tetters on top of his head. I have a feeling Vinny must have the same problem.

Dorothy said...

Vinny sounds like an awesome guy. You are a very lucky girl. Maybe not in the sheer volume of knitting that must be done to complete an item of clothing for him, but it's worth it in the end, isn't it.

Why don't you try knitting him his favourite board game instead of clothing?

I know what you mean about the cat fur. It's soft and warm and everywhere.

sunneshine said...

My husband is not as big as yours, but big enough to make me feel safe and loved. I love the fact that you gave Vinny such a long and fitting tribute! It sounds to me like he is lucky to have someone who cares about him as much as you do!

I am going to keep a watch on your hat I have the Elizabeth Zimmerman book with that hat in it, and it is on the short list of projects to start -- it looks warm and wonderful!

Sayward said...

Awww... What a wonderful post about your DH. J wears a size 14 sock and I've had to work out sizing when knitting myself. I never mind though. It's never a chore when knitting for someone you love.