The Yarn Eater hasn't made it to fifteen and a half by stressing. He's a pretty chill guy. So our recent crisis didn't phase him at all, and he was turned out to be right. We dodged a bullet, and in the process we traded one troublesome organ for a beautiful shawl. Hospital waiting rooms and convalescence turn out to be wonderful lace knitting venues.
Said shawl looks better on me than under the cat. More pictures to follow pending necessary weather and time to take the photos. Life goes on.
B. is a lovely man. Kind, thoughtful, generous. So when he asked me to shorten the sleeves on his sweater, I immediately said yes. I had not realized how much alpaca stretches when I made the sweater, nor had he. So he hung it, and the sleeves stretched a good four inches. Making this gorgeous piece of wearable art, well, unwearable. If you haven't seen this sweater in it's finished state, click on the sidebar where it says "b.s sweater" and see for yourself the tale of it's construction.
Mind, you, it was six months ago that I got this request. I knew I had said yes to something I would have liked to say no to. But the day of reckoning is upon us. Next week, B. and C. come for dinner, and I am resolved to have this finished for him. I'd like him to be able to wear it next year, and with fall rapidly approaching, I have to face it.
It's bad, but not too bad. There might be an expert way to do this, but I simply lopped off those four inches, and am now picking up the fabric, re-knitting a bit, and preparing to bind off again and re-sew the sleeves. It's a bit tedious, but then again, I'm re-discovering the beauty and softness of the Alpaca with a Twist yarn, and re-appreciating the splendor (love that word!) of this project.
And I am nothing if not compulsive. New morning ritual? Coffee and repairs. Until it's finished. Only for you, B.
The yarn for B.'s sweater arrived this week---four packages from three different web stores. So much fun to get all this yarn in the mail. And since I couldn't get all of the small skeins I wanted and had to order some of the colors in super-size skeins, there's another sweater in here for me. Sweet.
This Alpaca with a Twist Baby Twist has an amazing hand-feel. The pleasure of working with it was enhanced by the pleasure of getting gauge on the first try--five and a half stitches per inch on number sixes, for me. Just like the pattern says. Always nice when that happens.
I've been a bit anxious about one more element of this project. I'm knitting the body of the sweater in one piece, so I don't have to worry about the way the pattern comes together at the seams. But as you can see, the pattern is done with the dark sides all facing in one direction, and I don't think that will work in the front. I'd like the pattern to reverse itself so that the two fronts are more symmetrical.
This is the kind of problem that gives me the heebie-jeebies to think about. So I was pleasantly surprised when I tried to draw out a solution and it seemed as though I found one on the first go-round. I am just going to have to put two darks face to face to change direction, and here is a schematic for how that could be done, in the middle of the back. It looks quite subtle here, and will be more subtle in the soft colors of the yarns that I have chosen.
Now that most of the problems that I could foresee are ironed out, I'm ready to start this project. To the moon, Alice!
PS: Check out the completed baby sweater on Monday!
B. is the best dressed man I know. I remember the first time I saw B., C. and I had figured out that B. and I worked on the same floor of the same office building,and that we should meet. I went over to introduce myself, and was greatly impressed by B.'s sartorial splendor, down to the discreetly patterned socks peeking out above his shoes. I felt a little dowdy, even though I'm no slouch when it comes to attire.
So when B. was the first person to ask me to make him a sweater, I was excited. I asked him to look around at some knitting books and figure out what he wanted. B. discovered the Kaffe Fassett books and promptly fell in love. He likes the Tumbling Blocks pattern, and wants a cardigan out of it. Initially, I thought that there would be a kit available (after all, isn't everything obtainable on the Internet?), but it turns out that there isn't. B. has picked out a color palette, and shown me a picture of a much loved old cardigan, and I'm looking for a pattern that resembles it. 
After studying the pattern for a while, I'll go yarn shopping, and then the fun begins. I'll have all the elements--pattern, yarn, needles, and those cute little holder things for lengths of yarns in various colors. With any luck, I'll be able to figure out a plan of attack that will work, but there is math involved, so it's likely to be an adventure. I've given myself until next winter to produce the sweater. Stay tuned--there are likey to be many chapters to this story.......
