The weather has been so gorgeous here the last couple of weeks, it’s all I can do to sit inside and work. It’s like a proper northeast autumn – blue skies, crisp air, turning leaves. It’s usually grey by now here in the Pacific Northwest, which makes outside even more irresistible.
And to top it off, I finished the first sweater I’ve made for Owen, and he wore it to the park yesterday. (The park was deserted in the middle of a gorgeous Sunday. What on earth were people doing?)
I followed the Willie pattern by Pamela Wynne, sans intarsia wiener dog (best pattern name ever, hey?). It’s a very simple round-yoke project, though next time I’ll set aside more underarm stitches so joining the sleeves and body for the yoke won’t be so painful. (If that’s Greek to you, speak up. I’d never made a round-yoke project before, and had I known the effect of the set-aside underarm stitches, I’d have done things differently. Mad props to my pal Alexa for helping me fight through the beginning of the yoke.)
This project was an adventure in frugality for me. I’d bought the drab-coloured yarn when we were first applying to adopt, having in mind to make a wee baby sweater. But then Owen arrived suddenly, and by the time I had my knitting wits about me again I needed to make a bigger size than my yarn would accommodate. So I dug around my stash till I found the cream yarn in the same weight, and used that for the edgings. And, as you can see, I switched to it when I ran out of drab yarn at the top of the yoke. I think the sweater looks better this way, actually, so I’m glad I was forced to make that decision.
I found the buttons while cleaning out my crafts stuff, so that was further stash-busting serendipity.
As a crafter, I now feel like I’m properly providing for my kid. This is a hard thing to explain, but perhaps you crafty parents know what I mean. Sure, I make his food, but this is different. This is the warmth and comfort of a handmade sweater.
The sweater is awesome. It almost makes me want to pick up knitting.