I’ll totally finish this before casting on for a mitten, I swear.
I don’t remember how and when it happened, but at one point boyfriend B asked me to knit him a sweater. Thing is, boyfriend B doesn’t wear sweaters. He feels unduly constrained by any sort of layering action and is so warm blooded he goes out in the snow in his shirtsleeves. If the weather does get cold enough to make him want something more than a poplin button-down it’s usually a hoodie he’ll reach for - not a sweater. So for a while I just didn’t believe him, though I did think it was awfully sweet of him to want to flatter my knitterly ego.
Eventually he was able to convince me that he did actually want a sweater, that the reason he didn’t wear sweaters is because he didn’t have any he liked, and that he’d much rather have something custom than something from Banana. Well cool, especially since I already knew what the perfect B sweater would be. First off it would be tweed, I watched a lot of All Creatures Great and Small in my formative years and I really think men should wear tweed whenever possible. (I’m totally serious about this - I also watched a lot of MASH, just guess how I feel about epaulets and olive twill.)
It would be a cardigan (good for both ease of use and ventilation,) and it would be long enough to look good on his 6′4″ frame without any additional tugging, stretching or pulling. The neck would be tall (just ’cause I think it looks handsome,) but lined with something soft.
And it would definitely be E.Z.’s Hybrid (Rav link) with the shirt yoke across the back. I’ve always wanted to try that crazy construction for myself, just to really see how it all comes together. Besides I don’t think there could possibly be a more flattering shoulder treatment for a men’s sweater (I mean besides epaulets.)
The hems would be ribbed instead of turned though, so I could continue the ribbing up the sides of the sweater, adding the tiniest bit of ‘zazz to all that stockinette.
By the time my yarn emigrated from Bishops Stortford to Texas at the end of October I was full of enthusiasm. This would be my project for NaKniSweMo and B would have his sparkley new sweater just in time for Thanksgiving. I actually came really close. Thanks to bulky yarn and the power of audio books the knitting seemed to go quickly, and I happpily chugged along, excited to see how it would turn out. Unfortunately I decided to do the button bands with a double pick-up. I’ve done this before with not too many problems, and I’m always happy with the result, but for some reason this particular band took hours, was a completely maddening experience, and by the time I was done I felt like all the tendons in my right hand were on fire. I think you see where this is going. I didn’t finish a Swe for NaKniSweMo, there was no tweedy goodness at our Thanksgiving dinner, in fact I have put off knitting the other button band, and so finishing the sweater, for over two months. The sad thing has lain in an ignored and useless lump through three big holidays, our anniversary, and probably the only cold snap we’ll see this year. I was doing pretty well at ignoring my feelings of guilt about that until I saw this.
Jinkies! We’ve made almost the same sweater at the same time, how weird! BT’s sure is pretty though. Notice anything else about it, besides the loveliness I mean? Yeah, his is done. See how nice it looks, all done and everything? Kinda makes me feel like I should finish mine. After all only one ribbed band, some blocking, and a few buttons stand between me and the glowy feeling of satisfaction you get from a job well done, or at least finished.
That’s the other hold up though, buttons. I’m sure that somewhere in Austin there is a cute little fabric shop. I’m sure they carry Denyse Schmidt, Amy Butler, and imported Japanese linen. I bet the place smells good, all the little tchotchkes they sell are charming instead of cheesy, and everyone who works there is knowledgeable, well spoken, and has nice hair. I bet they have some really great buttons. Unfortunately I’m not a sewer so I’m not in the fantastically cool sewing shop loop. Instead I’ve gone around to Hancock, Michael’s, and Jo-Ann looking for something appropriate. No luck. Instead I’ll have to order them, which is not good news for the sweater. Normally I’m an indecisive shopper, throw the internet into the equation and I’m at a standstill. Fortunately there is the magic of Photoshop and (hopefully) opinionated blog readers.
Which one would you go for?