Well, it took a month to knit the sweater, another one to get the button band right (third try was the charm), and then one more to stitch in the yarn ends and put the buttons on.
The sparkly blue ones made me the happiest.
With one lone green, because there weren't enough.
It fits just right and is so cozy, and it also ticks another thing off of the birthday wish list.
All that's left is a new tattoo. Time to get doodling . . .
Stitched a bit of peace.
To keep on my sleeve, in case of the need for a quick mental get-away.
Also finished the sweater that's patched to it (it still needs to be blocked into shape and the ends tucked in). Just in time for summer, I know, but something to look forward to next winter.
Other things are in need of patching, too. This happened in the middle of the night. Oh, city living. They took Blue's baseball bag, with the mitt he's used every time he's pitched, his size 14-have-to-be-special-ordered expensive cleats, bat, gloves, uniform for the new season (he won't get to be number 13! I may have to stitch a "13" patch for him.)
But the glass was pretty.
Last week was happily filled with small cloth stitching. There weren't enough minutes in the days to join all of the scraps and threads of ideas that were bubbling up. Then came a pause, and a need to slow and just make without thought or rush of excitement. So, yesterday and today were spent with this restful knitting, another Portland Pullover. The only thought weaving through was, "This is just swell."
And I thought about "swell," a word I use lots, without thinking. A word with so many meanings: The rhythm of the sea as the waves rise and fall, that moment in really wonderful music that takes you to a brink, to grow, really big feelings that fill you up, things being fine & dandy . . .
Really, 'swell' is truly swell, and how things go, and are.
A year or so ago, in need of a new everyday sweater, I started this one . . . it was cabled, complicated, with an unusual brilliant construction.
While knitting along, there was a whisper in the back of my head, telling me to stop and take an account of what was happening. Enjoying the process, I ignored it and carried on merrily. In a little more than a month I had an almost finished sweater . . . that didn't fit (it was my fault, not the pattern's).
It was stuffed into a bag, and put in time out for bad behavior. A few months ago, I pulled it out, ripped it out, and began again. And then, again. And again. There were not enough brain cells available for its complicated self.
Meanwhile, I went through another winter without a decent sweater to wear in public. I do have a couple of shabby, worn, broken yarn ends dangling off the wrists items, but none that should be worn among finer feathered folk.
So, last month, looking through an issue of Taproot magazine, there was the Barn Sweater. A simple, finished in a snap sweater.
It's not fancy, but it's done, and fits well enough.
I used some deep blue handspun for the pockets. They are so soft.
I know the buttons are mismatched, but if I had to wait until I could get myself to a shop, it would probably have been another year in the wait.
I dug these out of one of the button jars, and they promised that they would get the job done just fine.
More than a thousand yards spun up from this.
A sweater begun. A cozy cushy battle-the-cold-of-this-old-house or standing-at-the-bus-stop sweater.
The thickness of the yarn knits up fast, just the thing for today, as I'm also battling the cold in my stuffed up head.
The latest knitting project, a sweater for me, because, after all, it is "Selfish Knitting Season". "How is that different than the rest of the year?" K asked. (After being reminded of the hot water bottle cozy, socks and hats that were unwrapped the week before, he modified it to eleven months.)
Feeling justified, I took my coupon, discount and no taxes in hand and happily bought a bunch of yarn while in Oregon. I'm also happily using the new stitch markers that Blue and Moon made for Christmas. One even has a little bell on it, so I jingle as I stitch along.
