A few weeks ago, I finished a sweater for myself.
You would think, with as much knitting as goes down in these parts that I would have a closet full (or at least a shelf?) of knits just lying around waiting for their chance to see the sun. But the truth of the matter is that I haven’t knit anything for myself since the first awful sweater I made about ten years ago. Ten years, sigh, how is that possible?
The majority of what I knit are gifts for others. That hasn’t meant I didn’t start a few things for myself, but I would lose the pattern, or the yarn, or frog it just to use the yarn for something else. As a matter of fact this yarn was a cardigan gone wrong before I ripped it all out and started over. Now it’s a mama-made sweater for me.
The yarn is fabulous. A lovely bland of silk and linen that I bought in New York at School Products Yarn recommended by Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loops. Yes, it’s a strange name for a yarn store, but the shop itself was nothing short of miraculous. The store itself is relatively stark, but the fiber blends? Oh! I didn’t even know some of the blends they had existed. I felt like I was touching silky strings from spun clouds.
The pattern is Heliotrope by Merceded Tarasovich-Clark and it was a gentle project that really didn’t take much attention, skill, or time to knit… well, shouldn’t unless you’re the mother of four. It took me longer than a year. To knit. The last. inch. Really.
I should note, there is a good reason to take photos right after you complete your project before you have a chance to snag it, or have babies pull on the little loops while she’s riding on your back. And don’t forget the drool and other various bodily fluids you’re likely to collect during a few minutes of wear.
So yeah, finish a project, take photos while the little ones are down. As quickly as possible. Words of wisdom from me to you.
