Striven

This butterfly landed on my swimsuit while I was laying out by the pool.


I love summer, I really do. I look forward to it, as if I'm still in the second grade. Tomatoes, peaches, strawberries, sun tea, swimming, BBQ, what's not to like? Before knitting, I was not a fan of fall. Fall was like one big endless Monday. The thrill of going back to school wore off right around the time I received my first homework assignment. I went to Catholic school, so they gave homework out on the first day. Now, I love fall. I love it so much, that even on a perfect summer day, I think about fall knitting. This is what I'm knitting for fall.



The pattern is "Striven", and is published in Rowan Magazine 42. I believe this to be one of the all time greatest Rowan Magazines ever. It has tundra, and heather, and a purse shaped like a pineapple. There are at least 15 things I'd love to knit from this magazine. When it came in the mail I did something I almost never do. I went online, and I ordered the exact yarn that this pattern called for; wool cotton and felted tweed. When the yarn arrived I pulled a ball out of the bag, grabbed the magazine, and started to read through the pattern. It seemed really daunting. There was some weird Swedish stitch I didn't know. I put the yarn down and picked up another project. Since that day, this sweater has been haunting my stash. Two years later, I'm not afraid of the weird Swedish stitch. I'm ready to knit the sweater, and sit on a rock wearing a kilt with a "come hither if you dare" look, on my face. That model really sold me on this sweater. Such confidence for someone with a cave bat complexion.


I've finished the ribbing on the back, and am about two inches into the slipped stitch stripy pattern. It looks like weaving. I suppose that's the idea. There's something odd about the weight of the fabric. It feels too light. I tried swatching with a smaller set of needles, but came up with an equally airy fabric. I guess it's the stitch pattern that's causing that.


I think I like the felted tweed. It's the kind of yarn I could grow to love. I'm going to take extra care with this project. I want this to be a sweater that I wear with pride. I still don't have a hand knit sweater that I'll wear in public. I'm more than a little ashamed of that. Everything seems to get given away, or shrunk, or never finished. This time, I'm going to stick it out. It helps that the color work is fun, but not challenging. It also helps that the sweater is named "Striven". Striven sounds like driven + strive. One can't very well chuck a sweater named "Striven" into a bag. It just seems wrong.
This next photo is of my new friend Amy.


Amy as in, an A+ version of me. She's got the same size bust, but with an impossibly small waist. She was found at a small shop that was going out of business. Actually, truth be told, I saw a young woman walking toward the parking garage with a dress form under her arm. I cornered her and demanded that she tell me where she bought her dress form. She breathlessly informed me that there were only a couple left, and that they were being sold for 15 euros a piece, and before she could finish her sentence, I was off like a shot, dragging my husband and son behind me. Because it's a store form, and not a sewing form, I'm going to have to make a couple of adjustments. For one, Amy is going to need to put on some weight. No one in this house is allowed to have a 38 inch bust with a 26 inch waist. Them's the rules.