Once upon a time, 4 years ago to be exact, I tried knitting with bulky yarn for the first time.
It knitted up fast and I wore the sweater a lot.
Maybe I wore it too much because I got tired of it and stopped wearing it.
One day last November I noticed it was taking up a lot room in the closet so I decided to rip out that old knitting and try something new with the bulky blue yarn.
I re-skeined the yarn, washed and dried it and soon I was ready to make another big bulky blue sweater.
But my mother was sick. She needed care and there wasn't a lot of time for knitting.
A smart woman named Elizabeth had a pattern in her Almanac for knitting a sweater in December under busy circumstances so I followed her directions and knit my version of her "Hurry Up Last Minute Sweater"
But when it was done the new sweater was too big and boxy and long and old fashioned!
Elizabeth's wishbone yoke, although clever, wasn't very nice to look at. It made the sweater look silly.
Then one day I was looking around on line at the Look Books on Brooklyn Tweed. In the Spring Thaw 2012 edition and I saw Forester - a big, boxy sweater that I liked!
Forester had a big boxy turtleneck. My sweater just had a collar.
And Forester, being featured in a Brooklyn Tweed Look Book must be in style too!
"That's It"! I thought!" "Ill make my sweater look like Forester and then maybe I'll like my sweater!
"Rip", "rip", "rip". Off came my collar.
"Knit", "knit", "knit". On went a 3x3 ribbed turtleneck.
"Ahhhhhh" I said.
But when it was done the new sweater was too big and boxy and long and old fashioned!
Elizabeth's wishbone yoke, although clever, wasn't very nice to look at. It made the sweater look silly.
Forester had a big boxy turtleneck. My sweater just had a collar.
And Forester, being featured in a Brooklyn Tweed Look Book must be in style too!
"That's It"! I thought!" "Ill make my sweater look like Forester and then maybe I'll like my sweater!
"Rip", "rip", "rip". Off came my collar.
"Knit", "knit", "knit". On went a 3x3 ribbed turtleneck.
"Ahhhhhh" I said.
"I am back in love with my big bulky blue sweater!"
Pattern: Hurry Up Last Minute Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Source: Knitter's Almanac
Yarn: Garnstudio DROPS Eskimo
Source: Romni Wools
Needles: 10mm circulars of varying lengths for body, collar and sleeves
Start: December 1, 2011 Finish: May 19, 2012
The bottom of the collar drapes over the top of the wishbone, making it look more like normal raglan sweater in front and in the back
I kept the DK contrasting "hem" around the bottom but left it to roll.
I stopped trying to hem the sleeves so they would hang straight like Forester's sleeves or stay pushed up if I wanted them that way.
And (so far) we are living together happily ever after together (or until I change my mind again!)
The End
The End
The end of the Big Blue Sweater story and the end of the week too! Its been a big one chez Sel and Poivre with 6 FO's in 5 posts over 5 days but that's not all folks! Next week I'll have three more sweaters and a cowl to feature and if this rainy weekend at the cottage pans out, maybe even a pair of mittens! Have a great weekend - thanks for dropping by!
4 comments:
Love the colour, it fits you very well, and I think the turtle neck is just perfect for this sweater. Winter can come!
Looks great. And I love the idea of just reknitting the wool into something else!
Welcome back! Really nice to see your finished objects. I could use some of those.
Lisa R-R
AH HA! Now I get it. I wondered when I saw the post last week about that wishbone neckline. Doesn't look as bad as I thought it would is what I was thinking. But now I understand. You wear those long bulky sweaters well. It should be a very warm cozy winter sweater.
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