Wednesday, May 20, 2009

A challenging day

Once I learned to knit, I was only interested in knitting sweaters for myself, my mother and father, Rebecca, and my then husband (who learned to knit with me, by watching EZ on public television), and when we all were sweatered out, for my friends. Finally, just too many sweaters and too expensive! So I learned to do Fairisle thinking that it would take me longer to turn one out. Still too many sweaters. I started making socks – Rebecca’s sock drawer is overflowing – gloves, and now lace scarves and shawls, to really slow me down. So it has been a long time since I knitted a sweater. However, I decided that I needed a new one, and one with very specific parameters. I wanted it to be very warm but not heavy – therefore Aran. I wanted it to be shortish so that I could wear it under my jacket without it hanging below the jacket hem like the ones I have now do. This is actually the primary parameter and the reason I need a new one. And it had to have pockets for my hankie. Also, my favorite Aran pattern is the honeycomb, so I wanted it to have that. I have not made an Aran according to a pattern since the first couple which I knit for Becca when she was a tot. So the real problem giving me pause was not finding a design, but how much yarn to get, especially since the honeycomb is a real yarn gobbler. A few weeks ago, I was leafing through a file folder I have of small knitting booklets and articles saved from magazines, when, mirabile dictu, the very sweater was looking up at me. I decided to bring its makings with me on this trip and see if I could come home with a finished sweater. Possible, but not likely. A challenge of sorts though.

3 comments:

bex said...

You're going to make that one with the collar? That'll be cute!

Unknown said...

Aran is my favourite of all knitting. I am still working on mine. Yours is going to be good from the look of the pattern you have chosen.

Janet said...

You should have been with me yesterday - I went to an store in Dublin which had Aran knitting type yarn for sale, 1/2 kilo for 20euro, and a box of old patterns for one euro each.

Before I forget I want to recommend an author to you. When I was in Ballard in April I bought two books by Mildred Walker. The Curlew's Cry and The Brewers' Big Horses. These books are being reprinted by the Bison Press at the University of Nebraska.