Sunday, March 27, 2011

A serendipitous day

Approximately a zillion years ago, I bought the latest issue of my favorite knitting magazine Mon Tricot (this one is dated 1977) and some nice Aran yarn to entertain myself on a family road trip.  I thought that if I knitted this sweater, I might be as cute as the very cute person in the photo.  Sadly, when the sweater was finished, my expectations were not realized, and I didn’t feel even a tiny bit cute in it.  I imagine that I probably tried it on once, went, “Blech!” and never wore it again.  However, I could not quite bring myself to get rid of it, as it was not really a bad sweater.  But nor could I ever bring myself to actually wear it.   It languished in the back of a closet for many years.  Then, as I was sorting through old clothes, Becca spotted it and wanted it.  I gave it to her, but she never wore it either.  When she moved into her own digs, I found it among a heap of rejected things on her bedroom floor.  By now, I figured it was pretty icky, so I put it in the laundry basket.   It hibernated there on the bottom layer for several more years.  Then, one day when I was sorting laundry, Rachael saw it and wanted it.  In what was by now becoming a family tradition, she never wore it either.  When she moved into her own place, I found it again at the bottom of a heap of discards.  I put it back in the laundry hamper.  Finally, in a cleaning frenzy (actually the setting up of my little sewing room), I decided that I should have a normal laundry hamper which contained only clothes that were actually going to be washed, and not one filled with things I didn’t like but couldn’t quite throw away.  I had to deal with all those little trolls in the bottom of that basket.  I got out the sweater, tried it on, and liked it a lot.  I have been wearing it constantly ever since.   Go figure.

8 comments:

Marta said...

And you've been looking extremely cute.

Very well written...liked it a lot.


Martha

Marta said...

It is not necessary to leave my name twice.
So sorry.

karensomethingorother said...

I discovered, after my mother died, that she too had a laundry basket filled with old curtains, table cloths and shirts she couldn't part with, but never made a reappearance anyway. It's good that you kept the sweater.

Chinadoll03 said...

Hi. Joanna,

Your 'historiclly travelled' sweater has been found just at the right time to wear it, a rather cold Spring in Seattle. Enjoy your prize--even if you're the knitter.
I always enjoy reading your blog adventures.

ChinaDoll003

Laura said...

Love this picture of you and the sweater looks great. That sweater story is priceless!

Janet said...

It just goes to show how wise you all were to keep that sweater. I have a few similar treasures myself.

Pru said...

Love the sweater ... and you look every bit as cute as the model on the pattern!

FuguesStateKnits said...

You look more real and therefore cuter than the model in the picture:)