Knitting

I’ve been working on three sweaters this week. I started them at different times – the first one in August. It’s been relaxing to clear the machines off my work table for a bit. I was sewing more pants from my favorite jeans pattern last weekend and made another practically complete pair of gray pants with elaborate pockets before I discovered that they’re too small. This was the first time I used that pattern with fabric that has no stretch. I didn’t realize how badly I needed it. I wore them for an hour, hoping for a little give and tore a hole at the base of the fly, not in the seam, but in the fabric itself. Knitting is becoming my therapy for sewing.

I started this sweater with the intention of keeping the whole thing dark gray. It was really looking like a man’s sweater from the Boston Store – maybe made by Dockers, so I decided to add some color. I’m trying out a combination of Faire Isle and Intarsia. Basically, I’m just changing color without a design –responding to what’s there. It’s like painting which is probably why I’m really excited about the process. I think I’m going to be very happy with the sweater. Of course this morning instead of picking up my sweater and knitting more, I spent an hour online shopping for more yarn so I have a broader palette. I found one brand of yarn called “Lamb’s Pride.” I don’t believe lambs feel pride, and if they did it probably wouldn’t be about having such great hair that it compels people to continue stealing it from them. Still, I’m just as much of a sucker for marketing as anyone else. I can’t get the picture of smiling, satisfied, naked little lambs handing out baskets of fur to eager knitters.