Way back in the mists of time, before the internet and Taylor Swift were invented, I knitted myself a cardigan. It's from Rowan magazine 21, shown on the front cover.
I have always rebelled it seems, and I knitted it in a nice wool based yarn (Jaeger wool DK I think), not the cotton yarn the pattern was written for. Anywayz. I have worn it a lot - for a long time it was the sort of thing I wore to work. Then the elbows started to develop holes and I patched them up and it became a cosy old friend to wear around the house. Gradually more and more bits of it are wearing thin or coming apart, but I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to it yet.
Before Christmas I started knitting something for the bean, and realised that the yarn was pretty much the same colour as this cardigan of mine. Last week, I sat down to do some mending and spent a little bit of time patching up the holes and frayed cuffs.
Five or ten minutes, sitting in the light and stitching away. I was talking to my daughter at the same time - you can see her feet in the bottom picture - she is wearing handknitted socks that I made for her older brother a year or two back. That's the sort of housework I like!
Like many women, I periodically edit my wardrobe. And, over the last couple of years I've got a lot more reflective and critical about my clothes - and I've been finding it easier to get rid of things which don't fit, or don't work (anymore). I've been reading some of the advice from Amy Herzog and Ysolda Teague on the fit of knits and this has clearly influenced my thinking about some of the things I have made in the past, and some of the things I am planning to make next...
I had a good hard look at the Deli cardigan the other day (which I finished last year), and didn't really like what I saw. The slightly frilly trim was a bit too much - making it difficult to fasten neatly, creating a flare at the bottom hem, and making the back ride up. I decided to do away with it there and then. Well, it was warm and I was feeling rash and brave. For the record: there was no alcohol involved.
Cue frogging....
Little bean watched the ripping. He had no idea about the significance of this, given the great endurance required to knit the blinking thing, but when he grows up, I will be able to show him proof that he was there for the great frogging of 2013...
I am happy to say: Deli looks a Whole Lot Better Now. I do need to replace the frill with something else - but actually, it hardly needs anything, so there will be a plain and simple button band in due course that will allow me to button the darn thing up.
I think I mentioned the endless trim on Deli, which I have been knitting for most of the past year month week or two (really, who would attempt to sew that on?!!!)
Well - it's finished - not quite, but the end is almost in sight, and I've managed a sneaky trying-on session to see how it looks.
I like it.
It doesn't look anything like the one in the book (which is very long and more like a coat than a cardigan), but it seems to fit me well.
We'll be away next week on our hols, so expect some Scilliness (we are going to the Isles of Scilly). Haven't decided what knitting to take with me. Something small for sure, but what else? I could really do with some more cardigans in my wardrobe, but it's so much easier, not to mention quicker, to knit something for a small person.
The blanket is still the thing. The socks aren't getting a look in. Neither is the cardigan I should finish (all sewn up and just waiting for 300 miles of edging to be knit onto it). There is an itch to be scratched, and I just need to scratch it.
The ripping and re-doing of the blanket has been a complete success. I am much happier with everything, and now starting to motor along, getting quicker and quicker all the time. It's a good feeling.
The rugby outing yesterday afternoon was fabulous. I have missed going to big matches like that (the last international I went to was the RWC in 2007, when the bean was about 9 months old), and it was so good to be back at Murrayfield for a sell-out match. The atmosphere of Scotland vs. France matches is always very good natured. The french fans play their part well, with lots of flags and coloured wigs and silly hats. It meant that there was plenty to look at for our two little people - particularly the jelly bean - at her first rugby international. Her brother went to his first international match as a babe in arms, aged only 2 weeks! He's been to a few more games since then, mostly with his dad and other (male) grownups. This was our first outing as a family of 4 - and a rehearsal for attending sporting events with small people in tow, as we are off to the Olympics in the summer...
Too bad that Scotland couldnt get a win yesterday - but the roar that went up when they scored was incredible. And, we were lucky enough to be sitting in the north stand, so saw the first (Hogg) try fairly close up. A great memory for us all.
I've been thinking about stuff lately. There are so many of us trying to cope with having too much stuff. And, the more I think about, the more I think that the motto of the 21st century should be: don't buy stuff; do stuff. Yesterday was a good day for that.
