After five years, I finished this sweater
If you have been reading my blog for a very long time, then you might remember when I started this sweater a really long time ago.
Yes, over three years ago I started knitting this sweater for my mother. (I had the yarn for two years before that, but you know stash must be aged prior to use… right?) It required so much concentration and counting, that I only worked on it for fits and spurts and insanely long car rides when the kids were asleep.
There was a time when I thought child-rearing and knitting intricate patterns might be mutually exclusive, but I kept at it, and did most of my knitting at night, when nobody would bother me. And I’ll admit, there were times when I just put it away for months at a time, when it was just too much work to try to figure out where I had left off.
But as the kids got bigger I found more time to knit, and I even got them trained to not try to rip my needles out of my hands or out of my knitting when my back was turned.
Last week I met one of my neighbors who is a spinner, seamstress, knitter, and weaver (and probably more than that) and also happens to be the superintendent of the fiber arts division at our County Fair. She encouraged me to enter something in the Fair, but I didn’t think I had anything ready. Then I remembered the sweater.
I had finished the actually knitting of the sweater a couple months ago, but the daunting task of blocking, weaving in yarn ends, and seaming still lay ahead. (For you non-knitters, weaving in yarn ends is like fingernails on a chalkboard). It took three days to dry the sweater after wet blocking, and I finally resorted to turning on the baseboard heater near the knitting to speed things up.
And then there were yarn ends. O M G. It took me five hours just to weave in yarn ends, and I am not kidding. Seaming everything up was the real test, and thank goodness my knitting gauge stayed consistent over the years, because everything fit together the way it was supposed to. I did have to run to our local fabric store (thank goodness we have one!) to find buttons for the sweater. I found lovely pewter buttons for all of $4. Score!
I finished everything today by noon and walked it over to the fairgrounds. So here it is, Mama. The Swedish Thora that was five years in the making is finished, and it has turned out every bit as lovely as I had hoped.
P.S. I’m holding it for ransom until you come visit me.
July 8th, 2009 at 4:21 am
ooohh…..you will win with this at the fair!
Love it!
July 8th, 2009 at 5:32 am
Oh, Annie. The sweater is so beautiful. Thank you, thank you. I hope you are as proud of yourself as I am of you.
Sending you a Blue Ribbon myself!
July 8th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Annie, you have envious skill. It is absolutely gorgeous! quiltlover
July 8th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Awesome post, Annie! And WAY TO GO on that beautiful sweater!
I love the way it flares out at the bottom.
The best things in life take time. Because if it was Easy – Anyone could do it.
July 8th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
I can surely sympathise–I have an afghan that I started 10 years ago for my eldest daughter. It’s almost finished now!
July 9th, 2009 at 5:58 am
definately a loving work of art for your mama
July 10th, 2009 at 12:30 am
That is awesome, I’ve been reading your blog for a little over a year now….I just started crocheting, and hope to start knitting soon after we move (next week, ah!) That sweater is beautiful…good luck in the fair!
July 11th, 2009 at 7:47 am
I joined this just so I could tell you how incredibly beautiful the sweater is! It was worth every stitch!
~A mother and grandmother in Missouri
July 11th, 2009 at 8:16 am
That is a beautiful sweater a blue ribbon winner in my book.
Could you please describe how you weave in ends so they will stay? I crochet and can never get them to stay put – after a washing there are ends everywhere again.
July 11th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
This is sweater is truly a piece of art! What an incredibly wonderful gift for your mother.
July 14th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
What a beautiful sweater. I would love to see what it looks like on a human. I really like the way it flares out at the bottom – and such rich embellishment! WOW.
July 18th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I started a sailboat afghan for my only grandson when he was born. He is 13 and it still a work in progress. But I hate grannie squares!! And there are over 150 tiny granny squares and some of them are two colors, diagonal from opposit corners. Did I mention that I hate grannie squares?
July 20th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Annie,
This is very lovely! It has such a feminine old world feel. Congratulations on the beautiful work. Somethings are sooo worth the time invested!
July 23rd, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Ooooooh. That’s lovely. Is the pattern from Poetry in Stitches? I gave up cross-stitching and took up knitting again when my girls were in the crawl all over me stages.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
This is absolutely beautiful! I knit too, but I wouldn’t even try my hand at something so intricate. You are blessed to be so talented.
August 1st, 2009 at 5:55 pm
The sweater is so pretty! It looks like quite complicated. You did a wonder job on it. Christine from Indiana
August 2nd, 2009 at 11:05 am
It is simply GORGEOUS! You deserve a blue ribbon alone just for perservering and finishing it! But it truly IS gorgeous, and your mom is a very lucky lady!
August 5th, 2009 at 5:36 am
Years ago(30 +) when I was in my teens, my mother tried to teach me to crochet, knit, sew, quilt, etc. I was not interested. She has been gone now since I was 18. And many times over the years I have wished I had paid attention. I have had quilt squares cut out now for almost 15 years. But never seem to find the time to put them into some type of design. Although really I think it is just the procrastination of being unsure of my abilities.
So I can really admire the quality and care that you have put into that beautiful sweater for your mother. And what a lucky mother she is.
August 19th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
ok… this is AWESOME! Where did you find the pattern? I really, really like it and will have to bribe a knitter to make me one… If I can find the pattern. lol. I crochet… some.
August 23rd, 2009 at 4:45 pm
The pattern is from Knitter’s magazine. It is called “Swedish Thora.”
October 21st, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Oh my gosh! It is beautiful! And, I am so jealous that your mama is getting a floor loom. But, I suppose it is only fair, I’ve only been wanting one for a couple years, and my children are much younger than hers. I can wait.