Monday, November 27, 2006

"My First Sweater"

3 or 4 years ago, when I first started knitting, I took a class at Amazing Threads called My First Sweater. It was a drop shoulder, stockinette stitch sweater with a very simple garter stitch neck. As is my usual M.O. I knitted like a fiend on it, outpaced the rest of the class and stopped going to class before the end. I missed the important final class on how to sew the damn thing together. It has sat in my stash, in pieces, ever since. I think it's Cascade 220. It's a beautiful chocolate brown (I would never recommend doing your first sweater in anything this dark, it's too hard to read your stitches).

I've made many sweaters since then, but without fail I've used a three-needle bind off to finish the shoulders. I've sewn the shoulders of My First Sweater three times and each time has looked worse than the last. Finally this weekend in a burst of "I'm gonna put that damn sweater together once and for all!" I did what would have been unthinkable at one time. I undid the bound off shoulders and did a three-needle bind off. The mere thought of such an action would have put me into a cold sweat two years ago. I'm not saying it was without trepidation, but I'm feelin' pretty knitterly right about now my friends.

After being rolled into a ball, in a drawer for three years or more, I have to re-block the whole thing before I sew the sleeves and seam it, but I think My First Sweater will actually be worn soon.

In other news, remember back to August when I started fair isle hats for the nieces and nephews? Well I ran out of steam on those, only the boys are getting fair isle hats, the girls are getting felted ballerina slippers. They will probably like them better anyway. On Thanksgiving night, my five year old godson nephew Ben asked me to follow him to his room. He has perhaps the biggest eyes of any child ever and I have no defenses against them. He has also lost all four front teeth, two on the bottom, two on the top, resulting in a very endearing lisp. He looks at me with his big eyes and lisps, "Auntie Kate what I really, really want for Christmas is something (imagine this pronounced thomthing and he's lookin' at me with the eyes) you knit for me. Thomthing warm for winter like a hat or mittens. That's what I really, really want."

I ask you, does this kid have my number or what?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

That little guy sounds like a "thweetie!" How can you resist???

I discovered the three needle bind-off this past summer. Rapture, I tellya!!! Congrats on finishing the sweater.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on finishing your sweater!

I think Ben has pretty much ensured that he'll get handknit gifts from now on. :)

Guinifer said...

THAT is so adorable.

Anonymous said...

He deserves a hat, mittens, scarf, parka,... What a sweet thing for him to say!

renee said...

What a sweet, sweet boy! If I were in your shoes, I'd be knitting that kid something every day!

Anonymous said...

OMG! How sweet. Did you melt right there on the floor? I would have. That is one special little boy already knowing the value of ahand made gift from someone he loves.

Red Hat Knitter said...

Kate. Call Amazing Threads and find out when I will be there teaching a class and come in about half way through the class and I can help you sew the sweater together. I love to see the finished products of my classes!
Yvonne

Chris said...

Aw, what a wonderful request!! Very cool that you're going to finish that sweater, too. :)